Editing IMRAD (section)

===As the standard format of academic journals===
The IMRAD format has been adopted by a steadily increasing number of [[academic journal]]s since the first half of the 20th century. The IMRAD structure has come to dominate academic writing in the sciences, most notably in [[empirical]] biomedicine.<ref name="pmid_15243643"/><ref>{{cite journal|last=Day |first=RA |title=The Origins of the Scientific Paper: The IMRAD Format |journal=American Medical Writers Association Journal |year=1989 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=16–18 |url=http://www.amwa.org/default/publications/journal/scanned/v04.2.pdf |access-date=2011-06-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927083129/http://www.amwa.org/default/publications/journal/scanned/v04.2.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Szklo|first=Moyses | name-list-style = vanc |title=Quality of scientific articles|journal=Revista de Saúde Pública|year=2006|volume=40|pages=30–35|doi=10.1590/s0034-89102006000400005|pmid=16924300 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The structure of most [[public health journal]] articles reflects this trend. Although the IMRAD structure originates in the empirical sciences, it now also regularly appears in academic journals across a wide range of [[discipline (academia)|disciplines]]. Many scientific journals now not only prefer this structure but also use the IMRAD acronym as an instructional device in the instructions to their authors, recommending the use of the four terms as main headings. For example, it is explicitly recommended in the "[[Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals]]" issued by the [[International Committee of Medical Journal Editors]] (previously called the ''[[Vancouver guidelines]]''): <blockquote>
The text of observational and experimental articles is usually (but not necessarily) divided into the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. This so-called "IMRAD" structure is not an arbitrary publication format but rather a direct reflection of the process of scientific discovery. Long articles may need subheadings within some sections (especially Results and Discussion) to clarify their content. Other types of articles, such as case reports, reviews, and editorials, probably need to be formatted differently.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icmje.org/urm_full.pdf |title=Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication - IV.A.1.a. General Principles |publisher=International Committee of Medical Journal Editors |access-date=2010-03-08 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706184319/http://www.icmje.org/urm_full.pdf |archive-date=July 6, 2010 }}</ref></blockquote>
The IMRAD structure is also recommended for empirical studies in the 6th edition of the publication manual of the [[American Psychological Association]] ([[APA style]]).<ref>{{cite book|author=American Psychological Association|publisher=American Psychological Association|edition=6th|year=2010|title=Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association|isbn=978-1-4338-0562-2}}</ref> The APA publication manual is widely used by journals in the [[social science|social]], [[educational research|educational]] and [[behavioral science]]s.<ref name=Tampere>{{cite web|url=http://www.uta.fi/FAST/FIN/RESEARCH/imrad.html|title=The IMRAD Research Paper Format|publisher=Department of Translation Studies, [[University of Tampere]]|access-date=2008-10-22|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081025070226/http://www.uta.fi/FAST/FIN/RESEARCH/imrad.html|archive-date=2008-10-25}}</ref>