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‘ reasons I accepted your article'

Journal editors reveal the top reasons a manuscript gets published
By Elizabeth Zwaaf     Posted on January

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At Elsevier, it's the responsibility of every editor-in-chief to maintain

and develop their journal's profile and reputation. The editor also has
the final responsibility for content, ensuring that it meets the aims
and scope of the journal and reflects changes in the field by
presenting new and emerging research.
Peter Thrower, PhD
In September, Elsevier Connect published an article by Dr. Peter
Thrower, Editor-in-Chief of Carbon
(http://www.journals.elsevier.com/carbon/) , called " reasons I rejected your article
(http://elsevierconnect.com/ -reasons-i-rejected-your-article/) ." Because of the article's
popularity, we followed up by asking five of our editors a related question: What are the
top eight reasons you accept a paper? They all came up with similar reasons, which we
present here along with their commentary.

The eight reasons are summed up by Dr. Torsten Pieper

(http://coles.kennesaw.edu/departments_faculty/faculty-pages/Pieper-
Torsten.htm) , Assistant Editor of the Journal of Family Business Strategy
(http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-family-business-strategy) and
Assistant Professor at the Cox Family Enterprise Center, Coles
College of Business, at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and his
colleague,  Dr. Joseph Astrachan, Editor-in-Chief of the journal and
Joseph H. Astrachan,
Executive Director of the Cox Family Enterprise Center and Professor
PhD
of Management and Entrepreneurship.

. It provides insight into an important issue – for example, by explaining a wide variance
when numbers are spread out from the mean or expected value, or by shedding light on
an unsolved problem that affects a lot of people.
 . The insight is useful to people who make decisions, particularly
long-term organizational
( decisions or, in our particular field,SEARCH
family CART MENU
decisions. /
)

. The insight is used to develop a framework or theory, either a new

theory or advancing an existing one.

Torsten M. Pieper,
. The insight stimulates new, important questions.
PhD

. The methods used to explore the issue are appropriate (for

example, data collection and analysis of data).

. The methods used are applied rigorously and explain why and how the data support
the conclusions.

. Connections to prior work in the field or from other fields are made and serve to make
the article's arguments clear.

. The article tells a good story, meaning it is well written and easy to understand, the
arguments are logical and not internally contradictory.

"Ideally, we would like to see articles perform well on all eight points, and that the author
strives for a good balance amongst these criteria," said Dr. Pieper said.

'Show me something new'

For Dr. Alexander T. Florence, Editor-in-Chief of the International
Journal of Pharmaceutics (http://www.journals.elsevier.com/international-
journal-of-pharmaceutics/) and Professor Emeritus at University
College London (http://www.ucl.ac.uk/) , whether he passes a paper on
to the referees for peer review is partly determined "not by hard and fast
rules but by my own feeling.

Alexander T. "For the subject, it is what I have seen over the years in the journal and
Florence, PhD what I feel is current, novel and not derivative," he said.

Professor Florence added that he is intrigued by work that is very new

and by papers he wishes he thought about doing himself. After the paper has survived
reviewer scrutiny, Dr. Florence said, it helps when the reviewers are unanimous in their
views. While the reviewing process is very strict, reviewers might be split on their final
decision: for example, one might recommend "rejection,"  another "major revision" and
the third "accept as is."

For  Dr. Loren E. Wold  , Executive Editor-in-Chief of Life Sciences

(http://www.journals.elsevier.com/life-sciences/) and Principal Investigator of the Center
for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research
 (http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/cardiovascular-and-
pulmonary-research) ( of the Research Institute at NationwideSEARCH CART MENU
Children's Hospital/ in Columbus, Ohio, "Acceptance is contingent
)
upon whether an  article advances our understanding of a topic, what
is beyond already known, and opens up a new arena.

"What we are seeing in Life Sciences, as well as other journals, is the

explosive growth of new technology which has broad implications on
Loren E. Wold, PhD
these studies," he said.

Do your own work

While a paper might "tick all the boxes," the question on everyone's mind is, "Is it
original?" With the increasing use of technology — and several software programs now
available to detect plagiarism, such as CrossCheck
(http://www.crossref.org/crosscheck/index.html) — the paper's originality can be easily
determined and detected before the referees see it. At Elsevier, many papers undergo this
scrutiny.

While plagiarism is not a crime per se, it is considered a moral offense and
can involve liability for copyright infringement.

"There should be no hints of plagiarism or fabrication in the paper," said

Dr. Francesco Visioli, Editor-in-Chief of Pharmacological Research
Francesco
(http://www.journals.elsevier.com/pharmacological-research/) and the
Visioli, PhD
recently launched journal PharmaNutrition
(http://www.journals.elsevier.com/pharmanutrition) . Also, he added, "data in
the figures should match those reported in the results, and the results are not in
contradiction with each other."

Use varied research methods

Dr. Pieper, who moved from Germany to the US about five years ago, looks at the type of
research submitted from different parts of the world. "Moving from Europe to the US, I
see there is a marked difference between the output of US researchers compared to their
European counterparts in qualitative as opposed to quantitative research for my family of
journals," he said, pointing out that well over percent of submissions coming from the
US use quantitative methods compared to about percent from Europe.

"This clearly demonstrates to me that European researchers are more embracing of

alternative methods to explore a phenomenon of interest," he said. "Going forward, I
would like to see a more even balance in the papers submitted from the US."

Resources for authors

Before submitting a paper, authors should study the journal's aims and scope and consult
with the Guide for Authors.
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/
)
For more advice, check out the step-by-step guide How to publish in an Elsevier Journal
(http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/landing_main) and the Publishing
Connect Author Training Webcasts (https://www.elsevier.com/authors-
update/story/tutorials-and-resources/publishing-connect).

For information on the Elsevier's online submission system, visit the Elsevier Editorial
System (EES) customer support site at support.elsevier.com
(http://nl.sitestat.com/elsevier/elsevier-com/s?
clickout.elsevier.rightnow.support&ns_type=clickout) .

Elsevier Connect Contributor

Elizabeth Zwaaf is a Marketing Communications Specialist at Elsevier. In
this role, she has helped promote the work of the Innovation Explorers
community to a wider audience at Elsevier and in the research
community. She is currently heading up an internal campaign that
focuses on where Elsevier gets customer feedback and how it's used.
Elizabeth Zwaaf

97 Comments Elsevier 
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li zehao • 3 years ago
good
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Faisal Javed • 3 years ago
Interesting article.
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

MMDC • 2 years ago
Very good
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Sami A. Zabin • 2 years ago
Very important article and help me a lot in writing 
my paper
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›
 nima Bakhtiari • 2 years ago
(
first thanks alot  SEARCH CART MENU
/
but there is question, somethimes writing in english from authors who are not native english writter may
)
not declar his novelty clear. what is best answer??
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Abolfazl Abdollahipour > nima Bakhtiari • 2 years ago
I think the best answer is to improve their English. It is the language of science, scientists
should be at least able to express themselves internationally.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Yyc > Abolfazl Abdollahipour • 2 years ago
english ?? its hard to improve while you work on you study!!!
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Abolfazl Abdollahipour > Yyc • 2 years ago
Common. Most of the research is always in English, up to date papers and
researches are in international journals which are all in English.
3 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Miguel LM > Yyc • 8 months ago
Whether we like it or not, English has become the de facto standard language
when writing an essay or a scientific paper for scientific journals and magazines.
So, we have to get used to it and do our best to comply to this trend, knowing
that, if we do not make our best effort to write better, our ideas may be great but
our papers would be just a piece of junk and may never be published. Just
consider that improving your English is part of your work and that you have to
pay as much attention to it as you will have to pay to the final details of your
study.
2 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Clock Nine > Abolfazl Abdollahipour • 2 years ago
the language of science is English?
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Ygor Amaral > Clock Nine • a year ago
of course!
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

research > Ygor Amaral • a year ago
Today, but in the future it can be change (perhaps spanish?)
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Luis DLR > research • a year ago
I agree the universal language for science should be that that most people can
read and understand...English is not the most spoken language in the world by
the way....
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Miguel LM > Luis DLR • 8 months ago
 Miguel LM > Luis DLR • 8 months ago

( If the criteria is the widely spoken language, we should all be writing in Mandarin.
SEARCH CART MENU
/ △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›
)
Haroni > Luis DLR • 6 months ago
people from science community, and that for certain is English
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Miguel LM > research • 8 months ago
Or maybe Mandarin?
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Agus Malla Bone > Miguel LM • 6 months ago
Or maybe Indonesian
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Heather > nima Bakhtiari • 2 years ago
You may want to collaborate with someone who speaks English on as many projects as
possible. Have them review your papers prior to submission.
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Alice Wang > nima Bakhtiari • a year ago
you can also write your manuscript in simple English, and make sure yourself understand what
you have written...of course let a third person read and understand before you summit is a good
idea.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Aryan Sarmadi > nima Bakhtiari • 9 months ago
Dear Nima
Abstract, introduction (its end), and conclusion are main and significant parts of an article;
therefore, it would be very appropriate to make an attempt to clarify your novelties in these
parts. For example, you could start your abstract with a drawback, limitation, bad issue in a
problem and then describe your methods.
For a more assistance, I am suggesting some excellent books in this field such as:
1. Longman Academic Writing Series 4 and 5 
2. Longman Essay Activator: Your Key To Writing Success 
With warm regard
Aryan
2 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Noelle Luccioni > nima Bakhtiari • 9 months ago
I would suggest seeking the help of a translator who is strong in English writing conventions. I
recently reviewed a paper with my advisor, and we both felt that the paper lost a lot of
significance due to a clear language barrier. We both suggested that the author consult one
such translator, and resubmit the paper.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Gloria Esoimeme > nima Bakhtiari • 3 months ago
One option is to get someone who is proficient in English help review your paper and point out
ways to improve your sentence structure.
 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›
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iran • 2 years ago/
) very Unbeatable
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

kayvan • 2 years ago
these advice were perfect but wish these comments write in simple language
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

droolworthyworld • 2 years ago
Excellent article! Thanks so much for the tips!
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Uma Sathyakam • 2 years ago
Good article. I can benchmark mine before I send them for review.....Thanks a lot..
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Abdelbasset ATIA • 2 years ago
Very interesting article.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Umit UNVER • 2 years ago
Perfect article, many thanks to publishers. I wish, in a future article, quantitative and qualitative
researches cleared with understandable examples.
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

A. A. Swidan • 2 years ago
on spot, cheers!
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Mark Matsa • 2 years ago
Important information,thanks
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Sezin Güleryüz • 2 years ago
Thank you very much for the useful information.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Dr Nagaraj H B • 2 years ago
The article is very interesting and also very informative. The author has to congratulated for the same.

Not all editors and reviewers adhere to the good philosophy listed. If the article submitted falls in line
with earlier published information/idea by a researcher hailing from more privileged university , then it
finds an immediate review or else rejection stating politely that though it an interesting research work,
but cannot be published in our journal with a rider stating that this rejection should not be a
discouragement to submit articles in future. Other such similar comments are: I regret to inform you that
your manuscript No#### has been denied publication in our Journal. The manuscript is a contribution to
a well­researched area. Unfortunately, our journal is only able to publish 20% of manuscripts that are
submitted, and submissions like this one that are judged to have limited novelty and significance have
 submitted, and submissions like this one that are judged to have limited novelty and significance have
to be declined. Hope the outcome of this specific submission will not discourage you from the
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submission of future manuscripts (The irony is that keep publishing articles on same topic submitted by
/
researchers from more privileged universities).These kind of comments are not uncommon for
)
researchers who hail from less previleged universities. Some reviewers go to the extent of returning the
manuscript with very nasty comments and also mentioning that the manuscript does find a reference to
one of the book published by me. So, one should not be deterred by the comments, but should pursue
to find publication in some other journal of repute and also find good acceptance in the form of good
citations. The statements made here by me are my first hand experience.

I am also a reviewer for many top journals in the world including published by Elsevier, Springer, ICE
and many others.

Research is meant for sharing the good findings for progress and utility of society.
3 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

anant > Dr Nagaraj H B • a year ago
Very true. Research articles with pioneers as authors get accepted and published within few
weeks while, amateurs get rejected after several months, sometimes even more than a year.
This several months time dampens the sprit of amateur researchers. Really wonder if the
names of authors and addresses were hidden from the editors & reviewers can this ambiguity
can be handled to some extent?
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Kasi Viswanathan > anant • a year ago
Early career researcher especially whose native language is not English often being
demotivated. As mentioned sometimes, the comments are just an extreme words from
editor. Well, if they can't afford those papers, polite way of rejecting the papers is
justifiable. Exactly, @anant , your suggestion could be a good idea.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Turki Hager > Dr Nagaraj H B • a year ago
excellent!!!!! you expressed my experience with publications projects !!! thank you
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Mahmoud BOUDIAF > Dr Nagaraj H B • a year ago
So what is the solution for novice researcher from less privileged university? choosing low
ranked journals just to get my article published?
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Anderson Pereira • 2 years ago
Informações assim enriquecem muito em nossos futuros papeis. Meu muito obrigado!
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Ponnusamy • 2 years ago
Nice
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

inga pierce • 2 years ago
Why have you only asked men? Aren't there any women to ask these questions?
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›
 Alison Bert  Elsevier Admin   > inga pierce  •  2 years ago
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Hi Inga,/
) I'm the Editor­in­Chief of Elsevier Connect. Actually, we do ask women to give advice to
authors. Here's one example:
http://www.elsevier.com/con... 
All the best,
Alison
2 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Alireza Rasouli • 2 years ago
thank you for the helpful information
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Alison Bert  Elsevier Admin   > Alireza Rasouli  •  2 years ago

Hi Alireza,
I'm the Editor­in­Chief of Elsevier Connect, and I want to thank you for your kinds words.
Alison
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

mariwan > Alison Bert • 9 months ago
Hello Alison, do you consider plagiarism if some one want to take a chapter of his / her
PhD thesis (the thesis is available online at research gate website) while taking the
majority of the information.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

mariwan > Alison Bert • 9 months ago
Hi Alison,
is it considered plagiarism when some one take the majority of information from his/her
PhD (the PhD is available online at research gate) to write a paper.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Suraj Sharma • 2 years ago
Excellent article really impressive ..............
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

DrBasem Mohamed • 2 years ago
very good article that made me realize the importance of novelty and methods applied. I think that
experimental design that entails every possible testing for the hypothesis under test as well as good
English command can lead any paper to be published with high priority.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Feminist in the Global South • 2 years ago
Based on the optics of this article, it appears the 8 reasons are 1. be a man 2. middle­upper class 3.
earn a set of state sanctioned credentials 4. its best if you are white ...and I think the other 4 reasons
are just a reiteration of the 1st four.
△   ▽ • Reply • Share ›

Woman > Feminist in the Global South • 2 years ago
Very narrowish point of view...
 Very narrowish point of view...
1 △   ▽ • Reply • Share ›
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