Writing a Research Manuscript

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Writing Support CentreUniversity of Western Ontario

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Outline

Anatomy of a Manuscript

The Academic Publishing Process

Manuscripts

Definition: A text that has not yet been published

Structure not much different from undergraduate papers

Your very best effort

Anatomy of a Typical Research

Manuscript

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Introduction

Introduce your field of

study

Narrow focus using

specific and important

references

Justify your research

Statement of purpose

(hypothesis, predictions,

purpose, objectives etc.)

General

Specific

Include Don’t Include

Basic terminology of your field (e.g. chemical names, definitions, species names)

Key papers that led to your study

Brief mention of your study in your statement of purpose

Exhaustive literature search

Details of your study

Methods

A complete account of all the steps in your study

Presented in logical order

Includes collecting and analyzing data

Easy to write

Include Don’t Include

All materials, quantities, brands of major equipment and study locations

Citations of novel techniques

Figures of complicated setups

Equations and statistics

Finicky details

Results

Results

A summary of your findings

Presents details in the same order as the methods

Also, easy to write

Can be technical

Include Don’t Include

Summary of your findings (i.e. averages, trends)

Tables and Figures

References to tables and figures

Raw data

The same information twice

Too many figures

Interpretation of your results

Discussion

Address your hypothesis with reference to your results

Explain and put findings in context (references)

Comment on your finding’s significance and potential for future study

General

Specific

Discussion

Interpret your results

Sometimes combined with results into one section

May repeat specific to general writing multiple times (e.g. for each objective or key finding)

Include Don’t Include

Most papers from the introduction

References to tables and figures

Summary / Conclusion

Detailed account of your results

Any new ideas not set up in the introduction

The Academic Publishing Process

Once your paper is as good as it can be

Will take a very long time the first few times

Picking a Journal

Find “Calls For Papers”

Look at your reference list

Contact editors before submitting

Look at turnaround times

Aim high

Formatting

Every journal is different

Read instructions to authors

Look at published articles

Cover Letter

Short introduction to your article

Instructions to authors usually have guidelines

Less about the content; more about the context

Cover Letter

Type of paper submitted (article, note, review)

Name and contact information of all authors

Comment on the originality of the paper

Potential reviewers

Money Issues

Page charges vary

Range from $0 to $1000+

Colour, figures, reprints etc. cost money

Talk to your supervisor

The Submission Process

Mostly online these days

Be prompt and be prepared to wait

Typical Procedure:

Submit the abstract

Submit a .pdf file of full manuscript

Sign consent forms

Revisions

It happens

They want to help you

Make changes and resubmit

If unconvinced, justify your stance

Rejection

It happens

Thank the editor for his/her time

Examine the comments to determine the reason

Wrong journal?

Flawed manuscript?

Acceptance

It happens

Submit high-quality files

Review proofs (galleys, reprints)

Update your CV and celebrate

The Numbers

No ‘magic’ number of publications

Talk to researchers in your field