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How and Where to Publish Your Research Papers: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Publish Your Research Papers

Publishing a research paper is the dream of every academic and researcher. It is with the publication of the paper that the content is shared and disseminated in the academic community, gaining relevance. After all, you don’t dedicate a lot of time and work to write the paper, collect analyzes and arrive at results so that these are kept and forgotten in the drawer, right?

Don’t forget: the main objective of scientific research is to disseminate knowledge.

So, we created this post to answer all your questions about publishing articles. Here you will learn:

  • What are scientific papers?
  • The importance of publishing papers.
  • Who can publish them?
  • Where to post papers?
  • What You Need to Know Before Posting Papers?
  • Tips on research paper production and publication processes.

What are scientific papers?

Academic paper is part of a publication with declared authorship that presents and discusses ideas, methods, techniques, processes, and results in the most diverse areas of knowledge. Scientific papers can work both with the results of a theoretical research, based on bibliography, and with more practical research, involving, for example, the collection of data and experiments. They are not usually very long and therefore having an average of 20 pages.

Why publishes papers?

Having a paper published and seeing your name cited in other research adds value and authority to your resume and academic career. In fact, many scientific journals use the number of references that other researchers have made to you as a criterion for paper acceptance. This is one of the reasons that lead researchers to issue the DOI for their work. Always remember that articles are the basis for communication between academics and researchers. So, scientific papers are the chance to make your research results accessible and lasting for other researchers. If the result of your research is not shared, it will not make much sense (or even usefulness) for the scientific community.

Who can publish articles?

Since scientific articles deal with the study and analysis of specific topics, they are usually written by specialists in the subject. Commonly, we see graduates, postgraduates, masters, doctors, and postdocs developing this scientific genre. However, the truth is that there is no rule that

determines who can or cannot write scientific papers. What happens is that the publication conditions are at the discretion of the vehicles themselves. The ideal is to check if you – as an author- and your material meet the requirements of the journal, online repository, journal, or event.

Where to publish articles?

Choosing the inappropriate journal for the publication of papers is one of the most common mistakes among scientists, researchers, and academics. Especially if you are new to the subject.

Theoretically, you can post articles anywhere: blogs, LinkedIn, and other social networks. These are not the most appropriate options, as they are not authoritative vehicles on the subject and the content does not undergo evaluation criteria, which define its relevance and quality. Or even receive a code capable of identifying the publication. In these cases, you can’t add the materials to your Lattes Resume either. Thus, you need to carefully assess what your objective is when publishing an article and whether the chosen location meets your needs. I’ll show you some publishing options.

Publish articles in Annals of Events

The publication of papers and articles in the event proceedings is a great gateway for students who want to start a career in academia. This is because the publication process in scientific journals is extremely bureaucratic and can take months (or even years!) to be carried out. So, it’s always good to keep an eye out for events that have open submissions! The simple publication of a summary at an event is already a positive point in the curriculum. With the Annals in hand, participants will be able to attach the publication to the Lattes curriculum, thus bringing greater visibility to the author.

Publish papers in Scientific Journals or Periodicals

Each scientific journal usually works with a specific theme or with a thematic axis. Therefore, it is good to pay attention to journals in your area of ​​research. You can find the perfect magazine for your article in some indexers, such as:

  • Scielo;
  • Directory of Open Access Journals (e.g F1000Research.com)
  • Google Scholar.

Practices you should adopt before trying to publish

Also, don’t forget to adopt the following practices before deciding which journal to publish your paper in:

  • Read a lot about the subject

This helps you identify which journals you would like to see your article published in. In addition, it identifies the questions to be answered in the article and helps in choosing research methods.

  • Study the formatting and documentation required by the journal

Not everyone follows the referencing rules, for example. If it’s an international journal, review the required formatting and schedule yourself to run it!

  • Analyze the vehicle’s ethical issues and yours as well

3 Valuable Tips to Ensure Your Paper’s Approval

It has been established by many research works that journal editors look for three main points in the articles:

  1. Unprecedented results.
  2. Correct and proper use of English and;
  3. Subject that arouses the interest of readers.

They also look for articles that raise and answer the right questions, using appropriate methods and making the correct interpretation of the results.

Current topics relevant to the region of publication also tend to attract the eyes of editors. They also seek research that brings significant advances to a given context and that manage to “survive” peer review.

Attention: many papers are rejected because they simply escape the theme proposed by the journal. So, stay tuned and don’t fall for this mistake!

Relationship between ethics and the publication of scientific papers

Many ethical issues are involved in the context of publishing papers. They involve both the institution and the authors of works themselves.

  • Do not send the same material at the same time and to more than one place

Choose only one journal as your first publication attempt. No more sending your article to 500 journals. This practice puts an end to the publication’s originality and is not well regarded in the medium. If after a few weeks, the journal does not give you feedback, let them know that you are continuing with the attempt to publish and will send your paper elsewhere.

  • Plagiarism in scientific productions

NEVER (never!) commit plagiarism. Journals, periodicals, and events are keeping an eye on this practice and cut plagiarized publications. Therefore, always assign the research source in your work.

  • Do not disclose false data or analysis

In Science, everything needs to be proven and justified. So don’t make up data and create false analyzes about your research topic.

Beware: falsifying information can be very bad in the scientific world and end your career.

  • Conflict of interest

Papers whose results were influenced by external factors, such as the exchange of financial incentives or other benefits, are included in the conflict-of-interest criterion and are unlikely to be published. Therefore, it is common for scientific journals to ask authors to sign a term or declaration confirming that the research was not the result of conflicts of interest. When you develop a survey based on data from the company you work for, for example, you must inform the journal that there was no bias in its publication.