How Science Works (1): Reproducibility

You may think there is something wrong happening with scientists refuting and criticizing each other’s studies all the time. In fact, that is just the way it is supposed to be; that is how science works.

A researcher publishes his or her observations in a scientific journal, explaining why and how the study was done, and reaching a conclusion—which can be a theory—based on the results of this and other studies. Then, other researchers try to understand the methodology of the study and replicate or reproduce the results. This is known as reproducibility. If other researchers cannot obtain similar results using the methodology described in the original paper, the study is considered irreproducible—thus, it does not provide useful evidence of causality. On the other hand, study results that are reproducible have more credibility.

For instance, a few of years ago, Andrew Wakefield (the guy that started the MMR-autism scare) described a new syndrome called "autistic enterocolitis."

In a letter to the editors of Molecular Pathology, Eric Fombonne, a researcher from McGill University in Montreal, said about Wakefield's study:

The study [...] did not contain a proper Subjects section providing the necessary background clinical characteristics which are required both for a proper evaluation of the significance of the results and for allowing replication by independent research groups.” Fombonne also said, “Earlier reports by Wakefield and colleagues have consistently lacked basic descriptive clinical information on the research subjects. Thus, the methods used to arrive at the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorders in these reports were unstandardized, were not uniform across subjects, and no reliability data were ever provided.

In 2006 Fombonne and his colleagues at McGill published a study describing how they repeated the experiments by Wakefield’s group. They found no evidence that measles virus persisted in autistic children. Wakefield’s results were not reproducible.

How Science Works Series

I've decided to start a series of posts on how science (especially biomedical research) works. I hope it will help new medical writers that sometimes feel daunted by the language and the methods of science.

If you think about any topic you would want me to deal with, just let me know. My first post will follow.

Can You Really Make Six Figures As A Freelance Writer?

By David Drake (Guest blogger)

Does $100,000 a year sound too ambitious? I hope not. Thousands of freelance writers have broken the 6-figure barrier and with some determination and a clear set of goals, it's very achievable.

Possibly you would laugh and burst out if I told you some freelancers even make $400000 - $500000 per annum , so I would save my face and stick to $100000.

There are different kinds of freelance writing. You could write for magazines, write general articles, write direct marketing advertisements (More on this later), and e-books . The world of freelance writing is huge and many times confuses newcomers.

The purpose of this article is to show you how achieve a six figure target, primarily using the Internet. (Get ready to work, eat and live in your pajamas!)

The September 2007 issue of The Writer published an excellent article: "Secrets of Six-Figure Freelancers", which covered magazine freelance writers who are making six figures, with one making $260,000 per year. This proves that you can make a great income as any kind of freelance writer. The money is there, all you have to do is take it.

• An average writer on websites such as Guru.com and Elance.com charges between $15 - $35 per article. These articles take about an hour to write. How many can you write each day? Even with 4 hours of work you have crossed the $36000 per annum barrier.
• Web Copywriters charge a minimum of $250 to about $2000 for 3 -4 pages. You need 50, $2000 assignments to break the 6 figure mark. If you can prove yourself, raise your fees to $25000, there still are buyers for that price! Yep it's true. That's what the best copywriters charge! It's hard to find a seasoned copywriter who charges less than $8000 per project.

Freelance writing is not a get rich scheme. $100000 per year is a very realistic figure to reach in freelance writing. No, it does not happen quickly, but it does happen. And it does not happen to especially talented or lucky people as sometimes the mind can trick us into believing.

It happens to normal people who make it happen!

As opposed to what many people think, it does not take a genius or greatness to make a six figure income as a freelance writer. All it takes is

• A New mindset: Change in beliefs which hold you back and your negative ideas on making money.It is indeed a fact that many of us have a negative attitude towards money and it actually hinders us. For example many of us have this belief that "life is hard" and "money does not grow on trees". They are perspectives but not the reality !
• Dedication: What are you willing to do to achieve your goal? Earl Nightingale in his famous book The Strangest Secret states it clearly..." The only way to achieve financial abundance is to provide value to people ". Are you willing to provide good service to people?
• Treating it as a business: All the freelance writers making six figure incomes treat their writing as a serious home based business and employ sound principles which are common in all successful businesses. That's the beginners secret to break the six figure mark. Treat it as a business.

David Drake is the author of the ebook 6 Figure Freelancer. It reveals powerful strategies and a step by step blueprint to lay out a 6 Figure action plan with online freelance writing.

Are Consumer Health Magazines Really Healthy?

Working on a media ethics project, I came across this interesting article in the Columbia Journalism Review: "How Healthy Is Men’s Health? A shovelful of sugar helps the medicine go down."

According to the author of the article, one of the most popular consumer health magazines in the US, Men's Health, misses the real issues:

In short, the magazine is preoccupied with health and “lifestyle” problems a person can readily resolve. It underplays bigger threats to health that have no quick fixes. Men’s Health thus gives its readers an unbalanced picture of the threats they actually face.

The article raises the issue of the media's responsibility in providing an accurate representation of reality--and in this case, health. This, of course, is not an appealing option to the editors and publishers of this and similar magazines. They have discovered the formula to sell more than 10 million magazines a month--tips for better sex, and great abs.

Still, medical writers should know better, right? At least I hope you do.

P.S. Last summer, I also wrote about the quality of consumer health writing today.

Creating Time to Write

By Shannon Evans (Guest blogger)

Making time to write is really difficult in our intrusive modern world. The siren song of email beckons us to respond to its 'in your face' immediacy. Blackberries chirp and ding in public places like a chorus of obnoxious magpies in discordant harmony. Telephone, email, and people clamor for my attention all day long. If only I could find some peaceful downtime I might be able to make time to write.

The easiest way to create more time for writing is merely a function of the earliest technological breakthrough of the Industrial Revolution: The ON-OFF switch.

So simple but so hard to use... but you owe it to yourself to develop the discipline to disconnect and start writing. Turn off the phone, turn off the email, turn off the instant messenger, and make the time to write.

• Your time is incredibly valuable
• Commit in writing to write
• Put your writing schedule in your calendar...in ink!
• Get organized before sitting down to write - time spent researching is not writing time

You have to schedule down-time for writing much like you schedule time at the gym and doctor appointments. Let people who matter know that you are not available at that time daily. Block out at least 90-120 minutes per day to dedicate to your writing craft.

Make a contract with yourself to write X hours per week or X number of pages per week. Create a viable plan that produces a measurable output. Start small and build more goals for time and output as you become more disciplined in your writing schedule.

Get a wall calendar and a day planner and schedule time for your writing. You and your writing are important. Make the time to write articles, blog entries, or your next chapter.

Writing with discipline and purpose can be hard at first but over time it becomes an ingrained personal routine. But beware! Writing regularly can become as addictive as email, IM, and texting.

Shannon Evans, senior editor and owner of www.mywritingmentor.com lives with her best friend Rick on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Sound just a "ferry ride from Seattle." She maintains two blogs: Authormarketingtools; Mywritingmentor. Article source here.

More on Writing Conferences

On my previous post, I encouraged you to get involved in a medical writing conference. But you know what? You can benefit from all sorts of writers conferences, no matter the topic (as long as you are interested in it). For instance, this year I'll try to make it to the American Christian Fiction Writers conference.

So how do you find about good conferences to attend? Here are some links that may help.

• AMWA Chapter Conferences
• National Association of Science Writers Annual Conference
  
• ShawGuides Writers Conferences and Workshops
• Writer's Conferences and Centers (2008 events)
  
• Writers Write: Writing and Publishing Conferences

I hope you find an event you like. Thanks for reading!

Getting Involved in a Medical Writing Conference

I always advice new medical writers to attend professional conferences, such as the AMWA annual meeting. They offer great networking, educational, and job-finding opportunities. But even better than attending, is participating as a presenter.

Can you be a presenter even if you've never attended the conference before? Sure you can. I did a poster presentation on my first AMWA conference. The following year I led a roundtable. And the following, two roundtables and two open sessions. You start small, and then get more involved. You'll learn as much (I would say more) from teaching others as from just listening to a lecture.

Why don't you plan on leading a roundtable discussion this year (you'll get a free breakfast)? Or maybe develop a poster presentation? Check out the opportunities available for this fall's AMWA conference in Louisville, KY.