![]() ![]() Outright acceptance of a research article is an exception. The submitted manuscript is read/screened by the Editor/Subeditor/Editorial board members. So authors need to check whether they would have an access to the print version of the journal or whether a pdf electronic copy of the author's own published article will be made available by the journal (after the publication).The peer-review process Some journals also waive these charges if the authors express inability to pay the same due to nonavailability of suitable funding sources. The authors should check that the expenses involved (if any), such as the manuscript handling charges, page charges, reprint charges, and charges for tables/colored figures, are within their budget. Such themes are also declared by the editors from time to time. However, if one is lucky, it may also happen that the manuscript can become a part of a bunch of papers on closely related topics giving the editors an opportunity to print a “theme” to the journal issue. If a similar study with identical results has already been published in the recent past, the editors would most likely not be keen to publish similar work (as the novelty of the research has already been lost). The authors should check few previous issues of the journal to see whether it has been publishing articles on the concerned topic. Also, the authors should look at the reach of the journal (local/regional/global) and whether the journal is a general postgraduate or a specialty journal (and try to reach a broader audience whenever possible). The authors should ask themselves – Who am I writing the manuscript for?/What is the main message? Then they should check the appropriateness, readership, and scope of the journal. These names should be from another city/state and definitely not from the same institute as the author/s.Ī journal that will (most probably) accept the manuscript Although the editor is not duty bound to accept these names, the authors should grab this option and choose the reviewers who can review their manuscript competently (the “subject experts”). Many journals offer the authors an option of suggesting names of up to four reviewers for their manuscript. This will ensure that the first impression of the paper with the journal's Editor/Editorial board is favorable, which increases the chances of the paper getting into the peer-review process. Proper presentation of one's manuscript is important and hence authors need to adhere to the journal's guidelines for all details of the manuscript (including the journal style, correct grammar, word count, number of tables, number of references, and details of artwork) and they should use the checklists provided by the journals for the same. Nowadays, all eminent journals need electronic submission of the title page, the main text, photographs/figures, copyright form, financial assistance declaration form, declaration of conflict of interest, supplementary files, and an undertaking that the manuscript has not been published before and has not been simultaneously submitted to any other journal. ![]() A polite covering/submission letter to the Editor (explaining the importance of the research findings and suitability/interest of the paper to the journal's readership) needs to be uploaded along with the manuscript. ![]() It is usually necessary to obtain permission from the Institutional Head (Dean/Director/Superintendent) for using hospital data for publication. Once the manuscript is correctly assembled, it would be a good idea to ask a colleague (especially the one who is well-versed with English language and grammar and also has experience of successfully publishing research papers) to read it for grammar and content (an “informal” in-house peer review). This editorial attempts to offer useful tips for the prospective authors to get their research papers published in eminent peer-reviewed journals (which have a high standing in the academic field) with a greater success rate.Submission of the manuscript The authors also have to select an appropriate journal and the paper has to outlast the rigorous process of peer review. Merely writing a research paper well may not be enough to achieve success in publishing it. ![]()
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