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Author Workshop: Effectively Communicating Your Research University Name 25 March 2014 Jeffrey Robens, PhD

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Author Workshop: Effectively Communicating Your Research

University Name25 March 2014

Jeffrey Robens, PhD

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Be an effective communicator

S

Write effectively

Logically present your research in your manuscript

Choose the best journal to reach your target audience

Convey the significance of your work to journal editors

Properly revise your manuscript after peer review

Promote your research after publication

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Effective writing

Section 1

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Effective writing Short sentences

Reading once…4% of readers can understand a 27‐word sentence75% of readers can understand a 17‐word sentence

Pinner and Pinner (1998) Communication Skills

Goals to aim for:One idea per sentence

15–20 words

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Effective writing Active voice

Sentences written in the active voice are:

simple direct clear easy to read

The theories evaluating economic growth were investigated.Passive

We investigated the theories evaluating economic growth.Active

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Effective writing Stress position

Readers focus at the end of the sentence to determine what is important.

1. You deserve a raise, but the budget is tight.

Which sentence suggests that you will get a raise?

2. The budget is tight, but you deserve a raise.

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/flow/

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Effective writing

The budget is tight, but you deserve a raise. Your salary

will increase at the beginning of next year.

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/flow/

Stress position Topic position

The topic position introduces the idea of the current sentence

The stress position also introduces the topic of the next sentence

Stress position

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Effective writing Topic position

To increase the number of student applicants, theuniversity recently implemented a new program. Animportant part of this program is to first give seminarsat top‐ranking high schools in the region. Increasingthe number of local students is the initial step for theprogram’s success.

idea ideaideaidea

Topic link

sentence

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Effective writing

Despite steadily rising enrollment rates in U.S. postsecondaryinstitutions, weak academic performance and high dropout ratesremain persistent problems among undergraduates. For academicinstitutions, high attrition rates complicate enrollment planning andplace added burdens on efforts to recruit new students. For students,dropping out before earning a terminal degree represents untappedhuman potential and a low return on their investment in college. Pooracademic performance is often indicative of difficulties in adjusting tocollege and makes dropping out more likely.

This paper examines the joint effect of two related social cognitivefactors—academic self‐efficacy and stress—on academic performanceand retention for college freshmen. Both of these factors have been…

Zajacova et al. Res Higher Ed. 2005;  46:  677–706.

Linking your ideas in your manuscript

Topic sentence

Stress sentence

Topic sentence

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Manuscript structure

Section 2

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Introduction

General introduction

Specific aimsAims

Current state of the field

Problem in the field

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure

Identify an important problemState aims that directly address this problem

Writing the Introduction

Problem…little has been conducted to qualitatively assess whether self‐efficacy and peer influence affect the likelihood of students engagingin academic dishonesty.

Nora & Zhang  Asia Pacific Educ Rev. 2010; 11: 573–584.

AimsThe purpose of this study is threefold: first, to determine the effect ofpeer attitudes and behaviour on the likelihood of cheating; secondly,to establish the significance of self‐efficacy in promoting academicintegrity; lastly, to ascertain effective ways of deterring academicdishonesty.

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Literature review

How did these lead to more recent studies?How is your manuscript different?

What is your hypothesis?

What did earlier studies show?

Literature reviews help:Formulate your research question

Establish the relevance of your study by identifying knowledge gaps

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Methods

How it was done

MethodologyMeasures and outcomes

Quantification methodsStatistical tests

Who/what was used

ParticipantsInstruments

Data collection

How it was analyzed

Study design

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Results

1. Initial observation2. Characterization3. Application

Logical presentation

Example:1. Observe a correlation between depression and 

Internet use2. Characterize the severity of depression, time spent 

online, websites visited3. Demonstrate decreased Internet use improves 

severity of depression

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Results

1. Initial observation2. Characterization3. Application

Each subsection corresponds to one figure

What you found, notwhat it means

Logical presentation

Subsections

Factual description

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Display items

Present large amount of data quickly and 

efficiently

Keep it simple: use separate panels if 

necessary

Must be able to stand alone: clear labels and figure legends

Usually the first thing readers will look at

Figures, graphs & tables

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Discussion

Summary of findings

Relevance of findings

Implications for the field

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Discussion – the end

The Spanish version of AIDA showed good psychometricproperties in Mexico and can be used to assess the construct“pathology‐related identity integration vs. diffusion” withreliability, validity, and content equivalence in comparisonwith the original AIDA questionnaire. This finding supportsthe cross‐cultural generalizability of the underlying conceptand confirms the importance of culture‐specific testadaption in addition to literal translation of thequestionnaire. Nevertheless, some items should beimproved. Therefore, the test version of “AIDA Spanish –Mexico” should be further adapted and should be tested in amore heterogeneous population.

Conclusion

Implications

Future directions

Why your work is important to your readers

Kassin et al. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2013; 7: 25.

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Linking your ideas

General background

Objectives

Methodology

Results and figures

Summary of findings

Implications for the field

Relevance of findings

Problems in the field

Logically link your ideas throughout your manuscript

Current state of the fieldIntroduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

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Coverage and Staffing PlanManuscript structure Linking your ideas

…no research has examined how interacting withFacebook influences subjective well‐being over time.

We addressed this issue by…measuring in‐vivobehavior and psychological experience over time.

These analyses indicated that Facebook use predictsdeclines in…subjective well‐being…

Problem

Objectives

Conclusion

Discussion

Introduction

Kross et al. PLoS ONE 2013; 8: e69841.

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Titles and abstracts

Section 3

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts

Important points

Summarize key findingContains keywordsLess than 20 words

Avoid

Effective titles

Your title should be a concise summary of your most important finding

QuestionsAbbreviations“New” or “novel”

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts Abstract

First impression of your paper

Importance of your results

Validity of your conclusions

Relevance of your aims

Judge your writing style

Probably only part that will be read

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts Sections of an abstract

Aims

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Why the study was done

Your hypothesis

Techniques

Most important findings

Conclusion/implications

Concise summary of your research

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts Unstructured abstract

Political thought and behavior play an important role in our lives, from ethnictensions in Europe, to the war in Iraq and the Middle Eastern conflict, toparliamentary and presidential elections. However, little is known about howthe individual's political attitudes and decisions are shaped by subtle nationalcues that are so prevalent in our environment. We report a series ofexperiments that show that subliminal exposure to one's national flaginfluences political attitudes, intentions, and decisions, both in laboratorysettings and in “real‐life” behavior. Furthermore, this manipulationconsistently narrowed the gap between those who score high vs. low on ascale of identification with Israeli nationalism. The first two experimentsexamined participants' stance toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and theJewish settlers in the West Bank. Experiment 3 examined voting intentionsand actual voting in Israel's recently held general elections. The results portraya consistent picture: subtle reminders of one's nationality significantlyinfluence political thought and overt political behavior.

Hassin et al. PNAS. 2007; 104: 19757‒19761.

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts Unstructured abstract

ConclusionThe results portray a consistent picture: subtle reminders of one's nationalitysignificantly influence political thought and overt political behavior.

Results

Furthermore, this manipulation consistently narrowed the gap between thosewho score high vs. low on a scale of identification with Israeli nationalism. Thefirst two experiments examined participants' stance toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Jewish settlers in the West Bank. Experiment 3examined voting intentions and actual voting in Israel's recently held generalelections.

MethodsWe report a series of experiments that show that subliminal exposure toone's national flag influences political attitudes, intentions, and decisions,both in laboratory settings and in “real‐life” behavior.

Background

Political thought and behavior play an important role in our lives, from ethnictensions in Europe, to the war in Iraq and the Middle Eastern conflict, toparliamentary and presidential elections. However, little is known about howthe individual's political attitudes and decisions are shaped by subtle nationalcues that are so prevalent in our environment.

Hassin et al. PNAS. 2007; 104: 19757‒19761.

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts Unstructured abstract

Political thought and behavior play an important role in our lives, from ethnictensions in Europe, to the war in Iraq and the Middle Eastern conflict, toparliamentary and presidential elections. However, little is known about howthe individual's political attitudes and decisions are shaped by subtle nationalcues that are so prevalent in our environment. We report a series ofexperiments that show that subliminal exposure to one's national flaginfluences political attitudes, intentions, and decisions, both in laboratorysettings and in “real‐life” behavior. Furthermore, this manipulationconsistently narrowed the gap between those who score high vs. low on ascale of identification with Israeli nationalism. The first two experimentsexamined participants' stance toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and theJewish settlers in the West Bank. Experiment 3 examined voting intentionsand actual voting in Israel's recently held general elections. The results portraya consistent picture: subtle reminders of one's nationality significantlyinfluence political thought and overt political behavior.

Hassin et al. PNAS. 2007; 104: 19757‒19761.

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Customer ServiceTitles and abstracts

Political thought and behavior play an important role in our lives, from ethnictensions in Europe, to the war in Iraq and the Middle Eastern conflict, toparliamentary and presidential elections. However, little is known about howthe individual's political attitudes and decisions are shaped by subtle nationalcues that are so prevalent in our environment. We report a series ofexperiments that show that subliminal exposure to one's national flaginfluences political attitudes, intentions, and decisions, both in laboratorysettings and in “real‐life” behavior. Furthermore, this manipulationconsistently narrowed the gap between those who score high vs. low on ascale of identification with Israeli nationalism. The first two experimentsexamined participants' stance toward the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and theJewish settlers in the West Bank. Experiment 3 examined voting intentionsand actual voting in Israel's recently held general elections. The results portraya consistent picture: subtle reminders of one's nationality significantlyinfluence political thought and overt political behavior.

Hassin et al. PNAS. 2007; 104: 19757‒19761.

Background

Conclusions

Results

Methods

Writing your abstract

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Thank you!

Any questions?

Follow us on Twitter@JournalAdvisor

Like us on Facebookfacebook.com/EdanzEditing

Download and further readingedanzediting.com/Taiwan_2014

Jeffrey Robens: [email protected]

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Journal selection

Section 4

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Journal selection Factors to consider when choosing a journal

Aims & scope Readership

Open access

Which factor is most important to you?

Indexing

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Journal selection Evaluating significance

How new are your findings?Novelty

How broadly relevant are your findings?Relevance

What are the important real‐world applications?Appeal

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Journal selection

Insert your proposed abstract

Journal Selector –www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

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Journal selection

Recommended journals

Filter by:Impact factor

Publishing frequencyOpen access

Journal Selector –www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

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Journal selection

Semantic matching terms

Journals IF, Aims & Scope, and Frequency

Similar published articles

Have they published similar articles recently?Have you cited some of these articles?

Journal Selector –www.edanzediting.com/journal_selector

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Journal selection Tips to identify the most suitable journal

S

Identify the interests of the journal editor

Identify the interests of the 

readers

• Editorials• Review articles• Special issues

• Most viewed• Most cited

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Cover letters

Section 5

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Coverage and Staffing PlanCover letters

Abstract:First impression for readers

Cover letters are the first impression for the journal editor

SignificanceRelevance

Level of EnglishInteresting to their readers?

Is your work important?

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Coverage and Staffing PlanCover letters

Dear Dr Ellenbogen,

Please find enclosed our manuscript entitled “Presenteeism among Japanese employees: Personality and job stress”, which wewould like to submit for publication as a Research Paper in Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.

This study examines presenteeism, the situation in which workers are present at work, but their ability to do their jobs isimpaired by physical or mental symptoms. This topic is important to companies as studies have found that the costs ofpresenteeism can be higher than medical costs associated with treating the underlying conditions. Currently, the relationshipsbetween common mental health symptoms and presenteeism, as well as the effects of job strain and workplace social support,are unclear. We aimed to evaluate these relationships and consider the effect of personality traits on both presenteeism andcommon mental health symptoms.

We used an online questionnaire incorporating several well‐established and verified questionnaires to assess presenteeism,mental disturbance, job strain and workplace support, and temperament and character. We found that common mental healthsymptoms are a good predictor of presenteeism. Although workplace social support is generally agreed to reduce the severityof common mental health symptoms, we found no direct effect on presenteeism.

Our results clearly link presenteeism to common mental health symptoms, and also show the negative effects of strain andpoor workplace support. This study is of interest to researchers, managers, mental health clinicians and occupational healthspecialists interested in the issue of workplace stress and its management. This study is likely to lead to an improved approachto preventing and managing both presenteeism and common mental health symptoms, and is applicable worldwide. Therefore,we feel this manuscript is particularly suitable for Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal and of great interest to itsreaders.

Give the background to the research

What was done and what was  found

Interest to journal’s readers

A good cover letter

We would also like to suggest the following reviewers for our manuscript…

Editor’s name Manuscript title

Publication type

Recommend reviewers

“Must‐have” statements

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Coverage and Staffing PlanCover letters

“Must‐have” statements

Not submitted to other journals

Source of funding

Authors agree on paper/journal

Original and unpublished

No conflicts of interest

Authorship contributions

Disclaimers about publication ethics

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Coverage and Staffing PlanCover letters Recommending

reviewers

Where to find them?

From your reading/references, networking at conferences

How senior? Aim for mid‐level researchers

Who to avoid? Collaborators (past 5 years),researchers from same institution

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Coverage and Staffing PlanCover letters Choose internationally

• 1 or 2 reviewers from Asia• 1 or 2 reviewers from Europe• 1 or 2 reviewers from North America

Journal Editors want to see an international list for 2 reasons:

1. Shows that you are familiar with your field worldwide

2. Shows that your research is relevant worldwide• Increased readership → increased citations → increased impact factor

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Peer Review

Section 6

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Peer review What reviewers are looking for

The science

The manuscript

Relevant hypothesisGood experimental designAppropriate methodologyGood data analysisValid conclusions

Logical flow of informationManuscript structure and formattingAppropriate referencesHigh readability

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Peer review

25 March 2014

Dear Dr. Robens,

Manuscript ID NRL‐11‐7839: “Presenteeism among Japanese employees: Personality andjob stress”

Your manuscript has been reviewed, and we regret to inform you that based on ourExpert reviewers’ comments, it is not possible to further consider your manuscript in itscurrent form for publication in Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.

Although the reviews are not entirely negative, it is evident from the extensive commentsand concerns that the manuscript, in its current form, does not meet the criteria expectedof papers in Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal. The results appear to betoo preliminary and incomplete for publication at the present time.

The reviewer comments are included at the bottom of this letter. I hope the informationprovided by the reviewers will be helpful in future. Thank you for your interest in thejournal and I regret that the outcome has not been favorable at this time.

Decision letter

Decision

Reason

Comments

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Peer review Editor is interested in your work

The Reviewer comments are not entirely negative.

It is not possible to consider your manuscript in its current form.

I hope the information provided will be helpful when you revise your manuscript.

I regret that the outcome has not been favorable at this time.

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Peer review Editor is notinterested in your work

We cannot publish your manuscript

Your study does not contain novel results that merit publication in our journal.

We appreciate your interest in our journal. However, we will not further consider your manuscript for publication. 

We wish you luck in publishing your results elsewhere.

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Peer review

Dr Mark EllenbogenEditor‐in‐ChiefAnxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal

3 September 2013

Dear Dr Ellenbogen,

Re: Resubmission of manuscript reference No. WJS‐07‐5739

Please find attached a revised version of our manuscript originally entitled “Presenteeism among Japaneseemployees: Personality and job stress,” which we would like to resubmit for consideration for publication in theAnxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.

The reviewer’s comments were highly insightful and enabled us to greatly improve the quality of our manuscript. Inthe following pages are our point‐by‐point responses to each of the comments.

Revisions in the manuscript are shown as underlined text. In accordance with the first comment, the title has beenrevised and the entire manuscript has undergone substantial English editing.We hope that the revisions in the manuscript and our accompanying responses will be sufficient to make ourmanuscript suitable for publication in the Anxiety, Stress & Coping: An International Journal.

Address editor personally

Manuscript ID number

Thank reviewers

Highlight major changes

Writing response letters

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Peer review Agreeing with reviewers

Reviewer Comment: In your analysis of the data you have chosento use a somewhat obscure fitting function (regression). In myopinion, a simple Gaussian function would have sufficed.Moreover, the results would be more instructive and easier tocompare to previous results.

Response: We agree with the reviewer’s assessment of theanalysis. Our tailored function, in its current form, makes it difficultto tell that this measurement constitutes a significantimprovement over previously reported values. We describe ournew analysis using a Gaussian fitting function in our revised Resultssection (Page 6, Lines 12–18).

Agreement

RevisionsLocation

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Peer review Disagreeing with reviewers

Reviewer Comment: In your analysis of the data you have chosento use a somewhat obscure fitting function (regression). In myopinion, a simple Gaussian function would have sufficed.Moreover, the results would be more instructive and easier tocompare to previous results.

Response: Although a simple Gaussian fit would facilitatecomparison with the results of other studies, our tailored functionallows for the analysis of the data in terms of the Smith model[Smith et al., 1998]. We have now explained the use of thisfunction and the Smith model in our revised Discussion section(Page 12, Lines 2–6).

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Peer review

Reviewer Comment: In your analysis of the data you have chosento use a somewhat obscure fitting function (regression). In myopinion, a simple Gaussian function would have sufficed.Moreover, the results would be more instructive and easier tocompare to previous results.

Response: Although a simple Gaussian fit would facilitatecomparison with the results of other studies, our tailored functionallows for the analysis of the data in terms of the Smith model[Smith et al., 1998]. We have now explained the use of thisfunction and the Smith model in our revised Discussion section(Page 12, Lines 2–6).

Evidence

Revisions

Location

Disagreeing with reviewers

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Peer review

Reviewer comment: Currently, the authors’ conclusion that thisquestionnaire is appropriate for cross‐cultural analyses is notcompletely valid because their participants all resided in Taiwan.They should also show the questionnaire’s validity in participantsliving in other countries.

“Unfair” reviewer comments

Reasons why reviewers might make these comments

Current results are not appropriate for the impact factor of the journal

Reviewer is being “unfair”

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Peer review “Unfair” reviewer comments

What you should do

Do the experiments, revise, and resubmit to the same journal

Withdraw submission and resubmit current manuscript to a lower impact factor journal

Contact the journal editor if you feel reviewer is being unfair

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If rejected, what should you do?

Option 1: New submission to the same journal

Fully revise manuscriptPrepare point‐by‐point responsesInclude the original manuscript ID number

Option 2: New submission to a different journal

Revise manuscriptReformat according to the author guidelines

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If accepted, what’s next?

Promote your work on social networks • Twitter, LinkedIn

Respond to post‐publication comments

Present your work at conferences• Allows you to discuss your work personally with your peers• Get feedback about your work and future directions• Networking and collaborations

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Be an effective communicator

S

Your goal is not only to be published, but also to be widely read/cited

Write effectively

Logically present your research in your manuscript

Choose the best journal to reach your target audience

Convey the significance of your work to journal editors

Properly revise your manuscript after peer review

Promote your research after publication

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Thank you!

Any questions?

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Download and further readingedanzediting.com/Taiwan_2014

Jeffrey Robens: [email protected]