Transcript About me
Author Academy—getting your research published أرشادات لكيفية نشر مقالتك Warren Raye, PhD Senior Editor Edanz Group Customer Introduction Service About me … Senior Editor Customer Introduction Service Today’s presentation • Academic publishing • Before you start … • Manuscript structure • Reader expectations • Peer review Academic publishing Adopt a winning strategy Researcher Footballer Physical fitness Preparation Results Team members Communication Manuscript Rules of the game Understanding Submission process Opposition Knowledge Published literature Win games Tactics Publication record Academic publishing You must publish in English ان االنكليزية هي لغة العلم الدولية • • • • • • The international language of research Other researchers want to hear from you! Become a more effective communicator Funding International reputation Career advancement لا عندما يكون قد تم نشره ً يكون بحثك مكتم Academic publishing The process Peer review Results novel? Topic relevant? Manuscript + cover letter Editor New experiments Improve readability Add information Reject Accepted— publication! Revision Academic publishing Publishing timeline • 3–12 months … • Depends on – Manuscript type – Availability of peer reviewers – Fast tracking – Number of revisions • How well you address reviewer comments Academic publishing Ask yourself High quality research Good design Well executed Original and novel What do journal editors want? Interesting to journal’s readership Clear and concise English Academic publishing Ask yourself High quality research Good design Well executed مادة علمية قيمة Original and novel What do يريدون دائمًا ا journal editors ًالدوريات want? Interesting to journal’s readership إن محرري Clear and concise English Academic publishing Publication ethics • Multiple submissions • Data fabrication and falsification • Plagiarism • Conflicts of interest • Author list – Who? – First & last authors – Corresponding author – Financial – Personal – Intellectual َمنً يتصرف بعيدًاا عن آداب المهنة سينكشف أمره Reading improves your writing Before you start … How? What to do Structure & style Argument structure Journal quality Get new ideas What not to do أن تكون قارئًا ا جيدًاا يساعدك لتكون كاتبًا ا جيدًاا Before you start … Make time to read Read often • At least … – 20–30 min each day – 60 min, once a week • Discuss with colleagues – Journal club Before you start … • • • • How to read an article Start to finish? Section by section? Where is the relevant information? Be efficient Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Have you read similar papers? Familiar with the terminology? Do you understand the relevance of the hypothesis? Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Last paragraph of Introduction for aims Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Last paragraph of Introduction for aims Figures & Tables, then Results Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Last paragraph of Introduction for aims Figures & Tables, then Results Discussion for interpretation Before you start … Strategies for reading Title and Abstract first Self-assess knowledge of topic Last paragraph of Introduction for aims Figures & Tables, then Results Discussion for interpretation Refer to Introduction and Methods if necessary Before you start … Journal selection Before you start … Factors to consider What is your publication goal? • • • • Aims & scope Prestige Impact factor Target audience • • • • Open access Publishing frequency Indexing status Publication type Which factor is most important to you? 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 Before you start … Evaluating significance: novelty • How new are my results compared with those already published? New findings Incremental advances Conceptual advances Low to medium impact Medium to high impact Before you start … Evaluating significance: relevance • How relevant is my work? Applications for a specific field? Applications across many fields? Before you start … Evaluating significance: relevance • Are your findings specific to a geographical region or ethnic population? Regional? Global? 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_selector Before you start … 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 Before you start … Visit journal websites Manuscript structure You need to tell a story Beginning Middle End • Must be easy to read and easy to understand Manuscript structure • • • • • IMRaD Introduction Methods Results and Discussion Assertion Evidence Affirmation ال تكتب مقالك بنفس الرتابة التي تظهر بها في المدونة Manuscript structure The ‘write’ order • For maximum clarity and consistency: Methods Results Introduction Discussion Title Abstract During your research After selecting target journal Write last Manuscript structure Relevance of your aims First impressions count Importance of your results Validity of conclusions Your abstract Judge your writing style Likely the only part that will be read هي أهم أجزاء ورقة الع المقدمةaمل التي تطرحها Manuscript structure Abstract الشروط التاليه المقدمة يجب أن تتوفر فيها • Concise – Less than the specified word count • • • • • Problem(s) addressed (10%) Objectives/hypotheses (20%) Techniques (10%) Your most important results (40%) Concluding statement (20%) Manuscript structure Sample abstract The switching of focal adhesion maturation sites and actin filament activation for MSCs by topography of well-defined micropatterned surfaces 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. Seo et al. Biomaterials 2012, 34:1764‒1771. Manuscript structure Sample abstract 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. Background 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. Aims/Methods 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. Important results Conclusion Seo et al. Biomaterials 2012, 34:1764‒1771. Manuscript structure Introduction What problem was studied? The answer to this question should be in your Introduction Beginning Middle End ماًنوعيةًالحالةًالتيًتمتًدراستهاً؟ Manuscript structure Introduction Beginning • Sufficient background information • Comprehensive literature review • Cite previous publications – Review articles – Original articles • What is the problem? Manuscript structure Introduction 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 structure Introduction End • Clearly and explicitly state specific aims of your study Manuscript structure Methods • 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 الذيًقمت بدراسته ؟ كيف تناولت موضوعًالبحث Manuscript structure Results • Past tense to describe your results • Do not explain the results • Avoid duplicating data among figures, tables and text ما هي النتائج التي توصلت إليها ؟ Manuscript structure Display items ان اللوائح واالرقام هي وسائل مؤثرة جدًاا عند تبادل اآلراء واالفكار والمعلومات • 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’ Manuscript structure Discussion What do your findings mean? The answer to this question should be in your Discussion Beginning Middle End ماذا تعني لك النتائج التي توصلت لها ؟ Manuscript structure • • • • Discussion 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 structure Discussion Middle • Interpret your results – Compare with other studies • Same or different? • Explain unexpected results • Describe limitations – How could the study be improved? Manuscript structure Discussion End • Restate major conclusion(s) – In summary … or In conclusion … • Possible applications and implications • Suggest future work Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan 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 Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Your reader should … Only have to read once Not have to read slowly Understand your logic immediately Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations 1. Verb placement • Readers expect verbs to closely follow subjects Sentence Subject Verb . Subject and verb far apart = poor readability Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Help your reader • Readers want verbs to closely follow subjects Sentence Subject Verb . Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan 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 Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Avoid reader confusion 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 longterm treatment with 1 μM cytochalasin D. This ORF is a 105nucleotide 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 longterm treatment with 1 μM cytochalasin D. This ORF … Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Which voice? • Active or passive? – Blood samples were collected from 256 patients. – We collected blood from 256 patients. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations 2. Active voice Subject Verb Active • Sentences written in the active voice are: simple direct clear easy to read Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Active voice is preferred ACS Style Guide “Use the active voice when it is less wordy and more direct than the passive”. (3rd ed., pg. 42) APA Style “Use the active voice rather than the passive voice…”. Chicago Style Guide “As a matter of style, passive voice is typically, but not always, inferior to active voice”. (15th ed., pg. 177) AMA Manual of Style “In general, authors should use the active voice…”. Nature “Nature journals prefer authors to write in the active voice…”. www.apastyle.org/learn/faqs/effective-verb-use.aspx (10th ed., pg. 320) www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations 3. Stress position • Readers focus on information at the end of a sentence. Subject Verb take-home information . Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan 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. Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations 4. Topic position • Readers expect a sentence/phrase to be a story about whoever shows up first Topic position Subject Verb Stress position . Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations Topic position sentence idea idea idea idea Topic link • 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. Gopen and Swan, American Scientist 1990, 78:550‒558. Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan expectations 5. Short sentences Reading once… 4% of readers can understand a 27-word sentence 75% of readers can understand a 17-word sentence 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 Coverage Readerand Staffing Plan 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 Readerand Staffing Plan 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 Cover letters and Staffing Plan Cover letters Significance Relevance Why your work is important First impression for journal editors Level of English Coverage Cover letters and Staffing Plan The purpose of cover letters • Introduces manuscript to journal editor • A guide for the editor • ‘Sells’ your work Coverage Cover letters and Staffing Plan Bad example Not personal تجنب العمومية No information about the manuscript 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, Too short Warren Raye, PhD Coverage Cover letters and Staffing Plan Address editor personally Provide details Manuscript title/ publication type Background, rationale, results General guidelines Why are your findings important? Corresponding author details Reviewer recommendations Coverage Cover letters and Staffing Plan Original and unpublished Always include Not currently under consideration by other journals Authors agree on manuscript/journal “Must-have” statements No conflicts of interest Source of funding Authorship contributions Coverage Cover letters and Staffing Plan A good cover letter 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… Give the background to the research 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. What was done and what was found 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. Interest to journal’s readers Please address all correspondence to…. عليك تحديد الفكرة Academic publishing The process Peer review Results novel? Topic relevant? Manuscript + cover letter Editor New experiments Improve readability Add information Reject Accepted— publication! Revision Peer Publisher review Adaptations Publication path Find new journal Revise manuscript Decision letter Resubmit Rejected Respond to comments Peer Publisher review Adaptations Findings well communicated? Editor decisions Level of revisions needed? Reviewers in agreement? Reviewer comments Decision letter Reject Will be considered Accept Significant flaws Major/minor revisions Rare Peer Publisher review Adaptations Point-by-point Polite & professional Respond to every comment Revision Easy to see changes Refer to line and page numbers Use a different color font Highlight the text Peer Publisher review Adaptations Revision • Conduct additional experiments and analyses as suggested – If this is impossible, you must explain why • You can disagree with reviewers • Comply with deadlines Peer Publisher review Adaptations How 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. Poor response Impolite 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. Better response Justification Peer Publisher review Adaptations Point-by-point responses Reviewer comment: Some additional fluorescence data are required to determine the intrinsic radiative singlet decays. Changes made 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). Location of changes in revised manuscript Peer Publisher review Adaptations 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Revised 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 timeresolved 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.” Peer Publisher review Adaptations 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 Peer Publisher review Adaptations Unclear comments ‘The authors conclude that the quantum yield increases; however, they do not give the The grammar and for spellingthe is correct in my manuscript’ fluorescence rates individual polymers. That is one of my concerns about this methodology.’ What is the Reviewer asking? What should the author do? Peer Publisher review Adaptations Unclear comments ‘The authors conclude that the quantum yield increases; however, they do not give the The grammar and for spellingthe is correct in my manuscript’ fluorescence rates individual polymers. That is one of my concerns about this methodology.’ ‘Why didn’t the authors provide the fluorescence rates?’ Peer Publisher review Adaptations Unclear comments ‘The authors conclude that the quantum yield increases; however, they do not give the The grammar and for spellingthe is correct in my manuscript’ fluorescence rates individual polymers. That is one of my concerns about this methodology.’ The authors should provide the fluorescence rates OR Justify why the rates have not been given Peer Publisher review Adaptations 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 Reviewer Justify reason Contact Editor Free online resources • Edanz edanzediting.com – Appendix slides – Journal selector – Cover letter templates – Response letter templates – Past presentations – Links Thank you Good luck! وحظًا ا سعيدًاا، شكرًاا Any questions? [email protected] Contact Edanz edanzediting.com Downloads and further reading @JournalAdvisor Follow us on Twitter facebook.com/JournalAdvisor Like us on Facebook