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Why do we publish? Preparing a good manuscript Revision cycles Ethics in writing Conclusion
Key Principles and Best Practices for EffectiveWriting of High Impact Publications
Muhammad Nadzir Marsono PhD, PEng, CEngAssociate Professor in Electronic and Computer Eng
School of Electrical EngineeringFaculty of Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
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Why do we publish? Preparing a good manuscript Revision cycles Ethics in writing Conclusion
Outline
1 Why do we publish?
2 Preparing a good manuscript
3 Revision cycles
4 Ethics in writing
5 Conclusion
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“Publish or Perish”
Publishing of research findings is integral to scientificresearchPublishing culture in academia – selling your idea andreputationAlso as a mechanism to validate a research – throughpeer-review process
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Quantity vs Quality
In academia, we sometimes overly emphasize on quantityQuality is no less importantNeed conducive ecosystems to support knowledge growth
Acculturate researchers to publish“Acculturation: cultural modification of an individual, group,or people by adapting to or borrowing traits from anotherculture“: Merriam-Webster
Sanity check is always required
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Various Publication Options
Impactful publications are not limited to only a particulartype
Journals, periodicalsProceedings of conferences & workshopsBooks or book chapters
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Publication in conference proceedings
Conferences have a specific selection or refereeingprocessTypically sponsored by an institution or professional bodyMay differ in terms of type of proceedings and indexingResearchers benefit from shorter publication timeSome specialized conferences/workshops have very lowacceptance rate
Highly reputable as publishing in journals, but with shorterturn-around time
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Publication in journals
Typically for stand-alone work – not preliminary workMostly indexed and measured of their impacts
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Levels-of-citation-impact_fig2_318792509
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Publication in journals
Publishing in journals require closed-loop review beforefinal acceptance (or rejection)
Low acceptance rateLong publication time >> 1.5 years
Online First option for rapid knowledge dissemination
Some journals are open-access – your papers easilyaccessible to othersSpecial issue journals on specific topic
Guest editors and dedicated refereesTypically shorter publication time
Best papers in select conferences are invited forsubmission of extended papers in SI journals
Higher chance for acceptance
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Various reasons for rejection
Content – the topic is no longer outstanding or has beensufficiently researchedDoes not match the scope of publicationFailure to adhere to formatting requirementPoorly written – both in articulation and languageAfter review – failure to address reviewers commentsResubmitted elsewhere without addressing flaws
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Who quality-check the submitted manuscripts
Editors and reviewersResearchers themselvesOften the top in their fields
Contribute to the scientific community in their spare timesNo payment at all (editors probably receive a small token)
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Editor and reviewers do a quick check when reviewinga manuscript
Macro-levelWhat would I learn from it?Is the problem significant and outstanding?How hypothesis is proven?Do the ideas properly articulated?What kind of impact to the scientific community?
Micro-levelAre the expressions and sentences clear?Was it written in a succinct and focused way?Do sections link well?Are citations and references done properly?
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Macro before Micro
The hardest thing to do – dealing with macro before microUseless to do finer editing when the structure isproblematicWhen one finds writing is difficult, make an outline anddiscuss it with your supervisor/colleague
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Command of English is a must
Command of language is of utmost importanceScientific publishing is an intense intellectual activityPoorly written paper could not relay the ideas you have inmindAvoid ambiguous statements and improper use of termsIf you are writing in a language other than your motherlanguage, consider getting specialized editing helps
Of course after dealing with the macros
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Reason for publication?
Your reason when sending a manuscript for publication?Promotion for higher academic positionRequirement before thesis submissionRequirement of research grants
Editors and reviewers do not consider any of these!!
The aims of scientific publicationsSharing advances in the field of researchNew knowledge in the field is expected, not merelyrepeating published works without any added value
Publishers regularly check citations for each publishedarticle to gauge their publicationsSubmissions are now checked for originality
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Check the originality of your idea
You must critically assess your work .. and be honest toyourselfAsk yourself first
Is the topic outstanding and hot?How this topic has been researched before?Is there an apparent gap that that worthy a publication?Has your solution value-add the current solutions?
Track recent works in your fieldRSS alerts make this possible nowadays
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Research collaboration
Collaborate with renown researchers to jump-start yourresearchSharing of knowledge, skills, and techniquesSharing of research resourcesKnowledge and know-how transferExpanding scientific networking and contactsImprove one’s reputation and visibility of the work
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Sharing your works
https://www.nature.com/content/authortips/index.htmlShare your work with your social networksUpdate your professional profileUtilize research-sharing platformsCreate a Google Scholar profile - or review and enhanceyour existing oneHighlight key and topical points in a blog post...
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Sharing your works
Caution: sharing of published work may infringe copyrightof the publisher
Back in early days, researchers published their earlypre-published works as technical reports
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When selecting a research problem
Avoid subject that is overdone – difficult to throw any newlightControversial subject should be avoidedAvoid problems that are too narrow or vagueSubject selected must be a familiar one and resourcesneeded are within one’s reachThe selection of problems must be proceeded by apreliminary study.
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Make decision of the targeted publication type
Type of publicationConference or workshopArticle in journalLetter or rapid communication
Review related publications to gain perspectiveBe critical to your own work
How it compares with other related works that you read?Do you need to book a topic as quickly as possible?
Seek advice
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Choose proper publishing channel
Look for several alternativesConferences and workshops have specific deadlines, sodo special issue journalsUnderstand its aims and scope and topics coveredUnderstand style of writing and acceptable length fromrecently published papers in the journal or conferenceproceedingsDecide on one
Parallel submissions are not allowedEditors and reviewers would eventually find out
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A word of caution
Writing is not about putting all thoughts on (the same)paperNever expect others will care if you don’tGood writing requires good editing
Edited papers are not necessarily goodUnedited papers are surely bad
Expect rejection when you starting off
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Content vs. presentation
Good content is a mustFocus on the strengths of your workMake clear, confident statements wherever possible toemphasize your best results
Good presentation is necessaryThrust of the paper is crystal-clearWriting is concise and coherent – straight to the pointRead some papers in the targeted journal/conference, soyou can get a sense of their style.
Always acknowledge the contributions of others
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Effective writing
Single thrust (idea or point-of-discussion)Clear organizationSupporting materials (citations, proofs, etc.)Suitable, unambiguous choice of words, tenses, andsentence structure to show clear expression andperspectiveProperly spelled, use of correct grammar and punctuation
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Generic article structure
Front mattersTitle – contain the minimum number of words/keywordsAuthors – Avoid duplicates name entriesAbstract – Advertising your work – a movie trailerKeywords – must be specific for indexing
Main text (IMRAD)Introduction – easy to be read by everyone, convincereaders that your work is importantMethods – logical and based on scientific reasoning,sufficient details to be reproduced...
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Generic article structure (cont’d)
Main text (IMRAD)Introduction – easy to be read by everyone, convincereaders that your work is importantMethods – logical and based on scientific reasoning,sufficient details to be reproducedResults – main proofs of work, make perspective clearbefore tabulating dataDiscussion – meaning of findings rather than tabulatingresultConclusion – significance of findings and the way forward
End mattersAcknowledgmentReferences – follow the required formatSupplementary material – when needed
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Body of paper
The structure varies, depending on content.Try to use a top-down descriptionIf possible use a running example (in general, your papershould tell a purposeful and logical story)Have clearly in mind who the readers areEmphasize the novelties (and their experimental validation)
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Order of writing
MethodsFigures and tables – your figures should tell a storyResults and discussionConclusionIntroductionAbstractTitle
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Drawing figures can be time consuming
It is worth to spend time working on decent figures andillustrationsUse standard modeling diagrams when appropriateVisualize how the results can be best representedCut anything sub-standard (literature, figures, diagrams) –compare them against the best you have read in literature.
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Suggested text layout
Use the provided templates by the publisherRead similar work in the targeted journal to observe
Typical length of published paperPreferred flow/structure of paperMandatory result or artwork, e.g., picture of antenna inantenna publications
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Suggested length of a full article
It depends on the conference/letter/journal you intend tosubmit
Conference papers 4–8 pagesLetters 2–4Journals 8–15
Main content (IMRAD) must be 80% of pagesAbstract has to be short and sweetRelated work must focus on your research problem, butwithout being selective – critical but honest
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Abbreviations
Use proper abbreviations when necessaryCommon abbreviations do not need to be definedDo not overuse acronyms, especially referring to own workor uncommon terms
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Preparing a cover letter
Authors must prepare a cover letterEditor of Journal of xxx ...Purpose of submissionState significance of work and its importanceOriginality of submitted work
State so if a shorter version has been published elsewhereState the difference and improvement
No conflict of interest, especially for pharmaceutical works
Be polite and direct
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Revision is important in research
Validation of work by peersWhich one do you prefer?
Write sloppily, as you wish to get early rejectionTake longer time preparing a good manuscript, makenecessary self-editing, make correction and finally getacceptance
Writing helps you see the topic clearly and sharpens yourown thinking
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How your manuscript is processed?
https://github.com/Wrzlprmft/Workflow
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When submitting a paper
Avoid early rejection by the Editor (a.k.a. desk rejection)So, submit a good manuscriptSubmitting manuscript is an acquired knowledgeIf you just started publishing, expect high rate of rejectionat firstWriting and re-writing helps to improve success rate andimproves the quality of papers
Acculturation of good writing practiceTake time off between review
Improves chances to identify errors in writing
Seek critical opinion from colleagues and supervisorsSend to proof-reader
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Potential reasons for early rejection
Content-wiseThe problem is no longer outstandingApplication of well-known methodsIncremental work with limited scopeNovelty and significance could not be justified
Presentation-wiseDid not satisfy submission and/or formatting requirementReview of existing work is not critical and fairManuscript was sloppily writtenPoor language usage
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Revision after submission
The submitted manuscript requires correctionThe editor and reviewers see potential of the manuscriptBut requires improvement to be deemed worthy forpublicationAlmost all published articles required revision
Take the comments by reviewers seriouslyWrite a detailed letter to state corrections made
Thank them for the reviewProvide table of correction, either as an attachment orincluded in the letter of responseIf appropriate, provide the differentiated (diffed) version thatindicate corrections made
When writing point-to-point response to commentResponse must be scientific, logical, and referencedIf you disagree, rebut politelyDo not ignore certain points
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Also revise the whole manuscriptTake revision seriously, even for seemly minor revisionManuscript that requires minor revision might still berejected
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Rejection is not the end of the world
Every researcher has experience rejectionsNever take it personal – it makes you stronger
And help you to write betterUnderstand on the point of rejection
If they could not see benefit for giving details whenrejecting, they will write short remark instead
Re-evaluate your workProbably your view is skewed – need focal adjustmentProbably the method is not comprehensive and appropriate– rework your workProbably you need to attend writing courses and clinics –improve your writingProbably the review was not fair – resubmit elsewhere afterconsidering their comments
Bottom line is, do not just resubmit without addressing thereviewers’ comments
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Even when resubmitting elsewhere after makingcorrections, you may even state that the manuscript hasbeen rejected in another journal, and all comments(included) had been addressed
Explain why the new journal is more appropriateFocus on improved merit and strength of the manuscriptafter revision
In some areas of research, potential reviewers are fromsmall set of individuals – it is a small world anyway
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Do not even think of the following
Parallel submissionsRedundant publicationsPlagiarismFabricating dataImproper authorship
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Parallel submissions
It is unethical – wastes editors’ and reviewers’ timeThe editorial process will immediately stop when this isfound outJournal editors constantly exchange information amongthemselves on suspicious papersWait for decision before resubmitting
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Redundant publications
Re-submission of published work without significantdifferences and improvementsThe new paper has minor differences with the original(abstract, introduction, minor modification in selectsections)Paper in a conference/workshop proceedings may beresubmitted
Disclosure of previous publicationsImprovement and added-value are clearly described
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Plagiarism
In-short: Writing inappropriations with intention to deceivePlagiarism has many forms
Verbatim word-by-word copyingInappropriate paraphrasing or selective referencingSelf-plagiarism – Is it possible to steal from oneself?
Very serious consequences – and long termReputation ruined foreverMay result in dismissal of service
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Fabricating data
Fabrication of data or resultsPost hoc manipulations that make processed (maybestatistically) result different from the original – this must bejustified and reported.Authors must report other aspects that affect independentreplicability of their research
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Improper authorship
Substantial contributions that warrant authorship includeFormulation of hypothesesDefinition of methodology and research designWriting the manuscript
Mechanized work such as writing programs, proof-reading,or securing grants are not considered
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What gets you accepted?
Author should ask themselvesWhat is it that the reader will learn from this articleWhy is that knowledge important?If published, will this paper be cited for in the future?
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References and further readings
1 Joseph Hun-wei Lee. How to Write a Good Paper for a TopInternational Journal.https://www.elsevier.com/__data/promis_misc/international%20publishing%20china.pdf
2 Michael Derntl. Basics of Research Paper Writing andPublishing.http://www.pri.univie.ac.at/∼derntl/papers/meth-se.pdf
3 http://www.culhamlab.com/how-to-write-a-journal-article/4 http://facpub.stjohns.edu/∼roigm/plagiarism/5 Michalis Faloutsos, “Good Sites for Researchers and
Students ”http://www.cs.ucr.edu/∼michalis/techwriting.html
6 All artworks are subject to copyright of the artworkcreators.
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