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年末新年のご挨拶（2020.12）

記号の正しい使用方法:表記法とガイドライン（Part 1）（2020.11）

2020.11.16 Editor: M. R.

Correct usage of symbols: Conventions and guidelines (Part 1)

Japan is a global leader in cutting-edge research. From my ten years of experience as a scientific editor, I have concluded that the following are the primary focus areas for Japanese authors in terms of improving their symbol usage in written English.

1) A range of values is denoted by an en dash (–) and not by a tilde (~). The tilde is more commonly used to denote “approximately”.
In MS Word, an en dash can be obtained from the Symbol list under the Insert menu.
Example: (i) The participants were 20-50 years old.
(ii) The weight of the block was ~5 kg.

2) The minus sign is not the same as the hyphen. When writing negative values in MS Word, avoid using the hyphen to denote minus. Instead, use the minus sign from the Symbol list under the Insert menu (Subset: Mathematical Operators).
Example: The sample was cooled to −5 °C (not -5 °C).

(To be continued...)

記号の正しい使用方法:表記法とガイドライン（Part 2）（2020.11）

Correct usage of symbols: Conventions and guidelines (Part 2)

In this edition of focus areas for Japanese authors in terms of improving their symbol usage in written English, we shall look at the apostrophe/prime symbols and the degree symbol.

3) When writing the names of organic compounds, pharmaceuticals, etc., the prime symbol should be used and not the apostrophe.
In MS Word, the prime symbol can be found in the Symbol list under the Insert menu. Example: 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (not 3’-azido-3’-deoxythymidine)

4) When expressing temperature or angle values, use the degree symbol and not the superscript letter “o”.
In MS Word, the degree symbol can be found in the Symbol list under the Insert menu. Example: The sample was heated to 243 °C (not 243 _oC).

ラテン語の用語と略語の使い方 (Part 4)：etc.（2020.10）

2020.10.01 Editor: L. R

Using Latin abbreviations and acronyms (Part 4)- etc.

In this final article on common Latin abbreviations and acronyms, we come to ‘etc.’ This abbreviation is short for the phrase ‘et cetera’ and means ‘and so on’ or ‘and other things’.

There is a full stop/period after ‘etc.’ because it is an abbreviation.

The term ‘etc.’ is used when you want to indicate that you are talking about a list of similar things, which the reader can be expected to be familiar with. Usually the first two items would be written out followed by ‘etc.’

For example ‘The meal came with various accompaniments — pickles, sauces, etc.’
Or
‘The tissue culture facility is stocked with basic supplies — Petri dishes, pipettes, etc.’

‘Etc.’ should never be used for people; for a list of names use ‘et al.’

In a list of items, a comma can be used after the last item in the list before ‘etc.’ in the same way that a serial comma is used before ‘and’ when listing items. This is a matter of preference but the rule should be applied consistently.

For example: ‘The tissue culture facility is stocked with basic supplies — Petri dishes, pipettes, etc.’ is written in the same way as ‘The tissue culture facility is stocked with basic supplies — Petri dishes, pipettes, and flasks.’

When ‘etc.’ is used at the end of a sentence, there is no need to follow it with a second full stop/period. However if any other punctuation is necessary, such as a question mark, that should be added after the full stop/period of ‘etc.’ as though it was any other word.

For example ‘Is the tissue culture facility stocked with Petri dishes, pipettes, etc.?’

When ‘etc.’ is used in the middle of a sentence it should be followed by appropriate punctuation just like any other word. For example ‘Bring whatever you need for a day out — water bottle, cash etc. — and we can explore my new home town! ’

Or:
‘You should perform basic daily checks on your vehicle (tyre pressures, oil level, etc.) before setting out each day. ’

The abbreviation ‘etc.’ should only be used where the reader is expected to be familiar with what the items omitted from the list would be, because if they are not, they will have to guess or else will misunderstand what they have been told.

Although ‘etc.’ is common in everyday use, its use should be avoided in formal medical or scientific writing. In such publications, the aim is to educate and inform, so the reader’s knowledge should never be assumed. Instead, explicit information should be provided, or the reader should be directed to another source of information.

Using ‘etc.’ also tends to give a poor impression — either that the information the writer wishes to impart is so uninteresting as not to be worth bothering to write about, or that the writer is simply too lazy to write it all out. Neither of these will endear the writer either to reviewers or readers.

So for example it would not be good practice to write ‘The position will involve supervising students, writing grants, etc.’

Or:
‘Common side effects of chemotherapy are hair loss, nausea, etc.’

A better way to present this information would be either to write it out in full, or to guide the reader to a source of information, so for the examples above, they could be written:

‘The position will involve supervising students, writing grants, overseeing technical staff, and liaising with clinicians.’
Or:
‘The position will involve a range of duties, as detailed in the job description provided on the website.’

And:
‘Common side effects of chemotherapy are hair loss, nausea, fatigue, diarrhoea or constipation, appetite changes, peripheral neuropathy, dry skin, problems with the mouth or throat, infections, and easy bruising.’
Or:
‘Common side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss, nausea, fatigue, and diarrhoea or constipation, among others ^[ref].’

In summary - avoid using ‘etc.’ as it does not make your writing look professional.

創業25周年のご挨拶（2020.9）

ラテン語の用語と略語の使い方 (Part 3)：e. g.

2020.08.03 Editor: L. R

Using Latin abbreviations and acronyms (Part 3)- e. g.

Abbreviations and acronyms in Latin crop up quite commonly in English writing. I previously looked at the use of ‘et al.’ and ‘i. e.’. Thirdly, we come to ‘e. g.’ which stands for ‘exempli gratia’ and means ‘for example’. It is used to help explain a point by providing one or more examples.

Since both the ‘e' and the ‘g' are abbreviations, both letters are followed by a full stop/period. Both letters are written in lower case, unless at the start of a sentence when the first letter would be capitalised as usual. However it would be very unusual to begin a sentence with ‘E.g.’ and if it was necessary it would be better to begin with ‘For example’ instead.

In UK (British) English there is no comma after the term, but in US (American) English it is followed by a comma after the second full stop/period before the examples.

This abbreviation is used to introduce one or more examples of something, to help clarify the subject you are writing about. So you might write something like ‘Vaccination has been an important intervention in controlling previously-common infectious diseases e. g. measles and polio.’

Or
‘Over-the-counter medications are those which are available without prescription, e. g. the painkillers ibuprofen and paracetamol.’

However, although certain Latin abbreviations (such as ‘et al.’) are in common use in academic writing, the abbreviation ‘e. g.’ tends not to be used as much, although it is commonly used in less formal, everyday writing. There is no particular reason for this, and using ‘e. g.’ is not incorrect, but it seems to give work a more casual ‘feel’. Instead the phrase ‘for example’ is often written out. Various other phrases can also be used, like ‘such as’, or ‘for instance’.

So in the above examples, they might be better phrased as ‘Vaccination has been an important intervention in controlling previously-common infectious diseases such as measles and polio.’

Or
‘Over-the-counter medications are those which are available without prescription, for example the painkillers ibuprofen and paracetamol.’

The phrase can either be enclosed within parentheses or used as part of the sentence. This is mainly a matter of personal preference, although journal guidelines should be consulted for any specific instructions.

Whichever style is chosen should be used consistently. As a general rule, items in parentheses are considered non-essential information. If a sentence does not make sense without the part within parentheses, they should not be used.

ラテン語の用語と略語の使い方 (Part 2)：i. e.（2020.7）

2020.07.01 Editor: L. R

Using Latin abbreviations and acronyms (Part 2)- i. e.

Latin abbreviations and acronyms crop up quite commonly in English writing. I previously looked at the use of ‘et al.’. This time I will consider ‘i. e.’ which stands for ‘id est’ meaning ‘that is’.

The abbreviation ‘i. e.’ is used when you want to make something clear by explaining it in a slightly different way. The phrase can be enclosed within parentheses or simply included as part of the sentence.

For example:
‘While symptoms were reduced in all treatment groups, subgroup analysis found no significant difference between the different treatment-time groups, i.e. the effect of the drug was the same whether it was given early or late.’

Or:
‘The treatment was tested in toddlers (i. e. children aged between one and three years).’

Since both the i and the e are abbreviations, both letters are followed by a full stop/ period.

Although, traditionally, Latin terms are written in italics like this, nowadays this is less common, especially for abbreviations. Because i. e. has been in use for so long, it is considered standard English and should be written in the same font as the rest of the sentence.

The abbreviation i. e. is not used at the start of a sentence, because it is always used to add clarity to the preceding phrase. As such it is always written in lower case.

In UK (British) English there is no comma after the term, but in US (American) English it is followed by a comma after the second full stop/period before the second phrase.

The next point to consider is whether you should use the abbreviation ‘i. e.’ at all.

Because it is used in the same way as phrases such as ‘that is’, ‘in other words’, or ‘in essence’, or even punctuation such as parentheses or dashes, using any of these would be acceptable in academic writing and might be a better choice for the sake of clarity.

Latin abbreviations were introduced when Latin was commonly taught and typesetting involved placing letter blocks one at a time, so abbreviations saved some ink for the writer or a little work for the typesetter. While using abbreviations such as ‘i. e.’ saves time and space in hand-written work, nowadays producing typed text is quick and easy.

In addition not many readers will have studied Latin. Consequently in academic writing it is just as easy to write ‘that is’ or some equivalent phrase instead.

For the examples given above, alternatives could be:
‘While symptoms were reduced in all treatment groups, subgroup analysis found no significant difference between the different treatment-time groups, in other words the effect of the drug was the same whether it was given early or late.’

Or:
‘While symptoms were reduced in all treatment groups, subgroup analysis found no significant difference between the different treatment-time groups—the effect of the drug was the same whether it was given early or late.’

And:
‘The treatment was tested in toddlers (children aged between one and three years).’

Or:
‘The treatment was tested in toddlers, that is, in children aged between one and three years.’

However abbreviations can be useful when there is a need to cut down the number of characters in a piece of work such as an abstract or poster presentation.

In the next section I will discuss use of ‘e. g.’

ラテン語の用語と略語の使い方：et al.（2020.6）

2020.06.01 Editor: L. R

Using Latin abbreviations and acronyms- et al.

For many centuries, Latin was the language used by educated people all over Europe, and as a legacy of that, a variety of Latin terms and abbreviations are still used when writing in English.

Some of the most common abbreviations you are likely to come across are ‘et al.’ ‘i. e.’, ‘e. g’ and ‘etc.’ These abbreviations and acronyms are quite commonly used in everyday writing, but tend to be used only in very specific ways in academic writing.

First, let’s look at ‘et al.’ This is an abbreviation of ‘et alia’ translated as ‘and others’ and meaning ‘and other people’ or ‘and colleagues’. There is a full stop/ period after ‘al.’ because it is an abbreviation of ‘alia’, but not after ‘et’ because it is not an abbreviation.

In academic writing ‘et al.’ is used specifically when referring to several authors of a publication or researchers in a team. This is always the term used in the reference list. In most referencing styles, up to three authors should be listed for each publication in the reference list. For publications with four or more authors, the first few (sometimes only one, sometimes three, depending on the journal) should be named, followed by et al.

When citing references in the text, only the first author is named, followed by et al. For example:
‘This observation was first reported by Chang et al. (1988).’ or ‘This finding was in agreement with previous reports (Johnson et al., 1994).’

While ‘et al.’ is frequently used in the text, sometimes authors like to use alternatives for variety if they are discussing many other publications. Examples of alternative wording include ‘Our results contradict the findings reported by Sampson and colleagues (2012)’ or ‘As described by Cochrane and co-workers (2017)...’ However, if the citation is completely enclosed within parentheses, as in (Pierri et al., 2015) only ‘et al.’ is acceptable.

The abbreviation ‘etc.’ also translates as ‘and others’ but it means ‘and other things’ and so should not be used for people.

Next, we will look at the use of ‘i.e.’

論文が（予想に反して）リジェクトされてしまったら（2020.4）

2020.04.02 Editor: G. M

Your manuscript has been (surprisingly) rejected

Have you ever had a manuscript rejected for reasons that appeared to be a little odd and even insincere? You thought you had answered all reviewer comments to a satisfactory standard and, yet, your magnificent paper was still turned down.

I once sent a manuscript to a prestigious hematology journal. After satisfying reviewer comments, specifically to adjust the dose of an enzyme used in experiments, my manuscript was rejected. However, imagine my surprise when a paper very similar to mine was soon afterwards published by the very same journal! They had neglected to inform me at the time of my submission that a comparable manuscript existed. In fact, they had rejected my manuscript to favor another research group to my great disappointment.

Accordingly, keep this story in mind when a rejection seems illogical and unfair. It is likely to have been rejected for reasons that are not obvious—ones that may involve politics in scientific circles—and not because it was unworthy of publication.

カバーレター・パート２：要約に時間をかけよう（2020.3）

2020.03.02 Editor: E. L

The cover letter part 2:Spend time on the summary

Last month, I mentioned the importance of the cover letter during manuscript submission, highlighting how it can create the right first impression. Now, it is time to consider the content of the letter in more detail.

The letter always starts with your wish to submit your manuscript to the journal, stating the title and the type of article (e.g., original research article, review, letter). The next paragraph should contain a brief summary of the study. Although this is the most important part of the cover letter, many authors simply copy the abstract from their manuscript at this point. In many cases, however, it would be much better to provide a shorter, less-technical summary. Remember that the Editor may not be completely familiar with your subject matter and may not immediately see the advances of your work. Provide the context to your study, and then focus on the key results and take-home message, avoiding acronyms and jargon. Lastly, emphasize why your manuscript will appeal to readers of the journal.

The cover letter then resumes a standard format. It is helpful to name potential referees, stating their research interests and contact details, as well as researchers who you would like to be excluded. Include a statement to say that the work has not been published elsewhere and that it has been edited by a native English-speaking scientist. Such statements are standard, and it is acceptable to cut and paste them from previous letters. Lastly, it is always nice to end the letter with a pleasantry, such as “Thank you for your consideration in advance” or “I look forward to hearing from you in due course”, before signing off with “Yours sincerely,” if the letter is addressed to a specific individual or with “Yours faithfully,” if addressed “Dear Editor”.

In summary, you’ve spent all that time carrying out your research and preparing your manuscript, so take just a few more minutes to write a cover letter that creates a good first impression and does your study justice.

カバーレター・パート1：第一印象が肝心（2020.2）

2020.02.03 Editor: E. L

The cover letter part 1: First impressions count

So, you’ve written your manuscript, formatted your tables, and perfected your figures. There’s just the cover letter between you and manuscript submission. Nearly every journal asks for one, but just how important is the cover letter? Well, it is said that first impressions count, and your letter will present the initial glimpse of your study. It is the first opportunity to showcase and “sell” your work, so it may be worth spending more than a few minutes on it and really grab the Editor’s attention.

It is true that many aspects of the cover letter, such as the submission statement, list of suggested referees, and statement of originality, are standard for the submission of any manuscript. In some cases, however, the journal asks for a different format or for specific information; for example, a non-technical or “lay” summary of your work, or an outline of the study’s implications.

Therefore, before you start, double-check the submission guidelines of your chosen journal and prepare the cover letter accordingly. For larger journals with multiple editors, check which editor would be most suitable to assess your work and address the cover letter to them. In cases where you are not sure of the name, it is reasonable to address the letter as “Dear Editor”. Simple steps such as these will immediately help to create the right first impression and encourage the Editor to read on and discover more about your study.

新年のご挨拶（2020.1）