This is a very crucial presentation for Ayurvedic community

1. Scientific writing in Ayurveda
What is required ?
Dr. Remya Krishnan MD PhD

2. Scientific paper
• A scientific inquiry is not complete until the
cause- mechanism- effect of the experiement
has been totally explored and published.
• A scientific paper is a written and published
report describing cause- mechnism- effect of
the results

3. What is scientific writing in
Ayurveda ?• The purpose of scientific writing in Ayurveda is
to
communicate science based intentions
( shasthrarthas) and not mere observations .
• Thus shasthrarthas are to be made clear, simple
and well ordered communication to transmit the
result of the same.
• Scientific writing must use proper English
(universal language) with necessary
interpretation of scientific verses which
gives the sense in the fewest short words

4. IMCAD format in Ayurveda
• I = Introduction and objective of the research
• M = Methodologies of research adopted from
shasthra
• C= Cause- Mechanism- Effect (CME) of the
phenomena (science based rationale) explored.
• A = Application mode of CME
• D = Discussion of CME
Instead of IMRAD format of Modern science,
IMCAD format is inevitable for establishing
scientificity of Ayurveda.

5. What is a scientific paper in Ayurveda ?
• A scientific paper is a written and published
exploration of shasthra describing CME of the
context in totality.
• It must primarily incorporate the applied thinking
of basic science of Ayurveda.
• It should be written in a format whereby
peers of the author can repeat the
experimentation of CME and verify the
conclusions
• It should be available in a journal or other source
document readily available within the scientific
community

6. Original scientific publication
• An accepted original scientific publication must
incorporate science led systamatic information to
assess CME
• To repeatand analyse the experimentation of CME
• To evaluate intellectual process of the researcher
by primarily employing the parameters of research
explained in Ayurveda.
• Must have an impact on human being instead of
• Available to scientific community without
restriction

7. Some valid language points
• Poor comprehension of science based
intentions cannot be masked by brilliant
expression in english.
• Avoid complex sentence structure which
causeconfusions
• Use simple and clear English
• Language skills in English (for communication)
and sanskrit ( for comprehention of science
based intentions) are compulsory to acquire.

8. Before starting to write paper
• Explore CME of phenomenon in totality
• Make summary of analysis of CME
• Make a note what you learnt by applied research of Basic
science with respect to the context
• Keep file to record summaries of results of clinical
studies
and all individual observations separate.
• Date the files
• Revise your results of analysis in all your patients of
identical situations by applying CME analysis.
• Record the science based intentions ( primary evidence
base in Evidence Based Medicine of Ayurveda) very
methodically .

9. Essential parts of scientific paper in Ayurveda
• Title: Accurately project the objective of paper
• Abstract: Summarize the major elements of the paper
• Introduction: provide context and Basic science based
rationale chosen for the study
• Materials: Describe the mode of Ayurvedic research
methodology incorporated
• Methods: Describe the experimental procedure guided by
research standards of basic science of Ayurveda
• Results: Summarise the Cause- Mechanism- Effect
explored .
• Discussion: Interpret theCause- Mechanism- Effect explored
based on standards of basic science ofAyurevda
• Summary: Summarise the effects of analysis in systematic
and scientific manner
• Acknowledgement: Give credit to those who helped you

10. The title
• A good title is defined as the fewest possible
words that adequately project the objective of
the paper
• The title is extremely important and must be
chosen with great care as it will be read by
thousands, whereas few will read the entire
paper
• Indexing and abstracting of the paper depends
on the accuracy of the title. An improperly titled
paper will get lost and will never be read.

11. The title
• Titles should neither be too short nor too long as to be
meaningless
• Waste words (studies on, investigations on, a, an, the
etc) should not be used.
• Syntax (word order) must be very carefully considered
• It should contain the keywords that reflect the
contents of the paper.
• It should be meaningfuland sensible as per the
guidelines of Ayurveda.
• It should be concise, specific and informative

12. Examples of wrong titles
• Titles incorporating Action of compound X in disease
Y or treatment z in disease Y denote unscientific
studies in Ayurveda because they do not abide by the
fundamental objective of research in Ayurveda .
• The fundamental objective of Applied research in
Ayurveda is proving and establishing science based
intentions for attaining health of the patient and not
proving benefits and risks of medicines to seek their
approval .
• In Ayurveda, approvcal of any treatment or medicine
inevitably requires approval of science led rationale
responsible for their choice as primary step .

13. The right titles – examples
• The applied rationalised effects of
Vataanulomana vis a vis Pittanulomana in
Essential primary Hypertension .
• The Upasaya- Anupasaya of amavisha
shamana in selected cases of Multiple
sclerosis
• The pharmacology of Pachana in saama
dosha

14. Abstract
• An abstract can be defined as a summary of the
scientific write up
• It is of fundamental importance that the abstract be
written clearly and simply, as it is the first and
sometimes the only part of the manuscript read.
• It should provide a brief summary of each of the
mainsections (IMCAD) of the paper
• State the principal objective and scope of the scientific
inquiry
• Describe the methodologies in brief
• Summarise the results, and state the principal
conclusions

15. Criteria for an Ayurvedic abstract
• It should not exceed 250 words
• It should be written in one paragraph.
• It should be written in the past tense as it
refers to work done.
• Long words should be followed by its
abbreviation which would be used through out
the abstract and paper.
• It should cite relevant references if any as
Ayurvedic research is primarily led by Basic
science.

16. The Introduction
The introduction should answer the following questions:
•What were I studying?
•What is the applied relevance of this core element of basic
science chosen for study ?
•What did I know about this topic from Basic science of
Ayurveda before I did this study and how did I improve
later in both knowledge and application ?
•What was the selection criteria from basic scienceadopted in
research prticipants of the study and why?
•What approach led by basic science did I take to explore the
cause- mechanism- effect of the core element and how
can I substantiate the results based on the same ?

17. Important rules in Introduction
• Cite the specific limited science based
evidences (not general and vague references
)chosen from samhithas .
• Define any technical terms or abbreviations
if
any .

18. Writing Materials &Methods section
• Provide CME of the analysis with clarity so that the
experiments are reproducible
• If the peer reviewer has doubts regarding the CME
presented and its applicability in repeating
experiment
, he could ask for the explanation of the same .
• Organize the materials and methods employed from
Basic science of Ayurveda for designing the research
and substantiate their validity in the context.
• Describe the CME in detail with clarity and objectivity.
• Do not mix conclusion in this section

19. Materials
• Must identify accurately regarding the subjects ( research
participants) as well objects ( medicinal formulations , herbs
etc )
• The source of subjects studied, number of individuals in
each group used, their sex, age, and weight must be clearly
stated
• Human subjects are to be used in any scientific
research of Ayurveda as Ayurveda is Basic science of human
being .The criteria for selection should be described, and
justified based on the standards of basic science .
• For minerals used, include exact technical specifications and
source or method of preparation based on classical texts .

20. Methods
• The CME must be clear, precise and concise so that it can
be reproducible
• If any method is applied new, science based justification
for its selection and applicabilitymust be clearly
provided
• Questions such as how, why, when, what and wheremust
be answered by science based reasoning and not left to
be puzzled over
• Methods used for statistical analyses if relevantcould be
applied for data based establishment of science based
primary evidences. But statistical methodologies chosen
employed should be completely in conformity with the
scientific standards of Ayurveda

21. How to write results ?
• Results section is written in the past tense
• It is the core or heart of the paper
• It needs to be clearly and simply stated since it
constitutes the add on applied knowledge of
Basic science of Ayurveda contributed to the world
• The purpose of this section is to summarize and
illustrate the effects in an orderly and logical
sequence of basic science by cause- mechanism
analysis .
• The text should guide the reader through the CME
interrelation emphasising upon the science based
rationale .
• Results should signify science rather than statistics

22. Data presentation
• In Ayurevda, data based evidence is
secondary to primary science led evidence
( rationale) which originally guides the
scientific inquiry .
• Replacing the latter by former is not scientific
research in Ayurveda.
• Tables , graphs and figures must display true
data and observations of the study .

23. How to write discussion
• It is the most interesting section to write and
review as well .
• Its primary purpose is to show the
rationalisedrelationship of CME explained in
Basic science
• It should end with a short valid summary or
conclusion regarding the significance of this
study and its objective .

24. Components of discussion
• Always document the science based intentions and CME
with
clarity and specificity.
• Show how your scientific inquiry, results and interpretations
agree or contrast with previously published works.
• Ayurvedic research is not based on the theoretical
(incompletely proven) implications but rather based on
theorems (proven and settled basic science intentions). So all
possible practical applications explored are to be discussed
with clarity.
• State your conclusions as clearly as possible.
• Summarize your science led evidence for each
conclusion
• Data led evidences are just to display results in Ayurveda.
Science led evidences are originally to prove the scientificity
of diagnosis and treatment .

25. Referencing
• Referencing is a standardized way of acknowledging the
sources of information and ideas that you have used in
your document.
• A list of ALL the references used in the text must be
written.
• Any papers not cited in the text should not be included.
• Reference lists allow readers to investigate the subject in
greater depth.
• A reference list contains only the books, articles, and web
pages etc that are cited in the text of the document. A
bibliography includes all sources consulted for background
or further reading.

26. In name and year system
• The reference list is arranged alphabetically by
author. If an item has no author, it is cited by
title, and included in the alphabetical list using
the first significant word of the title.
• If more than one item has the same author, list
the items chronologically, starting with the
earliest publication.
• Each reference appears on a new line.
• There is no indentation of the references
• There is no numbering of the references

27. Ethics, rights and permissions
• Beware of originality and copyrights of
others.
• Do not copy anything without giving the
credit to the owner by referencing it.
• In some cases permissions are needed
• Repetitive publication of the same ideas is
considered plagiarism

28. To conclude
• Ayurvedic scientific paper format is entirely
different from that of Modern science .
• Clarity and objectivity of Ayurvedic scientific
paper is entirely dependent upon the pertinent
employment of basic science based rationale,
research methodologies and appraisal
techniques which is no way connected to that of
modern science .
• Instead of IMRAD format of Modern science,
IMCAD format is inevitable for establishing
scientificity of Ayurveda.

29. To conclude
• A scientific paper in Ayurveda should be
primarily led by basic science of Ayurveda, not
misled by statistics.
• Statistics in Ayurveda is only to display the
results
, neither to apply science nor to explore the same.
• Research methodologies explained in Ayurevda
are to be made as compulsory part of
curriculum of BAMS, MD and PhD because in
Ayurveda to become a successful practitioner,
one should become an excellent scientist also .

30. THANKYO
U