How to Get Published in a Research Journal
May 2013
Workshop Outline
How to get Published
Before you begin Select your audience The article structure The review and editorial process
What not to do... (author ethics)
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What is it that distinguishes a very good manuscript from a bad one?
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Peer-Reviewed Journal Growth
1665-2001
No of titles launched and still published in 2001
10000
100
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (London) 1765
Year
2009 • 1,400,000 articles • 23,000 journals • 2,000 publishers 1865 1965
1 1665
Source: M A Mabe The number and growth of journals Serials 16(2).191-7, 2003 4
November 2012
Research Impact
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
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Powered by Scopus
Research Impact Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
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Powered by Scopus
Research Impact Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
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Powered by Scopus
Journal Publishing Volume
• 1,000 new editors per year • 20 new journals per year • 600,000+ article submissions per year
• Organize editorial boards • Launch new specialist journals
Solicit and manage submissions
• 11 million articles available
•Text Archive and promote
Manage peer review
• 40%-90% of articles rejected • 200,000 reviewers • 1 million reviewer reports per year
• • • • •
11 million researchers 5,000+ institutions 180+ countries 480 million downloads per year 3 million print pages per year
Publish and disseminate
• 7,000 editors Edit and prepare Production • 70,000 editorial board members • 6.5 million author/ publisher communications per year
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• 280,000 new articles produced / year 190 years of back issues scanned, processed and datatagged
November 2012
Trends in Publishing
Rapid conversion from “print” to “electronic”
1997 – 2009 –
Print only 55% e-only (mostly e-collections) 25% print only 20% print-plus-electronic
Changing role of “journals” due to e-access Increased usage of articles
At lower cost per article Increased manuscript inflow
Electronic submission
Experimentation with new publishing models
E.g. “author pays” models, “delayed open access”, etc.
November 2012
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Elsevier open access journal portfolio includes:
Latest Additions Full Gold: Applied & Translational Genomics Cell Reports FEBS Open Bio Gynecologic Oncology Case Reports International Journal for Parasitology: Drugs and Drug resistance International Journal of Surgery Case Reports Medical Mycology Case Reports Physics of the Dark Universe Redox Biology Results in Immunology …
28 pure gold open access journals (author paid journals). 1500 Hybrid journals 74 green open access, articles are free to access after a certain number of months.
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http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-access/open-access-journals
Why Publish?
However, editors, reviewers, and the research community don’t consider these reasons when assessing your work.
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Keep in mind…
…. your published papers, as a permanent record of your research, are your passport to your community !
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Determine if you are ready to publish
You should consider publishing if you have information that advances understanding in a specific research field
This could be in the form of: Presenting new, original results or methods Rationalizing, refining, or reinterpreting published results Reviewing or summarizing a particular subject or field What NOT to publish: Reports of no scientific interest Out of date work Duplications of previously published work Incorrect/unacceptable conclusions
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If you are ready to publish, a strong manuscript is what is needed next
What is a strong manuscript?
Has a clear, useful, and exciting message Presented and constructed in a logical manner
Reviewers and editors can grasp the significance easily
Editors and reviewers are all busy people – make things easy to save their time
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How To Get Your Article Published
Before you start
Refine your Search strategies
Too many researchers have abandoned all the value of libraries when they stopped going there physically! There is more than
Learn what online resources are available at your institute, and learn to search in a clever way.
Haglund and Olson, 2008: … researchers have difficulties in identifying correct search terms. Searches are often unsuccessful.”
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Use the advanced search options
Within Google and Google Scholar use the advanced searches and check out the Search Tips.
In ScienceDirect, Scopus, WoS/WoK and other databases use proximity operators:
w/n pre/n
Within - (non order specific) Precedes - (order specific)
E.g. wind w/3 energy
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Practical Advice
Find out what’s Hot
http://info.scopus.com/topcited/ http://top25.sciencedirect.com/ http://www.scitopics.com/ Search tips (including alerts) Journals, authors, publications per year (Scopus) Impact Factor Subject Specific Impact Factor (http://tinyurl.com/scopusimpact) SCImago Journal & Country Ranking (http://scimagojr.com/) Journal Analyzer SNIP (using Scopus) h-Index Who are the editors? Guide for authors
Find the trends of the subject area
Evaluate which journal is right for your article
IF
Find out more about the journals
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Find out what’s Hot (downloads)
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Find out what is being cited
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Find out who is being cited
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Find out who is being cited
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Find out who is being cited – in more depth
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Questions to answer before you write
Think about WHY you want to publish your work.
Is it new and interesting? Is it a current hot topic? Have you provided solutions to some difficult problems? Are you ready to publish at this point?
If all answers are “yes”, then start preparations for your manuscript
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Decide the most appropriate type of manuscript
Conference Papers Full articles/Original articles Short communications/letters Review papers/perspectives
Self-evaluate your work: Is it sufficient for a full article? Or are your results so thrilling that they need to be shown as soon as possible? Ask your supervisor and colleagues for advice on manuscript type. Sometimes outsiders see things more clearly than you.
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Conference Papers
Excellent for disseminating early or inprogress research findings Typically 5-10 pages, 3 figures, 15 references Draft and submit the paper to conference organisers Good way to start a scientific research career
“Global Warming Prevention Technologies in Japan” at 6th Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies International Conference “Power consumption in slurry systems” at 10th European Conference on Mixing
Sample Conference Paper titles:
• •
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Full articles/Original article
Standard for disseminating completed research findings Typically 8-10 pages, 5 figures, 25 references Draft and submit the paper to appropriate journal Good way to build a scientific research career
Sample full article titles:
• • •
“Hydrodynamic study of a liquid/solid fluidized bed under transverse electromagnetic field” “Retinoic acid regulation of the Mesp–Ripply feedback loop during vertebrate segmental patterning” “Establishing a reference range for bone turnover markers in young, healthy women”
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Short Communications Articles
Quick and early communications of significant, original advances. Much shorter than full articles.
Sample Short Communications titles:
•
• •
“Rap1 Signaling Prevents L-Type Calcium Channel-Dependent Neurotransmitter Release.” “Molecular Scale Simulation of Homopolymer Wall Slip” “New Method for Gravitational Wave Detection with Atomic Sensors”
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Review papers/perspectives
Critical synthesis of a specific research topic Typically 10+ pages, 5+ figures, 80 references Typically solicited by journal editors Good way to consolidate a scientific research career
Sample full article titles:
• • •
“Advances in the allogeneic transplantation for thalassemia” “Stress and how bacteria cope with death and survival” “Quantifying the transmission potential of pandemic influenza”
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Citations impact varies by publication type
based on articles published 1996 (in English) in Materials Science journals or conference proceedings
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Choose the right journal
Do not just “descend the stairs” Top journals
Nature, Science, Lancet, NEJM, ......
Field-specific top journals Other field-specific journals National journals
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Choose the right journal
Investigate all candidate journals to find out Aims and scope Accepted types of articles Readership Current hot topics go through the abstracts of recent publications)
Ask yourself the following questions: Is the journal peer-reviewed? Who is this journal’s audience? What is the journal’s Impact Factor?
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Identify the right audience for your paper
Identify the sector of readership/community for which a paper is meant
Identify the interest of your audience
Is your paper of local or international interest
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Choose the right journal
Ask for help from your supervisor or colleagues
The supervisor (who is often a co-author) has co-responsibility for your work.
DO NOT gamble by submitting your manuscript to more than one journal at a time.
International ethics standards prohibit multiple/simultaneous submissions, and editors WILL find out! (see also our webcast on publishing ethics www.elsevier.com/editorsupdate).
TIP: Articles in your references will likely lead you to the right journal.
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Journal Finder Tool
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http://www.elsevier.com/authors/home
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Choose the right journal
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An international editor says…
“The following problems appear much too frequently”
Submission of papers which are clearly out of scope Failure to format the paper according to the Guide for Authors Inappropriate (or no) suggested reviewers Inadequate response to reviewers
Inadequate standard of English Resubmission of rejected manuscripts without revision – Paul Haddad, Editor, Journal of Chromatography A
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Read the ‘Guide to Authors’- Again and again!
Stick to the Guide for Authors in your manuscript, even in the first draft (text layout, nomenclature, figures & tables, references etc.). In the end it will save you time, and also the editor’s. Editors (and reviewers) do not like wasting time on poorly prepared manuscripts. It is a sign of disrespect.
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Summary
What steps do I need to take before I write my paper? Determine if you are ready to publish
Decide on the type of manuscript
Choose the target journal
Check the Guide for Authors
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Thought Question
What are some characteristics of the best manuscript writing you have seen?
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Why Is Language Important?
Save your editor and reviewers the trouble of guessing what you mean
Complaint from an editor: “[This] paper fell well below my threshold. I refuse to spend time trying to understand what the author is trying to say. Besides, I really want to send a message that they can't submit garbage to us and expect us to fix it. My rule of thumb is that if there are more than 6 grammatical errors in the abstract, then I don't waste my time carefully reading the rest.”
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Do publishers correct language?
No. It is the author’s responsibility to make sure his paper is in its best possible form when submitted for publication
However:
Publishers often provide resources for authors who are less familiar with the conventions of international journals. Please check your publishers’ author website for more information. Some publishers may perform technical screening prior to peer review. Visit http://webshop.elsevier.com for translation and language editing services.
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Manuscript Language – Overview
Write with clarity, objectivity, accuracy, and brevity
Key to successful manuscript writing is to be alert to common errors:
Sentence construction Incorrect tenses Inaccurate grammar Mixing languages
Check the Guide for Authors of the target journal for any language specifications
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Manuscript Language – Sentences
Write direct and short sentences One idea or piece of information per sentence is sufficient Avoid multiple statements in one sentence
“If it is the case, intravenous administration should result in that emulsion has higher intravenous administration retention concentration, but which is not in “It was expected that the intravenous administration via emulsion accordance with the result, and therefore the more rational interpretation would have a SLN higher retention concentration. the from should be that with mean diameter of 46nm is However, greatly different experimental results suggest The SLN entered the emulsion with mean diameter ofotherwise. 65 nm in entering tumor, namely, ittumor is blood vessel more easily than emulsion. Thistumor may be duevessel to the probably difficult for emulsion tothe enter and exit from blood as freely as aperture SLN, which be caused by the fact that the tumor blood vessel smaller ofmay the SLN (46 nm) compared with the aperture of the aperture is(65 smaller.” emulsion nm).”
A possible modification:
An example of what NOT to do:
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Manuscript Language – Tenses
Present tense for known facts and hypotheses:
“The average life of a honey bee is 6 weeks”
Past tense for experiments you have conducted:
“All the honey bees were maintained in an environment with a consistent temperature of 23 degrees centigrade…”
Past tense when you describe the results of an experiment: “The average life span of bees in our contained
environment was 8 weeks…”
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Manuscript Language – Grammar
Use active voice to shorten sentences
Passive voice: “It has been found that there had been…” Active voice: “We found that…” Passive voice: “carbon dioxide was consumed by the plant…” Active voice: “…the plant consumed carbon dioxide..”
Avoid abbreviations: “it’s”, “weren’t”, “hasn’t”
Never use them in scientific writing Only use abbreviations for units of measure or established scientific abbreviations, e.g. DNA
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Manuscript Language – Grammar
Minimize use of adverbs: “However”, “In addition”, “Moreover” Eliminate redundant phrases
Double-check orintelligent “Never say ‘and references unfamiliar therein’ - as in [1] words and [25]. Any reader knows to look at the references in a paper in order to get even more phrases information.” - Editor
“Delete ‘In present report’. It is impossible for it to be in a different report! You start the conclusions "In this report, we have prepared....." This is nonsense. The samples were prepared in the laboratory!” -Editor
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Language
Finally, you should use English throughout the manuscript, including figures.
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Summary
How can I ensure I am using proper manuscript language?
Proper manuscript language is important so that editors and reviewers can easily understand your messages Refer to the journal’s Guide for Authors for specifications
Check that your paper has short sentences, correct tenses, correct grammar, and is all in English Have a native English speaker check your manuscript or use a language editing service
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How do I build up my article properly?
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General Structure of a Research Article
Title Abstract Keywords Main text (IMRAD) Introduction Methods Results And Discussions Conclusion Acknowledgement References Supplementary Data
Make them easy for indexing and searching! (informative, attractive, effective)
Journal space is not unlimited, more importantly, your reader’s time is scarce. Make your article as concise as possible.
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The process of writing – building the article
Title & Abstract Conclusion Introduction Methods Results Discussion
Figures/tables (your data)
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Title
A good title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content of a paper. Effective titles
Identify the main issue of the paper Begin with the subject of the paper Are accurate, unambiguous, specific, and complete Are as short as possible
Articles with short, catchy titles are often better cited Do not contain rarely-used abbreviations Attract readers - Remember: readers are the potential authors who will cite your article
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Title
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Abstract
… is freely available in electronic abstracting & indexing
services [PubMed, Medline, Embase, SciVerse Scopus, ....]
– This is the advertisement of your article. Make it interesting, and easy to be understood without reading the whole article. We tackle the general linear instantaneous model (possibly underdetermined and noisy) where we model the source prior with a Student t distribution. The – You must be accurate and conjugate-exponential characterisation of the t distribution as specific! an infinite What has mixture of scaled Gaussians enables us to do efficient inference. We study two well-known inference methods, Gibbs sampler andstrongly variational Bayes for been done – A clear abstract will influence whether or Bayesian source separation. We derive both techniques as local message passing algorithms to highlight their algorithmic similarities and to contrast not your work is further considered. their different convergence characteristics and computational requirements. Our simulation results suggest that typical posterior distributions in source –have Keep itlocal asmaxima. brief as possible!!! separation multiple Therefore we propose a hybrid What are the
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approach where we explore the state space with a Gibbs sampler and then switch to a deterministic algorithm. This approach seems to be able to combine the speed of the variational approach with the robustness of the Gibbs sampler.
main findings
Keywords
Used by indexing and abstracting services They are the labels of your manuscript. In an “electronic world, keywords determine whether your article is found or not! Use only established abbreviations (e.g. DNA) Check the ‘Guide for Authors’
Avoid making them Article Title Effective approach:
(“drug delivery”, “Silo too music general and silo quake: granular flow -induced
“mouse”, “disease”, etc.) Silo music, Silo quake, stick-slip flow, resonance, vibration” creep, granular discharge too narrow (so that nobody will ever search for it)
Keywords
Look at the keywords to your manuscript collector using supercritical CO2” of articles relevant Solar thermal utilization Play with these keywords, and see whether they return relevant papers, neither too many nor too few
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“An experimental study on evacuated tube solar
Solar collector; Supercritical CO2; Solar energy;
Introduction
Provide context to convince readers that you clearly know why your work is useful
Sample 1st paragraph of an Introduction
Be brief
Clearly address the following:
What is the problem?
Are there any existing solutions? Which solution is the best?
What is its main limitation?
What do you hope to achieve?
Zhang, XR; Yamaguchi, H. “An experimental study on evacuated tube solar collector using supercritical CO 2” Applied Thermal Engineering © Elsevier
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Try to be consistent with the nature of the journal
Pay attention to the following
Before you present your new data, put them into perspective first Be brief, it is not a history lesson Do not mix introduction, results, discussion and conclusions. Keep them separate Do not overuse expressions such as “novel”, “first time”, “first ever”, “paradigm shift”, etc.
Cite only relevant references
Otherwise the editor and the reviewer may think you don’t have a clue what you are writing about
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Methods
Describe how the problem was studied • Include all important details so that the reader can section repeat the work. Sample 1st paragraph of an Experimental Set-Up • Do not describe previously published procedures • Details that were previously published can be omitted but a general
summary of those experiments should be included
• •
• •
•
Give vendor names (and addresses) of equipment etc. used All chemicals must be identified • Do not use proprietary, unidentifiable compounds without description Avoid adding comments and discussion. Write in the past tense • Most journals prefer the passive voice, some the active. Consider use of Supplementary Materials • Documents, spreadsheets, audio, video, .....
Reviewers will criticize incomplete or incorrect descriptions, and may even Zhang, XR; Yamaguchi, H. “An experimental study on evacuated tube solar collector using supercritical CO ” Applied Thermal Engineering © Elsevier recommend rejection
2
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Ethics Committee approval
Experiments on humans or animals must follow applicable ethics standards
e.g. most recent version of the Helsinki Declaration and/or relevant (local, national, international) animal experimentation guidelines
Approval of the local ethics committee is required, and should be specified in the manuscript Editors can make their own decisions as to whether the experiments were done in an ethically acceptable manner
Sometimes local ethics approvals are below internationally accepted standards
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Results – what have you found?
Tell a clear and easy-to-understand story. RED THREAD
Be structured (sub-headings)
The following should be included:
The main findings
Thus not all findings (Add Supplementary Materials for data of secondary importance)
Findings from experiments described in the Methods section
Highlight findings that differ from findings in previous publications, and unexpected findings Results of the statistical analysis
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Results – Figures and tables
• Illustrations are critical, because • Figures and tables are the most efficient way to present results and; • Results are the driving force of the publication
• Captions and legends must be detailed enough to make figures and tables self-explanatory • No duplication of results described in text or other illustrations
"One Picture is Worth a Thousand Words" Sue Hanauer (1968)
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Results – Appearance counts!
Un-crowded plots 3 or 4 data sets per figure; well-selected scales; appropriate axis label size; symbols clear to read; data sets easily distinguishable. Each photograph must have a scale marker of professional quality in a corner. Text in photos / figures in English Not in French, German, Chinese, Korean, ... Use color ONLY when necessary. If different line styles can clarify the meaning, then never use colors or other thrilling effects. Color must be visible and distinguishable when printed in black & white. Do not include long boring tables!
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A good figure
A bad figure
hs/R =0.69 Fr1/3
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Discussion- what the results mean?
It is the most important section of your article. Here you get the chance to SELL your data! st paragraph of an Discussion section Sample Many1 manuscripts are rejected because the Discussion is weak
Check for the following: How do your results relate to the original question or objectives outlined in the Introduction section? Do you provide interpretation for each of your results presented? Are your results consistent with what other investigators have reported? Or are there any differences? Why? Are there any limitations? Does the discussion logically lead to your conclusion?
Do not Make statements that go beyond what the results can support Suddenly introduce new terms or ideas
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Muite, B.K., Quinn, S.F., Sundaresan, S., Rao, K.K.. “Silo music and silo quake: granular flow-induced vibration” Powder Technology. © Elsevier
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Conclusion
How the work advances the field from the present state of knowledge Sample Conclusion Be clear and Justify your work in the research field Present global and specific conclusions Indicate uses and extensions if appropriate Suggest future experiments and indicate whether they are underway Do not summarize the paper
The abstract is for that purpose
Avoid judgments about impact
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Muite, B.K., Quinn, S.F., Sundaresan, S., Rao, K.K.. “Silo music and silo quake: granular flow-induced vibration” Powder Technology. © Elsevier
References
Cite the main scientific publications on which your work is based
Do not use too many references Always ensure you have fully absorbed material you are referencing and do not just rely on checking excerpts or isolated sentences Avoid excessive self-citations Avoid excessive citations of publications from the same region
Conform strictly to the style given in the Guide for Authors
Muite, B.K., Quinn, S.F., Sundaresan, S., Rao, K.K.. “Silo music and silo quake: granular flow-induced vibration” Powder Technology. © Elsevier
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Acknowledgments
Ensures those who helped in the research are recognised (you want them to help again, don’t you?)
Include individuals who have assisted with your study, including: Advisors Financial supporters Proofreaders Typists Suppliers who may have given materials
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Summary How do I build up my article properly?
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Title Abstract Keywords Main text (IMRAD) Introduction M ethods Results And Discussions Conclusion Acknowledgement References Supporting Materials
• Structure your article properly • Make sure each section of the paper fulfills its purpose clearly and concisely
Cover Letter
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Cover Letter
Your chance to speak to the editor directly
Submitted along with your manuscript
Final approval from all authors
Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal Note special requirements (suggest reviewers, Explanation of importance of research conflicts of interest)
Suggested reviewers
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Authorship
Policies regarding authorship can vary One example: the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (“Vancouver Group”) declared that an author must:
1. 2.
3. 4.
substantially contribute to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; draft the article or revise it critically for important intellectual content; and give their approval of the final full version to be published. ALL three conditions must be fulfilled to be an author!
All others would qualify as “Acknowledged Individuals”
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Authorship
General principles for who is listed first
First Author
Conducts and/or supervises the data generation and analysis and the proper presentation and interpretation of the results
Puts paper together and submits the paper to journal The first author or a senior author from the institution
Corresponding author
Avoid
•
Ghost Authorship
– leaving out authors who should be included Gift Authorship – including authors who did not contribute significantly Spelling names: Be consistent!
•
•
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Suggest potential reviewers
Your suggestions will help the Editor to move your manuscript to the review stage more efficiently.
You can easily find potential reviewers and their contact details from articles in your specific subject area (e.g., your references).
The reviewers should represent at least two regions of the world. And they should not be your supervisor or close friends.
Be prepared to suggest 3-6 potential reviewers, based on the Guide to Authors.
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Suggest potential reviewers - ethically!
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Do everything to make your submission a success
No one gets it right the first time!
Write, and re-write ….
Suggestions
After writing a first version, take several days of rest. Come back with a critical, fresh view. Ask colleagues and supervisor to review your manuscript. Ask them to be highly critical, and be open to their suggestions.
Finally, SUBMIT your manuscript with a cover letter and await a response…
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After submission
Author START Basic requirements met? [Yes] Assign reviewers [No] Collect reviewers’ recommendations [Reject] Editor Reviewer
Submit a paper
Review and give recommendation
REJECT Revise the paper
[Revision required] [Accept]
Make a decision
Michael Derntl. Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing. 78 http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf
ACCEPT
Desk- reject
Many journals use a system of initial editorial review. Editors may reject a manuscript without sending it for review Why? The peer-review system is grossly overloaded and editors wish to use reviewers only for those papers with a good probability of acceptance.
It is a disservice to ask reviewers to spend time on work that has clear and evident deficiencies.
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First Decision: “Accepted” or “Rejected”
Accepted
Rejected
Very rare, but it happens
Probability 40-90% ... Do not despair
It happens to everybody Consider reviewers’ advice Be self-critical
Try to understand WHY
If you submit to another journal, begin as if it were a new manuscript
Congratulations!
Cake for the department Now wait for page proofs and then for your article to be online and in print
Take advantage of the reviewers’ comments They may review your manuscript for the other journal too! Read the Guide for Authors of the new journal, again and again.
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First Decision: “Major” or “Minor” Revision
Major revision
The manuscript may finally be published in the journal Significant deficiencies must be corrected before acceptance Usually involves (significant) textual modifications and/or additional experiments
Minor revision
Basically, the manuscript is worth being published Some elements in the manuscript must be clarified, restructured, shortened (often) or expanded (rarely) Textual adaptations “Minor revision” does NOT guarantee acceptance after revision!
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Manuscript Revision
Prepare a detailed Response Letter
Copy-paste each reviewer comment, and type your response below it State specifically which changes you have made to the manuscript Include page/line numbers No general statements like “Comment accepted, and Discussion changed accordingly.” Provide a scientific response to comments to accept, ..... ..... or a convincing, solid and polite rebuttal when you feel the reviewer was wrong. Write in such a manner, that your response can be forwarded to the reviewer without prior editing
Do not do yourself a disfavour, but cherish your work
You spent weeks and months in the lab or the library to do the research It took you weeks to write the manuscript.........
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.....Why then run the risk of avoidable rejection by not taking manuscript revision seriously?
Increasing the likelihood of acceptance
All these various steps are not difficult
You have to be consistent. You have to check and recheck before submitting. Make sure you tell a logical, clear, story about your findings.
Especially, take note of referees’ comments. This should increase the likelihood of your paper being accepted, and being in the 30% (accepted) not the 70% (rejected) group!
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Ethics Issues in Publishing
Scientific misconduct
Falsification of results
Publication misconduct
Plagiarism
Different forms / severities The paper must be original to the authors
Duplicate publication Duplicate submission Appropriate acknowledgement of prior research and researchers Appropriate identification of all co-authors Conflict of interest
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Data fabrication and falsification
Fabrication: Making up data or results, and recording or reporting them
“… the fabrication of research data … hits at the heart of our responsibility to society, the reputation of our institution, the trust between the public and the biomedical research community, and our personal credibility and that of our mentors, colleagues…”
“It can waste the time of others, trying to replicate false data or designing experiments based on false premises, and can lead to therapeutic errors. It can never be tolerated.”
Professor Richard Hawkes Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy University of Calgary
“The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth.”
G.C.Lichtenberg (1742-1799)
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Data fabrication and falsification
Falsification:
Manipulation of research materials, equipment, processes Changes in / omission of data or results such that the research is not accurately represented in the research record
“Select data to fit a preconceived hypothesis:
We do not include (data from) an experiment because ‘it did not work’, or We show ‘representative’ images that do not reflect the total data set, or We simply shelve data that do not fit.”
Richard Hawkes
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Data Fabrication & Falsification - often go hand in hand
A Massive Case Of Fraud Chemical & Engineering News February 18, 2008 Journal editors are left reeling as publishers move to rid their archives of scientist's falsified research William G. Schulz
A CHEMIST IN INDIA has been found guilty of plagiarizing and/or falsifying more than 70 research papers published in a wide variety of Western scientific journals between 2004 and 2007, according to documents from his university, copies of which were obtained by C&EN. Some journal editors left reeling by the incident say it is one of the most spectacular and outrageous cases of scientific fraud they have ever seen. …
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Plagiarism
A short-cut to long-term consequences!
Plagiarism is considered a serious offense by your institute, by journal editors, and by the scientific community.
Plagiarism may result in academic charges, but will certainly cause rejection of your paper.
Plagiarism will hurt your reputation in the scientific community.
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Duplicate Publication
Two or more papers, without full cross reference, share the same hypotheses, data, discussion points, or conclusions
An author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper.
Published studies do not need to be repeated unless further confirmation is required. Previous publication of an abstract during the proceedings of conferences does not preclude subsequent submission for publication, but full disclosure should be made at the time of submission. Re-publication of a paper in another language is acceptable, provided that there is full and prominent disclosure of its original source at the time of submission. At the time of submission, authors should disclose details of related papers, even if in a different language, and similar papers in press. This includes translations
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Plagiarism Detection Tools
Elsevier is participating in 2 plagiarism detection schemes: TurnItIn (aimed at universities) IThenticate (aimed at publishers and corporations) Manuscripts are checked against a database of 20 million peer reviewed articles which have been donated by 50+ publishers, including Elsevier. All post-1994 Elsevier journal content is now included, and the pre-1995 is being steadily added week-by-week
Editors and reviewers Your colleagues "Other“ whistleblowers “The walls have ears", it seems ...
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Publication ethics – Self-plagiarism
2003 2004 Same colour left and right Same text
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An article in which the authors committed plagiarism: it will not be removed from ScienceDirect ever. Everybody who downloads it will see the reason for the retraction…
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Publication ethics – How it can end .....
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Figure Manipulation – some things are allowed
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Figure Manipulation
Example - Different authors and reported experiments
Am J Pathol, 2001
Life Sci, 2004
Rotated 180o
Life Sci, 2004
Rotated 180o
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Zoomed out ?!
What leads to acceptance ?
Attention to details Check and double check your work Consider the reviewers’ comments English must be as good as possible Presentation is important Take your time with revision Acknowledge those who have helped you New, original and previously unpublished Critically evaluate your own manuscript Ethical rules must be obeyed
– Nigel John Cook Editor-in-Chief, Ore Geology Reviews
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There are lots of online resources....
Elsevier and many other publishers give lots of helpful advice, as do many scientific societies and universities – go look!
For writing/submission tips and author services: www.elsevier.com/authors
For online trainings and tutorials: http://trainingdesk.elsevier.com For reviewer information and guidelines: www.elsevier.com/reviewers
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Questions?
What defines a Great Scientist
• Scientific honesty • Ideas and visions • Good taste of problem • Precision • Technical skills • Be critical • Hard work
Or for questions later, contact:
[email protected]
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