Reference-based Writing and Editing

(Note: I do not routinely check or edit references)

When I am writing a paper or editing one, I often Google individual references and sometimes other papers to make sure that my writing/editing is accurate. Specifically, I will check the Abstract (or, if readily available, the online paper) of the cited paper or related papers. This ensures that:

(i) the manuscript faithfully conveys the author's intended meaning, and

(ii) the concepts in the paper reflect the up-to-date literature. 

An example of how this approach works is as follows. Here, the author has stated in the Introduction:

"In Germany, 14,000 patients are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis every year and require TNFalpha treatment [ref1]."

This could be interpreted as:

"Every year, 14,000 patients with multiple sclerosis will require treatment with TNFalpha [ref1]."

OR 

"In Germany, 14,000 patients are newly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis every year, many of whom will eventually require TNFalpha treatment [ref1]"  (this is the correct statement)

Such ambiguity impedes the smooth flow of concepts and can obscure the key messages of the manuscript. 

This reference-based approach also allows me to occasionally pick up referencing mistakes (such as citing the wrong paper) and to rewrite texts that resemble passages in the published paper too closely. The latter is a common inadvertent error made by authors who have difficulties writing in English but it can lead to rejection by the journal on the basis of plagiarism software, which many journals use routinely.

Reference-based Editing means that I can also offer versions of the original text that explain the point more precisely. For example, "Effort to improve antibiotic use has started a few years ago in Sri Lanka[ref9]". To improve this, I will check reference 9 and suggest to the author that the following reformulated sentence may be more suitable: "To improve antibiotic use in Sri Lanka, the government launched their first antibiotic stewardship program in 2011 [ref]."

Because I often rely heavily on references in my work, I strongly encourage authors to supply the relevant bibliography.

Occasionally, even with my reference-based approach, it is not possible to discern what the author means. In such cases, I will explain why the sentence is confusing and, if possible, rewrite the text according to an educated guess: this rewritten text will be marked by an editor comment. I can sometimes also provide one or more alternatives in the comments: this allows the author to choose which version best captures their intended meaning.