So what is the problem? Paul Haddad, Editor, Journal of Chromatography A A great deal of excellent research is submitted from China but. I have encountered the following serious issues Multiple submissions Submission of a paper already published in Chinese Plagiarism (especially of small parts of a paper Not selecting the correct reviewer when submitting
The following problems appear much too frequently Inadequate standard of English Papers submitted outside scope of journal Failure to format the article to journal guidelines Inadequate response to reviewers Resubmission of rejected manuscripts without revision
Where to start?
Who here today struggles with their workload, family life, personal life?
Journal Editors and Reviewers Practicing scientists, even leaders in their fields Busy people doing their own research, writing and teaching, and working for journals in their spare time, to contribute to science Editors may receive a small payment, but reviewers are UNPAID
Journal Editors and Reviewers These are scientists just like you! Make their life easier and help yourself by preparing well! You only get one chance to make a first impression
Journal Editors and Reviewers Articles are increasingly checked for originality and relevance There is NO POINT trying to publish: Work based on datasets which are too small/insignificant Work out of date Duplication of previously published research Incorrect/Unacceptable conclusions 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Journal Selection Where to begin?
Journal selection is crucial! Check the aims and scope of your target journal Read papers from the journal to see what type of work is accepted Choose the correct article type (e.g. Research article, Review, Short com Ask your supervisor or colleagues for their opinions, a fresh set of eyes can be invaluable Articles you cite in your reference list will lead to the right choice of journal
Journal selection is crucial! DO NOT gamble by scattering your manuscript to many journals. Only submit to one journal at a time! International ethics standards prohibit multiple / simultaneous submissions, and editors DO find out! All EDITORS HATE WASTING TIME on poorly prepared manuscripts. (It s also a sign of disrespect.)
Zero Tolerance No matter how world-shattering the science, a non-conforming submission won t even reach the eyes of the Reviewers/Editors
Zero Tolerance Until formally correct, a manuscript is only seen by technical editors and NOT peer reviewers YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED BY GOOD SCIENCE
Zero Tolerance FACT: 65% of new manuscripts submitted to the European Journal of CardioThoracic Surgery are sent back to authors for reformatting
ZERO TOLERANCE! THINK OF THE PSYCHOLOGY! An attractive and well presented manuscript is immediately attractive to the reviewer FIRST IMPRESSIONS LAST! 5% of submissions to the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery have the wrong editors or journal name in the cover letter!
Use a good dictionary The first five use British English (but give US variants) and the last is an American English dictionary: Cambridge Advanced Learner s Dictionary Collins Cobuild Advanced Dictionary Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners Oxford Advanced Learner s Dictionary Merriam-Webster s Learner s Dictionary
Title Page Choose an appropriate title Effective title: Identify the main issue of the paper Attract readers Begin with the subject of the paper
Title Page Choose an appropriate title Effective title: Are accurate, unambiguous, specific and complete Do not contain infrequently used abbreviations
Main Text Use numbered headings if required Organize sections into subsections if required or if this makes the paper easier to read Use US or UK English spellings consistently Define abbreviations on first use Check the text does not exceed any word count limit
Manuscript Format Decide on whether to submit a word processor or LaTex paper Format your manuscript according to any journal requirements Margins Font size Line spacing Page numbering Order of sections
Title Page List all authors in the correct format for the journal List the affiliations for all authors Identify the corresponding author Check if an Abstract is required How many words are allowed? Should the Abstract be structured or a single paragraph? Are keywords required?
Main Text Sentences of approximately 20 words are easy to read Paragraphs of approximately 150 words provide a good flow Do not be afriad to use lists or tables instead of descriptive paragraphs
Main Text The costs involved in biostabilization (Ia) and landfill (Ib) include the cost of land, construction, and operation and maintenance (O&M). Where Ia is made up of land costs plus construction costs and O&M costs, while Ib relates to land costs plus construction costs and O&M costs Better: N The costs involved in biostabilization (I a ) and landfill (I b ) include the cost of land, construction, and operation and maintenance (O&M). I a = Land costs + Construction costs + O&M costs I b = Land costs+ Construction costs + O&M costs
Main Text The single biggest grammatical error by Chinese authors is the omission or incorrect use of the articles a, an and the A, An and The are known in English as articles. They are problematic for Chinese authors because they do not exist in most languages including Mandarin.
Main Text Noun: a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality 'Doctor', 'tree', 'party', 'coal' and 'beauty' are all nouns.
Main Text A Countable Noun: A countable noun is a type of noun that can be: (1) Presented in both the singular form and the plural form (2) Represented by a number, such as two cats, five books
Main Text Rule 1: When you have a single, countable English noun, you must always have an article before it. Sample is a countable noun, you can have a single sample or multiple samples. You do not say "analysis of sample showed", we must say "analysis of a sample showed" or "we analyzed a sample"...
Main Text Rule 2: Uncountable nouns don't use 'a' or 'an'. This is because you can't count them. Information is an uncountable noun. You do not say "he gave an information", but you can say "he gave me some information"
Main Text Rule 2 continued: Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. For example, we say "coffee" meaning the product, but we say "a coffee" when asking for one cup of coffee.
Main Text Rule 3: The can be used to make general things specific. You can use 'the' with any type of noun plural or singular, countable or uncountable. "We analyzed a sample" any sample. "We analyzed the sample" one specific sample. 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text But how do I know when to use a and when to use an? 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text If the word starts with a vowel or vowel sound, A,E, I, O or U, then use An i.e. An example of... One Exception, if the noun starts with a silent H such as hour, i.e. We waited for an hour 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text If the word starts with a consonant or a consonant sound, then use A i.e. A sample was taken... There are exceptions but the following rule will help you to be correct nearly every time. 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text If the noun begins with a vowel sound use an if the word starts with a consonant sound use a. This is a general sound rule, NOT a spelling rule and NOT a definitive rule! 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text Numbers: Chinese writing is based on symbols so there is a tendency to over use Arabic numerals. Arabic numerals = 1, 2, 3 etc 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text Numbers: Most journals prefer the numbers one to ten to be spelt out: Bad:...the 3 examples show... Good:...the three examples show... 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text Numbers: Never start a sentence with Arabic numerals: Bad: 40 samples were taken... Good: Forty samples were taken... 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Main Text Use of Respectively and Respective: Common mistake. They are used to signify a direct link between items, a sequential significance Batches four, two and five contained the highest trace elements respectively Implies 4>2>5 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Scientific Notation Use the correct format for units of measurement (SI units are usually preferred) Check if italics should be used for variables Use consistent notation and avoid ambiguity (e.g. V for volume, v for velocity) 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
References in text Check whether numbered or name and date references should be used Use the correct format for citation of numbered references (e.g. (1), [1] or 1 ) Should numbered references be cited in sequential order? How many author names should be listed for name and date references? 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Reference list Use the correct format for the reference list Author surname and initials Year of publication Article title Journal name Volume number Page numbers Should all author names be listed or can et al. be used in the reference list? 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Figures Present figures within the text or at the end of the paper, depending on the journal Cite figures in sequential order in the text Provide suitable figure captions Check journal requirements for suitable figure formats (jpg, tiff, etc.) Journals usually charge for color figures in the print version 国际科学编辑中国 www.internationalscienceediting.cn Tel: Tel: 0512-67621565
Tables Present tables within the text or at the end of the paper, depending on the journal Cite tables in sequential order in the text Provide suitable table captions Format tables according to journal requirements Header rows Units Rules
Other Issues Acknowledgments Cover letter Cross-checking All references, figures and tables cited in the text All reference citations included in the reference list Spell-check the entire document Check for correct grammar, syntax and punctuation
International Science Editing Native English speakers Over 100 editors, minimum Phd level Content of paper matched to background of editor Checking of all submission issues Grammar, syntax, punctuation and readability Correct formats for target journal Reference/figure/table cross-checking Cover letter Comments or queries for specific points Address reviewer and editor feedback
International Science Editing www.internationalscienceediting.cn E-mail:info@internationalscienceediting.cn Main office in Europe China office in Suzhou