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.
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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. |
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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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