Getting Published in Scholarly Journals How Librarians can Help Allyn Molina Editorial Director
Our Agenda 1 2 Guiding Journal Selections Successful Scientific Writing 3 What do Editors look for? 4 Discoverability
Early information gathering 3
Information Gathering Today 4
The Growing Academic Landscape 5
28,100 active scholarly peerreviewed Englishlanguage journals The average researcher reads 270 articles per year 7 to 9 million Researchers 5000 10,000 journal publishers globally 2.5 million articles published a year Size and Scale of the Scholarly Journal Universe Leading Role of Librarians Libraries can take a leadership role by engaging researchers and students around their aspirations and how they can get started
Helping Researchers Choose the appropriate Journal 7
Asking the Key Questions Why Publish? 1. Is it new and interesting? 2. Is it a current topic? The Correct Answer to all three questions is YES! 3. Is the research providing solutions to some difficult problems? 8
Asking Key Questions - What Type of Manuscript? Full articles / Original articles: the most important papers. Often substantial and significant completed pieces of research. Letters / Rapid Communications/ Short communications: quick and early communication of significant and original advances. Much shorter than full articles (check limitations). Guiding Journal Selection Review papers / perspectives: summarize recent developments on a specific topic. Highlight important previously reported points. Not the place to introduce new information. Often invited. Conference papers: Excellent for disseminating early or in progress research findings. Typically 5-10 pages, 3 figures, 15 references. 9
Asking Key Questions - Tips for Selecting the Best Journal Who is this journal s audience? What is the average time to print? What is the journal s Impact Factor? What are the recent publications in the candidate journal articles in the candidate journal? TIP! Look at the references these help you narrow down the options come up with a shortlist. 10
Identifying the right audience Some Guiding Questions Range of interest - local or international? What is their interest in the topic? 11
Using the Guide for Authors 12
Considerations in Scientific Writing 13
Complaint from an editor: [This] paper fell well below my threshold. I refuse to spend time trying to understand what the author is trying to say. Besides, I really want to send a message that they can't submit garbage to us and expect us to fix it. My rule of thumb is that if there are more than 6 grammatical errors in the abstract, then I don't waste my time carefully reading the rest. Why is Language Important? Save Editors and Reviewers the Trouble of Guessing what the Message is.
English Language Editing Wiley Editing Services Language Editing Translation Services Manuscript Formatting Figure Preparation Native English speakers, experts in your area will provide extensive edits for language Experienced translators with advanced academic degrees provide English language translation A skilled expert checks and formats manuscripts to the specified journal style Enhance visual presentation with the careful placement and design of data
How to Impress the Editor in Chief
What do Journal Editors do? Decides which papers are selected for peer review Develops journal s direction and philosophy Pre-screens manuscripts Assigns Manuscripts Selects Reviewers Commissions articles Attends conferences to keep upto-date Responsible for all scientific decision-making
First Impressions the Importance of the Cover Letter Submitted alongside the Manuscript A chance to speak to the Editor directly Final approval from all authors Should talk about what makes the manuscript special to this journal A good cover letter may accelerate the editorial process Explanation of importance of research
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91% Manuscripts that are Revised Managing Expectations Source: Peer Review Survey 2009: senseaboutscience.org.uk
Additional Resources Writing a Paper by Andrew Gelman, http://andrewgelman.com/2009/07/30/advice_on_writing Strategies and Steps by Margaret Cargill, Patrick O Connor, April 2009 How to Write a Paper, 4 th Edition, edited by George M Hall, February 2008 Mark Ware Consulting Ltd, Publising and E-learning Consultancy. Scientific publishing in transition: an overview of current developments. Sept., 2006. www.stm-assoc.org/storage/scientific_publishing_in_transition_white_paper.pdf Author Resources, Publication Ethics, Wiley http://www.wiley.com/bw/publicationethics/ International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication. Feb. 2006 George D. Gopen, Judith A. Swan. The science of Scientific Writing. American Scientist (Nov-Dec 1990), vol. 78, 550-558. Michael Derntl. Basics of Research Paper Writing and Publishing. http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf Thomas H Adair. Professor, Physiology & Biophysics Center of Excellence in Cardiovascular-Renal Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center. http://dor.umc.edu/archives/writingandpublishingaresearcharticleadair.ppt Bruce Railsback. Professor, Department of Geology, University of Georgia. Some Comments on Ethical issues about research. www.gly.uga.edu/railsback/11111misc/researchethics.html Philip Campbell. Editor-in-Chief, Nature. Futures of scientific communication and outreach. June 2007.
By helping your students face these difficulties in getting their papers published, they will feel like this.