5 steps to follow when publishing great scientific articles

After several months of conceptualization, I realized that it was still a blank word and a silently blinking cursor, with a cold sweat rising. How could an empty document be so scary? After a week without seeing your mentor, you can still hear the voice of your mentor echoing in your mind: "You have mastered all the lovely data from the experiment. Why don't you start putting them in a scientific article so we can publish it?" Of course, why not? Now is a crucial moment for success or failure. Your personal moment of truth has arrived, and the next step is right in front of you. You must put your scientific data together and review all the days, nights, and weekends during which you conducted experiments. But where does it start? How to convert your massive data pile into a few clear and concise pages of articles? These are typical questions that young scientists ask themselves when facing the task of publishing their research results for the first time. Follow these 5 tips to easily navigate a paper.

1. Determine your target audience

But the first thing to do. An important question you need to answer at the beginning is about your audience. Who are you writing for and what magazine are your goals? Because different journal reviews have different indicators and recommendations for the quality of publications, it is important to choose good peers to give you a review process when choosing an interested journal. This is an important criterion that you should keep in mind.

2. Start drafting an outline with relevant numbers and references

After selecting the target journal, you can start building relevant data. Chris Wiggins, associate professor of Applied mathematics at Columbia University in New York, defined an algorithm for writing scientific articles on Nature.com's New York blog. He suggests following a 14 step process, including identifying the most relevant numbers and references, and then putting the outline together.

At this point, you should discuss your outline and all your ideas in a structured format with colleagues and experienced researchers from your research institute. This can prevent you from investing a lot of energy in a draft that went wrong from the beginning.

3. Start writing

Using your outline, you can begin the creative part of the process: creating a manuscript. Professor Pete Carr of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota believes that the most critical step is to start writing. He said it is crucial to always remember the reader. Gina Hyatt, a clinical psychologist and science writing coach, agrees. She said that only when you explain your research clearly and understandably can your audience understand your explanation and appreciate the work you have done. This is the main viewpoint of Meenakshi Prabhune, who was once a researcher and later became a science writer. She suggested that "writing is for expression, not to leave a deep impression

If you are working hard to start writing, scheduling a specific time to fill in the outline with content may be helpful. This is a recommendation from Elena Kallestinova of the Yale Graduate Writing Center. She also suggests starting with 'materials and methods', as you already have the annotations and protocols needed to integrate this part together. In her opinion, the most promising writing order is: materials and methods, results, introduction, and discussion. Barbara Hoogenboom and Robert Manske suggest ending the discussion with your conclusion and writing a summary after completing all other texts. Kallestinova also suggests updating the outline as part of the ongoing process, as your focus may shift as the manuscript progresses. Afterwards, you should find a concise and easy to understand title that roughly introduces your work (Borja, 2014).

4. Document review process

This is a difficult task, but you have already written the first draft! Now you need to spend the same amount of effort reviewing and editing this scientific article. If appropriate, present different parts of your manuscript to colleagues, science mentors, and partners. Discuss corrections and ideas, and decide which ones to include and which ones to omit. Before submitting the paper, please pay attention to the formal requirements of the journal. Ensure that you follow the author's guide, especially that all your references are correctly cited.

After internal review and submission, you will enter the journal's review process. The library at North Carolina State University described this process in a three minute video. Firstly, the editor reads your manuscript and evaluates its suitability for the magazine. If so, he will send your article to scientists working in your research field. They use different criteria to judge manuscripts, such as originality, methodology, Argument and relevance. Then, they send a suggestion to the journal editor, regardless of whether they support publishing the paper. Finally, the editor decides. He has three options: approve the article, request the author to modify it, or reject the paper.

However, if you are asked to modify your text, or even if it is rejected, don't worry. After receiving a rejection, try to find a journal with lower reputation, and you can send your scientific articles to it. For many researchers, "Nature" and "Science" are the Holy Grail because these journals enjoy high reputation and attract a lot of attention due to your research results (look behind the scenes, watch the video "The Life of Nature Papers"). However, many other journals may not be as attractive, but they are the main resource for experts in specific research fields. When considering the journal you want to submit for research, be realistic and don't rush to gain a scientific reputation. Once again, focus your attention on your primary audience. Then you will make a wise decision and achieve success.

5. Things to consider when publishing your first scientific article

Congratulations on submitting your paper. The magazine has accepted it - well done! But you may consider promoting your research and achieving this by going beyond traditional publishing channels. Various online platforms, including Researchgate and Google Scholar, are specifically designed to connect scientists. By using these platforms, you can establish connections with the scientific community, share experiences, and learn from others. Communicating your scientific achievements through social media can help your network and wider audience understand your hard work and fascinating discoveries, thereby increasing the impact of your research findings.