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Responsibilities for the presenter
1) Notify attendees of the paper to be reviewed several days in advance of the journal club. This allows them time to read the manuscript and is easily done via e-mail. You may also wish to draw attention to closely related papers, particularly if they will form a substantial part of your discussion during the journal club.
2) Describe the background to your chosen paper. This should be done such that it sets the paper in context and clarifies the rationale for the work described. In other words, presenters should outline some of the key points about what is already known in this area and hence how the work to be discussed will build on previous studies.
3) Discuss the main body of the paper, describing the main findings and methods. During this discussion the presenter should point out any interesting ideas that emerge as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the techniques employed.
4) Summarise the reviewer's main thoughts on the paper and lead a discussion of issues arising as appropriate.
5) During your presentation you will also need to answer questions raised by the audience (if possible!).
6) It may be helpful to provide a few additional paper copies of the chosen manuscript at the seminar for those who have forgotten or lost their copy!
Responsibilities for attendees
1) Read the paper before arriving and bring a copy of the manuscript so that you can follow discussions and/or make notes during the presentation.
2) Raise concerns or questions that you have about the paper, its methods or conclusions.
Presentation style
This will depend on the nature of the paper. However, the presenter will normally give a talk that includes overhead or PowerPoint images of the main figures from the manuscript to be discussed. In many cases it may also be useful to have one or two simple illustrations that help to explain closely related work and/or background information.