Date post: | 14-Jul-2015 |
Category: |
Science |
Upload: | centrale-medische-bibliotheek-universitair-medisch-centrum-groningen-umcg |
View: | 342 times |
Download: | 1 times |
Henk J. Busscher
The WJ Kolff Institute for Biomedical Engineering and Materials ScienceUniversity of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen
Groningen, The Netherlands
How to write a world-class paper-
Looking through the eyes of an editor
Henk J. BusscherFounding-editor: Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
1992 – present
Web-of-Science Summary (October 2014)
Number of articles 545Total number of citations 16117Average number of citations per paper 29.57H-factor 60
Total number of theses (co-)supervised 84
JW Costerton (died age of 80, 2 years ago)
5133814774.3680
What is the first question going through your mind?What has this guy established
himself in science?
None deliberately
Most cited papers
FEMS Microbiology reviews 491Applied and Environmental Microbiology 402Colloids and Surfaces 252Journal of Biomedical Materials Research 251Biomaterials 246
What is the second question going through your mind?How many world class papers did he write?
I will not teach you
how to write a world-class paper
1. Show you how I perform my duties as an editor.
2. Teach you how to look at your manuscripts
through the eyes of an editor.
Disclaimer
AUTHOR Henk J. Busscher dislikes
EDITOR Henk J. Busscher as much as you will do after this talk.
AUTHOR Henk J. Busscher will not always write his papers according to the instructions of
EDITOR Henk J. Busscher.
FOR YOU:EDITOR Henk J. Busscher
is always right.
FOR MY STUDENTS AND CO-WORKERS: AUTHOR Henk J. Busscheris always more right thanEDITOR Henk J. Busscher.
About Colloids and Surfaces B
Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces isan international journal
devoted to fundamental and applied research on colloid and interfacial phenomena
in relation to systems of biological origin,
having particular relevance to the medical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, food and
cosmetic fields.
I do not want to remain editorof a mediocre journaltarget region
Editors want higherImpact Factors
for their journals
What is the thing to do
for an editor to increasethe Impact Factor?
REJECTversus
IMPROVE(in the old days, when there were less papers)
Steps we took
BIGGEST STEP: Got rid of the “Oh my God papers”
- very long because of ridiculous sentences:“this results of this study show data that indicate that journals impact factors increase with increasing rejection rates of manuscripts by the editor”
- introduction is knowledge exhibition without an aim
- lots of figures and tables with combined Results and Discussion section
SECOND BIGGEST STEP: Enforced our identity as a journal
- adhere strictly to aim and scope
THIRD STEP: …………………….
What is your biggestfrustration as an author?
Rejection within 2 min,
“after careful reading and consideration”
Do you think an editor willread your entire paper?
IMPOSSIBLE,
even if you only receive
400 manuscripts per year
How much time do you believe an editor should spend on a paper
for taking a first decision?
The publication system
is
completely overheated(15 - 30 min max for first decision?)
Do you believe I understand allthe papers that I handle?
NO
CONCLUSION OF ALL THIS:Initial editorial decisions are largely intuitive
This is why author Henk J. Busscherwants every comma and
dot in his papers at the right place!
The abstract to be clear and informative,the cover letter to be convincing, etcetera.
What do I initially look at?
Title- Do I understand what the paper will be about
- Informative
- Appealing to a large group of readers
What do I initially look at?
Abstract- In line with title
- Indicate the general significance
- Aim
- Results described in sufficient detail
- Conclusion, preferably in broader perspective
- Use all the words we offer (do not forget to change your abstract after rejection by Nature allowing only 50 words for an abstract)
What do I initially look at?
Introduction- Not about what you know (“knowledge exhibition”)- Does it identify knowledge gaps in the current literature- Does it explain an urgency to fill these gaps- What will the paper yield to fill that gap- A clear aim
A BAD aim:- To make an inventory of authors responses to rude editors - The aim of this study is to study editors responses to rude authors(“research for the sake of research”)
A GOOD aim:- To find a relation between editors rudeness and the impact factor of a journal(“may reveal a mechanism”)
What do I initially not look at?
Materials and Methods
- Not at the initial stage
What do I look at?
Figures and Tables
- Clear, standard deviations with explanations.
- Do they present data in a way to suggest analysis ofmechanisms?
NOT table 1: editors rudeness for different journalstable 2: impact factor of different journals
YES a graph of rudeness versus impact factor
- We are an basic science journal with a physics background, DATA should not only be electron micrographs, histologicalimages, or a photograph of a test tube
What do I look at
Results and discussion combined?Authors combining both sections usually- Have a lot of data and do not know what
to make of them
OR
- Have little data and hide that in a cloud of literatureconsiderations
I want to see what data the authors add (RESULTS) and how it fits in and forwards the field (DISCUSSION)
If in doubt about suitabilityfor CSB,
I consult the references
- Are the majority of the references to ourcompetitor journals in the field (excellent!).
- Or to CSB (even better).
If still in doubt,I consult the cover letter
I never base my decision solelyon a cover letter
(may be different with Nature and Science,
taking only 2 min per decision)
And when still in doubt,I look at suggested reviewers
International spread:A paper from UMCG with only UMCG reviewerssuggested??????
Sufficient detail:Reviewer: [email protected]??????
I always use one editorial board member and possibly another external reviewer
The characteristicsof a good paper
1. I look at the title.
2. I want to read the abstract.
3. It excites me and I want to read the introduction.
4. The 20.00 hours news starts, but I tell my wife I have no interest today.
5. I want to finish reading the whole paper beforedoing anything else!
And there you go: rejected or taken into consideration
80% rejection rate upon submission
BUT
once you are in, 80% chance of acceptance
Is it a fun job to be editor?
It felt like an honour to be asked in 1992
It feels like a duty to science now
It is a miserable job with the increase in the number of papers received
BUT
1. It forces me to keep reading papers
2. It teaches me about what is behindthe scenes in publishing
1. It gives a great network
The biggest reward
Young authors that thank youfor teaching them
how to improve their manuscript
How to write a world-class paper-
TAKE HOME MESSAGE(never more than 3!)
Try to realize how editors think and work when writing your paper