Linus U. Opara Office of the Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Studies & Research College of Agricultural & Marine Sciences Sultan Qaboos University Beyond Writing: Dealing with Editors and Reviewers 16Nov2008

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO Outline 1.Introduction 2.Attributes of exemplary manuscripts 3.Selecting a journal 4.Submitting a manuscript 5.Responding to 1 st Review Reports 6.Responding to n th Review Reports 7.Dealing with paper rejection & resubmission 8.End note

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 1.Introduction Why so much research data remain unpublished:  Too much emphasis on data collection  Publication strategy not sorted  Doubtful theory & analysis  Lack of time commitment  Motivation

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO Writing a Paper (1 st draft) is Not Sufficient! Quality of science and the writing are influenced by the following processes: Writing skills Editing Peer review Revising (& revising….)

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 2.Attributes of Exemplary Manuscripts a)Good grammar b)Grounded in appropriate literature c)Based on sound theory d)Attentive to measurement issues e)Report complete results of statistical analysis f)Distinguish between statistical and practical significance of findings g)Have important implications for future research, current practice and policy

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 3.Selecting a Journal 1)Journal scope (subject area) 2)Popularity/prestige 3)Professional society journal 4)Publishing company journal 5)Special Issues of journals 6)Page charges vs none [a]

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 3.Selecting a Journal 7)Indexing 8)Impact factor 9)Frequency of publication 10)Duration of peer review process 11)Time from acceptance to publication 12)Other criteria (e.g., journal format) [b]

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO Medium of submission Surface mail Online 4.Manuscript Submission

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO Mail submission system Cover letter Manuscript text Tables Figures List of potential referees Conflict of interest declaration (e.g., funding source) 4.Manuscript Submission

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 4.Manuscript Submission: On-line submission system  Acknowledgement  Conflict of interest declaration  List of potential referees Name, affiliation and contact details of each author Corresponding author Cover letter Title, Abstract, Keywords  Text  Tables (one file per table)  Figures (one file per figure)  List of captions

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 5.Handling 1 st Review Reports Role of each co-author Mark and adhere to the editor’s deadline Respond to editor’s comments and queries Respond to individual Reviewer Reports: A, B, C, D, …  General comments and queries  Specific comments and queries

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 5.Handling 1 st Review Reports Agreeing with a reviewer/editor Disagreeing with reviewer/editor When reviewers disagree Possible revisions –rewriting text –further analysis and interpretation of data –changing presentation format (figure vs table) Writing a reply to the editor

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 6.Handling n th Review Reports Check for inconsistencies with comments and queries in the 1 st Report Note ‘new’ comments and queries (not contained in the 1 st Report) What happens when the reviewer and/or editor do not accept an answer to a query? Writing a reply to the editor

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO 7.Dealing with Paper Rejection  Appealing to the Editor/Editor-in-Chief  If handled by a sub/associate editor  Revising and resubmitting to a different journal  ‘Dumping’ or filing away the paper!  They say “Pride goes before a fall”

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO End note Paper writing is a learning process. The more we write, the more we learn, the better we get. We are all learners!

Beyond Paper Writing by LUO THANK YOU