Strategy in Publish the
Appropriate
International Journals
Cahyorini Kusumawardani
A survey published by Scientific American
indicated that in 1994 the contribution of
Indonesian scientists and scholars to the
body of world knowledge, science, and
technology annually represents only
0,012%, which is far below Singapore which
contributes 0,179%, and highly insignificant
if compared to that of the US scientists and
scholars which amount to over 20%.
Some observers stated that the efforts of
Indonesian scientists and scholars to
participate in advancing science and
technology represented lost science in the
third world. They acknowledged the
voluminous work being done but
unfortunately the results never reached their
peers simply because they were being
published in numerous periodicals that
unfortunately never went beyond the fence
of the publishing agencies.
A closer examination at the situation
does indeed reveal that in general
Indonesian scientific journals are
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published in a very limited numbers (many only 300
copies per edition)
circulated only locally (and often privately)
not subscribed by major libraries (not even in
Indonesia!)
written in Indonesian (only recently being provided with
English abstracts)
not being used by university lecturers as source of
teaching material
haphazardly produced, managed, and edited
ignored by the scientific world
Correlation between Country Productivity
and Number of Publication and Citation
(1997–2001)
Country
India
Cina
Jerman
Jepang
USA
Number of
Publication
Number of
Citation
77.201
118.481
115.339
341.519
318.286 2.199.617
336.858 1.852.271
1.265.808 10.850.549
GDP per capita
487
989
24.051
31.407
36.006
The evaluation of the scientific significance
of one’s finding will be made easier by
understanding the ‘position’ of the research
results to be contributed in the following
system of classification of science and
technology achievement (in ascending order
of importance): technology transfer,
adaptation, innovation, invention, discovery
Transference of technology: the result of
an activity which only represent the transfer
of known production technique or
knowledge to other location or situation, in
order to widen their utilization (mainly in
industry) or to improve their understanding,
normally with necessary adjustment but
without any meaningful contribution to the
advancement of science and technology.
Research reports presented in partial
fulfillment of the requirement for Sarjana
degree is expected to be at least of this
category.
Adaptation: Result of research or study undertaken by
applying methods or approaches of known
technological usefulness to other problems or objects,
or undertaking similar research or study using different
methods, approach, or angles, resulting in contributions
with wider horizontal perspectives (but not in-depth in
nature) in order to improve knowledge, science and
technology. In rare occasions results of technological
development and engineering activity undertaken in
this way can be patented.
A master thesis should be based at least on results of
an adaptive research or study.
Innovation: Results obtained from well planned
research or study on complex problems, or
applying significantly modified methodology or
approach on unsolved problems or objects, so
that the conclusions achieved will considerably
contribute in advancing the frontier of science and
technology. In many cases innovations developed
during the course of the activity resulted in
patents.
It is imperative that doctoral dissertations should
produce innovative results, based on research
and study especially aimed at satisfying the need
and demand of the international audience of
scientists and scholars
Invention: Systematic research activity and or in-depth
study which significantly produce original results
containing novelties which are really new to science
and technology, or successful in creating novel and
highly useful products previously much desired, or
satisfactorily elucidate ambiguous phenomena or
puzzling situations, or in launching important theories.
As a rule, patents are granted to successful research,
development, and engineering activity geared towards
inventions.
The invention of cakar ayam foundation, the
employment of conidiation in fungal taxonomy, plate
tectonic theory, and the development of penicillin
injection, are examples of research and study resulting
in major invention.
Discovery: Research, study, or
observations producing major discovery
which elucidate the nature of things,
phenomena, and concepts, and often with
related grand theory of pioneering nature
which significantly change the body of
opinion globally.
Among the important discoveries which are
worthy of Nobel Price should be mentioned
those of penicillin by Ian Fleming, the
structure of DNA by Watson and Crick, the
evolution theory by Charles Darwin, and the
grand theory of relativity by Einstein.
One can begin by identifying and classifying the
content of the articles from the narrowest field of
specialization in order to ascertain that it is suitable to
the type of audience to be addressed:
the super-super spesialists
 the super specialist scientists
 the specialists
 or just generalist experts
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Do not be too dishearten if the identification reaches
the lowest mark, because it is possible that the data
and information revealed by the research or study isof
interdiscipilnary
 cross sectoral
 or transdisciplinary
in nature. If it is inter- or transdiciplinary,
then decide which sector has the
highest potentials readers.
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To be considered having an
International merit, a journal should
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accomodate articles written in one of the UN
languages.
contain high quality original articles which contribute
significantly to the advancement of the disciplin being
much sought after by specialists all the world over
be managed openly by a team of editors from all over
the world, and the mechanisms of blind review by the
peer group system is used in screening, selecting, and
evaluating articles to be accepted for inclusioan
has contributors that come from notable institutes in
many countries having experts specializing in disciplin
covered
has a global circulation because it is subscribed by
specialized institutes from all over the world.
Specialized journals are
published by
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scientific profesional associations of
international renown (such as the British
Mycological Society, the American
Chemical Society)
major publishing houses (like Elsevier
Group, Cambridge University Press,
Springer Verlag)
resarch institutions (such as Boyce
Thomson Institute, Royal Botanic Gardens
Kew, Rijksherbarium at Leyden)
It pays to join and become a member of
a scientific profesional association
because it will enable one to
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receive regularly free scientific journal
published by the society
submit article to be published in the society
journal, often free of charge
establish networking and cooperative
research venture with fellow members
keep up with the news about new
development, scientific events and other
related happenings as well as the progress
of the specialized disciplin
Some important websites to brows for
finding suitable major international
journals:
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Cambridge Univ. Press (UK):
www.journals.cambridge.org
International Institute for Asian Studies: www.iias.nl
Ingenta Environment (contains some 4500 journals):
www.ingentaconnect.com
Elsevier: www.sciencedirect.com
Springer: www.springer.com
Wiley Interscience: www.interscience.wiley.com
Taylor & Francis: www.taylorandfrancis.com
After a journal has been chosen
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study two or three latest issues or editions
peruse carefully its instructions to contributing authors
(which may up to 64 pages long)
find out if the journal also issues further instructions in
its website
ensure that the instructions and all requirements are
fully understood to their minutest details
read carefully four or five sample articles (preferably
ones closely related to topics being dealt with) and
compare them closely them with the instructions to
authors
When the style and format of the journal have
been completely understood and mastered,
then one may start preparing the draft
article to be submitted. In doing so, ensure
that every items (title, byline, abstract,
punctuations, list of references etc.) are
executed wholly in line with the instructions
to authors issued by the journal.
It cannot be overemphasized thar in preparing
the manuscript to be submitted, it is
compulsary to follow the instruction to the
authors very closely if one really wishes that
the article be accepted by the journal. Small
deviations may make the computer
employed by the journal to scan incoming
contributions to reject automatically the
article being sent.
After completing and revising the first draft, it
is not a bad idea ti hand it over––together
with a copy of the instruction to authors––to
one or two close associates to read and
comment on it. Based on criticisms and
suggestions received, revise the draft
accordingly to prepare the final draft to be
sent to the editor of the journal chosen.
After sending the draft to the
appropriate address, take a rest, and
wait patienly for the answer and
respond from the editor(s) . . . and
pray.
Upon receiving an answer, promtly
respond to it accordingly (normally
within a fortnight by post or within 48
hours by e-mail).
Indonesian editors often complain on
the habit of Indonesian authors who
generally are very slow or event
reluctant to respond if asked to revise
their draft as suggested by their
peers.
Two small popular handbooks
written in Indonesian are available
Mikrajudin Abdullah. 2004. Menembus Jurnal
Ilmiah Nasional Internasional: Petunjuk
Ringkas dari Penulisan Paper hingga
Koreksi Proof. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka
Utama. ix + 112 pp.
Zifirdaus Adnan & Indrawati Zifirdaus 2005.
Merebut Hati Audiens Internasional:
Strategi Ampuh Meraih Publikasi di Jurnal
Ilmiah. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama.
xv + 136 pp.
Types of paper
1.
2.
3.
Original research papers (Regular Papers)
Review articles
Short Communications
Original research papers should report the results of original research. The
material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a
preliminary form.
Review articles should cover subjects falling within the scope of the journal
which are of active current interest. They may be submitted or invited.
A Short Communication is a concise but complete description of a limited
investigation, which will not be included in a later paper. Short
Communications should be as completely documented, both by
reference to the literature and description of the experimental
procedures employed, as a regular paper. They should not occupy
more than 6 printed pages (about 12 manuscript pages, including
figures, tables and references).
 Before you begin (1)
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Ethics in Publishing
For information on Ethics in Publishing and Ethical
guidelines for journal publication see
http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and
http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.
Conflict of interest
All authors are requested to disclose any actual or
potential conflict of interest including any financial,
personal or other relationships with other people or
organizations within three years of beginning the submitted
work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived
to influence, their work. See also
http://www.elsevier.com/conflictsofinterest.
Before you begin (2)
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Submission declaration
Submission of an article implies that the work
described has not been published previously
(except in the form of an abstract or as part of a
published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not
under consideration for publication elsewhere, that
its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly
or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the
work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not
be published elsewhere including electronically in
the same form, in English or in any other language,
without the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Before you begin (3)
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Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal
Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see
http://www.elsevier.com/copyright).
Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of
information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming
receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or
a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles
including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions.
Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the
institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and
translations (please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions).
If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain
written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the
article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please
consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Before you begin (4)
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Retained author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain
certain rights; for details you are referred to:
http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.
Role of the funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support
for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the
article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any,
in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of
data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit
the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such
involvement then this should be stated. Please see
http://www.elsevier.com/funding.
Before you begin (5)
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Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies
to allow authors whose articles appear in journals published
by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving
requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards.
To learn more about existing agreements and policies please
visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.
Language and language services
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is
accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information
about language editing and copyediting services pre- and postsubmission please visit http://www.elsevier.com/languageediting or
our customer support site at http://epsupport.elsevier.com for more
information.
Before you begin (6)
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Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will
be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your
files. The system automatically converts source files to a
single PDF file of the article, which is used in the peer-review
process. Please note that even though manuscript source files
are converted to PDF files at submission for the review
process, these source files are needed for further processing
after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of
the Editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by
e-mail removing the need for a paper trail.
Submit your article
Please submit your article via http://ees.elsevier.com/still/
Before you begin (7)
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Referees
Please submit, with the manuscript, the names,
addresses and e-mail addresses of 4 potential referees.
Note that the editor retains the sole right to decide
whether or not the suggested reviewers are used.
 Preparation
Use of wordprocessing software
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It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used.
The text should be in single-column format.
Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible.
Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do
not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use
bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc.
Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the
wordprocessor's facility.
When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table
and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns.
The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional
manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier:
http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication).
Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations
directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Electronic
illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the "spell-check" and "grammarcheck" functions of your wordprocessor.
Introduction
State the objectives of the work and
provide an adequate background,
avoiding a detailed literature survey or
a summary of the results.
Materials and Methods
Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to
be reproduced.
Methods already published should be
indicated by a reference: only relevant
modifications should be described.
Results
Results should be clear and concise
Discussion
This should explore the significance of
the results of the work, not repeat
them.
A combined Results and Discussion
section is often appropriate.
Avoid extensive citations and
discussion of published literature.
Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study
may be presented in a short
Conclusions section, which may stand
alone or form a subsection of a
Discussion or Results and Discussion
section.
Appendices
If there is more than one appendix,
they should be identified as A, B, etc.
Formulae and equations in
appendices should be given separate
numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.;
in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1)
and so on.
Essential title page information
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Title
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid
abbreviations and formulae where possible.
Author names and affiliations
Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this
clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done)
below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter
immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide
the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available,
the e-mail address of each author.
Corresponding author
Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and
publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with
country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the
complete postal address.
Present/permanent address
If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was
visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent address") may be indicated
as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the
work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals
are used for such footnotes.
Abstract
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A concise and factual abstract is required.
The abstract should state briefly the purpose of
the research, the principal results and major
conclusions.
An abstract is often presented separately from
the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For
this reason, References should be avoided, but
if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s).
Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations
should be avoided, but if essential they must be
defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not
standard in this field in a footnote to
be placed on the first page of the
article.
Such abbreviations that are
unavoidable in the abstract must be
defined at their first mention there, as
well as in the footnote.
Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate
section at the end of the article before the
references and do not, therefore, include
them on the title page, as a footnote to the
title or otherwise.
List those individuals who provided help
during the research (e.g., providing
language help, writing assistance or proof
reading the article, etc.).
References
Journal abbreviations source
All citations in the text should refer to:
Journal names should be abbreviated according to
Index Medicus journal abbreviations:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html;
List of serial title word abbreviations:
http://www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php;
CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service):
http://www.cas.org/sent.html.