explains details about publication and its need and process, peer reviewers and what is peer review

1. How to Get Published in a
Research Journal
Tips for Successful Publishing
Vicki Wetherell
Publisher – Business and Management
v.wetherell@elsevier.com

2. | 2
Elsevier Social Sciences and Economics
…..over 200 titles

3. | 3
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)

4. | 4
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)

5. | 5
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)
Publications by amount of international, national and institutional collaboration

6. | 6
Origins of scholarly publishing
1439
Gutenberg and
moveable type
Henry
Oldenburg
(1618- 1677)
Founding Editor
and Commercial
Publisher of the
first scientific
journal
1580
Founding of the
House of Elzevir
March 6,1665
Philosophical
Transactions
of the Royal
Society
First true
scholarly journal

7. | 7
Scholarly publishing today
Scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing
2,000 STM
publishers
1.4 million
peer-reviewed
articles
20,000
peer-reviewed
journals

8. | 8
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
• Provide a medium for discoveries and findings to be shared
Preservation
• Preserving the minutes and record of science for posterity

9. | 9
Academic publishing
The publishing cycle
Solicit &
manage
submissions
30-60%
rejected by
> 13,000
editors
Manage
Peer Review
557,000+
reviewers
Edit &
prepare
365,000
articles
accepted
Production
12.6 million
articles
available
Publish &
Disseminate
>700 million
downloads by
>11 million
researchers in
>120 countries!

10. | 10
The publisher’s role
Registration
Certification
Dissemination
Preservation
Use
How do Publishers add value to the scientific and health community?

11. | 11
Who We Serve
Researchers
Health
Practitioners
Faculty &
Students
Pharma
Companies
Librarians
Societies
Engineers
Professionals
General
Public
Elsevier’s Global
Publishing Network
13,000 Editors
70,000 Editorial
Board Members
300,000+ Referees
600,000+ Authors

12. | 12
Why do people publish

13. | 13
Each year….
• 3 million articles submitted
• 1.5 million articles published
• 30 million readers
• 2 billion digital article downloads
• 30 million article citations

14. | 14
The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Manage
peer review
Edit and
prepare
Archive and
promote use
Publish and
disseminate
Production

15. | 15
Online peer review systems
Online peer review
systems accept
manuscript submissions
and facilitate online peer
review
Online systems can
handle hundreds of
thousands of
submissions and reviews
per year

16. | 16
What is the peer review process
Submit a
paper
Basic requirements met?
REJECT
Assign
reviewers
Collect reviewers’
recommendations
Make a
decision
Revise the
paper
[Reject]
[Revision required]
[Accept]
[Yes]
[No]
Review and give
recommendation
START
ACCEPT
Author Editor Reviewer
Michael Derntl. Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing. http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf

17. | 17
Peer review
 Helps to determine the quality,
validity, significance, and originality
of research
 Helps to improve the quality of
papers
 Publishers are 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

18. | 18
Purpose of peer review
• Mistakes in procedures or logic
• Conclusions not supported by the results
• Errors or omissions in the references
• Compliance with ethics standards
– Has the protocol been approved by an appropriate
Ethics Committee?
• Human research: Most recent “Declaration of
Helsinki”
• Originality and significance of the work
“ Technical” Quality
“
Novelty”

19. | 19
Role and tasks of reviewer
 The peer review process is based on trust
 The scientific publishing enterprise depends
largely on the quality and integrity of the
reviewers
 Reviewers should write reports in a collegial
and constructive manner
 Reviewers should treat all manuscripts in the
same manner

20. | 20
Why do reviewers review?
 Value from mentoring young researchers
 Enjoyment in reviewing
 General interest in the area
 Awareness of new research and developments
before their peers
 Career development
 Help with own research or new ideas
 Association with journals and Editors
 Keep updated with latest developments

21. | 21
The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Manage
peer review
Edit and
prepare
Archive and
promote use
Publish and
disseminate
Production

22. | 22
Planning your article
Are you ready to publish?
Not ready
Work has no scientific interest
Ready
Work advances the field

23. | 23
 Clear and useful message
 A logical manner
 Readers grasp the research
Planning Your Article
What makes a strong manuscript?
Editors, reviewers and readers all want to receive
well presented manuscripts that fit within the aims
and scope of their journal.

24. | 24
Full articles
• Substantial, complete and comprehensive pieces of research
Is my message sufficient for a full article?
Letters or short communications
• Quick and early communications
Are my results so thrilling that they should be shown as soon as possible?
Review papers
• Summaries of recent developments on a specific top
• Often submitted by invitation
Planning your article
Types of manuscripts
Your supervisor or colleagues are also good sources for
advice on manuscript types.

25. | 25
Choosing the right journal
Best practices
 Aim to reach the intended audience for your work
 Choose only one journal, as simultaneous submissions are prohibited
 Supervisor and colleagues can provide good suggestions
 Shortlist a handful of candidate journals, and investigate them:
• Aims
• Scope
• Accepted types of articles
• Readership
• Current hot topics
Articles in your reference list will usually lead you directly to the right journals.

26. | 26
Choosing the right journal
What about the Impact Factor…?
 the IF can give guidance but should NOT be the sole reason to submit
to a journal.
 The IF indicates the cites to recent items / number of recent items
(published in a 2 year period) in a journal
© Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports, 2015

27. | 27
Preparing your manuscript
Guide for Authors
 Find it on the journal homepage of the publisher, e.g. Elsevier.com
 Keep to the Guide for Authors in your manuscript
 It will save your time

28. | 28
General structure of a research article
 Title
 Abstract
 Keywords
 Introduction
 Methods
 Results and Discussion
 Conclusion
 Acknowledgements
 References
 Supporting materials

29. | 29
The process of writing –
building the article
Title, Abstract, and Keywords
Figures/Tables (your data)
Conclusion Introduction
Methods Results Discussion

30. | 30
 Attract reader’s attention
 Contain fewest possible words
 Adequately describe content
 Are informative but concise
 Identify main issue
 Do not use technical jargon and rarely-used abbreviations
Effective manuscript titles
Editors and reviewers do not like titles that make no sense or fail to
represent the subject matter adequately. Additionally, if the title is not
accurate, the appropriate audience may not read your paper.

31. | 31
Articles with shorter titles get more citations (The Australian, 09/09/2015)
Twitter, YouTube and sound bite politics may have compressed the attention span of the
average punter and now a new study has unearthed the same phenomenon in the cerebral
world of academic publishing. (Researchers from the University of Warwick)
Effective manuscript titles

32. | 32
Keywords
 Are the labels of the manuscript
 Are used by indexing and abstracting services
 Should be specific
 Should use only established abbreviations (e.g. CSR)
Check the Guide for Authors for specifics on which keywords should be
used.

33. | 33
 Frames the 3Ps of an article – Purpose, Procedure and Principal
Findings
 Summarize the problem, methods, results, and conclusions in a
single paragraph
 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
Abstract
Take the time to write the abstract very carefully. Many authors write the
abstract last so that it accurately reflects the content of the paper.

34. | 34
Provide a brief context to the readers
Address the problem
Identify the solutions and limitations
Identify what the work is trying to achieve
Provide a perspective consistent with the
nature of the journal
Introduction
Write a unique introduction for every article. DO NOT reuse introductions.

35. | 35
Frames an article by positioning it against
past research
Provides a useful synopsis of a body
research
Longer in quantitative papers than qualitative
papers
Literature Review

36. | 36
Describe how the problem was
studied
Include detailed information
Do not describe previously
published procedures
Identify the equipment and
materials used
Methods

37. | 37
Methods – 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

38. | 38
Include only data of primary
importance
Use sub-headings to keep results
of the same type together
Be clear and easy to understand
Highlight the main findings
Feature unexpected findings
Provide statistical analysis
Include illustrations and figures
Results / Findings

39. | 39
Interpretation of results
Most important section
Make the discussion correspond to
the results and complement them
Compare published results with
your own
Discussion
Be careful not to use the following:
- Statements that go beyond what the results can support
- Non-specific expressions
- New terms not already defined or mentioned in your paper
- Speculations on possible interpretations based on imagination

40. | 40
Main objective is to highlight theoretical contribution
Demonstrate where existing theory is wrong or
lacking
Demonstrate how and where research in the paper
fixes incorrect assumptions or fill gaps in knowledge
Clarify practical implications
Address limitations
Suggestions for future research
Discussion (cont’d) …or Conclusions

41. | 41
Acknowledgments
 Advisors
 Financial supporters and funders
 Proof readers and typists
 Suppliers who may have donated materials

42. | 42
References
Feldman, D. C. (2004). The devil is in the details: Converting good research into
publishable articles. Journal of Management, 30(10), 1-6.
 Do not use too many references
 “References should be exhaustive rather than
exhausting” (Feldman, 2004)
 Always ensure you have fully absorbed the material
you are referencing
 Avoid excessive self citations
 Avoid excessive citations of publications from the
same region or institute
 Conform strictly to the style given in the Guide for
Authors

43. | 43
Manuscript language: Overview
 Clear
 Objective
 Accurate
 Concise
Always read the journal’s Guide for Authors to check for any additional
language specifications.

44. | 44
Authorship: Do’s and don’ts
First Author:
 Conducts and/or supervises the data analysis
and the proper presentation and interpretation
of the results
 Puts paper together and submits the paper to
journal
Co-Author(s):
 Makes intellectual contributions to the data
analysis and contributes to data interpretation
 Reviews each paper draft
 Must be able to present the results, defend
the implications and discuss study limitations
General principles for who is listed first:
Ghost Authors:
 Leaving out authors who should be
included
Scientific Writers and Gift Authors:
 Including authors when they did not
contribute significantly
Abuses to be avoided:

45. | 45
The most serious issues to avoid
1. Fabrication
Making up research data
2. Falsification
Manipulation of existing research data
3. Plagiarism
Previous work taken and passed off as one’s own
These are the 3 most common forms of ethical misconduct that the
research community is challenged with:

46. | 46
Why do we need originality and ethical conduct?
Unethical behavior by Researchers degrades the scientific record and
the reputation of science and medicine in the broader community.
It can unfairly affect the reputation and academic record of individual
researchers/authors.

47. | 47
Journal article production
 Preprint
Author submits manuscript
 Manuscript accepted
 Document proof
Copy editing, Author proofing, preparation
for publishing
 Published journal article
Logo, pagination, branding
 Electronic Warehouse
Published as print, HTML or PDF copy

48. | 48
The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Manage
peer review
Edit and
prepare
Archive and
promote use
Publish and
disseminate
Production

49. | 49
Changes in Publishing Dynamic

50. | 50
Methods of dissemination
Traditional print journals
and
Electronic journal platforms
like Elsevier’s ScienceDirect
improve online dissemination and
access

51. | 51
Other methods of dissemination
 Journal articles
 Expert commentary
 Conference coverage
Advertising-supported portals
 Articles feeds
 Podcasts
 Blogs
Mobile apps

52. | 52
Other publishing models
 Authors publish free of charge
 Institutions or individuals subscribe
to journals
Traditional publishing
 Author (or institution/funding agency) pays
an article publication fee
 Article is made freely available to all online
 Some journals publish exclusively open
access
 Other subscription journals offer open
access options
Open access publishing

53. | 53
Free and permanent access to scholarly research
combined with clear guidelines (user licenses) for users to re-use
the content.
What is open access?
Gold open access
 After submission and peer review, an
article publishing charge (APC) is payable
 Upon publication everyone can
immediately and permanently access the
article online
Green open access
 After submission and peer review in a
subscription journal, the article is published
online
 Subscribers have immediate access and
the article is made open access either
through author self-archiving, publisher
deposit or linking.

54. | 54
The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Manage
peer review
Edit and
prepare
Archive and
promote use
Publish and
disseminate
Production

55. | 55
Promoting research
Promotion of research
 Conferences
 Newsletters
 Alerts
 Abstracting and indexing databases
Workflows and research tool examples
 Transportation DB Center app

56. | 56
You want to make sure your research gets the attention
it deserves
7 hrs/week
average time
spent on literature
1970 2013
0
40M
 The volume of research articles is
growing at an accelerated pace
 For most researchers, it’s a real
challenge to keep up with the literature
 Your job: make sure your research
doesn’t fall through the cracks!

57. | 57
1. Preparing your
article
2. Promoting your
published article
3. Monitoring your
article

58. | 58
Write a lay summary
Lay summaries:
 Are short summaries of an academic
article
 Explain complex concepts and focus
on the results and impacts
 Describe research in plain English
 Can be used in funding applications
 Make research accessible to a wide
audience
 Improve public engagement with
science to benefit wider society

59. | 59
Preservation and archiving
Publishers partner with organizations to keep
multiple archives of all published research.
Elsevier partners with:
 The National Library of Netherlands
 Portico
 CLOCKSS

60. | 60
Further reading at
publishingcampus.com
elsevier.com/authors
elsevier.com/reviewers
elsevier.com/editors
Get Published – top tips on writing, reviewing and grant writing etc.
Publishing Ethics brochure – top reasons to publish ethically
Get Noticed – new ways to promote your article and research
Understanding the Publishing Process with Elsevier – complete guide
Open access – definitions and options
Career Planning Guide – download in 12 languages

61. | 61

62. Elsevier Publishing Campus
www.publishingcampus.com
Information about publishing in journals
www.elsevier.com/authors
Thank you