1. Getting Academic Works Published in Peer-Reviewed Journals
David Riese
Gilliland and Franklin Professor
Department of Drug Discovery and Development
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs
Auburn University Harrison School of Pharmacy

2. Overview of Presentation
Why publish in peer-reviewed journals?
Two financial models for peer-reviewed journals
Factors to consider in selecting a journal in which to publish
Steps to follow in publishing a paper in a peer-reviewed journal
How to increase the visibility of your own publications

3. Why Publish In Peer-Reviewed Journals?
For members of many STEM disciplines, peer-reviewed journal publications are one of the most important ways by which a faculty member’s scientific productivity is measured
Two alternatives are books or book chapters. However, the scope of a journal article is typically more limited than that of books or book chapters, allowing for more frequent publication.
Conference proceedings are another alternative. However, the scope of a journal article is typically greater than that of a conference proceeding, allowing for the telling of a more complete story.

4. Two Financial Models for Peer-Reviewed Journals
“Reader pays” model
The subscribers of a journal and/or the members of the professional society pay the bulk of the costs of publishing the journal
Examples include Science and JAMA
Even though this is a “Reader pays” model, your cost of publishing in such a journal may still be significant
“Author pays” model – AKA the “open source” model
The author(s) of a journal article pay the bulk of the costs of publishing the article
Example is PLoS One
Cheaper (easier) for readers to access your work

5. Selecting a Journal: Issues to Consider
Suitability of your work for the journal
Stature/visibility of the journal in your field
Do you read papers in this journal?
Impact factor of the journal
Affiliation with a professional organization of relevance to your career
Indexed (Pubmed, Medline, Current Contents, Thompson/ISI, Index Medicus, Scopus ….)
Journal financial model and estimated cost of publishing your paper
Length of time before you receive a decision and before an accepted paper will appear in print
Likelihood that your paper will be accepted

6. Steps in Publishing a Paper I
Optional: draft an abstract and ask a journal for a preliminary assessment of the suitability of the work
Select the journal to which the work will be submitted
Identify the format and length requirements of papers submitted to the selected journal
Write the paper, adhering to the journal’s requirements
Identify potential reviewers of the paper
Write a cover letter to the editor
Submit the paper and cover letter
Wait for the reviews of the work

7. Steps in Publishing a Paper II
Three potential outcomes of the review
Rejection
Acceptance (almost always conditional/provisional)
Something in between
Your responses
In general, your response will always be the same - the work will need to be revised - even if you decide to submit it to a different journal
In some cases, additional experiments will be necessary
In other cases, only changes to the text will be necessary
At a minimum, you will need to revise the cover letter
If submitting a revised manuscript to the same journal, be gracious, be agreeable, be comprehensive, be TIMELY

8. Increase the Visibility of Your Publication I
Cite it in a review article
Distribute e-reprints or web links to other scientists in the field
Publicize it via social media and web

10. Increase the Visibility of Your Publication II
If your work is supported by an NIH grant, you are required to submit publications to the Pubmed Central repository – a side benefit is that this will ensure that the article is also indexed by Pubmed
2nd

12. Increase the Visibility of Your Publication III
Create a Google Scholar profile
Lists each of your publications and its citations
Automatically updates your overall citation record, h- index, and i10-index
Provides links to your address, your homepage, and the full text of your articles
Ensures that you and your papers appear in Google and Google Scholar searches
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