Writing Articles for Academic Journals

Based on Macmillan Scientific Communications’ Presentation (c)

Paper organisation Work organisation1. Title

2. Abstract

3. Methods

4. Results and discussion

5. Conclusion

6. Literature

1. Research

2. Preparation

3. Planning

4. Presentation (style!)

5. Writing parts of paper

6. Revision

RESEARCH1. Idea

2. • Previous work (notes, record of literature, methods)

• Major questions• Starting hypothesis• Approach: prove or disprove or provide supporting

evidence

3. • Your methodology• Your data

4. Analyze and interpretation

PREPARATION(YOUR WORK IN CONTEXT)

• Focus• Audience• Main message• Good scientific question• Novelty• The original data re-evaluation

(publishable/non-publishable): 1. existing ideas2. new data3. new avenues of research

PLANNING(COHERENCE)

1. An outline (AIMRAD: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion)

2. Main points – the backbone of the paper3. List of all ideas• You don’t need to figure out a paper title at thebeginning, use a working title => MAIN TITLE (NB)• Avoid a flow of arguments (salami-slicing): start

with the introduction, include the necessary data to support the main claims but do not overcrowd the paper

PRESENTATION

The ABC of writing style- Be Accurate- Be Brief- Be Clear

TITLE• Novelty• Key message• Descriptive• Understandable• Keywords for electronic searches• First words to avoid: “On the”, “Study”,

“Investigation” etc.

ABSTRACT

• A mini version of the paper• No detailed methods (unless methods paper)• Avoid obscure abbreviations, acronyms andreferences to literature and figures• Avoid ‘we did X, which told us Y, and has

implications for Z’

INTRODUCTION(EVERYTHING IN BRIEF,

FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC)

• what you have studied and why• the task and objectives • need of the current study• the work in the context• the key findings (try to mention 80% of the

results by the end of the introduction)• literature introduction• rationale for using of the methodology• principal findings and conclusions preview

METHODS

• details for replication or reference • non-essential (but required) details in

Appendix or Supplementary Information• why this method+ statistical methods if necessary

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION• separately or in combination• the order of results (‘story line’, pedagogical way),

not the chronological order of the experiment• one paragraph - one concept• top-down paragraphs (main message in the first

sentence)• proved results only• justification• alternative explanations• only results crucial for your argumentation

CONCLUSION

• deeper understanding of your findings, not a summary

• impact of your work (perspectives, but not your personal plans)

• less is better

REFERENCES

• format of journal• selection• critical references• avoid over-reference• avoid excessive self-citation

CITE(TO AVOID PLAGIARISM)

• quotations, opinions, and predictions, whether directly quoted or paraphrased

• statistics• theories• case studies• experimental methods or results• specialized research procedures or findings

FINALIZING THE DRAFT

• revision (structure => content)• proofreading • colleagues’ feedback• reworking• language-editing

CHOOSING THE RIGHT JOURNAL• Audience• Scope (broad or specific issues)• Quality of other papers published• Publication frequency (some journals weekly publish papers

online ahead of a full issue)• Publication form (online/print)• Open-access/subscription-based• journal owner • production services:copyediting online search toolsonline commenting

HOW TO GET YOUR PAPER PUBLISHED

• Online procedures• Cover letter, details about the authors, contact

information, very brief background on the research field, brief overview of the paper’s objectives and findings => Why the study is relevant? Why the paper should be published?)

• Peer review• After the review taking criticism constructively

NB!!!• Significance of research topic• Originality of the work• Adequacy of approach/experimental design/techniques• Soundness of conclusions and interpretation• Relevance of discussion• Suitability for journal• Efficiency of organisation• Adherence to style requirements of journal• Length• Clarity of writing• Appropriate citations of the relevant literature• Quality and suitability of statistical analysis

DON’T GIVE UP!

• Most papers get rejected• Everybody gets bad reviews• The iterative peer-review process strengthens

the message and scientific content of papers• Be professional, thorough and respectful in all

communication with editors and referees

Teaching Methods Journals• http://iteslj.org/Techniques ESL/EFL• http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal200961/manuscriptSubmission JTE• http://ijl.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.30/prod.896 The international journal of learning• http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/cfp.cfm The international journal of teaching and learning in higher education• http://iteslj.org/links/TESL/Teaching_Techniques TESL• http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk/publications/education-today Education Today• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_educational_psychology_journals List of journals eLearning Journals• http://www.ejel.org/main.html EJEL• http://www.wwwords.co.uk/elea eLearning and digital media• http://www.aace.org/pubs/ijel IJEL• http://www.eurodl.org EURODL• http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication KMEL• http://thejournal.com/articles/list/elearning.aspx LMS• http://je-lks.maieutiche.economia.unitn.it/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index JE-LKS• http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php?journal=impact IMPACT• http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/technology/journals.php List of journals• http://je-lks.maieutiche.economia.unitn.it/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index List of academic journals• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_information_systems_journals List of Journals

mLearning Journals• http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=ijmlo IJMLO• http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-jim iJIM • http://navigator.nmc.org/library/mobile-learning-online-reflective-journal-mobile-learning-practice An online reflective

journal