Almost every scholar has had a paper rejected. Journal acceptance rates are typically low, ranging from 5% for higher impact journals (e.g., The Lancet) to 69% for “pay-to-publish” open access journals (e.g., PLoS ONE), whose criteria exclude the perceived importance of the paper. However, most rejected papers ultimately go on to be published [see 1 […]
Your title and abstract are key to attracting the right reviewers
Potential referees are typically only given the title and abstract when sent an invitation to peer review an article. It is only upon acceptance of the invitation that they will be given the full paper and supporting materials. It follows, therefore, that your title and abstract are essential to attracting and securing the right reviewers. […]
Discussing your study’s limitations
Why include a limitations section? Including a section on the limitations of your findings will demonstrate command over your research. A reviewer may look negatively upon your study if they spot a limitation that you failed to acknowledge. If you discuss each limitation in the context of future research—i.e., suggest ways to improve the validity […]
Streamline the publication process with a presubmission enquiry
Before formally submitting to a journal, you can contact the editor describing what you would like to get published. This is known as a presubmission enquiry. If appropriate and presented correctly, a presubmission enquiry will allow the editor to quickly assess if a formal submission is worth your time. Some journals (e.g., The Journal of […]
Publisher data sharing policies
Many journals (PLOS One, Nature, The Royal Society, et al.) now have mandatory data sharing policies. This means that researchers must make their datasets publicly available, whereby readers can “reach the conclusions drawn in the manuscript” and “replicate the reported study findings in their entirety.” [1]. Datasets can be made publicly available in three ways: In the […]
