Seminar PDF

A SeminaronWriting and Publishing Research Paper
A Seminar
on
Writing and Publishing Research Paper
Mahesh Panchal
Gujarat Technological University
May 31, 2015

Importance of Publication
Outline
1 Importance of Publication
2 Flow of Paper
3 Importance of Various Sections in Paper
4 Importance of Display Items in Paper
5 Formatting the manuscript
6 Peer Review
Importance of Publication
Why Publication of Research
Common Thinking
For getting PG degree.
To get job.
Advance the career (promotion in job).
Actual Requirement
Other researchers should learn about our work if we publish it.
Further research is not possible if work is not published.
Research is not complete until it has been published.

Flow of Paper
Outline
2 Flow of Paper
6 Peer Review
Flow of Paper
Standard Sequence in Paper(1/2)
Title
Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
Results
Discussion and Conclusions
Advantages
Gives a logical flow to the content.
Makes journal manuscripts predictable and easy to read.
Provides a map so that readers can quickly find content of
interest in any manuscript.
Flow of Paper
Standard Sequence in Paper(2/2)
Previous order is NOT the best one for writing the sections of
a manuscript as an author.
One strategy is to write manuscript in the following order

Results
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
Title
Abstract
Importance of Various Sections in Paper
Outline
2 Flow of Paper
6 Peer Review
Title
It is first introduction to readers about your published work.
An effective title should

grab attention of readers
accurately describes content of manusctipt
make people want to read further
convey main topics of study
highlight importance of research
be concise
Write few possible titles and then select the best to refine
further.
Ask your colleagues and their opinion.

Abstract and Keywords (1/2)
The Abstract is
A summary of the content of the journal manuscript.
A time-saving shortcut for busy researchers
A guide to the most important parts of your manuscript.
Abstract should answer following questions

What was done?
Why did you do it?
What did you find?
Why are these findings useful and important?
Abstract and Keywords (2/2)
Journals often set a maximum word count for Abstracts, often

250 words to ensure that the full Abstract and Keywords list
appear in indexing services.
Keywords are a tool to help indexers and search engines to

find relevant papers.
If database search engines can find your journal manuscript,

readers will be able to find it too.
It will increase number of citations for your paper.
Keywords should be specific to your field or subfield.

Introduction
It should provide readers

background information needed to understand your study.
your research problem.
the reasons why you conducted your experiments.
While writing the background, make sure your citations are

Well balanced: covering conflicting results too.
Current: not more than 10 years old.
Relevant: strongly related to your research question.
Do not write Literature Review in this section.

This section provides the reader with all the details of how
you conducted your study and experiment.
You should
Use subheadings to separate different methodologies.
Describe what you did in the past tense.
Describe new methods in enough detail that another researcher

can reproduce your experiment.
State all statistical tests and parameters.

Results
State what you found as results, but do not interpret the

results or discuss their implications.
Use subheadings to separate the results of different

experiments.
Results should be presented in a order of importance, NOT

necessarily the order in which the experiments were
performed.
Do not duplicate data among figures, tables, and text.
Make good use of figures and tables in your manuscript.

Discussion and Conclusions (1/2)

It should answer the question: What do your results mean?
You should
Discuss your conclusions in order of most to least important.
Compare your results with those from other studies: Are they
consistent? If not, discuss possible reasons for the
difference.
You may suggest additional experiments needed to clarify

your results.
Briefly describe the limitations of your study to show

reviewers and readers that you have considered your
experiments weaknesses.
Discussion and Conclusions (2/2)
Discuss what your results may mean for

researchers in the same field as you
researchers in other fields
the general public
State how your results extend the findings of previous

studies.
If your findings are preliminary, suggest future studies that

need to be carried out.
At the end of your Discussion and Conclusions section, state

your main conclusions once again.
Acknowledgements
Its purpose is to thank all of the people who helped with the
research but did not qualify for authorship.
Acknowledge anyone who provided

intellectual assistance
technical help
writing and data analyses
special equipment or materials
Provide information about funding by mentioning specific

grant numbers and titles.
List the name(s) of the funding organization(s) in full, and

identify which authors received funding for what.
References (1/2)
References serve many purposes in a scientific manuscript.
Establish where ideas came from

Give evidence for claims
Connect readers to other research
Provide a context for your work
Show that there is interest in this field of research
Failure to sufficiently cite other work can reduce your chances

of being published.
Be sure to cite publications whose results disagree with yours.
Not citing conflicting work will make readers wonder whether

you are really familiar with the research literature.
References (2/2)
You need to meet all the above needs without overwhelming

the reader with too many references.
Only the most relevant and recent articles need to be cited.
Read the publication itself before you cite it.
Cite those publications whose authors are in the Team of

Editors of Journal.
Importance of Display Items in Paper
Outline
2 Flow of Paper
6 Peer Review
Figures and Tables (1/2)
Quickest way to communicate large amount of complex

information.
Many readers only look at your display items.
Attractive display items hold the interest of readers.
Well designed tables should have

Clear and concise heading.
Data divided into categories for clarity.
Sufficient spacing between columns and rows.
Units are provided.
Font type and size are legible.
Figures and Tables (2/2)

Figures are ideal for presenting
Images
Data plots
Maps
In images, label the important items.
Data plots show a functional or statistical relationship

between large quantities of data quickly.
For data plots, be sure to

Label all axes
Specify units for quantities
Label all curves and data sets
Use a legible font size
Formatting the manuscript
Outline
2 Flow of Paper
6 Peer Review
Formatting the manuscript
Formatting manuscript
Formatting is required according to journal’s requirement (See

Instruction for Authors).
It is good to write manuscript in required format from initial
only.
Check following points during formatting
Obeyed all word and character limits (title, abstract,
manuscript text)?
Included all required sections?
Supplied all requested contact information?
Inserted figures in the correct location (in text, end of
manuscript, separate files)?
Correctly formatted references?
Used the correct file format for your images (.jpg, .png, .pdf,
.ppt)?
Obtained consent from all authors?
Peer Review
Outline
2 Flow of Paper
6 Peer Review
Peer Review
Peer Review
It is an integral part of scientific publishing that confirms the

validity of the science reported.
Peer reviewers are experts who volunteer their time to help

improve the journal manuscripts they review and they offer
authors free advice.
Through the peer review process, manuscripts should become:
More robust
Easier to read
More useful
Peer Review
Quality of Journals
Each journal have an Impact Factor (IF) which is quantitative

measurement of quality.
In 2010 and 2011, total paper received by some journal is 250.
Those 250 papers are cited at 521 places total in year 2012.
IF for year 2012 = 521/250 = 2.084 (it is published in year

2013).
Higher the impact factor, more valuable journal is.

Peer Review
Common reasons for rejection (1/2)
Lacking of proper structure.
Lacking the necessary detail for readers to fully understand

the authors analysis.
Does not clearly explain which parts of the findings are new
science, versus what was already known.
Lacking of up-to-date references.

Peer Review
Common reasons for rejection (2/2)
Contains theories, concepts, or conclusions that are not fully

supported by its data, arguments, and information.
Does not provide enough details about materials and methods

to allow other scientists to repeat the experiment.
Describes poor experimental design, or faulty or insufficient

statistical analysis.
Has poor language quality.

Peer Review
Revising your paper (1/2)
Address all points raised by the editor and reviewers.
Describe the revisions to your manuscript in your response

letter.
Perform any additional experiments or analyses the reviewers

recommend.
If you feel that additional experiments would not make your

paper better, explain it in your response letter.
Peer Review
Revising your paper (2/2)
Provide a polite and scientific rebuttal to any points or

comments you disagree with.
Differentiate between reviewer comments and your responses

in your letter.
Clearly show the major revisions in the text, either with a

different color text, by highlighting the changes.
Return the revised manuscript and response letter within the

time period the editor tells you.
Peer Review
When to Submit to a Different Journal
It is best not to choose another journal until at least one of

the following happens
The editors say your manuscript is a poor subject match for
the journal.
The editor rejects your manuscript without review for a second

time.
Manuscript has received a negative review from at least two

reviewers.
Your results are time sensitive but the review process is taking
much longer than normal for that journal.
Peer Review
http://academy.springer.com/node/2188#.UxdC09IW1DM
THANKS.........

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A SeminaronWriting and Publishing Research Paper

Gujarat Technological University

May 31, 2015

3 Importance of Various Sections in Paper

4 Importance of Display Items in Paper

5 Formatting the manuscript

Why Publication of Research

Advance the career (promotion in job).

Further research is not possible if work is not published.

Research is not complete until it has been published.

3 Importance of Various Sections in Paper

4 Importance of Display Items in Paper

5 Formatting the manuscript

Standard Sequence in Paper(1/2)

Standard Sequence in Paper(2/2)

One strategy is to write manuscript in the following order

3 Importance of Various Sections in Paper

4 Importance of Display Items in Paper

5 Formatting the manuscript

It is first introduction to readers about your published work.

An effective title should

Ask your colleagues and their opinion.

Abstract and Keywords (1/2)

Abstract should answer following questions

Abstract and Keywords (2/2)

Journals often set a maximum word count for Abstracts, often

Keywords are a tool to help indexers and search engines to

If database search engines can find your journal manuscript,

It will increase number of citations for your paper.

Keywords should be specific to your field or subfield.

It should provide readers

While writing the background, make sure your citations are

Do not write Literature Review in this section.

Materials and Methods

Describe what you did in the past tense.

Describe new methods in enough detail that another researcher

State all statistical tests and parameters.

State what you found as results, but do not interpret the

Use subheadings to separate the results of different

Results should be presented in a order of importance, NOT

Do not duplicate data among figures, tables, and text.

Make good use of figures and tables in your manuscript.

Discussion and Conclusions (1/2)

You may suggest additional experiments needed to clarify

Briefly describe the limitations of your study to show

Discussion and Conclusions (2/2)

Discuss what your results may mean for

State how your results extend the findings of previous

If your findings are preliminary, suggest future studies that

At the end of your Discussion and Conclusions section, state

Acknowledge anyone who provided

Provide information about funding by mentioning specific

List the name(s) of the funding organization(s) in full, and

Establish where ideas came from

Failure to sufficiently cite other work can reduce your chances

Be sure to cite publications whose results disagree with yours.

Not citing conflicting work will make readers wonder whether

You need to meet all the above needs without overwhelming

Only the most relevant and recent articles need to be cited.

Read the publication itself before you cite it.

Cite those publications whose authors are in the Team of

3 Importance of Various Sections in Paper

4 Importance of Display Items in Paper