How to get published on scholarly publications :

For Researchers in Biomedical Science

Sarah,(Xiaoqian) Liu

Core Content Consultant

x.liu.2@elsevier.com

Lead the way in advancing science, technology and health

Galileo’s last and greatest work, published in 1638 by

Elzevir, Discorsi e Dimostrazioni Matematiche

Louis Pasteur

(Chemistry)

Alexander Fleming

(Medicine)

Albert Einstein (Physics)

Craig C Mello (Medicine)

John C. Mather

(Physics)

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi

(Medicine)

ShinyaYamanaka(Medicine)

Marie Curie(Physics,

Chemistry)

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Manage the high quality scientific outputs globally

5 Year CAGR: 2012-2016

Articles Submitted 9.50%

Articles Published 5.03%

*Figures for all Elsevier Journals

984,736

1,072,204

1,189,424

1,320,538

1,441,017

329,058 352,356 367,868 392,249 414,884

-

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Submission & publication of scientific articles

Articles submitted Articles accepted

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Academic publishingThe publishing cycle

Solicit &

manage

submissions

30-60%

rejected from

~ 1.2 million

submissions

Manage

Peer Review830,000+

reviewers

Edit &

prepare

420,000articles

accepted

Production12.6 million

articles

available

Publish &

Disseminate

>700 million

downloads by

>14 million

researchers in

>120 countries!

Generally process for peer review

Submit a

paper

Basic requirements met?

REJECT

Assign

reviewers

Collect reviewers’

recommendations

Make a

decisionRevise the

paper

[Reject]

[Revision required]

[Accept]

[Yes]

[No]Review and give

recommendation

START

ACCEPT

Author Editor Reviewer

Michael Derntl: Basics of Research Paper Writing and

Publishing.

http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/~derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf

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• Preparing your manuscript

• Structuring your article

• Using proper scientific language

• Promoting your research

Outline

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Planning your articleAre you ready to publish?

Not readyWork has no scientific interest

ReadyWork advances the field

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Choosing the right journalBest practices

▪ Aim to reach the intended audience for your work

▪ Choose only one journal, as simultaneous submissions are

prohibited

▪ Supervisor and colleagues can provide good suggestions

▪ Shortlist a handful of candidate journals, and investigate them:

• Aims & Scope

• Accepted types of articles

• Readership

• Current hot topics

Articles in your reference list will usually lead you

directly to the right journals.

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Impact

Factor

Bibliometric indicators

Eigenfactor SJR SNIP CiteScore

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Choosing the right journal

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Choosing the right journal

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Preparing your manuscriptGuide for Authors

▪ Find it on the journal homepage of the publisher, e.g. Elsevier.com

▪ Keep to the Guide for Authors in your manuscript

▪ It will save your time

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Determine if you are ready to publish your work

Decide on the best type of manuscript

Choose the target journal

Check the Guide for Authors

RecapBefore writing your paper

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• Preparing your manuscript

• Structuring your article

• Using proper scientific language

• Promoting your research

Outline

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General structure of a research article

▪ Title

▪ Abstract

▪ Keywords

▪ Introduction

▪ Methods

▪ Results and Discussion

▪ Conclusion

▪ Acknowledgements

▪ References

▪ Supporting materials

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The process of writing –

building the article

Title, Abstract, and Keywords

Figures/Tables (your data)

Conclusion Introduction

Methods Results Discussion

Title

Abstract

Main Text

Title

Abstract

Article

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▪ Attract reader’s attention

▪ Contain fewest possible words

▪ Adequately describe content

▪ Are informative but concise

▪ Identify main issue

▪ Do not use technical jargon and rarely-used abbreviations

Effective manuscript titles

Editors and reviewers do not like titles that make no sense or fail to

represent the subject matter adequately. Additionally, if the title is not

accurate, the appropriate audience may not read your paper.

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▪ Are the labels of the manuscript

▪ Are used by indexing and abstracting services

▪ Should be specific

▪ Should use only established abbreviations (e.g. DNA)

Keywords

Article title Keywords

“An experimental study on

evacuated tube solar collector using

supercritical CO2”

Solar collector; supercritical CO2;

solar energy; solar thermal

utilization

Check the Guide for Authors for specifics on which keywords should be

used.

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▪ Summarize the problem, methods, results, and conclusions in a

single paragraph

▪ Make it interesting and understandable

▪ Make it accurate and specific

▪ A clear abstract will strongly influence whether or not your work

is considered

▪ Keep it as brief as possible

Abstract

Take the time to write the abstract very carefully. Many authors write the

abstract last so that it accurately reflects the content of the paper.

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Include only data of primary importance

Use sub-headings to keep results of the same type together

Be clear and easy to understand

Highlight the main findings

Feature unexpected findings

Provide statistical analysis

Include illustrations and figures

Results

Results section

▪ Subheadings should declare the take home message

▪ Each subsection should focus on one figure

▪ A lead off sentence should declare why an experiment

was performed

▪ The conclusion sentence at the end of a subsection

should declare a result

▪ Be consistent with the method section

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Describe how the problem was

studied

Include detailed information

Do not describe previously

published procedures

Identify the equipment and

materials used

Methods

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Provide a brief context to the readers

Address the problem

Identify the solutions and limitations

Identify what the work is trying to achieve

Provide a perspective consistent with the nature of the journal

Introduction

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Interpretation of results

Make the discussion correspond to the results and complement them

Compare published results with your own

Discussion

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▪ Be clear

▪ Provide justification for the work

▪ Explain how your work advances the present state of knowledge

Conclusion

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▪ Advisors

▪ Financial supporters and funders

▪ Proof readers and typists

▪ Suppliers who may have donated materials

Acknowledgments

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▪ Do not use too many references

▪ Always ensure you have fully absorbed

the material you are referencing

▪ Avoid excessive self citations

▪ Avoid excessive citations of publications

from the same region or institute

▪ Conform strictly to the style given in the

Guide for Authors

References

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• Preparing your manuscript

• Structuring your article

• Using proper scientific language

• Promoting your research

Outline

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▪ Poor language quality can delay or block publication of work

▪ Proper English should be used throughout the manuscript

Why is language important?

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▪ Write direct, short, and factual sentences

▪ Convey one piece of information per sentence

▪ Avoid multiple statements in one sentence

Manuscript language: Sentences

The average length of sentences in scientific writing

is only about 12-17 words.

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Manuscript language: Tenses

Present tense:

Use for known facts and hypotheses

Past tense:

Use for experiments conducted and results

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Do publishers correct language?

No!

It is the author’s

responsibility......but resources

are available

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▪ Proper English is important so

editors and reviewers can

understand the work

▪ Use short, concise sentences,

correct tenses, and correct

grammar

▪ Refer to the journal’s Guide for

Authors for specifications

▪ Have a native English speaker

check your manuscript or use a

language editing service

RecapAre you using proper manuscript language?

Thank you