How to Publish Your First Research Paper: A Step-by-Step Guide

Are you working on your first-ever journal manuscript? Are you not that familiar with the nuances of academic publishing? This easy-to-follow guide simplifies the publishing journey by providing insights on a wide variety of topics ranging from journal selection to navigating peer review and more.

The very thought of publishing in a peer-reviewed journal can sound daunting and intimidating to many. This makes it all the more crucial for early-career researchers to fully familiarize themselves with the publishing landscape.

To help early-career researchers navigate the challenges of publishing their first research paper in a peer-reviewed journal, Cureus Journals has identified and simplified several key aspects of the process.

Understanding the Publishing Process

To increase their odds of publishing successfully in a peer-reviewed journal, researchers must familiarize themselves with the following sequence:

Step 1: Journal Selection

Journal types vary significantly. Whereas some journals support open access, some prefer institutional subscriptions or even adopt a hybrid model. In addition, journals also have widely varying turnaround times for peer review. Authors must therefore consider publication cost, access type, and average time required for peer review before making a decision. Authors must also submit manuscripts to journals whose scope aligns with the topic of research under investigation.

Step 2: Manuscript Formatting

Prospective authors must make it a point to thoroughly review all journal-prescribed manuscript formatting guidelines BEFORE they start drafting their manuscripts. Ignoring this standard protocol can cause significant wastage of time and effort.

Step 3: Manuscript Submission

Submitting a manuscript online is usually a swift process. Most journals ask authors to register themselves before attempting manuscript submission. Whereas some journals require a detailed cover letter describing the significance of the submitted work, some do not ask for it at all. Journals may also ask authors to submit other supplementary materials (e.g., raw data and multimedia files) along with their manuscript. Before attempting submission, authors must carefully review all guidelines on manuscript submission and ensure smooth compliance.

Step 4: Editorial Screening

In-house journal editors cross-check all manuscripts for formatting and compliance. A significant number of manuscripts get desk rejected at this stage owing to non-compliance with the policies and guidelines stipulated by the journal. Manuscripts that clear this stage get selected for peer review.

Step 5: Peer Review

As part of the peer review process, journals rope in experts with relevant experience in the identified field(s) of study. These experts then conduct peer review: a process designed to examine the soundness of the methodology, the validity of the study results, and the significance of the conclusions. Most manuscripts get constructive feedback at this stage.

Step 6: Manuscript Resubmission

After going through the feedback received from peer reviewers, manuscript authors need to resubmit their work with the requested changes. In rare instances where authors do not agree with the feedback shared by peer reviewers, they can write a polite letter of rebuttal to the journal editor(s), explaining their position and why they believe the feedback is unreasonable.

Step 7: Manuscript Publication

This is the ultimate step where all the hard work pays off! Following successful publication, authors should start sharing their findings via blogs, university websites, social media handles, science communication websites, press releases, and more.

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FAQs on Manuscript Publishing

In this section, I have answered some of the most common questions that pop into the minds of early-career researchers.

Question: What are the distinct advantages of publishing in open access journals?

Answer: The most common benefits associated with open access publishing include global reach and increased citations, wider collaboration, higher Altmetric scores, more article downloads, more news and policy mentions, more citations by patents, easy licensing terms, more scope for interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and convergence research, compliance with funding agency mandates, and better funding opportunities.

Question: Is there a journal finder available?

Answer: Yes, many publishers make journal finders available to prospective authors. For instance, Springer Nature's journal finder can be easily accessed from here. In the journal finder text box, you need to enter your manuscript title, abstract, or keywords. Once you do this, the journal finder instantly displays a list of journals closely aligning with your research topic.

Drafting a Journal Manuscript

For authors to easily comprehend how to write a paper for publication, we have broken down the entire process of writing a riveting manuscript. Here are the must-follow steps that can help researchers come up with quality pieces:

Understand the essential structure of a research paper:

To publish a research paper with success, authors must know the nomenclature and structure of writing. Authors must carefully review the stipulated guidelines and draft their manuscripts in the prescribed format, such as the IMRaD format (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion). However, authors should also note that every journal has its own prescribed format, which must be adhered to.

Keep the writing clear and concise:

While your research paper needs to be a certain size, authors must remember to keep their papers short, easy to read, simple to comprehend, and straightforward. Peer-reviewed journals can effectively identify deviations and filler content in submissions and reject manuscripts that do not conform to the established publishing standards.

Fully familiarize yourself with referencing styles and required formatting:

As mentioned above, different journals follow different formatting and referencing styles. It is mandatory for authors to incorporate those guidelines into their papers. By adhering to the stipulated guidelines, authors can improve their odds of getting published in their target journal.

Submission and Peer Review

The typical manuscript submission process followed by most peer-reviewed journals includes the following stages:

Initial Approval: Manuscripts undergo an initial assessment to determine eligibility for peer review. At this stage, they may get desk-rejected for non-compliance.
Peer Review and Revisions: Once the prescribed number of peer reviews are completed, the manuscript becomes available for author revisions.
Resubmission and Reassessment: Following resubmission, the revised manuscript is reevaluated to ensure all necessary changes have been addressed.
Copyediting and Publication: Following the above cross-check, manuscripts undergo final copyediting, after which they get published.

To publish a research paper successfully, authors must pay careful attention to the peer review stage and the subsequent editing requirements. During peer review, subject-matter experts are called upon to authenticate and check the manuscript for quality. Based on their comments and observations, the author is expected to make amendments to the text and provide justifications wherever necessary.

While dealing with a peer-reviewed manuscript, authors need to take certain critical factors into consideration. Authors usually receive a communication with comments from peer reviewers, outlining all the suggested corrections. Addressing these changes and suggestions diligently is paramount. Here are some useful tips for authors revising their manuscripts:

Always thank the peer reviewers for their valuable comments in your response letter.
Keeping the response letter polite and professional is vital.
Make sure you address every point that was raised by the reviewers.
Find out the exact deadline as submission deadlines vary depending on various factors.
Inform the editor beforehand if you think that you can’t make the resubmission within the deadline.
Find out if the editor needs two copies of the revised manuscript; one with the changes highlighted and another clean copy.
For points raised that you do not agree with, share your rebuttal in a scientific and objective manner, keeping the language respectful.

While there is a lot of work that goes into revising a manuscript, these commonly applied steps will surely help you craft your second draft with complete clarity and accuracy.

Publishing and Beyond

Journal editors typically assign peer reviewers and often allow authors to recommend a certain number of reviewers for their manuscripts. Based on the content and initial evaluation, articles end up in various categories that may be labeled differently on different platforms. Manuscripts that are not desk-rejected, deferred for revision, or blocked are approved for peer review. The peer review process is a robust way of ensuring that submissions are high in quality.

Once articles are reviewed, edited, and resubmitted by the authors, they are sent for editorial approval. This is where an editorial member determines the suitability of the submission the journal. Editors also ensure that the reviewers’ comments have been addressed. Even at this stage, issues such as the illegitimacy of the paper, incorrect submission, or failure to address reviewers' comments may result in deferral or rejection of the manuscript. Once the editors are satisfied with the resubmission, authors can go ahead and publish a research paper.

The next step is copyediting for approved articles. This is where minor spelling, punctuation, grammar errors, etc. are corrected. Once the manuscript reaches this stage, it is ready to be published. Accordingly, authors are notified about its final approval.

Authors need to understand that mastering the art of writing a research paper is as essential as evaluating the available publishing options. Accordingly, authors need to choose between traditional and open-access publishing. Open-access publishing, of late, has become a common means for authors and universities to publish research papers as it empowers authors with a lot more flexibility and freedom than traditional publishing.

In terms of affordability, open-access publishing clearly trumps its counterparts. Speed of publishing is another aspect that lends weight to open-access publishing. Authors' ability to retain the copyright of their papers is also a factor that tips the scale toward open-access publishing’s direction. Authors must choose the right platform based on its scope, domain, and all of these other factors combined.

After successfully publishing a paper, it is time to promote the research. To ensure their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, manuscript authors must also focus on research promotion to reach and engage new audiences. Authors can independently promote their research by leveraging professional networks, online communities, social media, and other platforms. Some journals also offer scientific communication services for a fee.

Conclusion

As we have seen, whether it is scientific journal publication or publishing in any other domain, the steps that need to be taken are more or less the same across platforms. Publishing a research paper for the first time involves several steps, starting with selecting the right journal and drafting a manuscript that adheres to all author guidelines, followed by submitting the initial draft, undergoing peer review, incorporating revisions, resubmitting, reevaluation, and finally, copyediting.

We advise authors to follow the steps and tips we have curated for them in order to gain success in their first-ever attempt to publish a research paper. We are sure that with care, diligence, and sincerity, students and researchers can go through the publishing process with flying colors.