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How to Prepare a Good Scientific Manuscript - Some Thoughts
Kai Sundmacher1,2
1 Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems,
Department of Process Systems Engineering
2 Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Chair of Process Systems Engineering
[email protected]
DocDay, Magdeburg, 24 September 2012
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Scientific Publishing Industry
Elsevier – by disciplines
250,000+ English language research
articles published with Elsevier every year
Physics
Mathematics & Computer Science
Social Sciences Earth Sciences
Environmental Science
Life Sciences
Materials Science & Engineering
Chemistry & Chemical Engineering
All scientific research articles
1.2 million English language research
articles published globally each year
Learned Societies
Other
Commercial University Presses
Other
Springer
Wiley-Blackwell
Informa /
Taylor & Francis
Elsevier
Dr. Angela Welch, Elsevier (2012)
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My Role in this Publishing Industry
Executive Editor of Chemical Engineering Science
Review Editor of Fuel Cells
Author (First, Senior, Co) of > 240 articles (WoS)
Reviewer for peer-review journals (AIChE J, CES, CEJ, EA, IECR, JES, JMS, Science, ...)
Publisher: Elsevier Publisher: Wiley-VCH
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1) What steps do I need to take before I write my paper ?
2) How can I ensure I am using proper manuscript language ?
3) How do I build up my article properly ?
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You should consider publishing if you have information that advances understanding in a specific research field.
Determine if you are ready to publish
This could be in the form of: • Presenting new, original results or methods • Rationalizing, refining, or reinterpreting published
results • Reviewing or summarizing a particular subject or field
If you are ready to publish, a strong manuscript is what is needed next.
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What is a strong manuscript?
• Has a clear, useful, and exciting message.
• Is presented and constructed in a logical manner.
• Reviewers and editors can grasp the significance easily.
Editors and reviewers are all busy people. Make things easy to save their time !
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Decide the most appropriate type of manuscript
• Conference papers
• Full articles / original articles
• Short communications / letters
• Review papers / perspectives
Self-evaluate your work: Is it sufficient for a full article? Or are your results so thrilling that they
need to be shown as soon as possible?
Ask your supervisor and colleagues for advice on the manuscript type. Sometimes outsiders see things more
clearly than you.
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Types of manuscripts
• Conference papers in-progress research findings (5-10 pages, ~ 3 figures)
• Short communications early reports of significant, original advances
• Original articles disseminating completed research findings (8-10 pages, 5-8 figures, ~ 25 references)
• Review papers typically solicited by journal editors (10+ pages, 8+ figures, > 80 ref.)
If patent is planned, wait with manuscript submission until patent application is documented!
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Visit the journal homepages:
Aims and scope (see: guide for authors)
Accepted types of articles
Readership
Current hot topics (go through the abstracts of recent publications)
TIP: Articles in your references will likely lead you to the right journal.
Journal Selection
DO NOT gamble by submitting your manuscript to more than one journal at a time. International ethics standards prohibit
multiple submissions !
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1) What steps do I need to take before I write my paper ?
2) How can I ensure I am using proper manuscript language ?
3) How do I build up my article properly ?
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Write with clarity, objectivity, accuracy, and brevity !
Manuscript Language
The key to successful manuscript writing is to
be alert to common errors: Sentence construction
Incorrect tenses
Inaccurate grammar
Mixing languages
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Publishers do not correct the language. It is the author’s responsibility to make sure his paper is in its best
possible form when submitted for publication. But: Publishers often provide resources for authors who are less
familiar with the conventions of international journals.
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Proper manuscript language is important so that editors and reviewers can easily understand your messages.
Refer to the journal’s Guide for Authors for specifications.
Check that your paper has short sentences, correct tenses, correct grammar, and is all in English.
Have a native English speaker check your manuscript or use a language editing service.
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Manuscript Language
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1) What steps do I need to take before I write my paper ?
2) How can I ensure I am using proper manuscript language ?
3) How do I build up my article properly ?
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• Title • Abstract • Keywords
• Main text (IMRAD) – Introduction – Methods – Results – And – Discussions
• Conclusions • Acknowledgements • References • Supplementary Data
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Make sure each section of the paper fulfills its purpose clearly and concisely.
Make them easy for indexing and searching! (informative, attractive, effective)
How do you search for a paper?
Write in the same order you read: 1) Figures and tables 2) Methods, Results and
Discussion 3) Conclusions and Introduction 4) Abstract and Title
Research Article Structure
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Article Title
A good title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content of a paper.
Effective titles: - identify the main issue of the paper - begin with the subject of the paper - are accurate, unambiguous, specific, and
complete - are as short as possible - do not contain rarely-used abbreviations
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Article Title Original Title Revised Remarks Preliminary
observations on the
effect of Zn element
on anticorrosion of
zinc plating layer
Effect of Zn on
anticorrosion of zinc
plating layer
Long title distracts readers.
Remove all redundancies such as
“observations on”, “the nature of”, etc.
Action of antibiotics
on bacteria
Inhibition of growth
of mycobacterium
tuberculosis by
streptomycin
Titles should be specific.
Think to yourself: “How will I search for this
piece of information?” when you design the
title.
Fabrication of
carbon/CdS coaxial
nanofibers displaying
optical and electrical
properties via
electrospinning
carbon
Electrospinning of
carbon/CdS coaxial
nanofibers with
optical and electrical
properties
“English needs help. The title is nonsense. All
materials have properties of all varieties. You
could examine my hair for its electrical and
optical properties! You MUST be specific. I
haven’t read the paper but I suspect there is
something special about these properties,
otherwise why would you be reporting them?”
– the Editor-in-chief
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It is freely freely available in electronic abstracting & indexing services [PubMed, Medline, Embase, SciVerse Scopus, ....]
This is the advertisement of your article.
Make it interesting, and easy to be understood without reading the whole article. What has been done? What are the main findings?
Follow the Rule of 10:
- 2 sentences: introduction / aim
- 3 sentences: materials & methods
- 3 sentences: results
- 2 sentences: discussion/conclusions
Abstract
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Keywords
Keywords are used by indexing and abstracting services.
They are the labels of your manuscript.
Use only established abbreviations (e.g. DNA).
Check the “Guide for Authors”.
Article Title Keywords
“Silo music and silo quake: granular
flow-induced vibration”
Silo music, Silo quake, stick-slip
flow, resonance, creep, granular
discharge
“An experimental study on evacuated
tube solar collector using supercritical
CO2”
Solar collector; Supercritical CO2;
Solar energy; Solar thermal
utilization
Example:
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Clearly address the following:
– What is the problem ?
– Are there any existing solutions ?
– Which is the best solution so far?
– What is its main limitation?
– What do you hope to achieve?
– How will you fill the gap?
Introduction
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TIP: Hypothesis/aim of the study is typically found in the last paragraph
of the introduction.
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Methods
Include detailed information. The reader should be able to reproduce the experiment / the simulation.
Previously published procedures need not be described in depth:
- Cite methods and note any changes to the protocol
- Provide detailed methods in Supplemental Material
Identify the equipment and materials used
- Provide source and related product information (company, molecular weight, etc.)
Write out full chemical/biological compound names (followed by abbr.), then use abbreviations throughout paper.
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Results
Tell a clear and easy-to-understand story:
- The main findings
• Analytical description of data from experiments described in the Methods section.
• Findings/data of secondary importance should be captured in Supplementary Materials
• Minimal interpretation of results and/or comparison with literature unless the journal combines the Results & Discussion sections
- If applicable: Results of statistical analysis
- Figures and tables
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Illustrations are critical because
- Figures and tables are the most efficient way to present results and
- Results are the driving force of the publication
Captions and legends should be self-explanatory; figures should be able to stand alone - What is the take home point?
Maximize space; make sure final versions of figures can be easily read (watch use of legends)
Use consistent formatting between figures
- Plots: labels and scale - Micrographs: scale bar, point out key features
Results: Figures & Tables
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Discussion
Most important section
Critical interpretation - Make the discussion correspond to the results - Compare your results to published results
Significance & implications - How does your data relate to the “big picture” /
applications? - Can you identify a mechanism or form new
hypotheses?
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Conclusions
How your work advances the field from the present state of knowledge
Justify your work in the research field
- Uses ?
- Extensions ?
- Applications ?
Suggest future experiments and/or theoretical investigations
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References
Conform strictly to the journal citation style specified in the Guide for Authors
Editors may use plagiarism detection software to validate authenticity; give credit to original articles
Avoid excessive self-citations
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Submission: Cover Letter
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Submitted along with your manuscript
State final approval of all co-authors
State prior reviews, revisions, etc.
Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal
Nominate possible referees: experts, not collaborators, not best friends, not from your institution
Your chance to speak to the editor directly !
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Revision(s) Prepare a detailed Response Letter:
– Copy-paste each reviewer comment and type your response below it.
– State specifically which changes you made to the manuscript (include page/line numbers; be specific – no generalized statements like “the discussion was changed accordingly”).
– Provide response to accept the reviewers’ suggestions or a convincing, solid, and polite rebuttal when you feel the reviewer was wrong.
– Write in such a manner, that your response can be forwarded to the reviewer without prior editing.
Revisions improve the quality of your article ! 27
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Kai Sundmacher Docday@OvGUMagdeburg
24 September 2012
I which you great success when preparing your articles!
Questions ?