How to Get Published in a
Research Journal
Tips for Successful Publishing
Vicki Wetherell
Publisher – Business and Management
v.wetherell@elsevier.com
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Elsevier Social Sciences and Economics
…..over 200 titles
| 3
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)
| 4
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)
| 5
University of North Texas
Overview of publication output, 2010-2015 (7,659 publications)
Publications by amount of international, national and institutional collaboration
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Origins of scholarly publishing
1439
Gutenberg and
moveable type
Henry
Oldenburg
(1618- 1677)
Founding Editor
and Commercial
Publisher of the
first scientific
journal
1580
March 6,1665
Founding of the
House of Elzevir
Philosophical
Transactions
of the Royal
Society
First true
scholarly journal
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Scholarly publishing today
Scientific, technical and medical (STM) publishing
2,000 STM
publishers
1.4 million
peer-reviewed
articles
20,000
peer-reviewed
journals
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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
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Academic publishing
The publishing cycle
30-60
Solicit &%
rejected
by
manage
> 13,000
submissions
editors
>700 million
downloads by
Publish
&
>11 million
Disseminate
researchers in
>120 countries!
12.6
million
Production
articles
available
Manage +
557,000
Peer
Review
reviewers
365,000
Edit &
prepare
articles
accepted
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The publisher’s role
How do Publishers add value to the scientific and health community?
Registration
Certification
Dissemination
Preservation
Use
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Who We Serve
Researchers
Health
Practitioners
Elsevier’s Global
Publishing Network
Faculty &
Students
13,000 Editors
Pharma
Companies
70,000 Editorial
Board Members
Librarians
Societies
300,000+ Referees
Engineers
600,000+ Authors
Professionals
General
Public
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Why do people publish
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Each year….
• 3 million articles submitted
• 1.5 million articles published
• 30 million readers
• 2 billion digital article downloads
• 30 million article citations
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The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Archive and
promote use
Manage
peer review
Publish and
disseminate
Edit and
prepare
Production
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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
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What is the peer review process
Author
Editor
Reviewer
START
Submit a
paper
Basic requirements met?
[Yes]
Assign
reviewers
[No]
REJECT
Revise the
paper
Collect reviewers’
recommendations
[Reject]
Review and give
recommendation
Make a
decision
[Revision required]
[Accept]
ACCEPT
Michael Derntl. Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing. http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf
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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
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Purpose of peer review
•
•
•
•
“ Novelty”
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
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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
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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
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The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Archive and
promote use
Manage
peer review
Publish and
disseminate
Edit and
prepare
Production
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Planning your article
Are you ready to publish?
Not ready
Ready
Work has no scientific interest
Work advances the field
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Planning Your Article
What makes a strong manuscript?



Clear and useful message
A logical manner
Readers grasp the research
Editors, reviewers and readers all want to receive
well presented manuscripts that fit within the aims
and scope of their journal.
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Planning your article
Types of manuscripts
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
Your supervisor or colleagues are also good sources for
advice on manuscript types.
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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.
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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
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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
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General structure of a research article



Title
Abstract
Keywords



Introduction
Methods
Results and Discussion




Conclusion
Acknowledgements
References
Supporting materials
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The process of writing –
building the article
Title, Abstract, and Keywords
Conclusion
Methods
Introduction
Results
Discussion
Figures/Tables (your data)
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Effective manuscript titles






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
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.
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Effective manuscript titles
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)
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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.
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Abstract





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
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.
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Introduction
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
Write a unique introduction for every article. DO NOT reuse introductions.
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Literature Review
Frames an article by positioning it against
past research
Provides a useful synopsis of a body
research
Longer in quantitative papers than qualitative
papers
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Methods
Describe how the problem was
studied
Include detailed information
Do not describe previously
published procedures
Identify the equipment and
materials used
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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
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Results / Findings
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
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Discussion
Interpretation of results
Most important section
Make the discussion correspond to
the results and complement them
Compare published results with
your own
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
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Discussion (cont’d) …or Conclusions
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
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Acknowledgments




Advisors
Financial supporters and funders
Proof readers and typists
Suppliers who may have donated materials
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References

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
Feldman, D. C. (2004). The devil is in the details: Converting good research into
publishable articles. Journal of Management, 30(10), 1-6.
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Manuscript language: Overview




Clear
Objective
Accurate
Concise
Always read the journal’s Guide for Authors to check for any additional
language specifications.
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Authorship: Do’s and don’ts
General principles for who is listed first:
Abuses to be avoided:
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
Ghost Authors:
 Leaving out authors who should be
included
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
Scientific Writers and Gift Authors:
 Including authors when they did not
contribute significantly
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The most serious issues to avoid
These are the 3 most common forms of ethical misconduct that the
research community is challenged with:
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
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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.
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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
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The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Archive and
promote use
Manage
peer review
Publish and
disseminate
Edit and
prepare
Production
| 49
Changes in Publishing Dynamic
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Methods of dissemination
Traditional print journals
and
Electronic journal platforms
like Elsevier’s ScienceDirect
improve online dissemination and
access
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Other methods of dissemination
Advertising-supported portals



Journal articles
Expert commentary
Conference coverage
Mobile apps



Articles feeds
Podcasts
Blogs
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Other publishing models
Traditional publishing


Authors publish free of charge
Institutions or individuals subscribe
to journals
Open access 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
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What is open access?
Free and permanent access to scholarly research
combined with clear guidelines (user licenses) for users to re-use
the content.
Gold open access
Green open access

After submission and peer review, an
article publishing charge (APC) is payable


After submission and peer review in a
subscription journal, the article is published
online
Upon publication everyone can
immediately and permanently access the
article online

Subscribers have immediate access and
the article is made open access either
through author self-archiving, publisher
deposit or linking.
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The journal publishing cycle
Solicit and
manage
submissions
Archive and
promote use
Manage
peer review
Publish and
disseminate
Edit and
prepare
Production
| 55
Promoting research
Promotion of research
 Conferences
 Newsletters
 Alerts
 Abstracting and indexing databases
Workflows and research tool examples
 Transportation DB Center app
| 56
You want to make sure your research gets the attention
it deserves



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!
0
1970
2013
7 hrs/week
average time
spent on literature
| 57
1. Preparing your
article
2. Promoting your
published article
3. Monitoring your
article
| 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
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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
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Further reading at
publishingcampus.com
elsevier.com/authors
elsevier.com/reviewers
elsevier.com/editors
Understanding the Publishing Process with Elsevier – complete guide
Publishing Ethics brochure – top reasons to publish ethically
Get Published – top tips on writing, reviewing and grant writing etc.
Get Noticed – new ways to promote your article and research
Open access – definitions and options
Career Planning Guide – download in 12 languages
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Thank you
Elsevier Publishing Campus
www.publishingcampus.com
Information about publishing in journals
www.elsevier.com/authors