Motivational Book for Students

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved by Dr. Nophea Sasaki

Many doctoral students have difficulty in obtaining a Ph.D. degree within three years due mainly to the lack of scientific writing skills (either for writing research papers or peer-review journal papers). In order to gain such writing skills, there is a certain process that you should follow. You should start to write a simple paper for conference proceedings. Regardless of the publishing policies of each proceeding the reviewing process is much easier than the journals. Try to publish few papers in the conference proceedings (the papers that were presented at the conferences) before trying a journal paper. After you have learned about the reviewing processes, reviewers’ comments, editor’s comments or decisions you might want to try a journal paper. Depending on the quality of your paper and how well you wrote the conference paper, reviewing time for a journal paper normally takes at least three months. Therefore, you’ll receive the first round of reviewing results after three months.

Reviewing results could be categorized as:
1. Accepted Without Revision (you can resubmit the paper the way it is)
2. Accepted With Minor Revisions (your paper is accepted, but you need to revise some minor parts of the paper. Follow the reviewers’ suggestions. Of course, you can reject or accept the suggestions)
3. Accepted With Major Revisions (not bad, but you need to rewrite the paper as suggested by the reviewers)
4. Need Revisions (This step allows you to resubmit the paper only if all comments made by the reviewers are taken into account. Papers in this category need to undergo a second round of reviews before an editor makes his decision whether to accept or reject the revised paper); and
5. Rejected – (this can be the most debilitating step because you are not allowed to resubmit the paper to the same journal unless major revisions are made along with new materials or innovative methods used).

For categories 2 and 4, you are required to resubmit the revised paper along with a response to reviewers’ comments.
So here are some considerations from which to learn. Why was your paper rejected? Consider all the possibilities and pay attention to feedback you are given. You need to rework that paper again taking into serious consideration all comments from the reviewers and in some cases from the journal editor. After you have made revisions by modifying the title to ensure it fits the content of your paper and wholly or partially changing the manuscript, with a response to a journal editor (if you plan to submit the paper for reconsideration in the same journal), you can resubmit the paper. Again, it may take another six months prior to receiving another round of reviews. Remember that, even if you have very good data or an innovative idea, your paper is likely to be rejected if it is not well written.

The publishing process in a peer-review journal can be summarized as follows:
1. You write the paper carefully following the “Instruction for Authors”, as well as using your mentor’s assistance.
2. You submit the paper to the appropriate journal, which you should have researched for style and content.
3. Next, your paper is checked by the journal editor. The editor will then forward your paper to (usually a committee of two) reviewers to comment on your paper. This process usually takes about three months.
4. After three months, the editor sends you the “Decision” along with “Comments” by both reviewers.
5. You read the decision and comments. If your paper is in any category from 1 through 3 (explained above), you’ve done a great job. So, you only need to publish one more paper in order to qualify for your doctoral degree! What if you could publish two papers in 1 or 2 years? You can obtain your doctoral degree in less than three years, saving time, money and effort. If it is in category 4, it is still acceptable – with some work. If it is in category 5, you will need to probably start over and find another journal to which to submit your paper.
6. If your paper was in the first four categories, you revise the paper as suggested by the editor and/or reviewers. Depending on reviewers’ or the editor’s comments, this process could take from two weeks to one or two years. For me, if it is in categories 2 and 3, I will work and re-submit the paper in less than three weeks, and that is what I have done so far.
7.You acknowledge the comments to your paper by commenting on them when you resubmit your paper. This shows the reviewers that you were serious about your work and desire to progress.
8. Upon resubmission, your paper will mainly be checked by the editor, unless it requires another round of reviews. The editor makes a new decision and forwards your paper to the publisher for publication or back to you if the paper is finally rejected.
9. You will receive a proofreading version of your paper from the publisher. Some publishes require you to submit the copyright transfer and order forms with your signature, and in some cases every co-author of your paper has to sign the copyright form as well.
10. At press time, the digital version of your paper will be made available through the website, if the journal has a website. From there on, you can tell your friends or colleagues about your paper.
11. You will receive reprints of your paper – safeguard your work.
12. Next steps: Congratulations! Now, work on another paper.

Note: This article was taken from Nophea Sasaki’s book “Walking Away from the Killing Fields - How a Hopeless Boy Became a University Professor in Japan” available at http://www.nophea.net

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