Transcript Slide 1

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??
10 Typical Reasons why
Scientist/Researchers Publishing
Career progression – moving up to the next rung on the
ladder
Gaining recognition for work you have done
Developing a profile
Contributing to knowledge
Stopping someone else taking credit for your work or
using your materials
Setting yourself a new challenge
Helping your students to gain recognition for their work
Learning how to write to a higher standard
Building your institution’s status
Personal satisfaction of completing a new goal
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 !!!
Role of Scientific Publications
Registration
The timestamp to officially note who
submitted scientific results first
Certification
Perform peer-review to ensure the
validity and integrity of submissions
Dissemination
Preservation
Provide a medium for discoveries
and findings to be shared
Preserving the minutes and record of
science for posterity
Peer Review
Helps to determine the quality,
validity, significance and originality
of research
Helps to improve the
quality 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
‘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 passport to
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 out
o Aims and scope
o Accepted types of articles
o Readership
o Current hot topics
o go through the abstracts of recent
publications
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.
‘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
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
iŵpoƌtaŶtly, youƌ ƌeadeƌ’s tiŵe is
scaƌce.
Make your article as concise as possible.
General structure of a Research Article
The final article
General
Introduction
Specific
General
Methods & Results
Discussion & Conclusion
The Process of Writing – Building the Article
Title & Abstract
Introduction
Conclusion
Methods
Results
Discussion
Figures/Tables (your data)
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”
Authorship
Corresponding
Author
Ghost Authorship
First Author
Gift Authorship
Good Listing
Principle
Poor Listing
Principle
Fewest possible
words
Adequately
describes
content
Identifies main
issue
Effective manuscript titles
Does not use
rarely-used
abbreviations
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”
Keywords
Solar 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 influence
whether 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
Methods
Describe 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 must
follow 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 distinguishable
when 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
Advisors
Financial
Supporters &
Funders
Proofreaders &
Typists
Acknowledgments
Suppliers who
may have
donated
materials
References
Do not use too many references
Always ensure you have fully absorbed
material you are referencing
Avoid excessive self-citations Avoid
excessive citations of publications
from the same region
Conform strictly to the style given in the
guide for authors
‘How To Get Published’
Using Proper Scientific Language
Why is language important?
It can delay or block
publication of work
Proper English should
be used
Manuscript language: Sentences
Write direct and short sentences
One piece of information per
sentence
Avoid multiple statements in one
sentence
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 letter
Final approval from all
authors
Explanation of
importance of research
Suggested reviewers
Decision: “Accepted” or “Rejected”
Accepted
Rejected
• Very rare, but it happens
•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
• 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.
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 Responsibilities
Focus 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 Railsback
Department 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 Writings
Graphic
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
Crediting the work of others (including your advisor’s or your own previous
work) by citation is important for at least three reasons:
To place your own work in context
To acknowledge the findings of others on which you have
built your research
To maintain the credibility and accuracy of the
scientific literature
Plagiarism Detection
Cross Check Initiative (2009
Huge database of 30+ million articles, from 50,000+
journals, from 400+ publishers
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
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…
Can you plagiarise your own work? “Text recycling/Self-plagiarism”
You publish a paper and in a later paper, copy your Introduction wordfor 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
2003
2004
Same colour
left and right
Same text
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
Life Sci, 2004 Rotated 180º
Rotated 180o
Zoomed out ?!
Re-cap
When in doubt,
cite!
Never cut &
paste (even to
save time in
drafts)
If you suspect:
REPORT
Responsibility
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.