publishing scientific research and how to write high-impact research papers
TRANSCRIPT
© 2016
Publishing Scientific Research & How to Write High-Impact Research Papers
Dr. John UhlrichEditor
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1) About Wiley-VCH
2) The psychology of editors and reviewers and demystifying the publication process
3) Writing for scientific success
4) Q & A
Today’s Talk
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• PhD students?• Post-Docs or beyond?
• Who has already published something?• Have you had the opportunity to act as a
peer reviewer for a submitted research manuscript?
• Who can imagine a career in publishing?
Who are you?
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Who am I? • Chemical Engineering, PhD University of
Wisconsin, USA• Interface Chemistry of Hybrid Photovoltaic
Materials/Devices• Postdoc 2009-2011: Fritz Haber Institute,
BerlinDepartment of Chemical Physics (H.J. Freund)• Surface Science for Model Catalysis
• 2011– 2012:– Editor, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional
Materials• 2012-present:
– Editor, Energy Technology
© 2016
Who am I? • Chemical Engineering, PhD University of
Wisconsin, USA• Interface Chemistry of Hybrid Photovoltaic
Materials/Devices• Postdoc 2009-2011: Fritz Haber Institute,
BerlinDepartment of Chemical Physics (H.J. Freund)• Surface Science for Model Catalysis
• 2011– 2012:– Editor, Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional
Materials• 2012-present:
– Editor, Energy Technology
© 2016
John Wiley & Sons
South Korea
Founded in 1807 in New York City by John WileyTo this day family-owned in the 6th generationApprox. 5,000 staff worldwideWiley Online Library has 130 million users1,500 journals, 1200 society partnersCompany headquarters are in Hoboken (New Jersey)Wiley-VCH (Germany) has been part of Wiley since 1996
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© 2016
where John lives
Weinheim office
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• Wiley-VCH, Wiley-Blackwell, Ernst & Sohn, GIT• Weinheim, Berlin, Zürich (CH)• 530 employees (450/ 70/ 14)
– With a PhD: 20% - University degree: 30%– ~ 70% female - 30% male– Average age ~ 42 years– Average time with Wiley-VCH ~ 10 years– Foreign employees 40%
from 24 different nations• Primarily chemists, followed by materials scientists, physicists, biologists,
mathematicians
Wiley in Germany
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Wiley-VCH Journal Genealogy
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1500 journals, books
And More...
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• Honestly assess the importance/impact and scope of your work
• Journal Impact Factor is not everything!
• What are the implications of your research?
• How important will others find your research?– In your field?– In related fields?
• Publication fees? Open access?
• Speed of publication?• What is the scope of your
candidate journal?• Who reads your candidate
journal?
Selecting the Journal
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Publishing by the numbers1) On the author level: Hirsch Index (H-Index)
- h published articles, each cited at least h times
2) On the journal level: Impact Factor
- measures level of citation of articles in a given journal
3) On the article level: Altmetrics
Nothing replaces reading the article itself!
- measures the attention an individual article receives on social media and in the news
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Number of source items published in 2014 and 2013_________________________________
Impact Factor2015 =
Number of citations in 2015 to articles published in 2014 and 2013
Example
Journal of … publishes 75 articles in 2013 and 83 articles in 2014.
In 2015 it receives a total of 344 citations to these articles in all the other published journals.
The journal’s Impact Factor for 2015 is 344 (75 + 83) = 2.18
2016
2013
2012
2011
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
Citedwindow
Citingwindow
2015
2014
2015
Impact Factor (IF)
The 2015 Impact Factor first appears in 2016.
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“...originally appeared in a postscript of my previous Editorial, and then it was just to note that I did not wish to write about it because it has become a plague. ”
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1) Arbitrary 2-year window, citation practices depend upon the field and
on the specific work
2) Assumes that all citations are positive (a citation is not necessarily
an endorsement!)
3) Overinterpretation and misuse of the Impact Factor values: doesn’t
say anything about the quality of an individual work
4) Incentives for poor research practice & unethical behavior (on the
parts of both publishers and authors)
Problems with IF-based Assessment
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•Covering the technical aspects of applied energy research
–Generation–Conversion–Storage–Distribution
•Companion journal of other related Wiley titles (Advanced Energy Materials, ChemSusChem, etc.)
•Listed in important databases (ISI, Web of Knowledge)
•First full Impact Factor (2015): 2.557•Online publication (no color fees)
Launched in 2013
Editor-in-ChiefDr. John Uhlrich
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Printed Energy TechnologiesShale Gas Technology
Fraunhofer ISE (Solar Energy Systems)
Energy, Science & Engineering Conference
Special Issues
Energy Storage Materials/Batteries
© 2016
Printed Energy Technologies
Energy Storage Materials/Batteries
Shale Gas Technology
Fraunhofer ISE (Solar Energy Systems)
Energy, Science & Engineering Conference
On the way:• Chemical Looping Technologies• Pyrolysis for Energy Technologies• Li-Ion Batteries• CO2 Utilization• KIT Energy
Research
Special Issues
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“If your research does not generate papers, it might just as well not have been done. ‘Interesting and unpublished‘ is equivalent to non-existant.“
“Realize that your objective in research is to formulate and test hypotheses, to draw conclusions from these tests, and to teach these conclusions to others. Your objective is not to ‘collect data‘.“
George Whitesides, “Whitesides‘ Group: Writing a Paper“, Essay in Advanced Materials, 2004, 16, 1375 .
Why publish at all?
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Don't underestimate how hard it is or
how long it takes to write a good paper.
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Is the novelty high enough?
Difference to prior work?
Important to the whole readership?
Important to researchers in this field?
After the initial check for scope and length is done, the manuscript is examined more closely:
the most important
hurdle!
„Publishing space islimited – choose a journal whose readership will be keen to see your results!“
What Editors Look For (Manuscript Suitability)
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Conclusions section of manuscript
While reading new manuscripts, editors will especially look at:
Cover letter “If I‘m interested, my readers will be, too!ˮ
KeywordsLiterature references
Visual information
Abstract
Where will the Editor look?
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Dear Editor
Compound X is a potent anticancer agent and
was synthesized in 99 % yield…
Reactions catalyzed by A are ten times
faster than those catalyzed by B because…
Our method for protein isolation gives 50 %
higher yields than previous ones because…
My suggestions for referees are:
Cover Letter: Attention Editor!
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• Why is this topic important?• Why are these results significant?• What is the key result? (breakthrough!)• Why is it an advance on previous work?• Why are you submitting to this journal?• Why will this journal’s readers read it?• Provide reviewer suggestions
Together with the conclusions section of your paper, the cover letter is one of the first things the editor will see, so make it count!
Tip: Keep the letter as concise as possible – the longer it is, the easier it becomes to overlook something important.
Maximizing Success: Writing the Cover Letter
© 2016
• Why is this topic important?• Why are these results significant?• What is the key result? (breakthrough!)• Why is it an advance on previous work?• Why are you submitting to this journal?• Why will this journal’s readers read it?• Provide reviewer suggestions
Together with the conclusions section of your paper, the cover letter is one of the first things the editor will see, so make it count!
Tip: Keep the letter as concise as possible – the longer it is, the easier it becomes to overlook something important.
Maximizing Success: Writing the Cover Letter
Solar Cell Example:We have fabricated a solar cell with high efficiency and stability, using earth-abundant materials, by using a simple synthetic method, nontoxic precursors, using a scaleable fabrication procedure, with a unique combination materials that increase our fundamental understanding of photovoltaic devices.
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Manuscript rejected on reports
Manuscript submitted
Editors examine & make initial decision in house
Manuscript sent outfor external peer review
Editor makes decisionbased on reports
Manuscript is accepted asis or with minor revisions
Manuscript transferredto the publication workflow
Manuscript rejected on reports but reinvited if
major revisions promising
Manuscript rejected on topic, novelty, or quality
Revisions requestedif possible in short time
Manuscript rejected on format but reinvited (e.g., shorten)
Peer Review Editorial Workflow
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• Present data honestly and accurately, not fabricate or falsify data
• Reference and cite properly, not plagiarize or ignore related work
• Avoid fragmentation and redundant publication
• Inform the editor of related manuscripts under consideration or in press
• Submit to only one journal at a time• Disclose conflicts of interest
Author Responsibilities
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• Ensure efficient, fair, and timely manuscript processing• Ensure confidentiality of submitted manuscripts• Make the final decision for accepting or rejecting• Base decision to accept or reject only on the merits of
the manuscript• Not use work reported in a submitted manuscript for
their own research• Ensure fair selection of referees, including those
suggested or requested for exclusion by author• Respond to suggestions of scientific misconduct• Deal fairly with author appeals
Editor Responsibilities
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• Treat it as a discussion of your paper from one of the top experts in your field.
• Don’t take it personally – it is not an attack on you!
• Be thorough and a little self-critical; remember that the referee is trying to help you improve your work and its presentation.
• Remember that everyone is human! Take every criticism as an opportunity for improvement; this is a “trial run“ for how your work may be perceived after publication.
How to Read a Referee Report
Credit: Nick Kim (www.nearingzero.net)
Stay Calm
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http://exchanges.wiley.com/blog/2013/09/23/10-easy-ways-to-make-sure-your-article-gets-read/
Search-engine optimization
Your institutional library and press office
Departmental webpage
Personal webpage
Videos & blogs
Social media
Promoting Your Published Work
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1. Have something to say.
2. Say it.
3. Stop as soon as you have said it!
4. Give the paper a proper title!
Source: John S. Billings: An Address on our Medical Literature.Br Med J (1881) 2:262-268.
The Four Basic Rules
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Titles and abstracts are searchable separately from the main paper in databases and online
Therefore to increase your paper’s “discoverability”:
give it a specific and concise title
include many appropriate keywords
“search-engine optimization”
Title & Abstract
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What effect?
Which metal(s)?
What type of coupling reaction(s)?
Which aryl alcohols?
Specific
Concise
Contains many keywords
Effect of Metal Catalyst on the
Outcome of Coupling Reactions
with Aryl Alcohols
Ruthenium Trichloride:
An Effective Catalyst for C-H
Activation with 2,4-Disubstituted
Aryl Alcohols
Targeting Your Title
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“During prescreening I look for an up-to-date and relevant bibliography and a clear comparison of the results with those of previous studies—it is difficult to assess the significance of the findings if they are not presented in an appropriate context. I routinely read the literature cited and conduct my own literature search to check if important papers have been omitted that may detract from the novelty of the work. I also appreciate honest reporting. While your work may represent an advance, there will certainly be shortcomings and room for improvement. This should be discussed but is too often neglected. A final piece of advice is that as a reader and reviewer of our journals, you should self-assess your manuscript and submit accordingly to the most appropriate journal, rather than the one with the highest Impact Factor. This will ensure swifter publication of your work.” Dr. Adam Brotchie
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“Compared to Advanced Materials, Advanced Functional Materials adopts the same criteria in terms of scientific novelty and importance. If the manuscript has been previously rejected by Advanced Materials, only a superficial change in the format (Communication to Full Paper) may still result in a direct rejection.
Paper evaluation is not a "gambling game", and it is inappropriate to ignore the previous comments with the belief that a new group of editors/reviewers might generate a new result.”
Dr. Yan Li
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“Think of the reader: Compare your results to the work of others wherever possible (a good table/figure helps the reader a lot). And use the most widely accepted units! If not possible, give reasons why. Mention and discuss differences (because that’s what scientific publishing is about after all… ).”
Dr. Till Graberg
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“Novelty and state-of-the-art of the presented results must be ensured. Incremental results or simple extensions of published work are not desired, neither are specialized topics. The title, abstract, and conclusions, as well as the figures should be appealing and motivating, and concisely explain the key findings. The writing should be easy-to-read and the English should be good.”
Dr. Ingeborg Stass
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www.ChemistryViews.org
Getting Help: Resources
Have a friend/colleague read your manuscript; read your work again after setting it aside fora couple of days; have a native speaker proofread for language, if available.
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1) Unpublished work is lost and properly communicating science
takes effort
2) A simple writing style is best!
3) Optimize your content for internet use
4) Peer review isn’t perfect but it is the best we have
5) Competition is hard, so make your work stand out
6) Take an active role in promoting your work
Conclusions
© 2016
@EnergyTechnol
Questions?
• Contact me:– John Uhlrich
Energy [email protected]:www.editorialmanager.com/ente/
https://www.facebook.com/EnergyTechnologyJournal/