前言和（或）背景的概述
前言（Introduction）旨在使读者（包括编辑和审稿人）了解本研究开展的大背景（例如国际背景）及开展此研究的原因。对于临床论文，相关大背景可以包括临床实践、研究、教育和政策。就内容而言，前言不可太长，且不应包含太多参考文献。前言中，你可以提到本研究的目的，但是不要直接阐明研究问题，研究问题应该留到下一部分进行介绍。某些期刊可能不需要提供前言，但是为论文提供一个导入性介绍，对于读者一步步进入主题非常重要。养成这样一个好的撰写习惯，对于今后的科研论文撰写生涯具有重要意义。
背景（Background）的撰写围绕着“为什么要开展此研究”开展，对后文起着铺垫作用。背景的内容要以前言为基础，并在此基础上进行扩展。背景中，需要对本研究相关的文献进行回顾、分析和总结，进而说明本领域未知或需要进一步完善（例如，方法学上的不足）的地方，最后顺理成章引出所要开展的研究以及研究如何填补现阶段的未知点或弥补方法学上的不足。
有些人可能会将前言与背景混淆。接下来，将以J Adv Nurs发表过的一篇论文为例，对二者的联系和区别进行详细说明。
结合本研究的目的：To explore Italian pediatric nurses'reported burnout and its relationship to their perceptions of safety and adverse events，在前言中（示例2-20，这里仅截取了代表性语句），作者给出了一段，介绍开展此研究的大背景：WHO对于职业倦怠的共识以及职业倦怠在全球背景下的普遍性，最后一句话引出本研究所要关注的重点，为后文的“背景”做铺垫。
示例2-20 前言
Introduction
The World Health Organization（WHO）has recently recognized burnout as an‘occupational phenomenon’and，as such，has included it in the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases（ICD-11）（2019）.They declared burnout a syndrome outcome（Aiken et al.，2012）...What is clearly known is that burnout is widespread internationally and there are differences in experience，presentation and effects of nurses'burnout across clinical settings...Less is known about whether or not these experiences have an influencing effect on nurses'perceptions of the clinical environment thus accentuating their burnout...The question then is whether or not burnout is a potentiating factor that alters nurses'perceptions of their clinical environmental issues，and affects their performance on the pediatric setting.(https://www.daowen.com)
在背景中（示例2-21，这里仅截取了每一段的统领句），作者逐步介绍开展本研究的重要性和必要性。背景的第一段，首先介绍了本研究关注的场所/环境（儿科这一工作场所）；第二段进一步聚焦到儿科工作环境下职业倦怠的普遍性；第三段说明职业倦怠可能带来的危害；第四段（最后一段）对既往相关研究进行总结，说明研究空缺（research gap），提出研究问题并引出研究目的。
示例2-21 背景
Background
第一段：The pediatric setting is an environment where nurses are thought to be at an increased the risk of burnout.
第二段：However，despite this burnout as a phenomenon appears quite widespread in pediatric settings.
第三段：Several studies have demonstrated relationships between poor staff well-being and poor outcomes including pediatric care（Hall et al.，2016）.However，despite this，the emphasis on exploring or improving the safety culture is not necessarily addressed from a well-being perspective.
第四段：Burnout syndrome is a well-documented problem among nurses internationally.Moreover，pediatrics is a highrisk area.Considering the prevalence of burnout among pediatric nurses（de Lima Garcia et al.，2019）and the incidence of errors and adverse events，a question arises as to whether burnout contributes to these in pediatric settings...none to our knowledge involve Italian pediatric nurses.Therefore，the purpose of this study was to evaluate how the presence of burnout among nurses providing pediatric care could influence the perception of the safety of the care.