Abbas YEGANEH BAKHTIARY

Outline of my Talk  Introduction on writing a Journal paper  Brain storming of writing a paper  Journal Papers format  Abstract  Introduction  Methods  Results  Discussion  Summary and Conclusions  Acknowledgments  References 10/21/2015 How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals 2

Introduction on writing a Journal paper  Writing a journal paper can be an difficult process, but breaking it down into manageable tasks can make a very routine task. These manageable tasks can be identified by determining what the essential elements of a successful paper are and how they function together to produce the desired result: a published journal paper.  Often, different languages and cultures write in different styles and with different organization than English-language authors. This can compound the problem for non-native English writers.  Here, I outline the essential elements of an English-language journal paper in engineering or the sciences, providing a functional template and guidelines for authors. 10/21/20153How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

Brain storming of writing a paper  Before starting to write, you should spend some time thinking about the paper content and plan it.  At this stage, you should write down ideas in a free form, creating a general outline for the paper. 1. What is the contribution of your paper? 2. What is the new result or contribution that you want to describe? 3. What do you want to convince the researcher of your field? 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

Papers Format  In formulating the outline it is important to know that most engineering or science journal papers have a well-accepted general format. Each of the following sections are included, usually also in this order, though specific papers may disguise them under different section titles that relate closer to the actual contents of each section. These sections are  Abstract  Introduction  Methods  Results  Discussion  Summary and Conclusions  Acknowledgments  References 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Abstract of a paper  The abstract is a single paragraph that precedes the paper and summarizes the content. The abstract reduces the whole paper to a single paragraph. Many times, the abstract will be published by itself in an index to the paper and often only the words in the abstract can be searched using library databases; hence, the abstract is a critical element of the research paper. It contains a general introduction to the topic, outlines the major results, and summarizes the conclusions. It is shorter than the summary and conclusions section of the main paper and is less of an outline than the closing paragraph of the introduction.  Often, the abstract does not require citations; some journals discourage use of mathematical symbols. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

Introduction  The first paragraph.  Middle paragraphs.  Final paragraph. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

Introduction  First paragraph: start with a broad statement and become more detailed until finally identifying the specific problem that the paper addresses. The purpose of the first paragraph is to interest the reader in the paper, to clearly identify for the reader what the paper will address, and to quickly bring the reader to the edge of knowledge in the field the paper addresses. The paragraph should end with the general problem addressed by the paper.  The next sentences of the introduction narrow the topic. These sentences often contain citations to other work and build up to a specific lack of knowledge that culminates in the problem statement. This section can vary in length from one to many sentences, but the general goal is to educate the reader about an important gap in knowledge that the paper will address. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

Introduction  Middle paragraphs: Functioning as the literature review part. The beginning of the literature review should cite the most important historical contributions that build the foundation to the topic the paper will extend. The goal is not to cite everything, as in a review paper, but to cite the seminal contributions that directly lead to the problem the paper addresses. The remaining paragraphs should focus on the state-of-the-art knowledge base and the significant differences between what has already been published and the new contribution that your paper is presenting.  Final paragraph : The introduction ends with the “road- map” paragraph. This paragraph outlines the remaining sections of the paper. It can either give a general outline of the contribution, or a specific, section-by-section breakdown of the remaining paper. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Methods or Methodology of a Journal Paper  The methods sections often come disguised with other paper- specific section titles, but serve a unified purpose: to detail the methods used in an objective manner without introduction of interpretation or opinion. This section should tell the reader clearly how the results were obtained. They should also make adequate reference to accepted methods and identify differences. The governing principle is as follows:  Describe all of the techniques used to obtain the results in a separate, objective Methods section. In the case of a paper that develops both an analytical model and laboratory results, it is common to write separate methods sections for each. At the conclusion of the methods sections, the reader should be able to form an educated opinion about the quality of the results to be presented in the remaining sections. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Results  The results section and discussion section allow the most flexibility in terms of organization and content. In general, the pure, unbiased results should be presented first without interpretation. These results should present the raw data or the results after applying the techniques outlined in the methods section.  The results are simply results and please do not draw any conclusions.  Often the results are combined with the discussion section, there should be a clear distinction between a result and discussion. This could be done by paragraphing, by section headings, or by careful writing within a single paragraph. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Results  Main purpose of the results is to provide the data from your study so that other researchers can draw their own conclusions and understand fully the basis for your conclusions.  A common format for the results section is to present a series of figures and to describe them in detail through the text. A good results section presents clear figures with efficient text. The figures should support the assertions in the paper or illustrate the new insights.  Where applicable, results should be illustrated in terms of non-dimensional variables.  Results should be clear, convincing, and general and be free from interpretations or opinions  Whether together with the discussion or in their own section, results need to be communicated objectively. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Discussion  The discussion is where the paper interprets the results to reach its major conclusions. Also where the author’s opinion enters the picture and/or the argument is made.  Often writers will combine the discussion and results sections to avoid repetition and so that they can give their conclusions parallel with the results. This is very acceptable if there maintains a clear distinction between facts and opinion.  A common feature of the discussion section is comparison between measured and modeled data or comparison among various modeling methods. You may consider the following questions: How do the results compare with earlier work? What is new and significant? 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Discussion  Another common element in a discussion section applies the results obtained to solve a specific engineering or scientific problem. The main feature of the discussion :  To interpret the results to reach the main conclusions of the paper  Researcher has the most freedom to make the implications of the research.  Notes: never make an assertion of which you are not 100% sure—do not open the door for a negative review or the eventual rejection of your paper. As a rule, it is better to be conservative. Most of the experts reading your paper will draw their own conclusions anyhow.  This section allows you to highlight the conclusions you think are important. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Summary and Conclusions  The final section of the paper does not introduce any new information or insights: it merely summarizes and concludes.  This section is longer than the abstract and generally includes more specific conclusions.  It is often more quantitative than the abstract, however, listing equations or citations should not be necessary. The summary and conclusions section also has a more fluid literary style than the abstract.  A good format for this section is to write it in two paragraphs. The first paragraph summarizes various sections of the paper. The second paragraph draws the important conclusions. The summary paragraph is different than that at the end of the introduction section. Here, the summary paragraph draws on the fact that the reader knows all of the new results presented in the paper. It then summarizes what the important results where. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Summary and Conclusions  The conclusion paragraph identifies the significant conclusions. Two possible formats for this second paragraph:  Organize based on logical flow for points that are interconnected.  Organize based on merit, where the most important items appear first  It is important to remember that this paragraph should not present new information. It may combine parts of the paper to underscore an important conclusion, but it cannot present information that could not be gleaned from the other sections.  A third, optional, paragraph may identify future research directions that flow naturally from the paper. The guiding principle for the summary and conclusions section may be formulated as follows:  The summary and conclusions section tells the reader what has already been read and draws the important conclusions—keep it short and make it as specific as possible 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Summary and Conclusions  The summary and conclusions section tells the reader what has already been read and draws the important conclusions; hence, keep it short and make it as specific as possible.  If the reader wants to know specifically what aspects of a problem your paper will address, he will often read the introduction and then the summary and conclusions section.  It is important that all of the significant findings are summarized and united in the significant conclusions. 10/21/ How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals

The Acknowledgments  The acknowledgments are given at the end of a paper and should at a minimum mention the sources of funding that contributed to the paper. You may also recognize other people who contributed to the paper or data contained in the paper, but at a level of effort that does not justify their inclusion as authors.  There is a growing trend to also acknowledge the contributions of the reviewers!  Since acknowledgment sections cannot be referenced or listed on a curriculum vitae, this seems only a means of getting the reviewers to agree with a revision and accept the paper. 10/21/2015How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals 18

The References  All reference works cited in the paper must appear in a list of references that follow the formatting requirements of the journal in which the paper is to be published.  You may not include references that were not cited in your paper.  Refereed journal papers, research monographs, and books are preferred over less stable or reliable sources, such as personal communications, unrefereed conference proceedings, or web-site addresses. 10/21/2015How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals 19

Thank you for your attention! 10/21/2015How to publish a scientific papers in the ISI Journals 20