The letter as a forum to promote diversity in dementia research

Dear Editor,

Three major obstacles for dementia researchers in Latin America have been identified: funding constraints, language barriers, and article processing charges (APCs)^1,2. It is vital that structural changes are made to facilitate access to publication in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)¹. But while waiting for such changes, I highlight a complementary initiative that LMIC researchers, particularly early-career researchers (ECRs), may benefit from on how to publish their ideas and empirical research: the writing of Letters to the Editor in dementia journals such as Dementia & Neuropsychologia.

Letters can overcome all three aforementioned barriers (funding, language, APCs). They are short-format articles typically between 250 and 750 words in response to recent publications, relevant topics, or research letters showcasing empirical research. Letters are generally free to publish; many fully open-access journals do not levy APCs for authors of letters, but always check submission guidelines for suitability and APCs before sending to any journal. In such cases, it costs little time and no money to write and publish a letter. Due to its brevity, a letter is a reasonable first publication for trainee researchers whose first language is not English², and can be a vital source of motivation and validation during the difficult ECR period³. Furthermore, ECRs are usually already engaged in journal clubs, which they might use to write group or individual letters or, otherwise, build on their independent reading of the literature³.

Dementia & Neuropsychologia provides examples of recent letters showcasing empirical work⁴, responses to recent publications⁵, and general topics⁶. While the history of contemporary dementia research suggests that short pieces can have significant impact⁷, LMIC ECRs should not become over-reliant on letters as a replacement for longer pieces².

Thus, the letter is a tool to help LMIC ECRs gain visibility in dementia research while awaiting necessary structural changes for academic publication. Suggestions for writing a good letter can be found elsewhere⁸.

• This study was conducted as part of Dr. Timothy Daly's ongoing project of increasing diversity in academic publishing between the Bioethics Program at Flacso Argentina and the research group Science Norms Democracy (UMR 8011) at Sorbonne Université, Paris, France.
• Funding: none.

REFERENCES

• ¹ Lourenco MV, Borelli WV, Duran-Aniotz C, Zimmer ER, Castro SS. Promoting diversity and overcoming publication barriers in Latin American neuroscience and Alzheimer's disease research: a call to action. Alzheimers Dement (NY). 2023;9(1):e12378. https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12378
  » https://doi.org/10.1002/trc2.12378
• ² Daly T. The Letter as an accessible forum for developing world bioethics trainees. Dev World Bioeth. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12400
  » https://doi.org/10.1111/dewb.12400
• ³ Daly T. Guest Blog - From Journal Clubs to Letter Writing for ECRs: why and how. Dementia Researcher Blog. 2023 [cited on Mar 24, 2023]. Available from: https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-from-journal-clubs-to-letter-writing-for-ecrs-why-and-how/
  » https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/guest-blog-from-journal-clubs-to-letter-writing-for-ecrs-why-and-how/
• ⁴ Alamri Y. Performance on the matrix reasoning by Parkinson's disease patients: strategy is in the eye of the beholder. Dement Neuropsychol. 2022;16(4):498-99. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5764-dn-2022-0031
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-5764-dn-2022-0031
• ⁵ Pinheiros L, Aversi-Ferreira T. Blood-brain barrier and the virus diseases. Dement Neuropsychol. 2020;14(4):419-20. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642021dn15-030016
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642021dn15-030016
• ⁶ Arca VM, Lucena LO, Barbosa BJAP. Letter to the Editors: relations between subjective well-being and Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review. Dement Neuropsychol 2020;14(4):440-1. https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642020dn14-040018
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1980-57642020dn14-040018
• ⁷ Daly T. Learning from the amyloid hypothesis: adaptability, brevity, and clarity of ideas. Neurol Sci. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06745-5
  » https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-023-06745-5
• ⁸ Daly T. How to write a good embedded ethics letter. Account Res. 2023;1-2. https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2023.2179920
  » https://doi.org/10.1080/08989621.2023.2179920

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  05 June 2023
• Date of issue
  2023

History

• Received
  04 Apr 2023
• Reviewed
  04 Apr 2023
• Accepted
  12 Apr 2023