Specialists provide tips on publishing scientific articles

Choosing a periodical before penning the text and considering the novelty and relevance of a study is fundamental, said specialists in the workshop "How to Write for and Get Published in Scientific Journals".

By Karina Toledo

Agência FAPESP – Editors of scientific magazines seek studies with landmark results written in clear and concise English that spark the interest of readers. Articles that cover current hot topics have an advantage because they have a better chance of being cited in future research and contribute to increasing the impact of the periodical.

These were some of the tips presented by Daniel McGowan, director of the Ednaz Group, during the workshop “How to Write for and Get Published in Scientific Journals,” held on March 16 by FAPESP and the scientific publisher Springer.

Since 1990, the number of articles submitted for review has increased 100% over the number of new periodicals, according to data from the Ednaz Group, a consulting company in the area. With the growth of competition, according to McGowan, “The minimum that the editors expect is quality science and appropriate language.”

“Brazilian research is good, but I see two major challenges to be overcome by researchers in the country: difficulty with the English language and a lack of understanding about how it should be structured in a scientific article. Many don’t seem to know what to put in the introduction, the discussion and the conclusion of the work,” comments McGowan in an interview with Agência FAPESP.

During his presentation at the workshop, McGowan explored the topic and provided examples of how to structure a summary, how to insert tables, graphs and figures in the text, how to format references, how to choose a title and how to write a letter of presentation to the editor. He also provided information on the most appropriate times for verbal presentations in various situations and recommended that scientists write in active voice and keep the subject of a statement near the verb.

“For the majority of people that will read scientific articles, English may not be their first language either. What they want is to be able to read it once quickly and understand the researcher’s logic,” he emphasized.

For McGowan, a former associate editor at Nature Reviews Neuroscience, the first step toward improving the quality of scientific production is reading as many published scientific articles as possible.

“This helps the researcher to know that he or she is asking the right questions, using appropriate methods, interpreting the results in the appropriate context, citing the most relevant studies and choosing the periodicals with the right profile,” McGowan says.

Because each publication has its own rules for structuring the text and citing references, the article should only be written after the author chooses the magazine to which it will be submitted.

“The researcher should be honest in evaluating the degree of relevance and the novelty of the study and choose a periodical with a compatible impact. Does it offer an incremental or conceptual advance? Does it affect the lives of a small population or thousands of people? Does it improve knowledge on the phenomenon or present new technology?” McGowan explains.

The researcher should also consider factors such as the profile of the audience to be reached, the prestige of the publication and whether it is an open-access or subscription-only service. “Open access allows one to reach the greatest number of readers and therefore generates more citations. But it also has a greater costs,” McGowan says.

According to McGowan, an article should never be sent to more than one periodical at the same time. “On the other hand, if a researcher takes too long to publish his or her discoveries, another group could publish first. I recommend, therefore, making contact with the editor if a response is not given within six weeks. If after two months there is no response, I suggest formally cancelling the submission and only then submitting it to another magazine,” he adds.

Another tip is listing the funding received from foundations or other institutions and companies and describing possible conflicts of interest and limitations of the study, such as a small sample size.

“Editors realize when there are flaws or limitations in research, but they can still publish it if the results are interesting. Not mentioning these facts, however, could be a motive for rejection,” McGowan says.

Brazilian research

At the beginning of the workshop, the vice-president of Springer, Paul Manning, explained that the company was prompted to open an office in Brazil because of the major growth in scientific production in the country.

“Springer originated in Germany in the 19th century and moved to New York after World War II because that is where science was happening. In the 1970s, we moved to Japan for the same reason. Now, we realize that there are a lot of interesting things here in Brazil,” he said. Springer is currently in 20 countries.

According to data presented by the director of Springer Brasil, Harry Blom, Brazilian scientific production increases by 17% per year (the global average is 3%) and accounts for 55% of the scientific production in Latin America.

Mariana Biojone, editor of Springer Brasil, presented the free tools offered on the company’s site to support researchers. One of these is the Author Mapper, which shows the most researched topics of the moment and their research centers. “This can help the scientist to find collaborators for a project,” she affirms.

The presentations of the event are available at www.fapesp.br/6848.