1. The 36th Annual Meeting of the
Molecular Biology
Society of Japan
Presented by
Yukti Bharwani
December 05, 2013
1

2. Session Outline
Part 1: Common language mistakes made by
Japanese authors and some tips to avoid them
Part 2: Essential tips to publish successfully
2

3. Part 1: Common language mistakes made by
Japanese authors and some tips to avoid them
Part 2: Essential tips to publish successfully
3

4. Show of Hands
• How many of you have already written a research
paper?
• If yes, how many of you felt that you couldn’t
document your research as well as you could/should
have?
• Do you know what each part of a paper should
include?
4

5. Objectives
By the end of this session, you will
• Be able to recognize some errors commonly made by
authors when writing each part of a paper
• Receive some tips on how to avoid making such errors
5

6. Common reasons for manuscript rejection
• Mismatch with the journal
• Lack of originality, novelty, or significance
• Flaws in study design
• Poor writing and organization
• Inadequate preparation of the manuscript
• Reasons not related to the manuscript, like space
constraints
6

7. Title
Common errors
Includes non-essential information
Includes waster words (e.g., study of,
investigates)
Titles taken from articles published in BMC Biochemistry (CC-by license)
7

8. Title
Tips
Answer the questions:
–
–
–
–
What is the paper about?
What techniques/ designs were used?
Who/what is studied?
What were the results?
Contain useful keywords
Titles taken from articles published in BMC Biochemistry (CC-by license)
8

9. Keywords
Common errors
Insufficient time is spent on thinking of
relevant keywords
Keywords are too generic or too specific
Titles taken from articles published in BMC Biochemistry (CC-by license)
9

10. Keywords
Tips
 Understand that this is important; journals, search engines, and
indexing and abstracting services classify papers using keywords
 Use accurate list of keywords to ensure correct indexing
 Contain terms/phrases that are used repeatedly in the text.
 Include variants of a term/phrase (e.g., kidney and renal), drug
names, procedures, etc
• Note: Type the keywords into Google Scholar and check if the
results include similar papers or at least papers that match the
subject of the manuscript.
Titles taken from articles published in BMC Biochemistry (CC-by license)
10

11. Cover letter
Common errors
The cover letter is just a summary of the study
The cover letter contains general statements
like “We believe this study is suitable for the
journal.”
11

12. Cover letter
Tips
 Include a convincing reason why you have chosen to
submit to the journal and why the paper is suitable for
the journal
 Talk about why the work is interesting and important
 Include declarations required by the journal (e.g., that all
authors approve the submission, author contributions,
ethics declarations)
12

13. Introduction
Sets the context for the study and problem. Several readers may not
understand the significance of your study right away, so it’s best to
use general language and carefully developed logic to guide readers
to the main problem/objective of the study.
13

14. Introduction
Common error
The introduction reviews all studies that have
ever been published on the topic
14

15. Introduction
Tips
 Describe the rationale for undertaking the study
 Explain how the research makes an important contribution to
the field or advances knowledge
 State the research question clearly
 Explain the theoretical framework that the study is based on
 Provide a background of the problem or issue that your research
aims to understand or resolve, citing studies to support your
arguments
 Summarize the current state of knowledge on the topic, citing
studies as appropriate
15

16. Methods
This section is the most specific to your study. A primary criterion for
well-conducted research is that it must be replicable. This will
enable another researcher to reproduce the results by following the
methods detailed in your paper.
16

17. Methods
Common errors
Excludes important details simply to avoid a lengthy
description of the methods
17

18. Methods
Tips
 Provide full details of all methods, techniques, and instruments
 Include an image or diagram of the experimental setup
 Describe the questionnaire, survey, or other data collection
instruments
 Provide or cite studies that support the validity and reliability of
the analysis methods and instruments
 Describe the lab settings or environment
 Explain the analysis methods and why you chose them
18

19. Results
This section includes all details about the data and results so that
readers can understand the results without spending too much time
reading this section.
19

20. Results
Common errors
Include detailed descriptions of the results in
the text even though you have illustrated
these results in figures and tables
Generalizations of the results
20

21. Results
Tips
 Use tables and figures effectively to present results in a
manner that’s easy to understand at a glance
 Explain what the results are saying, rather than simply
stating the statistical data (e.g., “X was found to
substantially increase with Y [followed by statistical data]”
rather than “X and Y had a positive correlation of .73”)
21

22. Discussion
This section extends the specific results to their broader
implications, which can then be tied in with the general
background given in the introduction. Readers should understand
what the research/data is saying and how and why.
22

23. Discussion
Common errors
Repeat the results in this section
Draw conclusions that are not supported by
the data
23

24. Discussion
Tips
 Start by stating whether the hypothesis was supported
 Interpret the results: what do the results imply?
 Relate the findings to those of previous studies, for
example, whether the results support or deviate from
results in previous studies
 Explain how the study adds to previous knowledge
 Mention possible alternative explanations for the
results
 Address the limitations of the study
24

25. Conclusion
This section states the main conclusions of the study in the context
of the formulated problem.
25

26. Conclusion
Common errors
Oversell the research or “overgeneralize” the
results, that is, stretch the study findings to
provide suggestions or conclusions that the
research doesn’t really support
Simply summarize the results
26

27. Conclusion
Tips
 Explain what the authors have learned from the study
 Ensure that the conclusion is directly related to the research
question and stated purpose of the study
 Elaborate on the broader implications of the research
 Suggest specific future avenues of research to advance the
knowledge that’s been gained from the study or answer
questions that your study did not address
27

28. References
Common errors
The references in the text (citations) are not
listed in the references section at the end of
the paper
All the sources referred to are not listed in the
references section
28

29. References
Tips
Acknowledging a peer’s work is of utmost
importance. Give credit to the original work
Don’t forget to check that all citations are also
listed in the references section at the end
29

30. Other errors—miscount
Sometimes these changes are introduced
while incorporating review changes. Authors
might add/delete items and forget to update
the corresponding number.
Example: The three dimensions: time, length,
width, and depth
30

31. Other errors—miscount
Tips
Count every list you have numbered.
31

32. Other errors—the number zero
Wrong number of zeros or the wrong exponent
Example: 100,000 when you actually mean ten
thousand
32

33. Other errors—the number zero
Tip
To catch this error, you will have to rely on the
context and your subject matter expertise
33

34. Other errors—the number zero
Letter O for 0 and letter I for 1 or vice versa
Example: In 2003, elderly people constituted
1O.6% of India’s population.
34

35. Other errors—the number zero
Tip
Sometimes there is a typo and sometimes it is
difficult to tell. Look out for this error in
equations!
35

36. Questions?
Hmm. All very
good questions!

37. Part 1: Common language mistakes made by
Japanese authors and some tips to avoid them
Part 2: Essential tips to publish successfully
37

38. The Research Challenge
• You believe you have something to contribute to the
scientific literature
• You believe that your data is good
• You have a hard time writing and expressing yourself in
English
• You are under great pressure to
publish in high-impact peer-reviewed
western journals
38

39. 39

40. How to Navigate the Process
The Standard Approach:
• Choose the science
• Select the audience
• Select the journal
• Write the manuscript, submit, and hope it is accepted
However, before you even start the process, you need to
understand one very important concept:
40

41. 41

42. Who Are the Gatekeepers?
Unfortunately
• You are not writing for yourself
• You are not writing for the simple intent of writing
• You are not writing for your career advancement
You are ONLY writing for two “Gatekeepers”
1. The Journal Editor
2. The Peer Reviewer
These are the two people that you need to solve for, and in that
order.
42

43. Who Are the Gatekeepers?
• Always keep in mind that the Journal Editor and the
Peer Reviewer are professionals just like you!
They are:
• Successful in research
• Successful as writers
43

44. The Job of the Journal Editor
The Journal Editor has the job
to determine whether your
manuscript will:
• Interest the journal
readership?
• Advance knowledge in the
field?
• Improve coverage of this
particular topic in the journal?
• Improve the reputation of the
journal and help increase the
journal’s Impact Factor?
44
They are busy people and they
are also thinking about:
• Publication timelines
• High publishing standards
• Budgetary constraints
• Pleasing editorial boards
• Managing staff
• …and many other things!

45. 45

46. Should You Contact the Journal Editor?
Yes. Absolutely. Have the conversation before you submit the
manuscript…especially, if you have never submitted a paper to
the journal before.
Reasons:
• You will save time if the format or subject matter of the
paper is out of the scope of the journal
• When the manuscript is received, the Journal Editor will
already have a positive perception
• You will no longer be simply a name on a piece of paper
46

47. 47

48. How Do They Look at Your Paper?
Editorial steps:
• They read the cover letter
• They read the title of the manuscript
• They read the abstract
• They look at the results
• They jump to the discussion and conclusions
… and yes, unfortunately, they look at the names on the by-line to
see if they recognize any well-known researchers.
48

49. 49

50. Example of a Manuscript Title
Original
How an Editage editor
would edit it
• A study
of Schizosaccharomyces
pombe Mcm4, Mcm6, and
Mcm7
• Expression, purification, and
biochemical characterization
of Schizosaccharomyces
pombe Mcm4, Mcm6, and
Mcm7
• Fatty acyl-CoA reductases of
birds
• Avian fatty acyl-coA
reductases are expressed
together with wax ester
synthases
Titles taken from articles published in BMC Biochemistry (CC-by license)
50

51. Readability of the English Language
You dno’t have to be raelly smrat to raed tihs. In the
Elgnsih lugnagae it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the
ltteers are in a wrod. The olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht
the frist and lsat ltteers are pneiostiod in the rghit
pclae. The rset of the lrtetes can be jmulebd and you
can sitll raed it wiuthot porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the
huamn barin deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but
lokos for sncetnene and luganage petatnrs.
51

52. Readability of the English Language
You don’t have to be really smart to read this. In the
English language it doesn't matter in what order the
letters are in a word. The only important thing is that
the first and last letters are positioned in the right
place. The rest of the letters can be jumbled and you
can still read it without problem. This is because the
human brain does not read every letter by itself, but
looks for sentence and language patterns.
52

53. 53

54. So Where Do You Start?
Before your manuscript reaches the Journal Editor, evaluate
the manuscript carefully:
• Have you selected the right manuscript structure and
journal for your research?
• Are your findings complete?
• Is your study novel?
• How will your study advance knowledge in the field?
• Have you followed the journal guidelines?
• Are there any grammatical or typographical errors?
54

55. 55

56. Structural Elements to Consider
Did you follow the standard IMRAD scientific format when
writing your manuscript?
Introduction | Materials + Methods | Results | (and) | Discussion
Did you review the Instructions for Authors for the
journal?
56

57. This resource also contains links to some of the most respected research
and authorship guidelines, such as ICMJE, COPE, CONSORT, etc.
57

58. Questions?
Hmm. All very
good questions!

59. Contact Information
Cactus Communications K.K.
Website: www.editage.jp
Yukti Bharwani
Email: yuktib@cactusglobal.com
Dr. EddyTM
personifies our efforts to
support authors with good
publication practices.