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Received May 18, 2020, accepted July 1, 2020, date of publication July 14, 2020

Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical 
Engineering Journal 
By J.S. Schultz1 and Y. David2  
1 Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Houston, Houston, Texas, USA.
2 Biomedical Engineering Consultants, LLC, Houston, Texas, USA.

ABSTRACT

This paper provides guidelines for writing an effective manuscript that complies with the general scientific writing style. In 
particular, these guidelines are used by the editors and reviewers of the Global Clinical Engineering Journal (www. GlobalCE.org) 
when they evaluate submitted manuscripts. Readers of this paper will gain an understanding of the preferred writing format 
for each of the manuscript’s individual sections. Examples are provided that illustrate their purpose and presentation style for 
each section. We expect the guidance provided in this paper to improve the quality of writing in general but especially by young 
clinical engineers so that their published work will attract the interest of the general scientific community. 

Keywords – Clinical engineering, Paper, Manuscript, Scientific paper, submission, journal, global ce, global, write, technical 
writing, abstrcat, conclusion, methodology, results, methods, review, guide, conclusions. 

Copyright © 2021. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY): Creative Commons - Attribu-
tion 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0. The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) 
are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is 
permitted which does not comply with these terms.

INTRODUCTION
Publications and distribution of research work and of 

best practices in the field of clinical engineering remain 
highly limited. This is particularly the case for young 
beginning researchers in the healthcare technology 
management area. Yet, writing a scientific manuscript is 
arguably the most important step in the development and 
preservation of knowledge.1 Nevertheless, few authors 
have been taught how to effectively communicate and to 
professionally write manuscripts. In addition, they struggle 
with selecting the most suitable writing style and the best 
way to present their data.2 Writing styles vary according 
to the purpose of the paper and the intended audience. 
For example, the format for a newspaper article is vastly 
different than for a scientific journal. Even within the 
scientific journal domain, there are different styles for 

research accounts, review papers, editorials, and letters 
to the editor. Because readers are accustomed to a certain 
style in the different domains, using the conversation-like 
style of a letter in a scientific paper can put off the reader. 
Clinical engineering authors may be challenged to identify 
and use the optimal visual medium to use to report on 
their work results and processes. For example, finding 
the optimal way to share data that lends itself more to a 
presentation using graphical or tabulated formats.3 

METHODS
Aside from some minor variations, the structure and 

organization of most scientific manuscripts follow a 
simple format: Introduction, methods, results, discus-
sion, conclusions, and references.4 Writing a manuscript, 

http://www.globalce.org
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Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020  34

especially for a peer-reviewed journal like Global Clinical 
Engineering Journal (http://www.globalce.org/downloads/
Guidelines%20to%20Authors_final.pdf) demands work 
that may seem like a burden within the clinical engineer-
ing community. But there are good reasons to persevere. 
Knowledge grows and advances through sharing, support-
ing, and challenging information. It also contributes to 
the author’s expertise and career advancement. Basically, 
authors are expected to write accurately, clearly, and suc-
cinctly. Here, we provide some guidelines for submitting 
research articles in this journal.

The basic format for manuscripts submitted for consid-
eration by the reviewers for this journal is outlined below:

1. Title Section
2. Authors and their Affiliations
3. Abstract Section
4. Introduction Section
5. Methods Section
6. Results Section
7. Discussion and Conclusions Section
8. References Section
In this paper, we will provide some guidance and sug-

gestions for successfully getting your message to your 
audience.

1. Title Section
The choice of words for the title of the paper is quite 

important.  The title is the first piece of information that 
can catch the attention of reviewers as well as prospective 
readers.  The title should be concise and should reflect 
the content and impact of your study.

Title Example 1.

“Progressing Toward the Application of Artificial Intel-
ligence for Medical Equipment Replacement in Canadian 
Hospitals —An Idea from the Biomedical Engineering 
Department at Northern Health”5

This title might be better stated as:
 “Artificial Intelligence Methods for Medical Equipment 

Replacement Decisions”

Title Example 2.  

“Benchmarking Comparison Between Beijing and 
American Hospitals”6

This title might be better stated as:
“Comparison of Beijing and American Hospitals in 

Operations, Finance, and Staffing/Productivity” 

Title Example 3.

“Pulse Spectrophotometric Determination of Plasma 
Bilirubin in Newborns”7

Might be better stated as:
“Plasma Bilirubin Determination in Newborns by Plus 

Spectrophotometry”
Lang1 gives the following list of items to consider for 

titles of public health type articles:
(I) the study setting, location, or both; 
(II) the patients, organism, event, or relationship studied; 
(III) the intervention, treatment, or exposure; 
(IV) the comparator or control group(s); 
(V) the outcomes or end points; 
(VI) the study design, and sometimes; 
(VII) the time period or duration of the study.  

For example, suppose an investigation has the follow-
ing characteristics. Any of them can impact the selection 
of an appropriate title:

  
A long title might be:
“Effectiveness of ‘Smart Toilets’ Using Ultraviolet 

Germicidal Irradiation vs. Regular Cleaning for Reduc-
ing Escherichia coli Infections in Refugee Settlements in 
Jordan: A Randomized Trial”

Study characteristics Potential impact of title selection

the setting and location:   refugee settlements in Jordan

the patients or subjects:   residents using public toilets

the intervention: 
self-disinfecting “smart toilets” 
using ultraviolet irradiation to kill 
bacteria

the control condition: regular manual toilet cleaning

the end point: Escherichia coli infections

the study design: randomized trial

the time period (probably not a factor in this study)

http://www.globalce.org/downloads/Guidelines
http://www.globalce.org/downloads/Guidelines
20Authors_final.pdf


35 J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020

Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

A short title instead might be:
“Effectiveness of Self-Disinfecting Toilets for Reducing 

Escherichia coli Infections”

2. Authors and their Affiliations
The author’s names will be published exactly as they 

appear in the accepted article. It should not include 
titles such as Dr., or Professor, or Ph.D.  One of the early 
considerations by readers of the published articles is re-
viewing the author or authors and their affiliations. Each 
author usually will have at least one or more affiliations. 
Affiliation means the association of the author with an 
organization or a group. Noted affiliations usually suggest 
a relationship between the article work and the location 
where the work conducted, support was provided, or the 
tools used were located. Affiliations will be published as 
they appear in the accepted manuscript. Include each 
component of the affiliation information in order of small 
to large (Department, Division, Section, Institution, City, 
State, Country). Do not include ZIP or Postal Codes, street 
addresses, or building/office numbers. There is also no 
need to list positions within an institution (e.g., Depart-
ment Chair, Professor, etc.). Consider the designation of 
the corresponding author for future communications, 
but do not include physical addresses; only an e-mail 
address is required. You can list the corresponding au-
thor’s initials in parentheses following the email address. 
The corresponding author should be indicated with the 
placement of an asterisk after the name, and be written 
corresponding with the author's e-mail below the first 
page of the manuscript. The asterisk shall be omitted if 
there is only one author. 

You are, as an author, expected to review this carefully 
as names and affiliations may be automatically corrected 
and modified with various editing apps.

3. Abstract Section
The Abstract section is one of the most important parts 

of a published article.  After the title, it is the section that 
an individual reads or scans to decide whether to look at 
the full paper.  It is essential that authors be very careful 
that the abstract is consistent with the rest of the manu-
script. Studies have shown that many abstracts do not 
reflect the content of the report in the methods, results, 
or conclusions.8,9

The abstract should contain the following informa-
tion.10 Highlights of an abstract include:

a. An introduction of the topic
b. A brief mention of the important methods or tech-

niques that were used in the report
c. The most significant results of the report 
d. A succinct summary of the conclusions

The following is an example of an abstract with too 
much detail (about 425 words).6 

“The first clinical engineering (CE) benchmarking 
between Chinese and American hospitals was performed 
in 2014. At that time, only data from Zhejiang province 
were available. A new comparison was completed in 
2018 with data collected from 11 hospitals from the 
capital city of Beijing. These data were compared with 
those from 270 acute care hospitals in the United States. 
First, comparisons were made with hospital data such 
as patient discharges, patient days, equipment quantity 
and cost, and operating costs. The CE benchmarking 
comparison was made in 3 categories: (a) operations, 
(b) finance, and (c) staffing/productivity. Within the 
operations category, the following metrics were com-
pared: equipment amount/operating beds, annual 
repairs/equipment amount, and annual scheduled 
maintenance/equipment amount. Within the finance 
category, the following metrics were compared: total 
CE expense/total hospital operating expense, total CE 
expense/operating beds, and total CE expense/equip-
ment cost. Within the staffing/productivity category, 
the following metrics were compared: total CE full-
time equivalent (FTE)/equipment amount, total CE 
FTE/operating beds, and total CE FTE/total hospital 
operating expense. These comparisons showed the 
following: (1) Although still a bit lower than the United 
States, Beijing hospitals have more equipment than 
Zhejiang but a slightly lower amount of repairs and 
scheduled maintenance per equipment; (2) the total 
CE expense/total hospital operating expense ratio is 
around 1% in both Beijing and the United States, but 
slightly greater than in Zhejiang; however, the total 
CE expense/operating beds and total CE expense/
equipment cost are still lower in Beijing and Zhejiang 
than in the United States; and (3) the CE FTE amount 
is lower in Beijing than in Zhejiang and closer to the 



Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020  36

United States relative to both equipment amount and 
total hospital operating expense, but still a bit lower 
than the United States relative to the number of oper-
ating beds. Some of the differences detected are likely 
caused by the same factors found in the previous study 
of Zhejiang hospitals, namely, higher length of stay in 
China than in the United States, lower wages and liv-
ing costs in China, and different healthcare delivery 
methods in these countries. The differences found be-
tween Beijing and Zhejiang cannot be explained solely 
by inflation (~2%/year) or even higher cost of living 
in the capital but likely because of more equipment-
intensive medical practice. Overall, these results confirm 
the outstanding progress and level of excellence of CE 
in China. The original abstract includes information 
concerning Zhejiang province, but the main focus of 
the paper is the comparison between Beijing and the 
United States. So, references to Zhejiang were removed 
from the abstract.”

The abstract should follow the journal author’s guidelines. 
The guidelines for the Global CE Journal can be found on 
the journal website (http://www.globalce.org/downloads/
Guidelines%20to%20Authors_final.pdf). Using the above 
abstract as an example, the revised abstract shown below 
serves as a clear summary containing objectives, results, 
and a brief conclusion. It is now shorter and contains 
about 200 words. In this suggested revision, we deleted 
comments related to Zhejiang since the main point of the 
study was a comparison of Clinical Engineering practice 
between Beijing and the United States.

We report a new clinical engineering (CE) bench-
marking comparison between Beijing (11 hospitals) 
and the United States (270 acute care hospitals) that 
was completed in 2018. First, comparisons were made 
with hospital data such as patient discharges, patient 
days, equipment quantity and cost, and operating 
costs. The CE benchmarking comparison was made 
in 3 categories: (a) operations, (b) finance, and (c) 
staffing/productivity. These comparisons showed the 
following: (1) Beijing hospitals have a bit lower equip-
ment than the United States; (2) the total CE expense/
total hospital operating expense ratio is around 1% in 
both Beijing and the United States; however, the total 
CE expense/operating beds and total CE expense/
equipment cost are still lower in Beijing than in the 

United States; and (3) the CE Full Time Equivalents 
amount relative to both equipment amount and total 
hospital operating expense is similar in Beijing and 
the United States. Some of the differences detected are 
likely caused higher length of stay in China than in the 
United States, lower wages and living costs in China, 
and different healthcare delivery methods in these 
countries. Overall, these results confirm the outstand-
ing progress and level of excellence of CE in China.

The abstract should be composed at the very end of 
your writing since it includes a summary of the elements 
of your work such as the research problem and objectives, 
the methods, key results, and the main conclusion. 

4. Introduction Section
The primary purpose of the Introduction section of a 

research paper or report is to provide background and 
place the specific context of the work from the perspective 
of a more general issue or problem.  A common mistake 
in writing an introduction is to provide too much detail 
in reference or methods.1,11

Elements of the Introduction section are:
• Background
• importance of the problem
• what the objectives of the study
• what is the existing state of knowledge of this 

topic – mini-review that traces the development 
of the problem and summarizes its current state

• how was the study conducted and why
• a preliminary indication of the outcome or conclu-

sion of the report
Here we provide an Introduction section from two 

articles that discuss issues related to alarms in intensive 
care units.  The presentation in Example A is very thorough, 
but perhaps over extensive in the literature review cita-
tions. The presentation in Example B is more descriptive, 
does not provide literature citations, and is perhaps more 
suitable for a magazine rather than a scientific journal.

Example A12  

“With the development of medical technology, 
clinical alarms from diverse medical devices, which 
are explosively increasing, are becoming a new issue 
in intensive care units (ICUs). Medical device (clinical) 

http://www.globalce.org/downloads/Guidelines
http://www.globalce.org/downloads/Guidelines
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37 J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020

Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

alarms, which were designed to draw medical staff's 
attention when a patient's conditions goes beyond 
the proper range, are causing a new alarm hazard 
problem.1 According to previous studies, there were 
no more than 6 types of alarms from one critically ill 
patient in 1983; however, there were at least 40 types 
of clinical alarms in 2011.1

Excessive clinical alarms may cause an alarm 
hazard, which includes inappropriate application of 
alarms, alarm fatigue, and the application of a uni-
form alarm range to every patient.2 While defects of 
devices threatened patient safety in the past, alarms 
indiscriminately generated by the explosive increase 
in the number of medical devices now threaten their 
safety. Reports on safety accidents related to the diver-
sity of medical device alarms have raised awareness of 
the clinical alarm hazard. In 2002, 65% of 23 sentinel 
events were related to dysfunction and disuse of alarm 
devices and inappropriate alarm setting.3 Five-hundred 
sixty-six deaths related to the monitoring of device 
alarms4, severe burns due to neglect of alarms from 
hyperthermic machines5 and hypoxic brain damage6 
were also reported. In 2012, alarm hazard was ranked 
first among ten types of medical technology hazards 
in the United States.2

Ambient noises, including clinical alarms in ICUs 
were estimated to be more than 80 dB, which is close 
to the noise level generated by a pneumatic drill in 
an operating room.7  In addition to the noise problem 
caused by alarms, ICU nurses may have difficulty in 
distinguishing alarms for urgent intervention from oth-
ers since different device manufacturers use different 
types of alarms. For example, they need to differentiate 
alarms for replacing the syringe of an infusion pump 
from those for a life-threatening emergency when they 
hear both types of alarms.8 ICU nurses were found to 
have difficulty in differentiating more than 6 different 
alarms1,9 and could differentiate no more than 9–14 
out of 23 alarms on average.10

In one study, medical staff members were repeatedly 
exposed to an average of 771 patient monitor alarms 
per patient per day.11 Medical staff overexposed to 
alarms may experience a decrease in concentration, 
become careless, and commit mistakes. Moreover, 
overexposure may make medical staff less sensitive to 

alarms and may cause them to cope improperly with 
significant alarms that can affect patients' safety.12 
The literature suggests that excessive medical device 
alarms may cause nurses to feel alarm fatigue.7,13,14

Alarm fatigue occurs when medical staff are over-
whelmed by excessive clinical alarms2; in particular, 
false (positive) alarms, inappropriate alarms-setting 
ranges, and the overuse of patient monitors act as 
principal factors that cause alarm fatigue.7,14 Of these, 
the most problematic factor is false alarms: frequent 
false alarms may produce the 'cry wolf' effect and 
may cause nurses to regard significant alarms as false 
and thus fail to respond properly. It may also make an 
alarm system less reliable and may cause nurses not 
to use alarm devices.14,15 It is therefore essential to 
effectively manage medical device alarms and develop 
good interventions that can reduce false alarms. Since 
2010, standardized prevention has been suggested on 
the basis of various studies on how to conceptualize 
and reduce alarm fatigue16,17,18,19 and basic research 
on nurses' recognition of clinical alarms and on the 
obstacles to their alarm management16,17 in the United 
States. On the contrary, in Korea, little research has been 
conducted on medical device alarms. Medical device 
alarm hazard and alarm fatigue are novel concepts, 
and the Korean Society for Patient Safety established 
in 2013 has just posted a foreign article introducing 
the concept of clinical alarms.20

This study aimed to investigate the current status of 
medical device alarms in ICUs, where medical devices 
equipped with an alarm function are most frequently 
used, to determine nurses' recognition of and fatigue 
in relation to alarms, and to identify obstacles to alarm 
management. This information will provide basic data 
that could help create a safe hospital environment.”

Example B13

“More and more medical devices are being used 
throughout healthcare institutions with an increasing 
variety of alarm-related features. Alarms are used to warn 
of disconnected monitoring electrodes and ventilator 
breathing circuits. They can alert clinical staff when 
important measurements like oxygen saturation exceed 
safe limits or when a dangerous situation occurs like 
air entering the IV line for an infusion pump. Most of 
the time, clinical alarms work well and serve, literally, 



Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020  38

as a life-saving technology. However, for many devices, 
alarms can be confusing or can create confusion, for 
example from false positive events. For some devices, 
alarm settings can be adjusted outside of safe limits or 
the alarms can be completely defeated. As a result of 
these and other problems, deadly and life-threatening 
alarm-related incidents continue to occur. While the 
development of broad systematic improvements for 
how clinical alarms are designed and used are neces-
sary to achieve the ultimate goal of reliable clinical 
alarm performance, the results are years away. This 
article focuses on ways that clinical engineers can 
have a much more direct and immediate impact on 
minimizing clinical alarm risk in their institutions. 
These include establishing safety criteria for alarms 
during the device selection process, performing alarm-
related safety audits to identify specific areas of risk 
with existing alarms and systems, helping to establish 
alarm setting and response protocols, and supporting 
the training of clinical staff on the proper operation 
and use of medical devices with clinical alarms.”

5. Methods Section11

The Methods section is where the procedures used 
in the study are described and a description of how data 
were collected is given.  In providing information on the 
methods used, one doesn’t need to give a detailed recipe 
of every detail but sufficient information for those who 
are “skilled in the art”14 to understand and evaluate the 
procedures. Where possible, a method used that was 
described elsewhere in the literature should also be in-
dicated and cited by reference. 

The format of a Methods section depends somewhat on 
the type of investigation.  For an article that is primarily 
of a survey nature, such as the performance evaluation of 
a system such as “alarms in intensive care” as mentioned 
above, the methods section would include how survey 
data were obtained. For articles that are experimental in 
nature the methods section usually describes materials 
and procedures. 

The example below15 illustrates a thorough descrip-
tion of a Methods section for an experimental research 
paper.  It provides adequate information on describing the 
source and characterization of materials used in the study 
(MATERIALS). Then a clear description of how the data 

were collected and analyzed (ASSESSMENT OF AEROSOL 
OUTPUT and IMAGE ANALYSIS OF AEROSOL PLUMES). 
Then a thorough explanation of the evaluation of the reli-
ability of the data (STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF RESULTS). 

Materials

This study was performed using the following 
pharmaceutical preparations: 

(1) the CFC-free MDI Airomir." This preparation 
contains albuterol sulfate as the active ingredient and 
nominally releases 200 χ 100-pg doses of albuterol. It 
also contains the propellant HFA-134a and oleic acid 
and ethanol as inactive ingredients. 

(2) The multidose DPI Terbasmin Turbuhaler,b 
which nominally contains 200 χ 500-pg doses of ter-
butaline sulfate. 

(3) The CFC-propelled MDI Terbasmin Inhalacion,c 
which nominally contains 400 χ 250-pg doses of terbu-
taline; it also contains a mixture of three CFC propellants 
(1:2:1 of CFC 11:12:114 mixture) and other inactive 
ingredients. The two pharmaceutical preparations of 
terbutaline were obtained from commercial sources.

Assessment of aerosol output

Experiments were conducted in industrial ther-
mostated (2oC) chambers" at room (22 oC), cool (0 
°C), or cold (-10 °C) temperatures. Three groups of 
fully assembled HFA-134a inhaler devices (canister, 
mouthpiece) with different initial contents (full, one-
half full, and one-fifth full, titrated by 0, 100, or 160 
actuations, respectively) were stored in the thermo-
stated chambers hours before the standardized set of 
nebulizations. The assembled containers were then 
shaken for approximately 30 seconds, and the valve 
was actuated at intervals of 10 seconds in an inverted 
position. DPI devices were inserted via a mouthpiece 
adapter into an inhalation simulation machine formed 
by a glass bulb and tube connected to a vacuum pump. 
The inhalation flow rate necessary to activate the DPI 
was provided by turning the pump on for five seconds 
and adjusting the suction pressure to obtain a flow 
rate of 60 L/mhv1, which is appropriate for the Tur-
buhaler system. Forty actuations were performed with 
each pharmaceutical preparation to reduce potential 
minor variabilities between individual measures. To 
avoid the thermal influence of the operators' hands 



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during actuation, the operators wore thick latex gloves 
stocked with the inhalation devices inside the chambers. 
The canisters were weighed at 25 °C using a Mettler 
precision balance (readability 10g, accuracy defined 
as 100 [displayed weight - true weight]/true weight 
ranged from 3% to 5%). Each container was weighed 
before and after its particular set of actuations, and 
the net amount of aerosol emitted was determined 
by subtracting final weights from the initial weights of 
the canisters; the results were expressed in grams or 
milligrams. Results are also expressed as a percentage 
of the amount of aerosol discharged in cool or cold 
conditions with respect to that expelled under control 
conditions (22 °C).

Image analysis of the aerosol plume

The propelled aerosols from HFA-134a and CFC-
containing MDIs were visualized by a sequence of 
highspeed dark-field photographs taken of three actua-
tions at 22 °C and -10 °C. Representative pictures of 
a fully formed aerosol plume were digitized by scan-
ning analysis; the captured image was then improved, 
transferred to the appropriate format,' and processed 
using image analysis software.' Isodensity lines were 
defined with this software in the digitized image of 
the aerosol cloud (i.e., lines connecting points of equal 
gray intensities [from 0 to 220 arbitrary units]). The 
aerosol plume formed after activation of a DPI in the 
inhalation simulation machine was observed only by 
visual inspection, since the quality of photographs was 
poor due to light reflecting brightly from the glass of 
the apparatus.

Statistical analysis of results

Data are expressed as mean SEM. The data on ex-
perimental groups passed the Kolmogorov-Smirnov 
normality test; hence, statistical analysis was performed 
using ANOVA, followed by the Bonferroni multiple 
comparison test. k Linear regression analysis was 
conducted using the same software. Significance was 
defined as ρ less than 0.05.

6. Results Section
Typically, the Results section provides information that 

was gathered during the study.  Of course, not all the data 
would be selected for publication, but the studies that are 

pertinent to the thrust of the project.  Some comments, 
explanation, or discussion should be provided with each 
element of the results.  

The text in the Results section should act as a tour 
guide, leading your reader from item to item (every fig-
ure or graph must be cited in the text and in numerical 
order), and drawing attention to the highlights, especially 
to those that will be important in making conclusions.

There are several keys to writing a good results sec-
tion.  These include:

(1) Presentation of the results in an orderly sequence, 
following the sequence of the Methods section when 
feasible.

(2) If tables and figures will be used to summarize your 
data, then construct these first and use them as a basis for 
writing the Results sections.  Make sure the main points 
of explanation and interpretation are given prominence 
in the first sentence of each paragraph.

(4) Avoid redundancy in the text and only cite repre-
sentative data from the tables and figures.  Do not repeat 
but summarize the information in tables and figures.

(5) Avoid vague references to tables and figures in 
the text.
Example:

BAD: Results of the survey of nurses are shown in Table 1.
GOOD: A high percent of alarm notifications were ignored 
by nurses in the ICU setting, see Table 1.15

(6)  Avoid repeating a description of the methods in 
the Results section.

(7) Avoid discussion of conclusions in the Results sec-
tion.  In other words, present the facts but save interpreta-
tion of the significance of the results for the Discussion/
Conclusion section.

TABLE 1. An example of Medical Equipment Management Plan 
(MEMP) inventory inclusion criteria using patient risks and 
mission criticality for planning preventive maintenance (PM) 
and safety and performance inspection (SPI) activities.



Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020  40

Whenever appropriate, the results of the study should 
be summarized in tables and/or graphs. Readers may look 
at tables or graphs even before reading the text and would 
like to understand these without searching back and forth 
to the body of the text. The design of tables and graphs 
are quite critical to helping the reader fully understand 
the quality of the data and how the data supports the 
conclusion of the report.12 

Some good and bad examples and suggestions for best 
practices for tables and graphs are given in a pdf from 
MIT.16 A recent article from the British Journal of Derma-
tology8 illustrates excellent examples of tables and graphs.

Above is an example of a well-organized Table 1. The 
title is a concise sentence. The column headings and sub-
headings are clear enough to make the data understand-
able without having to look at the text. The footnote gives 
enough detail to make the data understandable without 
going into experimental detail.18

Graphs are used to present data in an organized way, 
not to dress it up. One should not use both graphs and 
tables for the same data. Line graphs are best for data 
that show pronounced trends, while bar and dot charts 
are better to show items with different values. Consider 
the impact from the use of colors versus black and white 
especially if the publication cannot accommodate the 
use of color. In most of the on-line publications like the 
Global Clinical Engineering Journal this is not a problem. 
One should provide textual context for graphs, indicating 
how the graph advances, summarizes your discussion, and 
supports and clarifies your conclusions.  Graphs should be 
as self-explanatory as possible. This allows the reader to 
scan through the article and get the key messages without 
needing to read the text in detail. 

Fig.3 (next column) is an example of a poor graph.17 
The symbols AE, AV, EE, and EP are not defined in the 
legend of the graph, nor is the meaning of the term Micro-
process explained.

Fig.5 (next column) is an example of a good graph. 
The lettering is large enough to withstand photographic 
reduction. The caption is concise and provides informa-
tion pertinent to the discussion, tolerance of error bars 
are provided.20

Often data can be presented in either a graph or a 
table. The choice depends on which better informs the 
reader.  In the example below, data are provided for the 

comparison of an implanted glucose monitor (FreeStyle 
Libre) with blood-sample technique (YSI).  Trends across 
different levels of blood glucose are much clearer in the 
bar graphs than in the published table below.19

http://web.mit.edu/7.021/www/lectures/TablesGraphs_MO.pdf
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2006.07705.x
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7. Discussion and Conclusion Section
The main purpose of this section is draw conclusions 

from the data gathered in the study and perhaps to com-
pare the results to previous similar studies. Here you 
provide an interpretation of your results and answers 
the study question. You can suggest further work to be 
done and review the literature again as it now can shed 
more insight on the subject of the paper.21 Here are some 
guidelines for structuring this section.

1. Summarize key findings and interpret the results

2. Compare with other studies
3. Generalize results if appropriate
4. Speculate on implications of the study
5. Point out any limitations of the study
6. Suggest possible follow-up studies
7. Succinctly list your conclusions
The table below summarizes the elements and sug-

gestions for submitting a paper to the Global Clinical 
Engineering Journal: 

Title
Concise & descriptive
All words capitalized except articles and prepositions

Abstract
Describes problem & states objectives/hypotheses 
Describes technique(s) used & avoids experimental detail 
Reports most significant results 
Concluding statement 

Introduction
Demonstrates good clinical engineering insight, understanding, 
& accuracy
Reviews & interrelates relevant scientific literature
Cites literature correctly using name-year or citation-sequence 
convention
Flow of ideas – starts broadly, then leads to a specific topic
Ends with clearly & concisely stated 1–3 hypotheses/objectives

Methods
Written in the third person and past tense
Concise but complete
Accurately describes what was done, without giving instruction
Statistics and quantitative methods are explained
Literature cited (if appropriate)

Results
Results clearly and accurately explained
Statistical output appropriately noted
All relevant tables and figures cited appropriately 

Discussion and conclusions
Clearly addresses each hypothesis/objective – supported or 
rejected?
Demonstrates good insight and mastery of relevant ideas
Compares results to previous studies (cite relevant literature)
Explains unexpected results (e.g., provides alternative 
hypotheses)
Describes or suggests future experiments
List your conclusions and possible impact from the results



Schultz, David: Submissions Style Guide for the Global Clinical Engineering Journal

J Global Clinical Engineering Vol.3 Issue 1: 2020  42

Acknowledgments
Be professional (avoid being "gushy" or overly flippant)

Literature Cited
Precisely and consistently follows style of Global CE Journal
All citations noted in the manuscript are included in the 
Literature Cited list
Each reference listed has been cited at least once in the 
manuscript

Tables
Tables appear after Literature Cited section
Tables are numbered consecutively, starting with Table 1
Titles are sufficiently clear and concise
Double-spacing used throughout the table
Columns of numbers aligned by decimal point using decimal 
tabs

Figures
Horizontal axis = independent variable, vertical axis = 
dependent variable
Axes clearly labeled

SUBMISSION TO GLOBAL CLINICAL 
ENGINEERING JOURNAL

Manuscripts submitted to the Global Clinical Engineering 
Journal are subjected to the initial review by the Editor-
in-Chief for the purpose of identifying overlap between 
the manuscript and the mission of the Journal and for 
identifying the most appropriate editors to be assigned 
for the double-blind review process. The complete pub-
lication process is posted on the Journal website (http://
www.globalce.org/downloads/Flowchart_GlobalCE.pdf) 
and is presented below.

This process provides for a quality review that is fair and 
timely. It helps the authors receive constructive feedback 
on how to improve their submission. It also facilitates the 
posting of individual accepted manuscripts immediately 
or even prior to the scheduled publishing of the next issue 
of the Journal.  Now, we encourage you to begin working 
on your manuscript and gain recognition for your work.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. 

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