130515-MidEast-GettingResearchPublished

Warren Raye, PhD

Senior Editor

Edanz Group

Author Academy—getting your research published

قالتكم نشرلكيفيةاتدارشأ

Customer ServiceIntroductionAbout me …

Senior Editor

Customer ServiceIntroductionToday’s presentation

• Academic publishing

• Before you start …

• Manuscript structure

• Reader expectations

• Peer review

Academic publishing Adopt a winning strategy

Publication recordWin games

Footballer Researcher

Preparation

Communication

Knowledge

Tactics

Physical fitness

Team members

Rules of the game

Opposition

Understanding

Manuscript

Submission process

Published literature

Results

Academic publishing You must publish in English

• The international language of research

• Other researchers want to hear from you!

• Become a more effective communicator

• Funding

• International reputation

• Career advancement

الدوليةالعلملغةھيا�نكليزيةان

نشرهتمقديكونعندمامكتم!ً بحثكيكون

Academic publishing

Results novel?

Topic relevant?

The process

Accepted—

publication!

EditorManuscript +

cover letter

Peer review

Revision

Reject

New experiments

Improve readability

Add information

Academic publishing

• 3–12 months …

• Depends on

– Manuscript type

– Availability of peer reviewers

– Fast tracking

– Number of revisions

• How well you address reviewer comments

Publishing timeline

Academic publishing

What do

journal editors want?

What do


High quality research

Good design

Well executed


Good design

Well executed

Original and novelOriginal and novel

Interesting to

journal’s readership

Interesting to


Clear and concise

English

Clear and concise

English

Ask yourself

Academic publishing

What do


What do



Good design

Well executed


Good design

Well executed

Original and novelOriginal and novel

Interesting to


Interesting to


Clear and concise

English

Clear and concise

English

Ask yourself

قيمةعلميةمادةدائماً يريدونالدوريات محرريإن

Academic publishingPublication ethics

• Multiple submissions

• Plagiarism

• Author list

– Who?

– First & last authors

– Corresponding author

• Data fabrication and falsification

• Conflicts of interest

– Financial

– Personal

– Intellectual

أمرهسينكشفالمھنةآدابعنبعيداً يتصرفَمنْ

Before you start … Reading improves your writing

How?

What to do

Argument

structure

Structure & style

Get new ideas

Journal quality

What not to do

جيداً كاتباً لتكونيساعدكجيداً قارئاً تكونأن

Before you start …Make time to read

• At least …

– 20–30 min each day

– 60 min, once a week

• Discuss with colleagues

– Journal club

Read often

Before you start …How to read an article

• Start to finish?

• Section by section?

• Where is the relevant information?

• Be efficient

Before you start …

Title and Abstract first

Strategies for reading


Self-assess knowledge of topic







Have you read similar papers?

Familiar with the terminology?

Do you understand the relevance

of the hypothesis?


Last paragraph of Introduction for aims






Figures & Tables, then Results







Discussion for interpretation







Discussion for interpretation



Refer to Introduction and

Methods if necessary


Before you start …Journal selection

Before you start …Factors to consider

• Aims & scope

• Prestige

• Impact factor

• Target audience

• Open access

• Publishing frequency

• Indexing status

• Publication type

Which factor is most important to you?

What is your publication goal?

Before you start …Timing

• Choose your target journal:

– After you have decided you have enough results

for a publication

– After a decision has been made on how high to

aim—high, medium or low impact

– Before writing the Title, Abstract, Introduction

or Discussion sections


New findings

Evaluating significance: novelty

• How new are my results compared with

those already published?

Medium to high

impact

Low to medium

impact

Incremental

advances

Conceptual

advances

Before you start … Evaluating significance: relevance

• How relevant is my work?

Applications for a

specific field?

Applications for a

specific field?

Applications across

many fields?

Applications across

many fields?

Before you start … Evaluating significance: relevance

• Are your findings specific to a geographical

region or ethnic population?

Global?

Regional?

Before you start … Evaluating significance: appeal

• Is my work in an area of ‘popular appeal’?

• Examples:

– OLEDs

– Cloud computing

– Food irradiation

– Medical devices

– Higgs boson

– Green aviation

– Stem cells

– Global warming

Before you start …Edanz Journal Selector

edanzediting.com/journal_selectoredanzediting.com/journal_selector


Insert your

proposed

abstract

How to use

Before you start …Refine your results

Recommended

journals

Advanced

matching

Before you start …Make a decision

Semantic

matching terms

Journal

information

Similar

published

articles


Visit journal websites

Manuscript structureYou need to tell a story

Beginning �� Middle �� End

• Must be easy to read and easy to understand

Manuscript structureIMRaD

• Introduction

• Methods

• Results

• and

• Discussion

Assertion

Evidence

Affirmation

المدونةفيبھاتظھرالتيالرتابةبنفسمقالكتكتب�

Manuscript structure

Title

Abstract

Introduction

Discussion

Methods

Results

The ‘write’ order

• For maximum clarity and consistency:

After selecting target journal

During your research

Write last

Manuscript structureFirst impressions count

Your abstract

Importance of

your results

Validity of

conclusions

Relevance of

your aims

Judge your

writing style

Likely the only part

that will be read

قدمةالم العورقةأجزاءأھمھي a تطرحھاالتيمل

Manuscript structureAbstract

• Concise

– Less than the specified word count

• Problem(s) addressed (10%)

• Objectives/hypotheses (20%)

• Techniques (10%)

• Your most important results (40%)

• Concluding statement (20%)

افيھتتوفرأنيجبقدمةالم لتاليهاشروطال

Manuscript structureSample abstract

Seo et al. Biomaterials 2012, 34:1764‒1771.

Securing robust cell adhesion between cells and biomaterials is one of key considerations

for tissue engineering. However, the cell adhesion investigation by the biophysical effects

such as topography or rigidity of substrates has only been recently reported. In this study,

we examined the spatial property of focal adhesions by changing the height of

micropatterns in two kinds of microtopography (grid and post) and the stiffness of the

substrates. We found that the focal adhesion localization is highly regulated by

topographical variation (height) of gird micropattens but not the rigidity of substrates or

the function of actin cytoskeleton, although the latters strongly influence the focal adhesion

size or area. In detail, the change of the height of the grid micropatterns results in the

switching of focal adhesion sites; as the height increases, the localization of focal adhesion

is switched from top to bottom areas. This study demonstrates that the localization of focal

adhesion on well-defined micropatterned substrates is critically determined by the

topographical variation in the micropatterns.

The switching of focal adhesion maturation sites and actin filament activation

for MSCs by topography of well-defined micropatterned surfaces

Manuscript structureSample abstract

In this study, we examined the spatial property of focal adhesions by changing the height of

micropatterns in two kinds of microtopography (grid and post) and the stiffness of the

substrates.

We found that the focal adhesion localization is highly regulated by topographical variation

(height) of gird micropattens but not the rigidity of substrates or the function of actin

cytoskeleton, although the latters strongly influence the focal adhesion size or area. In

detail, the change of the height of the grid micropatterns results in the switching of focal

adhesion sites; as the height increases, the localization of focal adhesion is switched from

top to bottom areas.

Securing robust cell adhesion between cells and biomaterials is one of key considerations

for tissue engineering. However, the cell adhesion investigation by the biophysical effects

such as topography or rigidity of substrates has only been recently reported.

This study demonstrates that the localization of focal adhesion on well-defined

micropatterned substrates is critically determined by the topographical variation in the

micropatterns.

BackgroundBackground

Aims/MethodsAims/Methods

Important

results

Important

results

ConclusionConclusion

Seo et al. Biomaterials 2012, 34:1764‒1771.

Manuscript structureIntroduction

What problem was studied?

The answer to this question should be in

your Introduction


ما نوعية الحالة التي تمت دراستھا ؟

Manuscript structureIntroduction Beginning

• Sufficient background information

• Comprehensive literature review

• Cite previous publications

– Review articles

– Original articles

• What is the problem?

Manuscript structureIntroduction Middle

• Rationale

– The reason(s) for doing this work?

– Why is it important the problem is addressed?

• Explain how you addressed the problem

• Do not state results from your work

Manuscript structureIntroduction End

• Clearly and explicitly state specific

aims of your study

Manuscript structureMethods

• Logical order

• New methods must be described in sufficient detail that they can be reproduced

• Established methods can be referenced

– Save yourself time and effort

موضوع البحثتناولتكيف ؟بدراستهقمتالذي

Manuscript structureResults

• Past tense to describe your results

• Do not explain the results

• Avoid duplicating data among figures,

tables and text

؟إليھاتوصلتالتيالنتائجھيما

Manuscript structureDisplay items

• Present data quickly and efficiently

• Keep it simple—use separate panels

– Related data in panels

• Label all parts of figures

• Legends must be able to ‘stand alone’

اCراءتبادلعندجداً مؤثرةوسائلھيوا�رقاماللوائحانوالمعلوماتوا�فكار

Manuscript structure

What do your findings mean?

The answer to this question should be in

your Discussion


Discussion

؟لھاتوصلتالتيالنتائجلكتعنيماذا

Manuscript structureDiscussion Beginning

• Avoid just restating results

• Answer the research question(s) posed

• Emphasize your major finding(s) first

• State your major conclusion

– Based on results presented

Manuscript structureDiscussion Middle

• Interpret your results

– Compare with other studies

• Same or different?

• Explain unexpected results

• Describe limitations

– How could the study be improved?

Manuscript structureDiscussion End

• Restate major conclusion(s)

– In summary … or In conclusion …

• Possible applications and implications

• Suggest future work

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Reader expectations

• Information is easier to

understand when placed

where most readers

expect to find it

• Good writers are aware of

these expectations

Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558.

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Your reader should …

Understand your logic

immediately

Understand your logic

immediately

Not have to read slowlyNot have to read slowly

Only have to read onceOnly have to read once

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

Subject

Verb

1. Verb placement

• Readers expect verbs to closely follow subjects

Sentence

.

Subject and verb far apart = poor readability

Subject


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

Subject

Help your reader

• Readers want verbs to closely follow subjects

Sentence

.

Subject

Verb


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Avoid reader confusion

• Readers become confused if subject and verb

are separated by too much content

The smallest ORF, a 105-nucleotide reading frame found

in the third intron of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

β2 subunit gene, was found to be expressed in response

to long-term treatment with 1 µM cytochalasin D.

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

The smallest ORF, a 105-nucleotide reading frame found in the third intron of

the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor β2 subunit gene, was found to be expressed

in response to long-term treatment with 1 µM cytochalasin D.

The smallest ORF was found to be expressed in response to long-

term treatment with 1 μM cytochalasin D. This ORF is a 105-

nucleotide reading frame found in the third intron of the nicotinic

acetylcholine receptor β2 subunit gene.

We found the smallest ORF was expressed in response to long-

term treatment with 1 μM cytochalasin D. This ORF …

Avoid reader confusion

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Which voice?

• Active or passive?

– Blood samples were collected from 256 patients.

– We collected blood from 256 patients.

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations 2. Active voice

• Sentences written in the active voice are:

simple

direct

clear

easy to read

Subject

Verb

Active

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Active voice is preferred

“Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more

direct than the passive”. (3rd ed., pg. 42)

“Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more

direct than the passive”. (3rd ed., pg. 42)

“Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”. www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/effective-verb-use.aspx

“Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”. www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/effective-verb-use.aspx

“As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not

always, inferior to active voice”. (15th ed., pg. 177)

“As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not

always, inferior to active voice”. (15th ed., pg. 177)

“In general, authors should use the active voice…”. (10th ed., pg. 320)

“In general, authors should use the active voice…”. (10th ed., pg. 320)

“Nature journals prefer authors to

write in the active voice…”. www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html

“Nature journals prefer authors to

write in the active voice…”. www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html

ACS Style GuideACS Style Guide

APA Style APA Style

Chicago Style

Guide

Chicago Style

Guide

AMA Manual of

Style

AMA Manual of

Style

NatureNature

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

• Readers focus on information at the end of a

sentence.

.

take-home information

SubjectVerb

3. Stress position


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Stress position

The dog sat when her mistress offered a treat.

The dog sat when a treat was offered by her mistress.

When the mistress offered her a treat, the dog sat.

• Readers, without thinking, concentrate on the

end of a sentence.


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

Topic position

.

Stress position

SubjectVerb

• Readers expect a sentence/phrase to be a story

about whoever shows up first

4. Topic position


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Topic position

• Linkage and context

The family went into the courtyard to see the new

puppy. The dog sat when her owner offered a treat.

Everyone was so excited they broke into applause.

However, as the courtyard was situated right next to

my bedroom, the sound woke me from my sleep.

idea ideaideaidea

Topic link

sentence


Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations 5. Short sentences

Reading once…

4% of readers can understand a 27-word sentence


Pinner and Pinner (1998) Communication Skills

Reading once…



Pinner and Pinner (1998) Communication Skills

Goals to aim for:

One idea per sentence

Maximum 25 words per sentence

Less than four 30-word sentences in the manuscript

Goals to aim for:

One idea per sentence

Maximum 25 words per sentence

Less than four 30-word sentences in the manuscript

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations Simple is best

• Simple language is best

• Makes your work more relevant

• Minimizes confusion—maximizes

understanding

• More people will understand your work

– More citations!

Coverage and

Staffing PlanReader

expectations

Help your readers understand

“If you can’t explain something simply,

you don’t understand it well.”

– Albert Einstein

• Write to express not impress

• Consider your audience – their

native language may not be

English

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover letters

First impression for

journal editors

First impression for

journal editors

Significance

Relevance

Significance

Relevance

Level of

English

Level of

English

Why your work

is important

Why your work

is important

Cover letters

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover letters The purpose of cover letters

• Introduces manuscript to journal editor

• A guide for the editor

• ‘Sells’ your work

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover letters

Dear Editor-in-Chief,

I am sending you our manuscript entitled “Techniques to detect

circoviruses in Australian bird species” by Raye et al. We would like to

have the manuscript considered for publication in Virology Methods

Online.

Please let me know of your decision at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely yours,

Warren Raye, PhD

Bad example

Not personalNot personal

Too shortToo short

No information about

the manuscript

No information about

the manuscript

العموميةتجنب

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover lettersProvide details

General

guidelines

General

guidelines

Manuscript title/

publication type

Manuscript title/

publication type

Corresponding

author details

Corresponding

author details

Background,

rationale, results

Background,

rationale, results

Address editor

personally

Address editor

personally

Why are your

findings important?

Why are your

findings important?

Reviewer

recommendations

Reviewer

recommendations

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover lettersAlways include

“Must-have”

statements

“Must-have”

statements

Not currently under

consideration by

other journals

Not currently under

consideration by

other journals

Source of

funding

Source of

funding

Authors agree on

manuscript/journal

Authors agree on

manuscript/journal

Original and

unpublished

Original and

unpublished

No conflicts of

interest

No conflicts of

interest

Authorship

contributions

Authorship

contributions

Coverage and

Staffing Plan

Cover letters

Dear Dr Graeber,

Please find enclosed our manuscript entitled “Amyloid-like inclusions in the brains of Huntington’s disease patients”, by

McGowan et al., which we would like to submit for publication as a Research Paper in Neurogenetics.

Recent immunohistochemical studies have revealed the presence of neuronal inclusions containing an N-terminal portion of

the mutant huntingtin protein and ubiquitin in the brain tissues of Huntington’s disease (HD) patients; however, the role of

these inclusions in the disease process has remained unclear. One suspected disease-causing mechanism in Huntington’s

disease and other polyglutamine disorders is the potential for the mutant protein to undergo a conformational change to a

more stable anti-parallel β-sheet structure…

To confirm if the immunohistochemically observed huntingtin- and ubiquitin-containing inclusions display amyloid features, we

performed Congo red staining and both polarizing and confocal microscopy on post-mortem human brain tissues obtained

from five HD patients, two AD patients, and two normal controls. Congo red staining revealed a small number of amyloid-like

inclusions showing green birefringence by polarized microscopy, in a variety of cortical regions.... ….detected inclusions

observed in parallel sections, suggesting that only a relatively small proportion of inclusions in HD adopt an amyloid-like

structure.

We believe our findings will be of particular interest to the readership of Neurogenetics, which includes researchers and

clinicians studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, we feel that your

journal provides the most suitable platform for the dissemination of our work to the research community.

Please address all correspondence to….

Give the

background to

the research

What was

done and what

was found

Interest to

journal’s readers

A good cover letter

الفكرةتحديدعليك

Academic publishing

Results novel?

Topic relevant?

The process

Accepted—

publication!

EditorManuscript +

cover letter

Peer review

Revision

Reject

New experiments

Improve readability

Add information

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewPublication path

Find new

journal

Decision

letter

Rejected

Respond to

comments

Revise

manuscript

Resubmit

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewEditor decisions

Findings well

communicated?

Reviewer

commentsDecision letter

Level of revisions

needed?

Reviewers in

agreement?

RejectWill be

considered

Major/minor revisions

Accept

RareSignificant flaws

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewPoint-by-point

RevisionRevision

Respond to every

comment

Respond to every

comment

Refer to line and page numbers

Use a different color font

Highlight the text

Easy to see

changes

Easy to see

changes

Polite &

professional

Polite &

professional

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewRevision

• Conduct additional experiments and

analyses as suggested

– If this is impossible, you must explain why

• You can disagree with reviewers

• Comply with deadlines

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewHow to disagree

The Reviewer has completely misunderstood our paper. This

Reviewer is a poor choice for our manuscript. Please send our

manuscript to another Reviewer.

The Reviewer’s comment is important in time-resolved systems.

However, our model is concerned with steady-state dynamics;

therefore, the fast femtosecond lifetimes are negligible. We have

clarified this misunderstanding by adding two sentences in the

revised manuscript on page 3, lines 2–7.

Poor response

Better response

Impolite

Justification

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewPoint-by-point responses

Reviewer comment: Some additional fluorescence data are

required to determine the intrinsic radiative singlet decays.

Response: In accordance with your suggestion, we have

provided the fluorescence spectra in the Supporting

Information. Our time-resolved measurements obtained the

intrinsic radiative rates in accordance with the Smith model

[Smith et al, 2011]. We have added two sentences (page 3,

lines 5–10) to explain our analysis and Smith’s model (Ref.

15, page 3, line 8).

Changes made

Location of

changes in revised

manuscript

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer reviewRevised manuscript

“…The steady-state fluorescence spectra shown in Figure 4,

show vibronic structure. Re-adsorption effects are

negligible by using solutions with ODs less than 0.1. The

radiative and non-radiative lifetimes are independent of the

initial intensity of the emitted light. The fluorescence time-

resolved spectra are given in the Supporting Information

(Figures S2 and S3). The fluorescence decay rates are

analyzed based on Smith’s model [15]. In this model the

effects of photon scattering from aggregated polymers in

solution are minimized.”

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer review Understanding reviewer comments

“The English needs to be improved”

“Your writing is difficult to understand”

• Grammar & spelling

• Long, complex sentences and paragraphs

• Gaps in the logic

• Poor manuscript organization

• Too much information

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer review

The grammar and spelling is correct in my manuscript’

‘The authors conclude that the quantum yield

increases; however, they do not give the

fluorescence rates for the individual polymers.

That is one of my concerns about this

methodology.’

Unclear comments

What is the Reviewer asking?

What should the author do?

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer review






methodology.’

Unclear comments

‘Why didn’t the authors provide the fluorescence rates?’

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer review






methodology.’

Unclear comments

The authors should provide the fluorescence rates

OR

Justify why the rates have not been given

Publisher

Adaptations

Peer review Conflicting reviewer comments

Reviewer 1: Please provide additional absorption spectra for the

individual dendrimers.

Reviewer 2: I do not think that the absorption spectra for the

individual dendrimers are necessary; however, the authors

should provide the transmission curves for the device.

Agree with a

ReviewerJustify reason Contact Editor

• Edanz

edanzediting.com

– Appendix slides

– Journal selector

– Cover letter templates

– Response letter templates

– Past presentations

– Links

Free online resources

Thank youGood luck!

سعيداً وحظاً ،شكراً

Any questions?

Contact Edanz

[email protected]

Follow us on Twitter

@JournalAdvisor

Downloads and further reading

edanzediting.com

Like us on Facebook

facebook.com/JournalAdvisor

Technology

130515-MidEast-GettingResearchPublished