Writing for Publication: Get Started, Get Support, Get Published

Writing for Publication: Getting
Started, Getting Help and Getting
Published
EAHIL + ICAHIS + ICLC : 10-12 June 2015 :
Edinburgh
Maria J Grant
Research Fellow (Writing for Publication)
Editor, Health Information & Libraries Journal (IF: 0.932)

http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hilj

How many people here write?
• Peer reviewed article
• Newsletter item
• Non-peer reviewed article
• Project or management
report
• Twitter or Facebook
• Blog post
• Book review

Realising we all write…
…and that Writing
for Publication is
just part of that
continuum…

Writing for Publication Is
Different
• Expected to support
statements with references
• Contextualise what is known
about the subject and any
gaps in the evidence
• How does your writing adds
to the body of knowledge
• Level of rigour when writing
for publication is higher
http://bit.ly/1He9a2E

Why Might You Want to Write
for Publication?
• Dissemination of research
findings
• Stimulate debate
• Expectation of peers and
employers
• Prestige
• Credibility with colleagues
• Financial incentives
http://bit.ly/1lUIkk5

Introduce yourself to the
person next to you…
• What is the main thing you
do in your everyday
practice?
• What types of things have
you written before?
• What are your areas of
interest?
• What topics would you
potentially like to write
about in the future?
http://bit.ly/1KUGVYX
http://bit.ly/NhZRBm

Hello, my name is Maria…
• What is the main thing you do
in your everyday working life?
• What types of things have
you written before?
– I co-ordinate a dissertation module
for the MSc Nursing programme
– Contribute to literature reviews
within the school
– Book reviews
– Project reports
– Peer reviewed journal articles
– Twitter accounts
(@MariaJGrant @HILJnl)

Hello, my name is Maria…
• What are your areas of
interest?
– Writing for Publication
• What topics would you
potentially like to write
about in the future?
- Moving from what we believe
works well to gathering
confirmatory evidence of what
actually works well

Your Working Title
• Brainstorming a range
of draft working titles
• Think creatively
http://phil-race.co.uk/
• Shortlist no more than
six
• Rate your titles
(Race 1999)

Robert Brown’s 8
Questions (Q1 & Q2)
1. The working title of your paper
2. Authors
3. Anticipated journal/s
4. Intended readers/audiences
5. What is the central question
your paper poses? / What is
the answer it will provide?
6. If your readers had only one
sentence to summarise your
article, what should it be?
7. Why did you do the work?
What did you do? What
happened? What does your
study contribute?
8. What remains unresolved?
http://bit.ly/1EIpxUh

Robert’s Questions 3 & 4
(Anticipated journal/s & intended readers/audiences)
Health Information and Libraries
Journal (HILJ) is an international
journal with interdisciplinary
interest to practitioners,
researchers, and students in the
library and health sectors. Its
objectives include promoting
debate about new health
information developments with an
emphasis on communicating
evidence-based information both
in the management and support of
healthcare services.http://bit.ly/1DIALH2

Robert Brown’s Questions 3 & 4
(Anticipated journal/s & intended readers/audiences)
Health Information and Libraries
Journal (HILJ) is an international
journal with interdisciplinary
interest to practitioners,
researchers, and students in the
library and health sectors. Its
objectives include promoting
debate about new health
information developments with an
emphasis on communicating
evidence-based information both
in the management and support of
healthcare services.http://bit.ly/1xpMpzg

Author
Guidelines
(Q4)
http://bit.ly/1zZbdTf

Look at Past Issues
Learn from people
who’ve already been
through the process
http://bit.ly/qOaJWR

The Health Information and
Libraries Journal Wont Be
Interested In My Local Project…
• Not just about what you
did…
• Setting it in context of
what’s gone before http://bit.ly/1MxVZd5

Setting the Context
Literature review
– What is known about
the subject area?
– What are the gaps
identified in the
literature?
– How does your
manuscript address
this gap?
– International context
http://bit.ly/nS9QxS

What do we expect when we
read an article?
• Relevant/Useful
• Present something new
– Want to use time efficiently
• Clarity/Well written
• Knowledgeable author
– Illustrated by being linked to known work in the area
• Hoping is done well – good science
• Uses particular technique to demonstrate real world
application of techniques – study design
• Follow appropriate conventions (methods in methods
section, results in results, discussion, conclusion is merely
summing up) so easier to follow
• Abstract matches article
• Well edited/typeset

Robert’s Question(s) 5
• What is the central
question your paper
poses? / What is the
answer it will
provide?
http://bit.ly/1EIpxUh

Your Writing Sandwich
• Write for 5 minutes about the
working title you ranked as
the most important
• Don’t self edit
• Don’t re-read
• If you don’t know what to
write then write “I don’t know
what to write”
• Keep your pen or pencil
flowing
http://bit.ly/N4gUGY

The Sandwich Filling
• Take turns to share your
writing idea with the
person sitting next to you
• Ask questions to clarify
your understanding

The Last Slice
• Re-visit your five minutes
of writing
• Rework it in light of the
questions your partner
asked and the answers
you gave

Reconvene in 30 minutes…
http://bit.ly/1JBFVsz

Finding Time…
http://bit.ly/M8BJ1E

Making Time…
http://bit.ly/M8BJ1E

Consider…
“Learning to talk about
writing is an important
key to becoming a
productive writer.”
(Belcher, 2009 p2)
http://amzn.to/16aNxth

(Experienced) Colleagues
• Talking
• Learning
• Writing
• Editing and
advising
(Grant et al 2010)

English as a Second Language
Language: The language of publication is English. Authors for
whom English is a second language must have their
manuscript professionally edited by an English speaking
person before submission to make sure the English is of a
high quality. It is preferred that manuscripts are professionally
edited. A list of independent suppliers of editing services can
be found at
http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/english_language.asp
All services are paid for and arranged by the author, and use
of one of these services does not guarantee acceptance or
preference for publication. This should conform with the
Concise Oxford English Dictionary.

Second Languages: Easier to
Speak than to Write!
• Punctuation is used to create
sense, clarity and stress in
sentences
• You use punctuation marks to
structure and organise your
writing

Punctuation…
perhaps you dont always need to use commas
periods colons etc to make sentences clear
when i am in a hurry tired cold lazy or angry i
sometimes leave out punctuation marks
grammar is stupid i can write without it and dont
need it my uncle Harry once said he was not
very clever and i never understood a word he
wrote to me i think ill learn some punctuation
not too much enough to write to Uncle Harry he
needs some help
(edufind.com 2015)

Punctuation is used to create sense,
clarity and stress in sentences…
Perhaps you don't always need to use commas,
periods, colons etc. to make sentences clear.
When I am in a hurry, tired, cold, lazy, or angry I
sometimes leave out punctuation marks.
"Grammar is stupid! I can write without it and
don't need it," my uncle Harry once said. He
was not very clever, and I never understood a
word he wrote to me. I think I'll learn some
punctuation - not too much, enough to write to
Uncle Harry. He needs some help!
(edufind.com 2015)

“patter” @ http://patthomson.net/

Weekly Writing Tips
@MariaJGrant

Research, Evaluation & Audit
Key Steps in Demonstrating Your Value
• Chapter 11: Writing for
Publication
• Co-written with Graham
Walton, Editor, New
Review of Academic
Librarianship
(Grant et al 2013) http://bit.ly/MXt6LT

Timelapse Writing a Research Paper
http://bit.ly/1I93OYm

Edit, Edit, Edit…
Revisit every
section of your
paper…
including the
title, abstract
and
authorship

Authorship/Attribution Can Be
Contentious (Q2)
Discuss authorship as early as possible,
ideally before you start to write
Make, distribute & keep copies of
authorship agreement
– What is to be written up
– Who is to write up which elements
– The order of authors on the final
document
All authors to agree the final draft prior
to submission and approve any
amendments
http://bit.ly/1yqTXlU

What is Peer Review?
‘Peer review is the process by which
reports of, or proposals for, research are
scrutinised by other researchers.’
(Committee of Publisher Ethics 2011)

What is the purpose of peer
review?
• To ensure that only the
best quality
manuscripts are
published
• To provide constructive
feedback on how a
manuscript can be
further developed
http://bit.ly/1JHacVg

What are the Potential
Outcomes of a Peer Review?
• Five potential outcomes
– Accept
– Minor revisions
– Major revisions/Rewrite &
resubmit
– Un-submitted
– Reject
http://bit.ly/1QIhTe5

Outcome 1: Accepted
A cause for
celebration!
I’ve only known a
peer reviewed
manuscript be
accepted at first
submission once
Usually a journey…
http://bit.ly/o80w2e

Outcome 2: Minor Revisions
“A recommendation of
minor revision should be
made if the manuscript is
likely to be of interest to
the HILJ readership but
typographical errors or
incomplete references
are present.”
(S1M 2011)
http://bit.ly/n3Uowg

Outcome 3: Major Revisions/
Rewrite & Resubmit
“A recommendation of a
major revision should be
made if the manuscript is
likely to be of interest to
the HILJ readership but
requires a reworking in
terms of structure or the
inclusion of additional
materials.”
(S1M 2011)

Outcome 4: Un-submitted
Likely to be of interest
to the Health
Information and
Libraries Journal but
requires further
development before it
is ready to send for
peer review
http://bit.ly/1JBUXOP

Outcome 5: Rejected
“A recommendation to
reject a manuscript should
be made if the manuscript
is unlikely to be relevant/of
interest to the HILJ
readership or is not
sufficiently rigorous to be
suitable for publication in
an academic journal.”
(S1M 2011)
http://bit.ly/pT2Ess

Reasons a Manuscript Might Be
Rejected
Out of scope
– Topic area or format
Insufficiently developed
– Bullet points
Plagiarism
Not responding to
referee/s comments
http://bit.ly/pT2Ess

What To Do When You
Receive Referee/s Comments?
Take a deep breath
– Read the comments
– Put the manuscript aside
– Discuss them with your co-
author/s
– Respond positively to each
point raised
http://bit.ly/LBT2Ja
Remember, very few
manuscripts are accepted
without any revisions

Your Manuscript Has Been
Accepted!
http://bit.ly/1eZIvvw
http://bit.ly/1FGhB2c

You’ll Be Sent a “Proof”…

If you had only one sentence… (Q6)
http://bit.ly/1vjtStO

Robert’s Eighth Question (Q8)
What remains
unresolved?
http://bit.ly/1CjowP0

Is the Health Information and
Libraries Journal interested in
your local project?
http://bit.ly/1dmoqhX

References
Belcher, W. L. (2009) Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: a guide to academic
publishing success. London: Sage.
Grant, M. J., Sen, B. and Spring, H. (2013) research, evaluation & audit
key steps in demonstrating your value. London: Facet Publishing.
Grant, M. J., Munro, W., McIsaac, J. and Hill, S. (2010) Cross-disciplinary writers‘
group stimulates fresh approaches to scholarly communication: a reflective case
study within a higher education institution in the north west of England, New
Review of Academic Librarianship, 16: 1, 44-64.
Mewburn, I. (2014) The thesis whisperer. http://thesiswhisperer.com/
edufind.com (2015) English grammer guide. Web site:
http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/english-grammar-guide/
Race, P. (1999) 2000 tips for lecturers. London: Routledge.
Thompson, P. (2015) Patter. Web site: http://patthomson.net/
Weninger, T. Timelapse writing of a research paper. Web site: http://bit.ly/1I93OYm
Wiley (2015) ScholarOne Manuscripts. Web site:
https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/hilj
http://bit.ly/1ybnaaq

Maria J Grant
Email: m.j.grant@salford.ac.uk
Twitter: @MariaJGrant
Facebook: http://on.fb.me.ovBuiM
Health Information and Libraires
Journal:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/jour
nal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291471-
1842

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