How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Decide early, decide well
Where to submit your manuscript
Some preliminaries

I’ve always been in the right place and time. Of course, I steered myself there.

—Bob Hope

Decide early, decide well

Too often, authors write scientific papers and then consider where to publish them. The decision, however, is best made early, before the writing begins. That way, the paper can be geared appropriately to the audience (for example, readers of a general scientific journal, a journal in your discipline as a whole, or a journal in your specialized research field). Also, you can initially prepare your manuscript in keeping with the journal’s requirements rather than having to revise it accordingly. Of course, if your first-choice journal does not accept your paper, you might need to revise your manuscript to suit another journal. But at least you will have avoided one round of revision.

In addition to deciding early on your first-choice journal, decide well. Choosing a journal carefully helps you to reach the most suitable audience, gain appropriate recognition, and avoid needless difficulties with publication. The decision of where to submit the manuscript is important. Because of poor choices, some papers are delayed in publication, fail to receive sound review and revision, or lie buried in inappropriate journals. If you submit your manuscript to a poor choice of journal, one of three things can happen—all bad.

First, your manuscript may simply be returned to you with the comment that your work “is not suitable for this journal.” Sometimes, however, this judgment is not made until after review of the manuscript. A “not suitable” notice after weeks or months of delay is not likely to make you happy.

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Second, if the journal is borderline in relation to your work, your manuscript may receive a poor or unfair review because the reviewers (and editors) of that journal may be only vaguely familiar with your specialty area. You may be subjected to the trauma of rejection even though the manuscript would be acceptable to the right journal. Or you could end up with a hassle over suggested revisions that you do not agree with and that do not improve your manuscript. And if your manuscript really does have deficiencies, you would not be able to benefit from the sound criticism that would come from the editors of the right journal.

Third, even if your paper is accepted and published, your glee will be short-lived if you later find that your work is virtually unknown because it is buried in a publication that few in your intended audience read. Talking with colleagues can help prevent this situation.

Think about the appropriate readership. If, for example, you are reporting a fundamental study in physics, of course you should try to get your paper published in a prestigious international journal. On the other hand, suppose that your study concerns the management of a disease found only in Latin America. In that situation, publication in Nature will not reach your audience—the audience that needs and can use your information. You should publish in an appropriate Latin American journal, probably one in Spanish.

To start identifying journals to consider, recall what journals have published work similar to yours. The journals publishing the papers that you will cite are often journals to consider. Perhaps ask colleagues to suggest potential publication sites. Also, consider using online journal selection tools—such as Jane (jane.biosemantics.org), JournalGuide (www.journalguide.com/), and Edanz Journal Selector (www.edanz.com/journal-selector). Based on information that one enters about one’s work, these tools generate lists of journals to consider. To help determine whether a journal indeed seems to be a possibility, look at the journal’s website for statements describing its purpose and scope. Look at some recent issues of the journal to see whether it publishes research such as yours and whether the papers are of the type you envision writing.