Academic Publishing: Writing, Submission, and Successful Publication
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ACADEMIC PUBLISHING: WRITING, SUBMISSION, AND SUCCESSFUL PUBLICATION 1. WHY PUBLISH IN ENGLISH? Reach a global audience, achieve high impact, contribute to international discourse, increase your likelihood of being quoted, and develop your work to the highest possible standard. 2. IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE IN ACADEMIC PUBLISHING The advancement of science rests on the publication of new discoveries in scientific journals. Academic publishing produces over 1.5 million scholarly manuscripts every year via peer review. Despite this elevated publication number, rejection rates because of language issues approximate 21% after preliminary editorial screening and 60% overall. These rates can reach 95% in high impact factor journals such as Nature, Cell, and The Lancet. 3. WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS PUBLISHING OPTIONS IN ENGLISH? Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now TYPES OF PUBLICATIONS . Scholarly Journals . Book (contributing writer) – Open access journals . Conference paper/presentation – Subscription-based journals . Poster session at academic conference . Book Review . Case study . Book Chapter . Hybrid journals . Book (single author) 4. OVERVIEW OF THE SCHOLARLY PUBLISHING PROCESS Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now 5. WHY PUBLISH IN ENGLISH? ENGLISH IS THE PREDOMINANT LANGUAGE OF SCIENCE . In 1980, about 85% of the documents covered by Journal Citation Reports were in English; however, by 2000, the proportion increased to 96%. The proportion of documents in German declined from 5% to 2.5% to just 1%. Impact factor increased for English language journals compared to non-English journals. 6. HOW TO WRITE AN ACADEMIC PAPER? A. BEGINNING . Read before you publish: Ask questions to yourself when you read the work of other researchers . Brainstorming: Write down your ideas in English, group your data under different headings, define your research aims, evaluate the amount of data: do you have enough data to support your claims? B. STRUCTURING YOUR ACADEMIC PAPER . Introduction: Provides general/background information and introduces the aims or argument of your paper . Literature Review: Required only by papers that rely on secondary research. It is a common feature in Humanities research papers that require examination of a number of secondary sources . Methods: Provides the criteria by which your research will be judged. It should contain a concise description of the research carried out through your lab work or data collection as well as the material and methods used . Results: Details your research findings, summarizes your data and provides a conclusive statement on the entire work . Analysis: Central part of the research paper where you finally make the major point or claim anticipated by the previous sections. It should include a thorough and well- supported argument, critique, or discussion . Conclusion: Summarizes major claims of your research paper that are necessary to confirm your argument Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now C. WRITING EFFECTIVELY . Pointers for writing effectively include how to – Emphasize contrast – Add emphasis – Show cause – Compare data – Indicate results – Position your reader and clearly explain your research D. TOOLS FOR ACKNOWLEDGING SOURCES – Reporting verbs – In-text referencing – Writing a reference list 7. SUBMITTING YOUR ARTICLE FOR PUBLICATION . CHOOSING THE RIGHT JOURNAL – Select a journal that publishes articles in your field, is peer reviewed, is database accessible, has an international audience, and has a high impact factor . SUBMISSION PROCESS – Check the journal website and contact the Editor, introduce yourself, and explain your article attaching your abstract, keywords, bibliography, as well any recommendations for peer reviewers – Be polite and concise in all communication 8. WHAT ARE THE COMMON REASONS FOR JOURNAL/REVIEWER REJECTION? . The article fails the technical screening – Article has elements that are suspected to be plagiarized – Incomplete manuscript without title, author affiliations, keywords, references, etc.) – The English is not good for the peer review process Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now – Incomplete figures that are not clear enough to read – Non-conformance to the Instruction to Authors of the target journal – Incomplete or old references . It does not fall within the Aims and Scope of the target journal . It is incomplete – Contains only observations and is not a full study – Discusses findings related to another study in the field but ignores other important work . The procedures and/or analysis of the data is defective . The conclusions cannot be justified . Submitted paper is a small extension of a different paper . It is incomprehensible. – The language, structure, or figures are so poor that the merit cannot be assessed . It is boring 9. PUBLICATION PROCESS . Expected Time Frame – Peer review can take a while; contact the editor if you have not received feedback within three months. Rejected Articles – Ask the Editor for feedback (and request for reviewer’s comments) about how you can improve your article for resubmission. Accepted Articles – Congratulations! If your article is accepted, be sure to implement all changes that are recommended. Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now REFERENCES KEYWORDS . MeSH Browser: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html . IEEE Taxonomy: https://www.ieee.org/documents/taxonomy_v101.pdf ACTIVE/PASSIVE VOICE . http://www.biomedicaleditor.com/active-voice.html . http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/activevoice/ . https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/06/ . https://cgi.duke.edu/web/sciwriting/index.php?action=passive_voice HOW TO WRITE PAPERS . http://www.enago.com/downloads/how-to-write-research-paper.htm . https://www.enago.com/academy/importance-of-journal-writing-style/ PROPOSAL/COVER LETTERS . https://www.enago.com/academy/tips-to-submit-article-in-journal/ . https://www.enago.com/academy/what-you-should-know-before-writing-research-grant- proposal/ . https://www.enago.com/academy/write-winning-3-part-conference-proposal/ HOW TO GET PUBLISHED . https://www.enago.com/academy/how-to-optimize-your-sentence-length-in-academic- writing/ . https://www.enago.com/academy/improve-writing-skills/ Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now VOCABULARY/GRAMMAR . http://www.grammarly.com/blog/2015/top-5-most-frustrating-writing-mistakes-and-how-to- avoid-them/?utm_source=trending&position=2 . https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/PDF/twelve_common_errors_uwmadison_writingcenter_r ev_sept2012.pdf . https://www.enago.com/academy/improve-grammar-resources/ REFERENCES/IN-TEXT CITATIONS . Purdue Online Writing Lab: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/ . EndNote http://www.endnote.com/ . Mendeley: https://www.mendeley.com/ . Reference Manager: http://refman.com/ . SciFinder: http://www.cas.org/products/scifinder WHAT IS PEER REVIEW? . https://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/what-is-peer-review. THROWER, P. EIGHT REASONS I REJECTED YOUR ARTICLE. ELSEVIER CONNECT . https://www.elsevier.com/connect/8-reasons-i-rejected-your-article. ABOUT ENAGO Enago is a leading scholarly communication service provider and a trusted name in the STEM industry. Over the last 10 years, across 125 countries around the world, Enago has helped numerous first-time and experienced researchers with manuscript preparation, submission, and publication. Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now We guarantee that the quality of the documents edited by Enago will meet international publishing standards. You can get your paper edited and checked until you are satisfied up to 365 days after delivery if you have opted for Substantive Editing and up to 60 days after delivery if you have opted for Copyediting. Subscribe to Enago Academy’s newsletter to get the latest updates in the world of academic publishing. Subscribe Now DEALING WITH JOURNAL REJECTION 1. IMPORTANCE OF PEER REVIEW IN ACADEMIC PUBLISHING Academic publishing produces over 1.5 million scholarly manuscripts every year but rejection rates approximate 21% after preliminary editorial screening and 60% overall. These rates are close to 95% in high impact factor journals such as Nature, Cell, and The Lancet. Reviewer recommendations strongly influence the outcome of the review process and the decisions by the journal. Papers having recommendations by two reviewers to accept and minor revisions have much greater chance of acceptance (>98%) than those receiving recommendations that include a major revision and a reject or two rejections (resulting in an acceptance rate of <5%). 2. WHAT DO JOURNALS LOOK FOR? Journal editors evaluate the overall combination of subject matter, methodology, theory, and contribution to the discipline. If the language prevents reviewers from understanding the scientific content of the study, the possibility of acceptance is significantly low. 3. WHAT IS THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS? Experts in specific fields assess the validity, significance, and originality of the described work and decide whether this work deserves