How to publish your research Jake Blanchard – University of Wisconsin – August 2007

Outline Writing the paper Getting it published What happens after you submit the paper

My main reference “How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper” by Robert Day, 5th Edition, Oryx Press, 1998

Why do we publish? “A scientific experiment…is not completed until the results are published.” “…only thus can new scientific knowledge be authenticated and then added to the existing database that we call scientific knowledge.” “…the research scientist…must provide a document showing what he or she did, why it was done, how it was done, and what was learned from it. The key word is reproducibility.”

Where do we publish Archive journals Conference publications Reports

What’s in the paper? “A scientific paper is a written and published report describing original research results.” They usually contain: Title-fewest possible words that describe content Abstract-brief summary of main aspects of paper Introduction Methods Results Discussion Conclusions References Acknowledgements – significant technical contributors and funding agents

The Introduction Nature and scope of problem investigated Literature review Method of investigation Principal results Principal conclusions

Discussion Principles, relationships, and generalizations inherent in Results section Exceptions or unsettled points Implications of results

What does it look like? The format of the paper is determined by the journal Check their web site for information Some key differences from one journal to another include: Citations, eg. [15], 15, (Jones, 1981) Reference list (Use RefWorks or EndNote) Where to put tables and figures 1-column or 2-column

Who is in the author list? Order varies by discipline: alphabetical, most important first, most important last, etc. Each author should have made an important contribution to the research being reported

Style Tips Be clear and concise Passive voice is OK Make sure fonts in graphs are large enough Check spelling and grammar Avoid jargon

How do I submit the paper? Again, refer to the journal web site Most are electronic/email Cover letter Be careful with Word files Remove metadata (iscrub, MS hidden data removal tool, ezclean, etc.) Turn off fast saves and track changes

What happens next? Journal editor will arrange for reviews Comments will be returned to you Make adjustments and attach explanation Don’t feel obligated to make all recommended changes Don’t take comments personally Be polite in all correspondence Return to editor Proofs will arrive later – check them carefully

What are my rights? Most journals make us sign copyright form This transfers copyright to journal Technically, we can’t reproduce article without permission, even though we wrote it Look for journals with more liberal copyright policies

A few useful websites Feel free to contact me with questions Copyright - http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/scholarlycomm/scholarlycom municationtoolkit/faculty/facultyauthorcontrol.cfm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_journal Writing and Presentations: http://writing.eng.vt.edu/ Jake Blanchard blanchard@engr.wisc.edu