How to prepare a manuscript for international publication
Dr. Ahmed Morad Asaad, MBBS, M.Sc., MDProfessor of Microbiology
Scientific Deputy of Brince Meshaal ChairHead of Scientific Research Committee
College of Medicine
By:
Why we need international publication?
Ideally
• To get a job• To keep a job
• To get promoted
• To get funding
Practically
What are the types of articles?
TechnicalNote
Originalarticle Review
Mini Review
CaseReport
Letter
Editorial
Types of Articles
What’s general structure of an article?
TitleAbstractKeywords
Main textIntroductionMethodsResultsDiscussions
ConclusionAcknowledgementReferencesSupplementary data
Journal space is not unlimited
Make your article concise as possible.
Make them easy for indexing and searching (informative, attractive,
effective)
Additional files:Cover Letter
Title pageAuthorship contribution
Copyright transfer
What is a strong manuscript?
A novel, clear, useful and exciting message
Well presented – well written
Latest results in the field
Controls: adequate - sufficient Reliable and suitable statistical methods
Ethical issues
Hot interesting topic
Reading – Reading – Reading
A strong manuscript: The Study DesignCONSORT
•Randomized-control studies
TREND•Non Rand.-control studies
STROBE•Cross-sectional studies
STRAD•Diagnostic studies
COREQ•Qualitative research
EQUATOR Network:www.equator-network.org
A strong manuscript: Deadly mistakes
Fabrication•Making up data or results and reporting them
Falsification•Manipulating data or results
A strong manuscript: Deadly mistakes
Plagiarism
•Taking someone else’s work without attributing the source and claiming it to be one’s own.
Plagiarism Easily detected
A serious offense Hurt your reputation End your career
An article in which the authors committed plagiarism: it will not be removed from ScienceDirect ever. Everybody who downloads it will see the reason for the retraction…
2009
Plagiarism
Publication ethics – How it can end .....
Plagiarism
Recently – US Presidential Elections
The Pathway to Publication
Author
Editor In-Chief
Assigned EditorReviewer-1
Reviewer-2&3
Manuscript
The Pathway to Publication
How can I select the journal?
> 700 Publishers> 26000 Journals
How can I select the journal?General Journals
• Multi-disciplines
Field-specific Journals
• Specialty – Sub-specialty
About the Journal
Scope
Aim
How can I select the journal?
Hepatitis B Virus genotyping in chronic Hepatitis B patients in southwestern Saudi Arabia
JJIDIF = 1.2
Personal Experience:
JJIDIF = 1.2
BJIDIF = 1.8
How can I select the journal?
Journal’s prestige and metrics (Impact factor)
A journal’s “impact factor” is an annual measure of the extent to which articles in that journal are cited.
The number of citations to articles published in previous 2 years, divided by the total number of articles published in these years.
Number of source items published in 2014 - 2015_________________________________
Impact Factor2016 =
Number of citations in 2016 to articles published in 2014 and 2015
The Journals Impact Factor
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) Impact factor
Journal Citation Report (JCR) Impact factor
Google Scholarly (GS) Impact factor
The Journals Impact Factor
Journal Citation Report (JCR) Impact factor
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) Impact factor
Google Scholarly (GS) Impact factor
Quality
Coverage
Selecting a Journal with High Impact factor
ISI-Listed JournalsHigher IF
Higher Rejection Rate(70 - 90%)
The Journals Impact Factor
Global Impact factor (GIF)
Universal Impact factor (UIF)
Journal Citation Report (JCR) Impact factor
SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) Impact factor
Google Scholarly (GS) Impact factor
Misleading Journals Metrics
Journals
Still…..!!!!
Selecting a Journal: What are other factors?
Open Access
CostTime to
publish
Publication
Frequency
Read Authors’ guidelinesAgain….again….again
Follow guidelinesStrictly
Don’t waste timeA sign of disrespect
What’s the Next step?
Editor-in-chief
Assigned Editor
Reviewers (2-6)
Decision
Submission
Accept
Reject
Minor Revision Major Revision Major Revision and
Re-submission
Reject
Authors’ Response
Accept RejectRevision
Cycle
Authors’ Response to Reviewers:
One• Don’t respond
immediately• Upset - Angry
Two• Avoid personal attack• Be polite – tactful – Thank
Reviewers
Three• Carefully read all
comments• Address each point
Four• Each change should be stated
clearly and highlighted• Explain
Reasons for manuscript rejection: COMMON
• Picking wrong journal1• Not matching Journal
style2• Not following Journal
guidelines3• Poor writing/design4
• Data manipulation5• Unrevealed conflict of
interest6• Unrevealed ethical
issues7• Duplicate manuscripts8
Reasons for manuscript rejection: SERIOUS
We are not
alone
Many famous authors had their work rejected
Be Positive
To write a better manuscript
Keep writing
REJECTIONIt starts from an early age. Get used to it…!!
From this… …to this!
It Really deserves
Thank You