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7stepstopublishinginascientificjournal
ElsevierPublishingCampus
TheElsevierPublishingCampusisafreeonlineplatformthatprovides
lectures,interactivetrainingandprofessionaladviceonawiderange
oftopics,fromthefundamentalsofpublishingtobroaderissueslike
genderinresearchandopenscience.Researcherscanregisterfor
trainingcourses,learnfromleadersinresearchandpublishing,and
takepartintopicaldebates.Foreverymoduleorseminarcompleted,
researchersarerecognizedfortheireffortswithanawardedcertificate.

AijazShaikh,adoctoralcandidateattheJyvskylUniversitySchoolofBusinessandEconomicsin
Finland,ontheshoreofKauaiIsland,Hawaii,afterpresentingaresearchpaperataconferencethere.
Formany,thisisthehardestpartofresearch.
Inmysevenyearsofresearchandteaching,Ihaveobservedseveralshortcomingsinthemanuscript
preparationandsubmissionprocessthatoftenleadtoresearchbeingrejectedforpublication.Being
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awareoftheseshortcomingswillincreaseyourchancesofhavingyourmanuscriptpublishedandalso
boostyourresearchprofileandcareerprogression.
Inthisarticle,intendedfordoctoralstudentsandotheryoungscholars,Iidentifycommonpitfallsandoffer
helpfulsolutionstopreparemoreimpactfulpapers.Whilethereareseveraltypesofresearcharticles,
suchasshortcommunications,reviewpapersandsoforth,theseguidelinesfocusonpreparingafull
article(includingaliteraturereview),whetherbasedonqualitativeorquantitativemethodology,fromthe
perspectiveofthemanagement,education,informationsciencesandsocialsciencesdisciplines.
Writingforacademicjournalsisahighlycompetitiveactivity,anditsimportanttounderstandthatthere
couldbeseveralreasonsbehindarejection.Furthermore,thejournalpeerreviewprocessisanessential
elementofpublicationbecausenowritercouldidentifyandaddressallpotentialissueswithamanuscript.
1.Donotrushsubmittingyourarticleforpublication.
InmyfirstarticleforElsevierConnectFivesecretstosurviving(andthrivingin)aPhDprogramI
emphasizedthatscholarsshouldstartwritingduringtheearlystagesofyourresearchordoctoralstudy
career.Thissecretdoesnotentailsubmittingyourmanuscriptforpublicationthemomentyouhave
crafteditsconclusion.Authorssometimesrelyonthefactthattheywillalwayshaveanopportunityto
addresstheirworksshortcomingsafterthefeedbackreceivedfromthejournaleditorandreviewershas
identifiedthem.
Aproactiveapproachandattitudewillreducethechanceofrejectionanddisappointment.Inmyopinion,
alogicalflowofactivitiesdominateseveryresearchactivityandshouldbefollowedforpreparinga
manuscriptaswell.Suchactivitiesincludecarefullyrereadingyourmanuscriptatdifferenttimesand
perhapsatdifferentplaces.Rereadingisessentialintheresearchfieldandhelpsidentifythemost
commonproblemsandshortcomingsinthemanuscript,whichmightotherwisebeoverlooked.Second,I
finditveryhelpfultosharemymanuscriptswithmycolleaguesandotherresearchersinmynetworkand
torequesttheirfeedback.Indoingso,IhighlightanysectionsofthemanuscriptthatIwouldlike
reviewerstobeabsolutelyclearon.
2.Selectanappropriatepublicationoutlet.
Ialsoaskcolleaguesaboutthemostappropriatejournaltosubmitmymanuscripttofindingtheright
journalforyourarticlecandramaticallyimprovethechancesofacceptanceandensureitreachesyour
targetaudience.
ElsevierprovidesaninnovativeJournalFindersearchfacilityonitswebsite.Authorsenterthearticletitle,
abriefabstractandthefieldofresearchtogetalistofthemostappropriatejournalsfortheirarticle.For
afulldiscussionofhowtoselectanappropriatejournalseeKnightandSteinbach(2008).
Lessexperiencedscholarssometimeschoosetosubmittheirresearchworktotwoormorejournalsat
thesametime.Researchethicsandpoliciesofallscholarlyjournalssuggestthatauthorsshouldsubmita
manuscripttoonlyonejournalatatime.Doingotherwisecancauseembarrassmentandleadto
copyrightproblemsfortheauthor,theuniversityemployerandthejournalsinvolved.
3.Readtheaimsandscopeandauthorguidelinesofyourtargetjournalcarefully.
Onceyouhavereadandrereadyourmanuscriptcarefullyseveraltimes,receivedfeedbackfromyour
colleagues,andidentifiedatargetjournal,thenextimportantstepistoreadtheaimsandscopeofthe
journalsinyourtargetresearcharea.Doingsowillimprovethechancesofhavingyourmanuscript
acceptedforpublishing.Anotherimportantstepistodownloadandabsorbtheauthorguidelinesand
ensureyourmanuscriptconformstothem.Somepublishersreportthatonepaperinfivedoesnotfollow
thestyleandformatrequirementsofthetargetjournal,whichmightspecifyrequirementsforfigures,
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tablesandreferences.
Rejectioncancomeatdifferenttimesandindifferentformats.Forinstance,ifyourresearchobjectiveis
notinlinewiththeaimsandscopeofthetargetjournal,orifyourmanuscriptisnotstructuredand
formattedaccordingtothetargetjournallayout,orifyourmanuscriptdoesnothaveareasonablechance
ofbeingabletosatisfythetargetjournalspublishingexpectations,themanuscriptcanreceiveadesk
rejectionfromtheeditorwithoutbeingsentoutforpeerreview.Deskrejectionscanbedishearteningfor
authors,makingthemfeeltheyhavewastedvaluabletimeandmightevencausethemtolose
enthusiasmfortheirresearchtopic.SunandLinton(2014),Hierons(2016)andCraig(2010)offeruseful
discussionsonthesubjectofdeskrejections.
4.Makeagoodfirstimpressionwithyourtitleandabstract.
Thetitleandabstractareincrediblyimportantcomponentsofamanuscriptastheyarethefirstelements
ajournaleditorsees.Ihavebeenfortunatetoreceiveadvicefromeditorsandreviewersonmy
submissions,andfeedbackfrommanycolleaguesatacademicconferences,andthisiswhatIvelearned:
Thetitleshouldsummarizethemainthemeofthearticleandreflectyourcontributiontothe
theory.
Theabstractshouldbecraftedcarefullyandencompasstheaimandscopeofthestudythekey
problemtobeaddressedandtheorythemethodusedthedatasetkeyfindingslimitationsand
implicationsfortheoryandpractice.
Dr.AngelBorjagoesintodetailaboutthesecomponentsin11stepstostructuringasciencepaper
editorswilltakeseriously.
5.Haveaprofessionaleditingfirmcopyedit(notjustproofread)yourmanuscript,includingthe
maintext,listofreferences,tablesandfigures.
Thekeycharacteristicofscientificwritingisclarity.Beforesubmittingamanuscriptforpublication,itis
highlyadvisabletohaveaprofessionaleditingfirmcopyedityourmanuscript.Anarticlesubmittedtoa
peerreviewedjournalwillbescrutinizedcriticallybytheeditorialboardbeforeitisselectedforpeer
review.AccordingtoastatisticsharedbyElsevier,between30percentand50percentofarticles
submittedtoElsevierjournalsarerejectedbeforetheyevenreachthepeerreviewstage,andoneofthe
topreasonsforrejectionispoorlanguage.Aproperlywritten,editedandpresentedtextwillbeerrorfree
andunderstandableandwillprojectaprofessionalimagethatwillhelpensureyourworkistaken
seriouslyintheworldofpublishing.Onoccasion,themajorrevisionsconductedattherequestofa
reviewerwillnecessitateanotherroundofediting.
Authorscanfacilitatetheeditingoftheirmanuscriptsbytakingprecautionsattheirend.Theseinclude
proofreadingtheirownmanuscriptforaccuracyandwordiness(avoidunnecessaryornormative
descriptionslikeitshouldbenotedhereandtheauthorsbelieve)andsendingitforeditingonlywhenit
iscompleteinallrespectsandreadyforpublishing.Professionaleditingcompanieschargeheftyfees,
anditissimplynotfinanciallyviabletohavethemconductmultipleroundsofeditingonyourarticle.
ApplicationslikethespellingandgrammarcheckerinMicrosoftWordorGrammarlyarecertainlyworth
applyingtoyourarticle,butthebenefitsofpropereditingareundeniable.Formoreonthedifference
betweenproofreadingandediting,seethedescriptioninElseviersWebShop.
6.Submitacoverletterwiththemanuscript.
Neverunderestimatetheimportanceofacoverletteraddressedtotheeditororeditorinchiefofthe
targetjournal.Lastyear,IattendedaconferenceinBoston.Ameettheeditorssessionrevealedthat
manysubmissionsdonotincludeacoveringletter,buttheeditorsinchiefpresent,whorepresented
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renewedandISIindexedElsevierjournals,arguedthatthecoverlettergivesauthorsanimportant
opportunitytoconvincethemthattheirresearchworkisworthreviewing.
Accordingly,thecontentofthecoverletterisalsoworthspendingtimeon.Someinexperiencedscholars
pastethearticlesabstractintotheirletterthinkingitwillbesufficienttomakethecaseforpublicationitis
apracticebestavoided.Agoodcoverletterfirstoutlinesthemainthemeofthepapersecond,arguesthe
noveltyofthepaperandthird,justifiestherelevanceofthemanuscripttothetargetjournal.Iwould
suggestlimitingthecoverlettertohalfapage.Moreimportantly,peersandcolleagueswhoreadthe
articleandprovidedfeedbackbeforethemanuscriptssubmissionshouldbeacknowledgedinthecover
letter.
7.Addressreviewercommentsverycarefully.
Editorsandeditorsinchiefusuallycouchtheacceptanceofamanuscriptassubjecttoareviseand
resubmitbasedontherecommendationsprovidedbythereviewerorreviewers.Theserevisionsmay
necessitateeithermajororminorchangesinthemanuscript.Inexperiencedscholarsshouldunderstand
afewkeyaspectsoftherevisionprocess.First,itimportanttoaddresstherevisionsdiligentlysecond,is
imperativetoaddressallthecommentsreceivedfromthereviewersandavoidoversightsthird,the
resubmissionoftherevisedmanuscriptmusthappenbythedeadlineprovidedbythejournalfourth,the
revisionprocessmightcomprisemultiplerounds.
Therevisionprocessrequirestwomajordocuments.Thefirstistherevisedmanuscripthighlightingallthe
modificationsmadefollowingtherecommendationsreceivedfromthereviewers.Thesecondisaletter
listingtheauthorsresponsesillustratingtheyhaveaddressedalltheconcernsofthereviewersand
editors.Thesetwodocumentsshouldbedraftedcarefully.Theauthorsofthemanuscriptcanagreeor
disagreewiththecommentsofthereviewers(typicallyagreementisencouraged)andarenotalways
obligedtoimplementtheirrecommendations,buttheyshouldinallcasesprovideawellargued
justificationfortheircourseofaction.
Conclusion
Giventheeverincreasingnumberofmanuscriptssubmittedforpublication,theprocessofpreparinga
manuscriptwellenoughtohaveitacceptedbyajournalcanbedaunting.Highimpactjournalsaccept
lessthan10percentofthearticlessubmittedtothem,althoughtheacceptanceratioforspecialissuesor
specialtopicssectionsisnormallyover40percent.Scholarsmighthavetoresignthemselvestohaving
theirarticlesrejectedandthenreworkingthemtosubmitthemtoadifferentjournalbeforethemanuscript
isaccepted.
Theadviceofferedhereisnotexhaustivebutitsalsonotdifficulttoimplement.Theserecommendations
requireproperattention,planningandcarefulimplementationhowever,followingthisadvicecouldhelp
doctoralstudentsandotherscholarsimprovethelikelihoodofgettingtheirworkpublished,andthatiskey
tohavingaproductive,excitingandrewardingacademiccareer.
Acknowledgements
IwouldliketothankProfessorHeikkiKarjaluoto,JyvskylUniversitySchoolofBusinessandEconomics
forprovidingvaluablefeedbackonthisarticle.

References
Sun,H.,&Linton,J.D.(2014).Structuringpapersforsuccess:Makingyourpapermorelikeahigh
impactpublicationthanadeskreject,Technovation.
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Craig,J.B.(2010).Deskrejection:Howtoavoidbeinghitbyareturningboomerang,Family
BusinessReview.
Hierons,R.M.(2016).Thedreadeddeskreject,SoftwareTesting,VerificationandReliability.
Borja,A(2014):11stepstostructuringasciencepapereditorswilltakeseriously,ElsevierConnect
Knight,L.V.,&Steinbach,T.A.(2008).Selectinganappropriatepublicationoutlet:a
comprehensivemodelofjournalselectioncriteriaforresearchersinabroadrangeofacademic
disciplines,InternationalJournalofDoctoralStudies.
Tewin,K.(2015).HowtoBetterProofreadAnArticlein6SimpleSteps ,
Day,R,&Gastel,B:Howtowriteandpublishascientificpaper.CambridgeUniversityPress(2012)

ElsevierConnectContributor
AijazA.ShaikhisafinalyeardoctoralcandidateinmarketingattheJyvskylUniversitySchoolof
BusinessandEconomicsinFinland.HeearnedhisMScfromanAACSBaccreditedHankenSchoolof
EconomicsinFinlandandhasmorethan15yearsofprofessional,teaching,andresearchexperience.
Hisprimaryresearchinterestsincludebothqualitativeandquantitativestudiesinthebroaderareaof
consumerbehaviour,mobilebanking,Internetbanking,paymentsystems,andsocialmedia.Hehas
publishedintheElsevierjournalsComputersinHumanBehaviorandTelematicsandInformaticsand
otherrefereedjournalssuchastheJournalofFinancialServicesMarketing,theInternationalJournalof
EBusinessResearchandtheInternationalJournalofElectronicFinance.

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