1. From submission to publication with IOP journals – a guide for authors
Tim Smith, Senior Publisher
DPG Spring Meeting
25 March 2012, Berlin, Germany
Notes for first body slide

2. Outline
IOP Publishing
Choosing a journal
Writing and formatting your article
The peer-review process
Promoting your published work
New Journal of Physics (NJP)
Specific article criteria
Video abstracts
What are they and why bother?

3. IOP Publishing The publishing arm of UK Institute of Physics
A not-for-profit organisation
A leading publisher in physical sciences
Oldest content dates from 1874
Over 60 journals including partner titles
Journal of Physics range
New Journal of Physics (on behalf of IOP and DPG)
Physics World
Editorial offices in UK, USA, Russia, China, Japan, Germany

4. The physics market ~140,000 articles in 2011 Peaked in 2008
IOP has ~ 11% market share of physics research
Fall in 2011 due to tightening of quality standards

5. IOP journals - readership
More than 22 million downloads in 2011
Order of magnitude increase in last 10 years
Dominant usage is to the online version

6. Choosing where to submit – broad or niche?
Broad titles offer
Large readership
High Impact Factors
Greater opportunity to reach researchers from other fields
“General Interest” element

7. Choosing where to submit – broad or niche?
Niche titles offer
Smaller but more specialised readership
More technical articles
Represent different communities of physicists
Same quality standards

8. Choosing where to submit – OA or subscription?
IOP Publishing is one of the largest OA publishers in physics
Gold OA and now ‘Hybrid OA’ titles
Free to read, but somebody has to pay!
Are funds available?
Increased visibility (measured through downloads)
Author-friendly copyright

9. Writing and formatting your article - planning
Consider the best way to structure your article to maximise visibility and impact
Title – an opportunity to catch the reader’s eye
Abstract – usually less than 200 words. Should succinctly capture the main result and conclusions
Introduction – state clearly the object of the work, its scope and the main advances you are reporting
Methods – give sufficient information to allow someone else to duplicate your method
Results and discussion – clearly presented with potential implications. State the impact of your results compared with other recent work
Conclusions – summarise key results and plans for future directions of study
References - acknowledge the work of others and cite publications that have influenced the direction of your study

10. Writing and formatting your article – writing and editing
Clarity
Your paper must be easy to understand
Bear in mind the expected audience
Introduce ideas that may be unfamiliar early in the paper so that later results can be understood
All content should be relevant to main result
Figures and multimedia
Carefully chosen, can greatly enhance the accessibility of your article
Editing process
Re-read first draft – if necessary reconsider original plan to improve clarity and conciseness
Send your paper to colleagues and co-authors for feedback
If necessary seek native English speaker for assistance
Cover letter
state the significance and originality of your work
how does your study advance on previously published work?
conflicts of interest?

11. Peer review – why?
As a service to authors - peer review should improve the paper!
To ensure that the paper is suitable for our journals based on:
Quality
Originality
Importance
Gain a seal of approval from independent experts
Quality rather than quantity (rejection rate for J. Phys. journals >70%)

12. The peer-review process

13. How long will peer-review take?
We are aware of the importance of service to our authors
As a leading physics publisher, we aim to (on average):
Process your paper within 1 working day
Reach a first decision within 4 weeks of submission
Publish your paper within 100 days of submission (if accepted)
However, quality is paramount and we must ensure:
Peer review is rigorous and fair
That speed should not compromise this commitment

14. Is publication the end? No
Publication should be the start of the next phase – the communication of your work
Increase the visibility and citations to your work
What does IOP do to promote your work?
Press releases through a dedicated press team
Coverage in Physics World and our other community websites
LabTalk and Video Abstract options
‘Recommended reader’ campaigns
What can you do?
Highlight your work on personal/group website
Use your network of colleagues/peers
Use your own institute press office/media opportunities

15. Recent coverage for IOP content

16. Recent coverage for IOP content

17. New Journal of Physics
Launched in 1998 by IOP and the German Physical Society
The first peer-reviewed, open-access journal to cover the whole of physics
In 1998 the term “open access” did not even exist
Launched as a “novel experiment”
Now considered to be pioneering
Growing number of OA titles

18. New Journal of Physics – citation performance
Current Impact Factor is 3.85
The highest OA journal in physics
3rd highest IF out of all general physics, original research journals
Articles are increasingly being cited
Immediacy Index high in 2009 and 2010

19. New Journal of Physics – unique criteria
“……..research results should make substantial advances within a particular subfield of physics. The impact of an NJP article should be such that it will appeal to the journal's broad readership…….”
Authors will be redirected to an archival journal for incremental or highly specialised work
Every submission is personally handled by a member of the Editorial Board
Preliminarily assess for suitability – breadth of appeal and likely significance on field
Oversee referee selection (at least two independent)
> 75% of submissions are rejected

20. New Journal of Physics – article style
“…….. article abstracts, introductions and conclusions should be accessible to the non-specialist, stressing any wider implications of the work within physics.…….”
“…..authors are encouraged to take full advantage of the electronic medium to include colour, video, audio or other innovative presentation formats and links to more extensive tutorial information or data……”
Article length flexibility
authors are encouraged to include full background information
General Scientific Summaries and Video Abstracts

21. New Journal of Physics – General Scientific Summary
The GSS should be structured into the following three distinct sub-sections
Introduction and background – a short and accessible introduction to the topic aimed at providing a brief outline of the current state of scientific knowledge in the field.
The main result(s) – a synopsis of the main result(s) reported in the paper and a statement of how scientific knowledge on the topic has been extended as a result of the study.
Wider implications – a summarizing statement that puts the work into a broader context and highlights any wider implications and directions for future study.

22. New Journal of Physics – General Scientific Summary

23. Video abstracts Launched on NJP in February 2011
Will be launched on other IOP journals in 2012
Unique new content stream aimed at:
increasing the visibility of articles and authors
conveying complex themes to a broad audience
enable authors to go beyond the constraints of their written article
enhancing the overall user experience
Aligned with NJP’s strategy to disseminate research as widely as possible and embrace online medium
Integrated as part of the archival full-text article
Free-to-view
No additional charge for authors
Usage terms recognise prevalence for online sharing and reuse

24. Video abstracts – an integral part of the article

25. Why make a video abstract?
A great way to explain your research to a broad audience
Demonstrate your experiments running in real time
Illustrate complex theoretical phenomena through practical demonstrations
Showcase simulations and visualisations with verbal narration
Convey your enthusiasm for the work in a way that your written article cannot
Raise your visibility

26. Top tips Video abstracts should last no longer than 4 minutes
Structure your video to tell a story
Retain the attention of viewers all the way through
Include a mix of content/styles
Practical demonstrations, animations, interviews, lab tours
Include multiple presenters and film group discussions
Choose the location carefully and remove all background noise
Include a transcript to maximise accessibility
Be creative - let your enthusiasm and personality come across!

27. Video abstracts – early results
>70 published since February 2011
Monthly growth since November 2011
>27,000 views
> 400 views per video abstract
Articles with a video abstract so far receive (on average) five times more downloads
Videos drive readership

28. Video abstracts – author quotes
“Video abstracts are a great way to communicate some of our enthusiasm and excitement, which tends to get lost in a scholarly publication.” Carlo W J Beenakker, Leiden University, The Netherlands
‘”Video abstracts allow the presenter to get across the key message of their article in an open and accessible way. A visually striking abstract, as well as being fun to make, can really make an article stand out from the crowd.” Alex Chin, Universität Ulm, Germany
“By featuring the people behind the science, video abstracts have the potential to convey inspiration and enthusiasm, and thereby the significance of scientific results, beyond the concise text of articles.”
Achim Kempf, Waterloo University, Canada

29. Video Abstracts – more information and guidelines

30. Thank you!
Pick up our ‘Introductory guide for authors’ this week at booth FOG7 in the exhibition area!