The G.R.A.P.E. Checklist for Students of Healthcare to Finetune and Safeguard their Scholarly Manuscripts.

Abstract

Structured scientific writing in medicine is seldom a part of curricula especially in non-native English-speaking countries. However, with the right tools and strategies, young researchers and academicians can be assured of artful dissemination of their research. The aim of this study is to propose a checklist that can help authors in structuring a polished scholarly manuscript. In order to achieve this, the authors carried out a literature search across prominent databases like PubMed, MEDLINE and Global Index Medicus to investigate the common reasons for retraction or rejection of manuscripts between 2020 to 2023. The inclusion criteria were as follows: reviews, observational studies, commentaries and editorials published in English since 2020 in the field of healthcare. A total of 32 results were identified, eight of which met the inclusion criteria. The eight included studies were from the field of dentistry, cardiology, neurology, spine surgery, anaesthesiology, nursing, and medically assisted reproduction. The most common reasons for article rejection or retraction were academic misconduct, designing errors, unintentional errors and data fraud. In order to overcome these flaws, the G.R.A.P.E. (Grammar, Reference Management, Archiving, Plagiarism, Equator-Network) checklist is proposed. Satisfying this checklist can result in a well-knit manuscript. The common reasons for article rejection/retraction can be avoided should students and academicians use the recommended strategies and tools as per the proposed checklist.