from research to manuscript by joe prieto operations director, novais group at national kaohsiung...

From Research to Manuscriptby Joe Prieto

Operations Director, NOVAIS GROUP

at National Kaohsiung University of Applied Sciences

March 30, 2015

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You will see:

Publishing 101

Underlying misconceptions

Be prepared

Liberate yourself

Identify pros and cons

Strike your darlings

Help along the way

Publishing 101


Publishing 101

● Requirement for graduation

● Requirement for promotion

● To disseminate knowledge

~ The effort yields its own rewards ~Commander Data, Star Trek

Why publish?


Where to publish?

Book ChaptersBook Chapters

Indexed Journals(SCI/SSCI/IEEE)

Indexed Journals(SCI/SSCI/IEEE)

Conference ProceedingsConference

Proceedings

Non-Indexed Journals

Non-Indexed Journals

Level of d

ifficulty

Publishing 101


Which journal fits?

Key to Successful Publication

Selecting a suitable journal is the essential process of publication.

Publishing 101


Who reviews?

● Journal Editors Pre-screening: ensure the manuscript within the

scope of the journal Identifying reviewers Looking to see:

The “wow” factor Novelty Clarity of presentation Value of practical, research, and theoretical

implications

● Peer Reviewers Single blind: authors do not know the identity of the

reviewers Double blind: this provides honest and critical reviews

without fear of retribution

Publishing 101


How to publish?

Publishing 101

Underlying Misconceptions


● It is proper to cite non-indexed Chinese literatures.

● It is appropriate to include the entire sentence from the reference I cite.

● The impact factor is the only thing I need to consider when choosing a journal.

● It is troublesome to select the journal at the last, even after the manuscript is done.

Underlying misconceptions

● It is fine to select the journal at the last, even after the manuscript is done.

● The impact factor is only one thing I need to consider when choosing a journal.

● It is inappropriate to include the entire sentence from the reference I cite.

● It is improper to cite non-indexed Chinese literatures.

● It is unsuitable to write the abstract before all the other sections. ● It is suitable to write the abstract before all the other sections.



To get published – Challenges ahead


Be Prepared


Step by step

Be Prepared

I. Choose your flavor

II. Understand target journal guidelines

III. Structure your manuscript


I. Choose your flavor

Be Prepared

● Paper types

● Journal location


I. Choose your flavor – Paper types

Be Prepared

● Conference papers

● Original articles

Purpose: for disseminating early or in-progress research findings Typical size: 1,500~3,000 words, 3 figures and 15 references To start a scientific research career

Purpose: Standard for disseminating completed research findings Typical size: 2,400~3,500 words, 5 figures and 25 references To build a scientific research career


I. Choose your flavor – Paper types

Be Prepared

● Letters / Cast study / Short communications

● Review papers / Perspectives

Purpose: quick and early communications of significant / original advances Typical size: much shorter than the other paper types Usually follow up with a full length paper

Purpose: critical synthesis of a specific research topic Typical size: 3,000+ words, 5+ figures and 80 references To consolidate a scientific research career Note: it is usually solicited by journals


I. Choose your flavor – Journal location

Be Prepared

● What’s an Impact Factor (IF)?Impact Factor

is a measure of the frequency with which the average article in a journal has been cited in a particular year or period.

depends heavily on size of the field

does not reflect individual articles

includes self-citations (journal and author)

linked to publication time of journal (2-year timeframe)

publishing in high-impact journal does not guarantee high citations


II. Understand target journal guidelines

Be Prepared

● What do journal editors want to see?Journal editors do not like wasting time on manuscripts that are out of scope or poorly prepared.

Understand the journal guidelines

Stick to the journal guidelines

Have someone proofread the manuscript following the journal guidelines

So, you should…



Be Prepared

● General structure of a research/original article: Title Abstract Keywords

InformativeAttractiveEffective

Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussions

ClearConciseComprehensible

Conclusions Acknowledgements References Supplementary data

ConsistentScientificCredible



Be Prepared

● Writing progression

1. Materials and MethodsDO

•Identify the equipment and describe materials and methods used•Describe how the problem set-up section was studied•Include detailed information•Use past tense and third person

DO NOT

•Include all explanatory information and background - save it for the discussion•Include information that is irrelevant to the reader•Mix results with procedures.

Consult a statistician to ensure that the statistical analysis is appropriate, and that it is accurately described in the manuscript.



Be Prepared


2. ResultsDO

•Describe your main/unexpected findings or the results of the statistical analysis •Organize this section in parallel to the Materials and Methods section•Use graphs, figures and tables•Use past tense

DO NOT

•Interpret the results•Selectively adjust any images to enhance visualization of results

If there is no graphical means of presenting the results, then it is unlikely that the results are of any significance.



Be Prepared


3. DiscussionsDO

•What the results mean (corresponding to the Results)•Refer to work done by specific individuals (including yourself) in past tense•Refer to generally accepted facts and principles in present tense. For example, "Doofus, in a 1989 survey, found that anemia in basset hounds was correlated with advanced age. Anemia is a condition in which there is insufficient hemoglobin in the blood."

DO NOT

•Introduce new results•Ramble or just review the literature

The biggest mistake made is to present a superficial interpretation that more or less re-states the results. It is necessary to suggest why results came out as they did, focusing on the mechanisms behind the observations.



Be Prepared


4. IntroductionDO

•Be consistent with the nature of the journal•Use the active voice as much as possible. Some use of first person is okay, but do not overdo it.•Use past tense except when referring to established facts

DO NOT

•Over emphasize the study hypothesis or aim•Ramble or just review the literature

If the introduction does not instil any enthusiasm in your study, it is unlikely that a journal will consider publication.



Be Prepared


5. ConclusionDO

•How the work advances the field from the present state of knowledge•Justify your work in the research field•Suggest future experiments

DO NOT

•Do comparison

A good conclusion of your work draws readers’ attention and interest.



Be Prepared


6. ReferencesDO

•Cite the main scientific publications on which your work is based•Conform strictly to the style given in the journal guidelines

DO NOT

•Use too many references•Excessive self-citations•Excessive citations of publications from the same region

Always ensure you have fully absorbed material you are referencing and do not just rely on checking excerpts or isolated sentences.



Be Prepared


7. AbstractDO

•Cut to the point•Use past tense (as a summary of work done)•Focus on summarizing results - limit background information to a sentence or two, if absolutely necessary•Be consistent with what you reported in the paper

DO NOT

•Write the abstract before your manuscript is complete•Refer to any other part of the paper such as a figure or table

Make certain to stay with the word count limit stated in the journal guidelines.



Be Prepared


8. Title and keywordsDO

•Title should be specific, informative and concise•Use only established abbreviations for your keywords•Always check the journal guidelines

DO NOT

•Use jargon and abbreviations in the title

Liberate Yourself


Don’t be your own stumbling stone

Liberate Yourself

Write everything you have as a list:FactsIssuesdetailfindings

Organize these in the best way to tell your story and then delete those that are not essential.

Identify Pros and Cons


Reassessment

Identify Pros and Cons

Do I have enough literature support?

Am I making reasonable knowledge claims or just reporting?

Is this an argument or a manifesto?

Is my data sufficient to the claims I am making?

Am I being sufficiently speculative?

Identify the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript so far.Ask yourself:

Strike Your Darlings


Too wordy?

Strike Your Darlings

Use the strike through tool

Move some text to footnotes

Start a “maybe later” folder

Triage your text paragraph by paragraph

Help along the Way


Why is language important?

Help along the Way

Save your editor and reviewers the trouble of guessing what you mean.

Edited abstract sample

Thank you for your time!

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from research to manuscript by joe prieto operations director, novais group at national kaohsiung...

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