Guide to Journal writing

Dr. TJS Anand 1

Preparing Research Manuscripts for

Impact Factor Journal

Dr. T. Joseph Sahaya Anand

Department of Engineering Materials

Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering

Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka

Email: [email protected]

Tel.: + 60 6 331 6489

016 412 7232

For

FTMKs Colloquium & Seminar 19 March 2014

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Table of Contents Introduction

Part I: Publication & Peer Review

Deciding to Publish

Submitting Your Paper

Part II: Writing a Scientific Manuscript

The Scientific Manuscript

The Abstract

The Introduction

The Methods & Materials Section

The Results Section

The Discussion Section

Figures, Tables, Equations, and References

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Research Manuscript - Introduction

There is no way to get experience except

through experience.

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Publication & Peer Review

What to publish?

abstract vs. full report

Choosing your forum

Which type of journal is best for you?

What audience are you targeting?

Research the journal

Publication guidelines

Article style

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Publication in Science Global View

Approximately 40,000 journals published

regularly

20,000 of them are ISI or Scopus indexed

Total number of papers published annually

exceeds 2.5 million

Google Scholar has almost to taken over the

world bibliometry.

Over 70% are never cited by any one


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Publication in Science Global View

Articles published (1665-2012)= 54 million

Free and paid abstracts available Scopus, ISI Web of

Knowledge (WoK), PubMed Central, and Google

Scholar

PubMed Central holds over 2.5 million articles, has a

collection of over 21 million citations

SciVerse Scopus holds over 47 million records, it

includes 21,000 peer-reviewed journals (including

1,850 open access journals), 700 trade publications,

and 450 book series.


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Publication vs. Researcher

1. I love to do research

2. I have no choice

3. I hate to do research


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Publication

How information is communicated among

scholars and to potential users

Research is not complete until it is published

Provides accountability, which is the basis of

trust

From one author to many


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Publication - Deciding Whether (or When) to Publish

Some factors to consider: quality of the work,

extent of the work, interest to others

Suggestions:

Seek guidance in this regard from others in

your field who are more experienced in

publishing journal articles - Supervisor.

Present your work orally first. Doing so can

help in deciding whether the work is

publishable and in shaping the paper.

Building the Writing Habit

The same time.

The same place.

Carry a notebook

Get rid of rid of negative thoughts.

Sit alone in silence.

Ideas, not grammar, for the first draft. Rewrite.

Dr. TJS Anand 10

Key to Writing Skills

The path to writing well is to read excellent

writers and write.and writeand write.

Free write your thoughts. Dont worry about

structure initially.

Use the best paper in your field as a template

and try to convert your free write-up into a

format.

Keep writing concise, dynamic and simple in

construction.

Convey enthusiasm in your writing so it attract

the audience.

Dr. TJS Anand 11

Look at your references these will help you

narrow your choices.

Review recent publications in each candidate

journal. Find out the hot topics, the accepted

types of articles, etc.

Ask yourself the following questions:

Is the journal peer-reviewed?

Who is this journals audience?

What is the average time to print?

What is the journals Impact Factor?

Decide on one journal. DO NOT submit to multiple

journals.

Select the best journal for submission

Dr. TJS Anand 12


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Identifying a Target Journal

Decide early (before drafting the paper).

Do not write the paper and then look for a

journal. (Why?)

Look for journals that have published work

similar to yours.

Consider journals that have published work

you cite.


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Some Factors to Consider

Audience Researchers, Educators

Prestige Relevant in the field

Access Open Access

Impact Journal value

Publication time

Quality of reproduction

Likelihood of acceptance


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What makes a good research paper?

Good writing

Publication in good journals

Great science when written poorly can be a good

paper or alternatively, average science when

written well can be a good paper.

On the other hand, great science when written

well can be an excellent paper and average

science when written poorly can be the readily

rejected paper.

Publishing in High Impact Journals-Its

the idea which matters

Dr. TJS Anand 16


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Excuses for not publishing.

Fear of judgement / rejection.

I cant write.

I dont know where to start.

Need for perfection.

I dont have enough time.

Lack of Confidence

Fear of public scrutiny

Unsure whether have the skill

Caution work has a use by date.


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The Seven Deadly Sins

1. Data manipulation, falsification

2. Duplicate manuscripts

3. Redundant publication

4. Plagiarism

5. Author conflicts of interest

6. Animal use concerns

7. Humans use concerns

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Creativity

Open mind

Curiosity

Patience

Persistence

Positive Attitude

Discipline and focus

Dr. TJS Anand

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What constitutes good Research?

Novel new and not resembling something formerly

known or used (can be novel but not important)

Mechanistic testing a hypothesis - determining the

fundamental processes involved in or responsible for

an action, reaction, or other natural phenomenon

Descriptive describes how are things are but does

not test how things work hypotheses are not

tested.

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What constitutes good journal?

Who do I want to reach?

Less important than it used to be

Which journals have previously published work in

this area

Review your citations

Maybe too much work in this area?

Which journals have a style or message that is

consistent with yours?

Impact factors

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What constitutes good journal?

Impact factor

average number of times published papers

are cited up to two years after publication.

Citation Index

average number of times published papers

are cited up to two years after publication.

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Impact factor

A measure of the frequency with which the "average

article" in a journal has been cited in a particular year

or period. The annual JCR impact factor is a ratio

between citations and recent citable items published.

Thus, the impact factor of a journal is calculated by

dividing the number of current year citations to the

source items published in that journal during the

previous two years.

Impact Factor = no. of citations

total no. articles

calculated over the last 2 years

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Dr. TJS Anand


Impact factor

Calculation for journal impact factor.

A= total cites in 2012

B= 2012 cites to articles published in 2010-11 (subset of A)

C= number of articles published in 2010-11

D= B/C = 2012 impact factor

The impact factor eliminates some of the bias of such

counts which favor large journals over small ones, or

frequently issued journals over less frequently issued

ones, and of older journals over newer ones.

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Dr. TJS Anand


2012 Impact Factors are available at various sites;

newer impact factors are copyright-protected

Drawbacks of impact factors:

Review articles are cited more than original

research

Number of citations does not measure quality,

just exposure

The nature of results in different research areas

yield different amounts of publications at

different paces. Generally, medical journals

have higher impact factors than mathematical

journals.

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Dr. TJS Anand


Rank Abbreviated Journal Title IF (2012)

1 ANNU REV IMMUNOL 52.431

2 CA-CANCER J CLIN 44.515

4 NAT REV CANCER 36.557

5 PHYSIOL REV 33.918

6 NAT REV MOL CELL BIO 33.170

7 REV MOD PHYS 32.771

9 NATURE 32.182

10 SCIENCE 31.853

13 CELL 28.389

14 NAT IMMUNOL 27.586

15 JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC 24.831
http://www.nature.com/nrm/index.htmlhttp://www.nature.com/nature/index.htmlhttp://www.sciencemag.org/http://www.cell.com/http://www.nature.com/ni/index.html

28 Dr. TJS Anand

Research Manuscript

Reasons of Rejection

So what factor - fails to communicate a sense of

purpose and how it extends the boundaries of

knowledge

Material is inappropriate for the journal

Work is fundamentally flawed

Work is unintelligible

Reasons for major revision or rejection of journal papers

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Dr. TJS Anand

4%

9%

7%

8%

13%

2%

16%

7% 7%

English Errors

27%

Faulty methodology

Inadequate references

Poor quality supporting figures

Outside the scope of journal

Not enough contribution to field

Authors did not follow manuscript instructions

Poor writing style and use of English

Title not representative of study

Subject of little novel interest or not generally

applicable

Poorly written discussion

Manuscript - Get rejected

When rejected, try again

Even Nobel Laureates get rejection letters.

You may need to play ping pong with the

paper. Submit the paper to another journal

within one month.

You do not have to revise a paper every time it

is rejected. But if a paper is rejected 4 times,

there is a serious flaw in the paper. Find and fix

the problem.

Why? The same referee might get it again.

Dr. TJS Anand 30

www.weirdscience.ca

What is Peer Review Process?

Exciting the reviewers

mind is far more

important then

exciting the readers

mind.

It is likely that no one

will ever read your

paper more thoroughly

than the reviewer.

Suggest referees that

appreciate your work

(political)

31 Dr. TJS Anand

Research Manuscript

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A scientific paper tells a story!!

We need a problem or something to

catch the readers attention

We need a plot / results

We need resolution of the problem at the

end of the story.

Research Manuscript

33 Dr. TJS Anand

Attributes of the best papers

Resolve a controversy

Separate Results and Discussion sections

Discussion with sub-headings as questions

Introduction builds to central questions

All roads lead to central question

Hypotheses / research questions crystal

clear and results flow from these questions

Research Manuscript

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Paper Structure and relative level of writing difficulty

Title (difficult)

Abstract (difficult)

Introduction (Most difficult)

Study Area or Background (easy)

Methods (easy)

Results (easy - just the facts)

Discussion (Second-most difficult)

Conclusions (easy)

Research Manuscript Structure

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* Abstract

* Introduction

* Body of Article / Methodology

* Results

* Discussion and Conclusions

* Acknowledgements

* References

* Figures and Tables

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Abstract

Summary of Manuscript (200-300 Words)

Problem investigated

Purpose of Research

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Common Mistake : Prepare abstract at the beginning

of the manuscript writing

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Abstract - Common Mistakes

Prepare abstract at the beginning of the

manuscript writing.

Too much background or methods information

Figures or images

References to other literature, figures or images

Abbreviations or acronyms

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Introduction Explains the problem

* Broad information on topic

Previous research

* Narrower background information

Need for study

* Focus of paper

Hypothesis

* Summary of problem (selling point)

* Overall 300-500 words

The introduction should also contain a section

describing why this work was done and its

importance.

This is often omitted because the authors assume

that it must be inherently obvious.

Some readers may understand the implied

importance, but many will not.

These statements may also catch the attention

of those who focus more on applications and

potential rather than techniques.

Introduction in the research manuscript is also

includes literature review in any technical report.

Dr. TJS Anand 39


40 Dr. TJS Anand


Introduction as an inverted pyramid

Status Quo

Whats wrong with the

status quo

Why this is a problem

How you intend to fix it

Specific Objectives

# of references

increases

Very general

References

Very specific

references

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Introduction - Common Mistakes

# Too much or not enough information

# Unclear purpose

# Lists

# Confusing structure

# First-Person anecdotes

Methodology

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Provides instruction on exactly how to repeat experiment

* Subjects / Field of study

* Sample preparation techniques

* Sample origins

* Field site description

* Data collection protocol

* Data analysis techniques

* Any computer programs used

* Description of equipment and its use

The descriptions of the experiment must be

clear enough so that they can be readily

replicated.

This is much better if it is done without going

through several other references to get the

gist.


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Material and Methods

Write the methods section first because it is the

easiest to write.

Start writing when experiments still in progress

Sufficient information must be provided for

reproducibility

Animal, human, protections details

Measurements/ instruments

Statistical analysis

Data collection

Descriptive subheadings general experimental

methods, animals, spectral data, etc

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http://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists-14053993/writing-

scientific-papers-14239285

You are not expected to do it..

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Too little information

Information from Introduction

Results/ sources of error reported

Explaining experimental difficulties

Dr. TJS Anand

Methodology - Common Mistakes


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* Objective presentation of experiment results

Summary of data

* NOT a Discussion!

Results - Common Mistakes


Results

* Raw data

* Redundancy

* Discussion and interpretation of data

* No figures or tables

* Methods/materials reported

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Discussion Presents the WHY and HOW story

* Interpret results

Did the study confirm/deny the hypothesis?

If not, did the results provide an alternative

hypothesis? What interpretation can be made?

Do results agree with other research? Sources of

error/anomalous data?

Implications of study for field

Suggestions for improvement and future research?

* Relate to previous research

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Discussion - Common Mistakes


* Combined with Results

* New results discussed

* Broad statements

* Incorrectly discussing inconclusive results

* Ambiguous data sources

* Missing information

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Figures and Tables

Tables

Presents lists of numbers/ text in columns

Figures

Visual representation of results or illustration

of concepts/methods (graphs, images,

diagrams, etc.)

Captions

Must be stand-alone

The selection of illustrations, tables, and graphs

are not just to present the data and apparatus

described.

Too many or too few illustrations can greatly

weaken a paper.

On one hand, too few leave details as

ambiguous. On the other, too many can be

redundant, distracting, and divert the attention

of the reader to the main points.

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Figures and Tables

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Guidelines for Figures and Tables

High resolution

Neat, legible labels

Simple

Clearly formatted

Indicate error

Detailed captions

One area that many authors overlook or give only

minor attention to is the acknowledgements.

Although the people and organizations included

there do not affect the readability of the

manuscript, many authors have made grievous

errors of omission in their acknowledgements.

Leaving out someone who has aided through key

ideas, review of the manuscript, etc. etc. can lead

to injured feelings.

Subsequent assistance may not be so readily

forthcoming.


Acknowledgements

53 Dr. TJS Anand

54 Dr. TJS Anand


References

Check specific referencing style of journal

Should reference:

Peer-reviewed journal articles, abstracts, books

Should not reference:

Non-peer-reviewed works, textbooks, personal

communications

Common Mistakes

Format, Format, Format

(Figures & Tables, Equations, and References)

Redundant Information

Text, Figures, Tables, and Captions

Type of Reference

Examples of offensive citation:

"The deficiency of Smith's approach is..."

"The problems with Smiths paper are"

A serious weakness with Smiths argument,

however, is that ......

The key problem with Smiths explanation

is that ......

It seems that Smiths understanding of the

X framework is questionable.

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A better citation would be:

Smiths model was effective in X

problem, however in Y

The X benefit of Smiths approach

are not applicable to Y

56 Dr. TJS Anand

57 Dr. TJS Anand

A bit on Writing Style - Language


Write in the active tense instead of passive tense:

We collected samples of blah... instead of

Samples of blah were collected...

Avoid all jargon if at all possible. Never assume

the reader knows any jargon.

Write in simple sentences

Subject and verb up-front in all sentences

You can use personal pronouns: We sampled

Scientific Language - Tenses

Present tense for known facts and hypotheses:

The average life of a honey bee is 6 weeks

Past tense for experiments you have conducted:

All the honey bees were maintained in an

environment with a consistent temperature of 23

degrees centigrade

Past tense when you describe the results of an

experiment:

The average life span of bees in our contained

environment was 8 weeks

58 Dr. TJS Anand

Research Manuscript - Summary

59

Preparation Style Usage or Words

Dr. TJS Anand

Examine vs. Analyze

Activity to gain knowledge vs. Describing

the analysis of that knowledge

Blooms Taxonomy

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation


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Preparation Style Usage or Words - Blooms Taxonomy

Dr. TJS Anand

Knowledge - Recitation of fact

Found, identified, labeled

Comprehension: State a problem or interpret fact

Discuss, predict, compare

Application: Apply old information to solve new problems

Solve, show, examine, classify

Analysis: Used to explain patterns or meaning

Analyze, investigate, compare, contrast

Synthesis: Making predictions or discussing possibilities

Predict, plan, devise, propose

Evaluation: Drawing conclusions, making recommendations

Justify, verify, argue, recommend, determine

61 Dr. TJS Anand


Words and expressions to avoid

Jargon Preferred use

a considerable amount of much

on account of because

a number of several

In a number of cases some

Has the capacity to can

It is clear that clearly

It is apparent that apparently

Employ use

Fabricate make

Source : Day, RA. How to write and publish a scientific paper, 5th edition, Oryx Press, 1998.

62 Dr. TJS Anand

Research Manuscript

Ethical Publishing

Material must be obtained ethically and must

be accurate

Experiments or trials involving human subjects or

animals must have been approved by the

relevant research ethics committees

Material should be unbiased, uncensored,

complete, factual and verifiable

Relevant funding and any conflict of interest

must be disclosed

63 Dr. TJS Anand

Research Manuscript

Ethical Publishing - Authorship

Authorship requires a significant contribution to

at least one aspect of the work

(concept, data collection, data analysis,

literature review, writing)

Ethical Publishing Things unacceptable

Duplication of previously published material (this

includes web publication of previous print publication,

Web and print publication covered by the same

copyright is now frequent and is OK )

Simultaneous submission to more than one journal

Plagiarism

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Resources / Bibliography

Day, RA. How to write and publish a scientific paper, 5th edition, Oryx Press, 1998.

Ravi Lochanan P. Research Methodology 3rd Edition, Margham Publications, 2009.

Uma Sekaran and Roger Bougie Research Methods for Business 5th Edition, Wiley,

2010.

Salkind NJ. Exploring Research 7th Edition, Pearson, 2009.

Fischer BA, Zigmond MJ. Components of a research article. [email protected]

Marshal GS. Writing a peer reviewed article.

http://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppt

Hall, JE. Writing research papers (and getting them published)

http://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppt

Benos, D., Reich, M. Peer review and publication in APS journals.http://www.the-

aps.org/careers/careers1/EBSymposia/Benos2003.ppt
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppthttp://dor.umc.edu/ARCHIVES/GMarshallPublishingarticle.ppt

Take Home Message

Sacrifice other interests

Researchers gave up hobbies, games and

time with friends to become high impact

researchers. Most mentioned that they still

had time for family, but less TV, computer

games, and sports.

When you play, play hard; when you work,

work hard, don't play at all.

Theodore Roosevelt

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Dr. TJS Anand
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All the best!

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Dr. TJS Anand

Thanking you !

Comments & Suggestions

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Dr. TJS Anand

Documents

Guide to Journal writing