How To Get Published
Ahmad Fauzi Ismail, PhD., FASc., CEng., FIChemE.Advanced Membrane Technology Research Center (AMTEC)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
What are the reasons for publishing in academic
journals??
Career progression – moving up to the next rung on the ladderGaining recognition for work you have doneDeveloping a profileContributing to knowledgeStopping someone else taking credit for your work or using your materialsSetting yourself a new challengeHelping your students to gain recognition for their workLearning how to write to a higher standardBuilding your institution’s statusPersonal satisfaction of completing a new goal
10 Typical Reasons why Scientist/Researchers
Publishing
What are the Challenges in Journal Publishing??
• Writing Research Paper ????
• Publish in Journal ???
• Why bother ???
• Too difficult!!!
• I have No time !!!
• I have No research !!!
RegistrationThe timestamp to officially note who
submitted scientific results first
CertificationPerform peer-review to ensure thevalidity and integrity of submissions
DisseminationProvide a medium for discoveries
and findings to be shared
PreservationPreserving the minutes and record of
science for posterity
Role of Scientific Publications
Helps to determine the quality, validity, significance and originality
of research
Helps to improve thequality of papers
Publishers stand outside the academic process and are not prone
to prejudice or favour
Publishers facilitate the review process by investing in online
review systems and providing tools to help Editors and Reviewers
Peer Review
‘How To Get Published’
Episode 1
Your personal reasons for publishing?
However, editors, reviewers, and the research community don’t consider these reasons when assessing your work.
Always keep in mind that…
…your published papers, are a permanent record of your research, are your passportto your community…
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?
Only when the answers are yes, then start preparing your manuscript.
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.
Identify the right audience for your paper
• Identify the sector of• readership/community• for which the paper is meant
• Identify the interest of your audience
• Is your paper of local or international interest?
• Ask your Professor / advisor
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
Select the best journal for submission
• Look at your references – these will help you narrow your choices.• Ask supervisor or colleagues• Investigate all candidate journals to
find outo Aims and scopeo Accepted types of articleso Readershipo Current hot topics
o go through the abstracts of recent publications
• 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.
Read the Guide to Authors- Again and again!
‘How To Get Published’
Structuring An Article: Episode 2
What is a strong manuscript?
• Clear content• novel, clear, useful, and exciting
• Good presentation of the data• constructed in a logical manner
Editors and reviewers are all busy scientists –
make things easy to save their time
• Title• Abstract• Keywords
• Main text (IMRAD)– Introduction– Methods– Results– And– Discussions
• Conclusion• Acknowledgement• References• Supplementary
data
Journal space is not unlimited, moreiŵpoƌtaŶtly, youƌ ƌeadeƌ’s tiŵe is
scaƌce.
Make your article as concise as possible.
Make them easy for indexing and searching (informative, attractive,
effective)
General structure of a research article
General structure of a Research Article
Introduction
Methods & Results
Discussion & Conclusion
Specific
General
The final article
General
The Process of Writing – Building the Article
Authorship
• Policies regarding authorship can vary• One example: the International Committee of
Medical Journal Editors (“Vancouver Group”) declared that an author must:• 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”
CorrespondingAuthor
First Author
Good Listing Principle
Ghost Authorship
Gift Authorship
Poor Listing Principle
Authorship
Fewest possible words
Adequately describes content
Identifies main issue
Does not use rarely-used
abbreviations
Effective manuscript titles
Keywords
Are used by indexing and abstracting services
Are the labels of the manuscript
Use only established abbreviations (e.g. DNA)
Article Title“An experimental study on evacuated tube solar collector using supercritical CO2”
KeywordsSolar collector; supercritical CO2; solar energy; solar thermal utilization
Abstract
This is the advertisement of your article.Make it interesting and understandable
Make it accurate and specific
A clear abstract will strongly influencewhether or not your work is
considered
Keep it as brief as possible
Introduction
Provide a brief context to the readers
Address the problem Identify the
solutions & limitations
What is hoped to be achieved
Consistent with the nature of the journal
MethodsDescribe how the problem was studied Include
detailed information
Do not describe previously published procedures
Identify the equipment and describe materials used
Ethics Committee Approval
Experiments on humans or animals mustfollow applicable ethics standards
Approval of the local ethics committee is required and should be specified in the manuscript, covering letter or the online
submission system
Editors can make their own decisions on ethics
Results
Be clear & easy to understand
Highlight the main findings
Feature unexpected findings
Provide statistical analysis
Include illustrations & figures
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 distinguishablewhen printed in black & white.• Do not include long boring tables!
Discussion
What do the results mean?
Most important section
Make the discussion correspond to the results
You need to compare published results with your own
The Conclusion
Should be clear
Provide justification for the work
Advance the present state of knowledge
Provide suggested future experiments
AdvisorsFinancial
Supporters & Funders
Proofreaders & Typists
Suppliers who may have donated materials
Acknowledgments
Do not use too many references
Always ensure you have fully absorbed material you are referencing
Avoid excessive self-citations Avoid
excessive citations of publicationsfrom the same region
Conform strictly to the style given in the guide for authors
References
‘How To Get Published’Using Proper Scientific Language
It can delay or blockpublication of work
Proper English should be used
Why is language important?
Manuscript language: Sentences
Write direct and short sentences
One piece of information per sentence
Avoid multiple statements in onesentence
Manuscript language: Tenses
Present tense:for known facts & hypotheses
Past tense:for experiments conducted & results
Manuscript language: Grammar
Use active voice to shorten sentences
Avoid abbreviations
Minimize use of adverbs Eliminate
redundant phrases
Double-check unfamiliar words or phrases
The Peer review Process
Cover letter
Your chance to speak to the editor directly
•Submitted along with your manuscript
•Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal
•Note special requirements (suggest reviewers, conflicts of interest)
Cover letterFinal approval from
all authors
Explanation ofimportance of research
Suggested reviewers
Decision: “Accepted” or “Rejected”
Accepted•Very rare, but it happens
• Congratulations!– Cake for the department– Now wait for page proofs and
then for your article to be online and in print
Rejected•Probability 40-90% ...•Do not despair
– It happens to everybody
•Try to understand WHY– Consider reviewers’ advice– Be self-critical
•If you submit to another journal, begin as if it were a new manuscript
– Take advantage of thereviewers’ comments
– They may review your manuscript for the other journal too
– Read the Guide for Authors of the new journal, again and again.
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.........
.....Why then run the risk of avoidable rejection by not taking Manuscript revision seriously?
Author ResponsibilitiesFocus on: Plagiarism
What is Plagiarism?
“Plagiarism is the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including those obtained through confidential review of others’ research proposals and manuscripts.”
Federal Office of Science and Technology Policy, 1999
“Presenting the data or interpretations of others without crediting them, and thereby gaining for yourself the rewards earned by others, is theft, and it eliminates the motivation of working scientists to generate new data and interpretations.”
Professor Bruce RailsbackDepartment of Geology, University of Georgia
M. Errami & H. Garner, A tale of two citations
Nature 451 (2008): 397-399
What may be Plagiarised?
Work that can be plagiarised includes…
Words (Language) Ideas
Findings WritingsGraphic
Representations Computer
Programs Diagrams
Graphs Illustrations Information
Lectures Printed Material
Electronic Material Any Other Original Work
Higher Education Academy, UK
Question
A researcher notices a paragraph in a previously published article that would be suitable as the Materials & Methods in his
article.
The researcher decides to copy that paragraph into his paper without quotes
or attribution.
Has the Researcher violated any ethical boundaries?
Plagiarism high amongst ethics issues
Sample of cases reported to Elsevier Journals publishing staff in 2012
Correct Citation is Key
To place your own work in contextTo place your own work in context
Crediting the work of others (including your advisor’s or your own previous work) by citation is important for at least three reasons:
Crediting the work of others (including your advisor’s or your own previous work) by citation is important for at least three reasons:
To acknowledge the findings of others on which you have built your research
To acknowledge the findings of others on which you have built your research
To maintain the credibility and accuracy of the scientific literature To maintain the credibility and accuracy of the scientific literature
Plagiarism Detection
Huge database of 30+ million articles, from 50,000+ journals, from 400+ publishers
Huge database of 30+ million articles, from 50,000+ journals, from 400+ publishers
Cross Check Initiative (2009
Software alerts Editors to any similarities between the article and this huge database of published articles
Software alerts Editors to any similarities between the article and this huge database of published articles
Many Elsevier journals now check every submitted article using CrossCheck
Many Elsevier journals now check every submitted article using CrossCheck
Publication ethics – How it can end .....
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…
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…
Can you plagiarise your own work? “Text re-cycling/Self-plagiarism”
You publish a paper and in a later paper, copy your Introduction word-for word and perhaps a figure or two without citing the first paper
Editors may conclude that you intentionally exaggerated your output
Publication ethics – Self-plagiarism
Same colour left and right
Same text
2003 2004
Other ethics issues
Fabrication:
• Making up data or results, and recording or reporting them
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
Duplicate publication:
• Two or more papers, without full cross reference, share the same hypotheses, data, discussion points, or conclusions
Figure Manipulation – some things are allowed
Figure manipulation Example - Different authors and reported experiments
Am J Pathol, 2001 Life Sci, 2004 Rotated 180º
Life Sci, 2004
Zoomed out ?! Rotated 180o
Re-cap
When in doubt, cite!
When in doubt, cite!
Responsibility Responsibility
Never cut & paste (even to
save time in drafts)
Never cut & paste (even to
save time in drafts)
If you suspect: REPORT
If you suspect: REPORT
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
Thank You
• For further information please visit: www.elsevier.com/authors
www.senseaboutscience.org www.biggerbrains.com www.articleofthefuture.com
A major portion of theses slide were adopted from Elsevier Editors and Publishers Slide Presentation.