This book is intended to be a primer for students of surgery who aspire to careers in academic surgery and surgical research. It provides a comprehensive distillation of all the essential components necessary for the conduct of surgical research, from planning to presentation and publication. The chapters are arranged in sequence to usher the reader through the entire method, thus encouraging and assisting the process to "work, finish, publish", and they provide both overviews and important practical details. There is particular emphasis on clear writing, tables, updating bibliography and the importance of a striking abstract. The book also deals with ethical issues, administrative hurdles, the avoidance of plagiarism, fraud and unnecessary publication.