Writing a Research Paper with Impact · English? International language of academia & research (& business, policy, diplomacy…) International reputation Career advancement Overseas

Trevor Lane, PhD Julian Tang, PhD

Author Success Workshop:

Writing a Research Paper with Impact

Utsunomiya University

19 February 2016

S

Be an effective communicator

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

Preparing well for academic publishing

Selecting the best journal

Developing your writing skills

Logically communicating your ideas in your manuscript

Promoting your research

Preparing well for academic publishing

Section 1

Skills needed on the path to publication success

Preparation

Journal Selection

Writing

Submission

Peer Review

Publication Success

• Training in reading papers, ethics, writing, presenting

• Expert Scientific Review

• Expert Scientific Review

• Journal Selection & submission strategy

• Training in ethics, writing, presenting

• Revising • Editing • Reformatting

• Training in ethics, writing

• Editing • Abstract

Development • Cover Letter

Development • Reviewer

Recommendation

• Training in navigating peer review

• Review Editing • Point-by-point

checking • Response

Letter Development

• Reformatting

• Press release, news writing

• Media & presentation training

• Training for early career researchers

• Training in writing grant proposals

• Grant proposal editing

Patenting Engagement

Coverage and Staffing Plan Prepare well

Why English?

International language of academia & research (& business, policy, diplomacy…)

International reputation

Career advancement

Overseas collaborations

Why publish in English?

Maximum exposure/use

Work abroad; conferences

Coverage and Staffing Plan Prepare well Writing a manuscript

S

My manuscript is a written record of my findings

My findings speak for themselves, even if the manuscript is written poorly

Good English means only grammar and spelling

Using complex words makes my writing more impressive

Your manuscript is to communicate your findings to your research & academic communities

You need a well-written manuscript to effectively communicate your findings

Keep things simple – Using complex words makes your writing more difficult to understand

Good English means clear, concise arguments; logical organization; & high readability


Increase impact

High quality research

Logical, engaging, useful message

Original and novel research

Well-designed, well-reported,

transparent study News value, importance, timeliness

What editors want

High scientific & technical quality, appropriate & clear methods,

sound research & publication ethics

High readability & interest; clear, real-

world relevance

Impact factor (past 2 years) = No. of citations / No. of articles


Research Article (Original Article)

Short Communication (Research Note)

Case Study Technical Note Review Article Letter to the Editor

Brief report about a specific finding

Most common; full-length paper

Brief report about a specific situation

Brief report about a new methodology

Summary of recent advances in a field

Brief discussion about a published article; may contain research findings (= Research Letter)

Types of articles

Select your journal early!


Logically organize your ideas; adhere

to journal guidelines

Communicate well in English

Factors to consider when writing a manuscript

Importance of planning

Draft outline & abstract/title; Draft & revise

manuscript

Edit manuscript & finalize

abstract/title


Submissions

Plagiarism

Data manipulation

Authorship

Submit to only one journal at a time; do not republish the same paper; no salami

Paraphrase and cite all sources

Do not fabricate or falsify data; do not manipulate parts of images

Study design or data acquisition/analysis; Writing/revising; Approval; Accountable

Publication ethics

Funding & COIs Disclose any funding and financial/personal

relationships

Safety Humans: Approval, signed consent, privacy;

animal and environmental safety

Committee on Publication Ethics, COPE


Choose your journal early!

Author guidelines • Manuscript structure • Word limits, References • Procedures, Copyright

Aims and scope • Topics • Readership • Be sure to emphasize

• Learn writing style • Check relevant references • Check originality, importance & usefulness!

Selecting the best journal

Section 2

Journal selection Evaluating impact

How new/important are your findings? How strong is the evidence?

Incremental or large advance? Low or high impact journal

Novelty

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

New type of high-efficiency solar cell • Medium to high impact factor journal Improve the efficiency of an existing solar cell • Low to medium impact factor journal

Journal selection Evaluating impact

How broadly relevant are your findings? International or regional journal

General or specialized journal

Relevance/Application

Assess your findings honestly & objectively

Aims & scope, Readership

Journal selection Factors to consider when choosing a journal

Aims & scope, Readership

Publication speed/frequency

Online/Print, Open access

Indexing, Rank, Impact factor

Acceptance rate/criteria

Article type / evidence level

“Luxury” / Traditional / Megajournal

Online first, Supplemental materials, Cost, Copyright

Cascading review, Fast track

Journal selection Publication models

Subscription-based

• Mostly free for the author • Reader has to pay

Open access • Free for the reader • Author usually has to pay

Hybrid • Subscription-based journal • Has open access options

Journal selection Open access models

Green

• Can self-archive accepted version in personal, university, or repository website

• May allow final version to be archived

• May have embargo period before self-archiving is allowed

Gold • Free for public on publication • Author might keep © but may

pay (e.g., US$1000–3000)

Journal selection Open access myths

Open access (OA) is expensive and low quality

• Not all OA journals charge a fee

• Many research grants and universities pay for OA fees

• Journals may offer waiver for authors who cannot afford it

• OA journals are peer reviewed

• Impact factors may be lower partly because they are newer

Journal selection Predatory journals

Some Open Access journals are not good

Easy way to get money from authors

• Promise quick and easy publication • Often ask for a “submission/handling” fee • May copy name of real journal; false IF • May not exist, or may be of low quality • Beware of spam e-mails!

If you are ever unsure, please check Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers

http://scholarlyoa.com/2016/01/05/bealls-list-of-predatory-publishers-2016/

Journal selection

Reputable publisher Springer, Elsevier, Wiley, PLOS, etc.

Editorial board International and familiar

Indexed Indexed by common databases

Authors Do you recognize the authors?

Fees Paid only after acceptance

Trustworthy journals

Journal selection

THINK Trusted and appropriate?

SUBMIT Only if OK

thinkchecksubmit.org

CHECK Do you know the journal?

Trustworthy journals

Journal selection Journal Selector www.edanzediting.co.jp/journal_selector

Insert your proposed abstract or keywords

Journal selection

Matching journals

Journal Selector www.edanzediting.co.jp/journal_selector

Filter/sort by: • Field of study • Impact factor • Open access • Publishing

frequency

Journal’s aims & scope, IF,

and publication frequency

Journal selection Journal Selector www.edanzediting.co.jp/journal_selector

• Author guidelines • Journal website

Are they currently publishing similar articles?

Have you cited relevant ones?

Similar published articles

Developing your writing skills

Section 3

Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing

Start with your illustrations

Where to start?

Your findings form the basis of your manuscript

First step: logically organize your display items

Logic, then language

Figure 1

Figure 2

Table 1

Figure 3

Logical flow (Chronology, Most to least

important, General to

specific, Whole+parts)

Is anything missing?

? Additional analyses?

Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing Prepare an outline

I. Introduction A. General background B. Related studies C. Problems in the field D. Aims

II. Methods A. Subjects/Samples/Materials B. General methods C. Specific methods D. Statistical analyses

III. Results A. Key points about Figure 1 B. Key points about Table 1 C. Key points about Figure 2 D. Key points about Figure 3 E. Key points about Figure 4

IV. Discussion A. Major conclusion B. Key findings that support conclusion C. Relevance to published studies D. Limitations E. Unexpected results F. Implications G. Future directions

Write down key ideas in bullet points, as IMRaD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion)

No need for sentences or correct

English yet Then, draft the title/abstract

List information from your reading in the appropriate section: Paraphrase with citations!

Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing Get feedback

Write your manuscript section-by-section – Less stressful – Get feedback after each section; set deadlines – Easier for your colleagues to review

Revise for content, overall logic, and journal style (see guidelines/past papers)

Edit for consistency, conciseness, clarity & accuracy

Get feedback from pre-submission peer review

Get language assistance

Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing Improving readability

Keep it simple!

Use short sentences 15–20 words; one idea per sentence

Prefer simpler/shorter words

Use active voice Simpler, more direct, and easier to read

Most writing style guides and journals prefer it… “Nature journals prefer authors to write in the active voice”

(http://www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html)

Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing Active voice

Sentences written in the active voice are:

simple direct clear easy to read

The mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity were investigated by us.

Passive

We investigated the mechanisms regulating substrate rigidity.

Active


Nature’s guide to authors:

Nature is an international journal covering all the sciences. Contributions should therefore be written clearly and simply so that they are accessible to readers in other disciplines and to readers for whom English is not their first language.

www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/index.html#a4

“I should use complex words and sentences to make my writing more impressive.”


How can this sentence be improved?

• Too long (35 words)

• Two ideas in the same sentence

– First idea is split

Economists considered Apple Inc., a company that was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino, California, to be one of the leaders in the development of modern electronic appliances.

Keep it short and simple


How can this sentence be improved?

Economists considered Apple Inc., a company that was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino, California, to be one of the leaders in the development of modern electronic appliances.


• Too long (35 words)

• Two ideas in the same sentence

– First idea is split


Economists considered Apple Inc. to be one of the leaders in the development of modern electronic appliances. This company was founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and incorporated in 1977 in Cupertino, California.


Two 17-word sentences

One idea per sentence


1. You deserve the funding, but the study design is not perfect.

Which sentence suggests that you

will get funding?

2. The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the funding.

Native English style


The study design is not perfect, but you deserve the

funding. The grant will be awarded in two stages.

Stress position

Topic position

The topic position introduces the idea of the current sentence

Readers focus at the end of the sentence to determine what is important. This stress position also introduces

the topic of the next sentence (useful for explanations and processes).

Sentence and paragraph structure


idea idea idea idea

Topic link

sentence


The government of Tanzania has been striving to introduce Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in education. In teacher education, technology was introduced through the ICT-Connect-TED project. The program aimed at improving the quality of teachers through the use of ICT. ICT-Connect-TED provided computers and a networking infrastructure to all 34 teacher training colleges in Tanzania.

Source: Kafyulilo et al. Educ Inf Technol. 5 May 2015; DOI 10.1007/s10639-015-9398-0


One method of producing carbon fibre precursors, with the potential of commercial applicability, is electrospinning. It has previously been demonstrated that electrospinning can successfully produce precursor fibres that can be converted into high quality carbon fibres with controlled fibre diameters and morphologies. The majority of electrospun carbon fibre precursors reported in the literature are PAN-based. The high cost of PAN, depleting petroleum resources and the toxicity of its solvent, dimethylformamide, has motivated research to look into alternative electrospinnable materials to produce cheaper and more environmentally friendly carbon fibres. Because petroleum-based carbon resources exhibit negative environmental impacts and are of limited availability further motivates research towards green carbon fibres.

Recently, a wide range of renewable resource-based materials have been investigated for the fabrication of carbon materials. Among them, lignin has been looked at as a very promising candidate…

Schreiber et al. J Mater Sci. 2014; 49: 7949–7958.

Topic sentence

Stress sentence Topic sentence

Supporting sentences


Coverage and Staffing Plan Effective writing Avoid mistakes 1

Prefer Enough Clear Determine Begin Try Very Size Keep Enough End Use

Avoid complex words… Adequate Apparent Ascertain Commence Endeavor Exceedingly Magnitude* Retain Sufficient Terminate* Utilization *OK in certain fields (magnitude of earthquakes, to terminate gene expression)


“A number of studies have shown that the charged group...”

“...as described in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

“As a matter of fact, such a low-temperature reaction…”

“That is another reason why, we believe…”

“It is well known that most of the intense diffraction peaks...” “It is well known that Most of the intense diffraction peaks...”

“As a matter of fact, such a This low-temperature reaction…”

“A number of studies have shown that The charged group...”

“That is thus another reason why Therefore, we believe…”

“...as described previously in our previous study.”

“...at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min.”

Avoid mistakes 2

Avoid complexity: delete extra words!


Avoid At a concentration of 2 g/L At a temperature of 37C In order to In the first place Four in number Green color Subsequent to Prior to Future plans; past history

Prefer At 2 g/L At 37C To First Four Green After Before Plans; history

Avoid mistakes 2


Estimate Estimation

Decide Decision

Assess Assessment

We made a/an… We conducted a/an… Extra verb

We decided… Clear, short, and direct

Avoid mistakes 3

Don’t hide verbs inside nouns!


Readers expect…

verbs to closely follow their subjects heavy ends (not starts) of clauses

Subject

The device leakage current of the transistors fabricated on SiO2 with different self-assembled monolayers decreased by two orders of magnitude after annealing.

The transistors were fabricated on SiO2 with different self-assembled monolayers. The device leakage current decreased by two orders of magnitude after annealing.

Verb

Avoid mistakes 4


Compared with is for saying how things are different

The accuracy of the new program was reduced

compared to the previous program.

The accuracy of the new program was reduced compared with that of the previous program.

The accuracy of the new program was lower than that of the previous program.

Avoid mistakes 5

Activity 1

Please see Activity 1 in your workbook

Documents

Writing a Research Paper with Impact · English? International language of academia & research (& business, policy, diplomacy…) International reputation Career advancement Overseas