Developing and Publishing a Scientific
Manuscript Aligned with GPP 2022
Project Summary:
Enago Life Sciences independently designed and executed a survey-based research study assessing Good Publication Practice 2022 adoption across pharmaceutical, academic, publishing, and agency sectors. We transformed complex data into actionable insights on transparency, authorship, and patient involvement, delivering peer-reviewed guidance for evolving ethical standards in scientific communication.
Challenge:
Our team independently undertook the development of a scientific manuscript to evaluate how the Good Publication Practice 2022 guidelines were being integrated into publication workflows across pharmaceutical, publishing, agency, and academic sectors. The original objective was to produce a general, survey-based manuscript. As the project progressed, the scope expanded to reflect evolving expectations associated with GPP 2022, particularly in the areas of transparency, ethics, authorship, patient involvement, and plain-language outputs.
As drafting began, it became clear that emerging insights from the publications community and newly available survey data needed to be incorporated. This required frequent revisions to the manuscript outline, section restructuring, and message realignment. An additional challenge arose when analysis revealed notable gaps in awareness and adoption of GPP 2022, including limited familiarity among approximately one third of respondents, inconsistent transparency practices, minimal patient involvement, and uneven use of publication extenders. Addressing these findings required an iterative development approach and a level of analytical rigor appropriate for a high-impact, peer-reviewed publication.
Approach:
Realigning the Manuscript Framework with GPP 2022
The manuscript framework was restructured around core survey domains: authorship, transparency, publication practices, plain-language summaries, and patient centricity. Key statistics were integrated, including 55.7 percent agreeing GPP 2022 addresses ethical considerations and 54.5 percent agreeing on clear authorship criteria. However, only 33.4 percent indicated sufficient transparency guidance. Results and discussion sections were revised to highlight these gaps and the need for clearer guidance.
Enhancing Data Interpretation
To ensure accurate interpretation in the presence of listwise deletion and variable denominators, tables and figures were developed to demonstrate differences in awareness and perceptions across respondent groups. Survey results were contextualized with relevant literature, including the contrast between high familiarity with plain-language summaries and low levels of full patient involvement in publication workflows. Findings with direct implications for publication practices were prioritized, enabling the transformation of raw survey data into meaningful thematic insights.
Strengthening the Discussion Section
The discussion section was refined through internal review and author collaboration to address implementation challenges, such as budget constraints for plain-language summaries and limited journal infrastructure to support them. Identified gaps, including reduced familiarity within academic settings and the absence of standardized measures for patient centricity, were examined in detail. Emerging themes, including the growing role of artificial intelligence in publications, were incorporated alongside insights from MAPS EMEA 2024 workshop discussions to strengthen real-world applicability.
Ongoing Collaboration and Manuscript Refinement
Throughout development, iterative internal reviews and structured discussions were conducted to refine the manuscript’s focus and strategic positioning. Background material was condensed into a concise introduction, methodological details were streamlined while maintaining transparency, and the conclusion was strengthened to emphasize the role of professional organizations such as ISMPP and MAPS in supporting global adoption of GPP 2022. The narrative was carefully aligned to reflect variability in awareness and implementation across regions and professional roles.
Impact :
The final manuscript delivered a clear, balanced, and evidence-based assessment of the adoption and implementation of GPP 2022 across the publications community. The integration of survey findings, including overall familiarity levels, strong support for plain-language summaries, and identified challenges related to transparency and patient involvement, enabled an accurate evaluation of current practices.
The manuscript was successfully published in a peer-reviewed medical publications journal and indexed on PubMed under the title “GPP 2022: perspectives, sentiments, and feedback from the publications community.” The successful publication demonstrates the team’s ability to independently design, execute, and disseminate high-quality research that contributes meaningful insights to the global medical publications community.
The published paper can be found here: Click here