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PUBLICATION

BEFORE SUBMISSION – PREPARING YOUR ARTICLE

THE PUBLISHING PROCESS – WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT AFTER ACCEPTANCE

BEFORE SUBMISSION – PREPARING YOUR ARTICLE

Is the title accurate, informative and concise?

Does it have an abstract that correctly summarises the actual information in the article – is it easy to read, comprehensive, yet short enough (approx 250 words is usual)? Are your study objectives or hypotheses clearly stated?

Does your article say something new – does it add to the body of information in your subject area? (If it is a review article, is it sufficiently inclusive to represent all the arguments and give a fair and comprehensive review of the topic?)

Is your article well organized? Have you used appropriate subheadings to separate the different sections of the paper for clear understanding?

Does the methodology correctly and clearly explain how you carried out the research?

Can it be replicated by another researcher elsewhere? Is the prose clearly written, is the standard of English good enough to make the article clear and easy to read?

Are the results correctly and clearly presented? Can they be understood easily without misinterpretation?

Have you included enough necessary details to make readers understand your write-up?

Is the discussion clear, and does it include sufficient acknowledgement of different perspectives and interpretations?

Does your reference list correctly match the citations given in the text?

Have you used the referencing style specified by the journal you want to submit to?

Are the references complete and accurate? Do they include the authors’ names, article title, publication information including dates and page numbers?

If there are any figures and tables, are they understandable without reference to the text? Are they required – do they add to the understanding?

Are they clearly, completely and correctly labeled?

Does your article contain information on principal action to be taken and recommendation for further research by other researchers?

Have you asked colleagues to read and comment on the text? Seek opinions from friends and peers before you submit your article for publication, as they will give you suggestions for improvement. Have you acknowledged individuals and organisations that made substantial financial and technical contributions towards the publication of the article?

SUBMITTING YOUR ARTICLE

Submit your article to only one journal at a time – submit to another journal only if your article has been rejected.

Read the journal’s guidelines for authors and make sure your article conforms to its requirements.

Ensure that the focus of your article complies with the aims and scope of the journal – otherwise the editors will not be interested in it.

Submit your article only through the recommended means specified by the journal (by email, post, etc). Make sure the format you use for the article is acceptable to the journal

Send a short polite letter to the editor to accompany your article. Make sure you provide full contact details for correspondence – your name, affiliation, address, country, telephone number(s), email, etc.

Make sure you send all necessary materials required to publish the article (do not forget the illustrations, etc).

Keep copies of all material you send (paper and electronic files), as the journal will probably not return anything to you.

THE PUBLISHING PROCESS – WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT AFTER SUBMISSION

When you have submitted an article, you should expect an acknowledgement – but this may take several weeks – if you do not hear from the journal, contact the editor/ research co-ordinator to make sure your article has been received by the journal.

If the journal feels that your article is totally unsuitable, the board of editors will immediately reject it.

Your article will be sent out to reviewers – these are subject specialists in your area who will read the article and return comments to the journal about the article’s acceptability. In your letter you may suggest suitable reviewers Usually the reviewers will not be told your name – and you will not be told who has reviewed your article – this is to avoid undue bias.

Once the article has been reviewed the journal will reply you, providing feedback from the reviewers – this may take several months. If you do not hear from the journal for a very long time after the acknowledgement you should write to enquire on the status of your article.

REVISIONS

It is unusual for any article to be accepted by a journal without some revisions being requested.

Revisions may be minor (eg change references order), or major (eg methodology unclear).

Make revisions as requested by the editor – if there are any of the recommended revisions that you disagree with, contact the editor to discuss.

The revised article needs to be returned to the journal (remember to retain a copy).

Do not delay in doing this.

It is not uncommon for some articles to undertake several revisions.

It is possible that after revision the article is rejected – although it is unlikely unless you failed to revise the article satisfactorily.

REJECTION

Do not be disheartened to receive a rejection letter – it may not be due to the quality of the article, but because the subject is inappropriate for the journal.

If the journal gives you reasons for rejecting the article, consider their comments seriously – other journals may have similar concerns about your article. If your article is rejected, you can submit it elsewhere – but remember there are reasons for rejection and you should revise your article before submitting it elsewhere (and remember to conform to the author guidelines of your newly selected journal).

ACCEPTANCE

When your article is accepted you will receive confirmation from the journal (by email or post).

Ask when you should expect publication.

Check to see if the journal will provide you with printed copies of your article, or a copy of the issue in which it appears, or an electronic file of the final article (usually in PDF format).

Ensure you are aware of your rights regarding the article – discuss with the journal if you are unsure.

THE PUBLISHING PROCESS – WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT AFTER ACCEPTANCE

The journal will usually publish your article in the next possible issue of the journal.

After editing and typesetting your article, the editor will send it to you for proofreading before finally publishing it.

At this stage you are expected to read carefully through the article and correct technical, spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure your main points have not been lost to editing.

This is the last opportunity you have to make minor corrections on your article; therefore you must check the tables, illustrations, units of measurements, etc, to make sure they are correctly presented. You should also check that you have provided accurate data.

Make your corrections on the article and return it to your editor promptly to meet the journal’s publication deadline – if you are late you may need to wait for the next issue.

After you have seen proofs, check whether the article has been published by contacting the editor after a short time.

AFTER PUBLICATION

Once your article has been published you can draw other people’s attention to it by citing it in your subsequent related works. You can also order copies of the article and send to relevant organisations and individuals who will make use of it. If possible, deposit the electronic version of the final article in an online repository – either run by your institution, or a more general archive – this will give your article more prominence (remember to include its publication citation). But you must check your copyright restrictions to ensure the journal is willing to let you do this.