Transcript How to write a world class paper

Author Workshop
Shanghai University
14 May 2014
Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
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About Elsevier
• Elsevier is a global leader in the development and
dissemination of scientific, technological, and medical
knowledge
• We are a global company, established in Amsterdam in
1880, with roots going back to 1580
• We publish nearly 2,000 journals and over 1,400 new book
titles annually, and all electronically
• We help societies, institutions, researchers and clinicians
around the world to disseminate information globally,
reach new markets and expand their customer base to
advance science and medicine
• We are industry leaders in providing content and
technology solutions
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Elsevier by discipline
Earth Sciences
Over one million English language research
articles published globally each year
About 1000 English language research articles
published with Elsevier per day
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It’s about people
• Over 7,000 people in 25 countries and more than 80 local offices
• We use our collective expertise to partner with experts in science and healthcare,
and create content and technology solutions that help them get better outcomes.
Elsevier Offices
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Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
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Publishing Cycle
• 1,000 new editors per year
• 18 new journals per year
• Organise editorial boards
• Launch new specialist
journals
• 9 million articles
available
• 10 million
researchers
• 4,500+ institutions
• 180+ countries
• > 400 million
downloads per year
in 2008
• 2.8 million print
pages per year
• >1 million+ article submissions per year
• 500,000 referees
• 1 million referee
reports per year
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Manage
peer review
Archive and
promote
Publish and
disseminate
Edit and
prepare
Production
• 40%-90% of articles
rejected
• 7,000 editors
• 70,000 editorial board
members
• 6.5 million
author/publisher
communications per
year
• 300,000 new articles produced per year
• 180 years of back issues scanned, processed and data-tagged
Measuring Impact
Journal citation data and bibliometrics can be used to
measure the impact or influence of articles, authors, and
journals
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Impact Factor = the average annual
number of citations in year X to
articles published in the two years
prior, (X–1) and (X–2)
Hirsch Index / h-index = A scientist
has index h if h of his/her Np papers
have at least h citations each, and the
other (Np − h) papers have no more
than h citations each.
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Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
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Open Access has grown in the last decade
Articles published by model
2.5
2.0
Gold OA
Green OA (preprints & AAMs)
Subscription
Articles (million)
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1.5
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1.0
Gold OA (“Author
Pays”) articles
made up 7% of
total in 2012
The level of uptake
varies by field –
highest in Life and
Health Sciences
0.5
0.0
1996
2001
2006
2011
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Elsevier publishes over 6,000 open access
articles per year
• Elsevier publishes 100 Open Access Journals
• This number will grow
Elsevier offers the Open Article choice in
1,600 established, peer reviewed journals
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So what is Open Access?
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Author processing fee per article published – sole
mechanism to support journal
Some journals use subsidies, grants and waivers
Often referred to as “gold” open access
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EXAMPLES
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Elsevier has 100 OA journals
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Posted manuscripts, or pre-prints to
websites and repositories
Supported by many universities and
research organisations
Often referred to as “green” open
access
Elsevier has a very liberal posting
policy that supports researcher needs
Agreements developed with
institutions to facilitate deposit
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Option to make an article within a subscription journal
open access
Supported by several funding organisations
Often referred to as the hybrid model
EXAMPLES
Elsevier has 1,600 journals that offer this service
Agreements with RCUK, Wellcome Trust, FWF,
Telethon
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Subscription journals making articles
freely available online after time delay
Time to free access varies due to
differences in subject fields
EXAMPLES
Over 90 Elsevier journals now offer this
solution in fields such as medicine, life
sciences and mathematics
Other Allowances and Restrictions
Elsevier’s Posting Allowances
• Pre-print version of article to internet websites
• Revised personal version of text of final article to author’s
personal or institutional website or server
• According to funding body agreements (e.g. Wellcome
Trust, HHMI, NIH)
Elsevier’s Commercial Purpose Prohibitions
• Posting by companies for use by customers
• Placing advertisements against postings
• Charging fees for access or document delivery
• Any form of systematic distribution
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Elsevier content and ScienceDirect
Over 12
million
articles
available
Supported
by your
library
Increasing
distribution
to mobile
and apps
Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
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Determine if you are ready to publish
You should consider publishing if you have information that
advances understanding in a certain scientific 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
If you are ready to publish, a strong manuscript is what is needed next
General Structure of a Research Article
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Title
Abstract
Keywords
Main text
 Introduction
 Methods
 Results
 Discussions
Conclusion
Acknowledgement
References
Supplementary Data
Make them easy for indexing and searching!
(informative, attractive, effective)
Journal space is not unlimited: make your
article as concise as possible
Why Is Language So Important?
Save the Editor and the reviewers the trouble of
guessing what you mean
 Write direct and short sentences
 One idea or piece of information per sentence is sufficient
 Avoid multiple statements in one sentence
Title of the Article
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A good title should contain the fewest possible words
that adequately describe the contents of a paper.
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It is usually one complete sentence
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It usually captures the entire essence of the
discovery
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Short catchy titles are more often cited
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No abbreviations or obscure acronyms
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Keywords
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In an “electronic world”, keywords can determine
whether your article is found or not!
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Avoid making them:
 too general (“petroleum”, “exploration”, etc.)
 too narrow (so that nobody will ever search for it)
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Effective approach:
 Look at the keywords of articles relevant to your
manuscript
 Play with these keywords, and see whether they return
relevant papers, neither too many nor too few
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Abstract
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A clear abstract will strongly influence whether or not your work is
further considered.
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Should stand alone!
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Consider it the advertisement of your article.
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Should tell the prospective reader what you did and highlight the key
findings.
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Avoid using jargon and uncommon abbreviations.
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Use words which reflect the precise meaning
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Follow word limitations (50-300 words)
Introduction
The place to convince readers that you know why your work
is relevant
Answer a series of questions:
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What is the problem?
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Are there any existing solutions?
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Which one is the best?
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What is its main limitation?
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What do you hope to achieve?
General
Specific
Pitfalls of The Introduction
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Too wordy
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A mixed bag of introduction with results, discussion, and
conclusion thrown in for good measure.
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Never use more words than necessary.
Do not turn this section into a history lesson. Readers lose interest.
Always keep sections separate to ensure the manuscript flows
logically from one section to the next.
Excessive use of expressions such as “novel”, “first time”, “first
ever”, “paradigm-changing” (use these sparingly!)
Methods / Experimental
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Include all important details so that the reader can repeat the work.
 Details that were previously published can be omitted but a general
summary of those experiments should be included
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Give vendor names (and addresses) of equipment etc. used
Avoid adding comments and discussion
Write in the past tense
 Most journals prefer the passive voice
Consider use of Supplementary Materials
 Documents, spreadsheets, audio, video, .....
Reviewers will criticize incomplete or incorrect
descriptions, and may even recommend rejection
Results – What Have You Found?
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Only representative results, essential for the Discussion,
should be presented.
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Do not “hide” data in the hope of saving it for a later
paper.
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You may lose evidence to support your conclusion.
Use sub-headings to keep results of the same type
together
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Show data of secondary importance in Supplementary Materials.
Easier to review and read
Tell a clear and easy-to-understand story.
Results – Figures and Tables
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Illustrations are critical, because
 Figures and tables are the most efficient way to present results
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Results are the driving force of the publication
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A figure/table should convey the message besides giving the
data of the experiment
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However, your figure legend should ONLY describe the figure,
AND NOT THE DATA
Results – Appearance Counts!
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Un-crowded plots
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3 or 4 data sets per figure; well-selected scales; appropriate
axis label size; symbols clear to read; data sets easily
distinguishable
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Each photograph must have a scale marker of
professional quality in a corner
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All Text in English
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Not in French, Chinese, Arabic, ...
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Use color ONLY when necessary
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Do not include long boring tables
Discussion – What Do the Results Mean?
Check for the following:
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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?
Do not
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Make statements that go
beyond what the results can
support
Suddenly introduce new
terms or ideas
There is some flexibility here
with being creative, but do
not over sell your results
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Conclusions
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Without clear Conclusions, reviewers and readers
will find it difficult to judge the work, and whether
or not it merits publication in the journal.
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Tells how your work advances the field from the present
state of knowledge.
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Do NOT repeat the Abstract, or just list experimental
results.
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Provide a clear scientific justification for your work, and
indicate possible applications and extensions.
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You should also suggest future experiments and/or point out
those that are underway.
References: Get Them Right!
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Please adhere to the Guide for Authors of the journal
It is your responsibility, to format references, not the Editor’s!
Check
 Referencing style of the journal
 The spelling of author names, the year of publication
 Punctuation use
 Use of “et al.”: “et al.” = “and others”,
Avoid citing the following:
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Personal communications, unpublished observations,
manuscripts not yet accepted for publication: Editors may
ask for such documents for evaluation of the manuscripts
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Articles published only in the local language, which are
difficult for international readers to find.
Supplementary Material
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Data of secondary importance for the main scientific
thrust of the article
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Or data that do not fit into the main body of the article
e.g. audio, video, ....
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Remember that Supplementary Material is online only
Cover Letter
View it as a job application letter; you want to “sell” your work…
WHY did you submit the manuscript to THIS journal?
Do not summarize your manuscript, or repeat the abstract
Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal
Mention special requirements, e.g. if you do not wish your manuscript to
be reviewed by certain reviewers, and any conflicts of interest.
Mention if it is a revised and expanded version of a conference paper
Most editors will not reject a manuscript only because the cover letter is
bad, but a good cover letter may accelerate the editorial process of
your paper.
Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
What does the Editor Do?
The three are the most common forms of ethical misconduct
that the research community is challenged with:
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Fabrication
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Falsification
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Making up research data
Manipulation of existing research data
Plagiarism
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Plagiarism takes many forms, from “passing off” another’s paper as
the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts
of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from
research conducted by others
Avoiding Plagiarism: Proper Citation
Q
A researcher, in writing his research paper, mentions a
concept that is reported in an article written by his advisor.
Does he need to cite his advisor’s work and list the advisor’s
article in the bibliography?
A
This is always a good idea
Crediting the work of others (even your advisor’s or your
own previous work) and noting permissioned materials is
important to place your work in the context of the
advancement of the field and to acknowledge the findings of
others on which you build your research
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
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Ideally, the situation should be avoided where
manuscripts that describe essentially the same
research are published in more than one journal or
primary publication
An author should not submitting a previously
published paper for consideration in another journal
Duplication of the same paper in multiple journals of
different languages should be avoided
“Salami slicing”, or creating several publications from
the same research, is manipulative and discouraged
Plagiarism Detection Tools
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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
provided by 50+ publishers
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Editors and reviewers
Your colleagues
Other “whistleblowers”
 “The walls have ears", it seems ...
Crosscheck
• 83 publishers
• 25.5 million articles
• 48157 journals, books, conference
proceedings
• Papers are run through iThenticate
which matches the document against
the Crosscheck database and major
data providers and the open web
• Get a report displaying degree of
similarity to other documents and a
link to the fulltext of the matching
documents
• Cannot detect plagarism but can
identify a manuscript of concern
Publication Ethics – Self-Plagiarism
2004
2003
Same
colour left
and right
Same text
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Publication Ethics – How It Can End .....
Consequences vary according to the severity of the
misconduct and the standards set by the journal editors,
institutions and funding bodies.
Possible actions include:
 Written letters of concern and reprimand – sometimes
to be published
 Article retractions
 Some form of disciplinary action on the part of the
researcher’s institute or funding body
The article of which the authors committed plagiarism: it
won’t be removed from ScienceDirect. Everybody who
downloads it will see the reason of retraction…
Outline
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Who we are
What does the Publisher Do?
Who sees it? -Access
What does the Author Do?
What not to do…Publishing Ethics
What makes it better? - Innovation
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Innovation: Easy submitting /
JOURNAL FINDER
Innovation: Easy submitting /
JOURNAL FINDER
Innovation: Easy submitting /
ARTICLE TRANSFER SERVICE
Article Transfer Service
• No need to reformat or resubmit – we will transfer your manuscript for
you in minutes
• Shorter editorial times – the editors will use the work done by the
previous editors and reviewers
• Revise your paper, taking into account any reviews already received,
before finalizing submission to the new journal
• Keep the first submission date of your manuscript
• Remain in control of the submission process with minimal effort; just one
click to agree to the transfer
Innovation: Easy submitting /
YOUR PAPER YOUR WAY
Your paper your way
• Journal-specific formatting such as reference style is no longer needed
• Authors can upload your entire manuscript as a single PDF or MS Word
file
• the submission still needs to be structured and complete enough to allow
editors and reviewers to assess your works – for example Abstract,
Keywords, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusions,
Artwork and Tables with Captions
• Only when your paper reaches final revision stage, will you be requested
to deliver the "correct format" for acceptance and provide the items
required for the publication of your article.
• The authors of 51.5% of submissions chose to submit via the Your Paper,
Your Way route
Innovation: Format of the article /
ARTICLE OF THE FUTURE
Innovation: Format of the article /
AUDIO SLIDES
Audio Slides
• 1212 published 2013
• Positive feedback
• Non-peer reviewed
• SD and YouTube Gallery
Innovation: Format of the article /
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACTS
Graphical Abstracts
• A single, concise, pictorial and visual summary of the main findings of the
article
• Either the concluding figure from the article or a figure that is specially
designed for the purpose, which captures the content of the article for
readers at a single glance
• The Graphical Abstract will be displayed in online search result lists
Innovation: Format of the article /
COLLAGE
Innovation: Format of the article /
SHARE
The Sharing Hosted Autonomous Research Environments (SHARE) project
aims to build an online library of virtual machines related to scientific
publications, the purpose of which is to “share” securely and conveniently all
data, software and configuration parameters related to scientific experiments.
The SHARE special issue pilot appears in Elsevier’s Science of Computer
Programming, Volume 85, Part A, Pages 1-100 (1 June 2014)
Special Issue on Experimental Software Engineering in the Cloud(ESEiC)
Guest editors' introduction to the first issue on Experimental Software Engineering in the Cloud
(ESEiC)
Authors: Pieter Van Gorp and Louis Rose
Evaluation of model transformation approaches for model refactoring
Authors: S. Kolahdouz-Rahimi, K. Lano, S. Pillay, J. Troya, and P. Van Gorp
A survey and comparison of transformation tools based on the transformation tool contest
Authors: Edgar Jakumeit, Sebastian Buchwald, Dennis Wagelaar, Li Dan, Ábel Hegedüs, Markus
Herrmannsdörfer, Tassilo Horn, Elina Kalnina, Christian Krause, Kevin Lano, Markus Lepper, Arend
Rensink, Louis Rose, Sebastian Wätzoldt, and Steffen Mazanek
Innovation: Format of the article /
INTERACTIVE PLOTS
Interactive Plots
• a new way for authors to include data and
quantitative results with their journal article
• Interactive plots present author-submitted data
as a line or scatter plot
• Readers can hover over the plot to see the
value of a data point right from the plot
Innovation: Article of the Future demos
Tables:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0010027709000730
Video:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S1359646210003994
Crosshair:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0008622310002770
Proteins:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0020751909003920
Ref’s:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0010027709000730
Map:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0001706X1000029X
Diagrams:
http://www.articleofthefuture.com/S0020751909003920
Thank You!
Questions welcome
Dr. Liyue Zhao
[email protected]
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