Transcript Microsoft PowerPoint - the NCRM EPrints Repository

PUBLISHING IN ACADEMIC
JOURNALS:
TIPS TO HELP YOU SUCCEED
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ESRC Research Methods Festival, July 2014
Helen Wheeler
Managing Editor - Education
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
CONTENTS
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Publishing cycle
Peer review process
Know your audience
Choose the right journal
Introduction to Open Access
Writing for your chosen journal
Preparing your manuscript
A word on etiquette
What to do when your paper is published or rejected
Help for prospective authors
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START OF THE PUBLISHING CYCLE
8. Proofread and
submit
1. Idea
2. Choose
Journal
7. Check
notes for
contribut
ors
6. Refine
further
drafts
3. Read
back
issues
4. Write
first draft
5. Use
critical
friend
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THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS
1. Editor
receives
manuscript
2. Reviewers
3. Accept
Minor
amendments
Major
amendments
Reject
6. Publisher
proof stage
5. Amend
4. Feedback to
author
7. Article
Published!
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KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Tip 1:
A journal article is not a magazine article, a book manuscript
or your PhD thesis (but you could write a Book Review…)!
Q. Do you:
a) Write an article for a specific journal?
b) Find any journal for your article
A. Be in the minority:
30% of authors write for a specific journal, 70% write
the article and panic.
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CHOOSE THE RIGHT JOURNAL
Tip 2:
You are joining a conversation with other contributors
Research the journals in your field:
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Visit your university library
Look at publishers and journal websites
Talk to your peers
Pick your type: Generalist, or niche?
Read the Aims and Scope
Check http://www.sherpa.ac.uk/romeo/
Ask the right questions and know the right answers:
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Editor?
Editorial Board?
Publisher?
Authors?
Readership?
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Online/Print?
Impact Factor?
Peer Review?
Submission process?
Open Access policy?
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What is Open Access (OA)?
“Open access is, simply, the idea that research articles
should be freely, immediately and permanently
available online to anyone, rather than locked away
in subscription journals….” Zoe Corbyn, THES
Gold Open Access: article is made freely available
online upon publication after payment of an Author
Publishing Charge (APC).
Green Open Access: deposit of the Author Accepted
Manuscript (AAM ) in an institutional or subject
repository.
Platinum Open Access: no APC. Costs are covered
through volunteer work, donations, subsidies, grants,
etc.
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JOURNAL CITATION METRICS
Citation metrics (rightly or wrongly) are widely used as
measures of quality by:
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Librarians
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Tenure & promotion committees
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Grant awarding bodies
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Authors
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Publishers
In the simplest terms, they calculate the average number of
citations over a specified time period.
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Impact Factor/Social Sciences Citation Index
SNIP/ Scopus
Eigenfactor Score®
Article Influence Score®
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WRITING FOR YOUR CHOSEN JOURNAL
Tip 3:
Think like an Editor
“...I think authors need to be a little bit empathetic,
they need to think ‘what is it like to be an editor of a
journal? How many papers is the Editor receiving
per day, per week? What is going to actually make
the journal pay attention to my paper?”
Monica Taylor, Former Editor of Journal of Moral
Education
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PREPARING YOUR MANUSCRIPT
Absolute Do’s and Definite Don’ts:
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Look at accepted papers
Quote from articles in the
journal
Fit the Aims & Scope
Format your article to the
journal’s standard
Know where or who to submit to
Check spelling and grammar
Consider English ‘Polishing’
Ask a colleague to read it
× Overlook the title
× Rush the abstract
× Dismiss the submission guidelines
× Ignore the bibliography
× Leave acronyms unexplained
× Forget to clear any Copyright
× Miss out attachments (figs, tables, photos)
× Send the incorrect version of your paper
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WHAT MAKES A GOOD TITLE?
Tip 4:
The title and abstract are the most visible parts of
your article.
"We would typically expect a strong title, a good title
that really expressed what the article was about and
made it clear to the reader exactly what the topic
was, and it's amazing how often writers neglect to
do that.”
Professor Mark Brundrett, Editor of Education 3-13
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WHAT MAKES A GOOD ABSTRACT?
“A good abstract will tell you what the key issue
that’s addressed is, it’ll give you an idea of the
methods that have been used and the conclusions
that have been arrived at. So that abstract ought
to tell someone whether it’s worth them spending
part of their life reading this paper. If the abstract
doesn’t do that the chances are the paper will
have further weaknesses.”
Professor David Gillborn, Editor, Race, Ethnicity and
Education
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A WORD ON ETIQUETTE
Mind your P’s (and Q’s)!
Plagiarism: is it on the increase or are we just better at
detecting it? It doesn’t matter, just don’t do it!
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Be wary of self-plagiarism
Don’t submit a manuscript to more than one journal at a
time
Don’t send an incomplete paper just to get feedback
Always acknowledge your co-authors and/or fellow
researchers
Always mention any source of funding for your paper.
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WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PAPER IS REJECTED?
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Do nothing for a few days: calm down!
It’s not usually worth getting into a discussion with the
Editor about the reviewers, it won’t alter the decision and
could do you harm.
Use the reviewers’ comments, alter the paper and submit to
another journal.
If you do submit elsewhere, take care to alter your
paper to the new style of that journal. Editors can
easily detect a paper that was submitted to a rival
publication.
If asked to make heavy amendments and resubmit, you
must decide if it is worthwhile. Remember, you may get
rejected again! It may be better to go elsewhere.
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PUBLISHED? PROMOTE YOUR PAPER!
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Reading Lists
Departmental website or personal webpage
Social and Academic Networking
e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Linked-In, MyNetResearch, Academici,
CiteULike
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Discussion Lists
Blogs
Library Recommendation
Free Sample Copy
Email signature
Send e-prints to your colleagues
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NEED HELP? VISIT THE TAYLOR & FRANCIS
AUTHOR SERVICES WEBSITE
http://journalauthors.tandf.co.uk/
Featuring audio interviews with academic editors providing
advice on how to get published and how to write a research
paper.
Comprehensive guidance is also available on:
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writing an article, editing or language polishing, translating, checking
references, artwork, providing supplementary data, how to choose a
journal;
systems and interfaces (ScholarOne Manuscripts, Rightslink etc.);
the review process and what to expect;
the production process and checking proofs;
post-publication, errata, reprints, optimising citations;
article versions and institutional repositories: what authors can and
can’t do with their articles.
Our Authors’ Newsletter is freely available online.
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