Author Workshop S hanghai University 14 May 2014

1. Author WorkshopShanghai University14 May 2014

2. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation

3. About Elsevier • Elsevier is a global leader in the development and dissemination of scientific, technological, and medical knowledge • We are a global company, established in Amsterdam in 1880, with roots going back to 1580 • We publish nearly 2,000 journals and over 1,400 new book titles annually, and all electronically • We help societies, institutions, researchers and clinicians around the world to disseminate information globally, reach new markets and expand their customer base to advance science and medicine • We are industry leaders in providing content and technology solutions 3

4. Elsevier by discipline Earth Sciences Over one million English language research articles published globally each year About 1000 English language research articles published with Elsevier per day 4

5. It’s about people • Over 7,000 people in 25 countries and more than 80 local offices • We use our collective expertise to partner with experts in science and healthcare, and create content and technology solutions that help them get better outcomes. Elsevier Offices 5

6. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation

7. Organise editorial boards • Launch new specialist journals Solicit and manage submissions Manage peer review Archive and promote Publish and disseminate Edit and prepare Production Publishing Cycle • 1,000 new editors per year • 18 new journals per year • >1 million+ article submissions per year • 500,000 referees • 1 million referee reports per year • 9 million articles available • 40%-90% of articles rejected • 7,000 editors • 70,000 editorial board members • 6.5 million author/publisher communications per year • 10 million researchers • 4,500+ institutions • 180+ countries • > 400 million downloads per year in 2008 • 2.8 million print pages per year • 300,000 new articles produced per year • 180 years of back issues scanned, processed and data-tagged 7 7

8. Measuring Impact • Journal citation data and bibliometrics can be used to measure the impact or influence of articles, authors, and journals • Impact Factor = the average annual number of citations in year X to articles published in the two years prior, (X–1) and (X–2) • Hirsch Index / h-index = A scientist has index h if h of his/her Np papers have at least h citations each, and the other (Np − h) papers have no more than h citations each.

9. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation

10. Gold OA (“Author Pays”) articles made up 7% of total in 2012 The level of uptake varies by field – highest in Life and Health Sciences Open Access has grown in the last decade 10

11. Elsevier publishes over 6,000 open access articles per year • Elsevier publishes 100 Open Access Journals • This number will grow Elsevier offers the Open Article choice in 1,600 established, peer reviewed journals 11

12. So what is Open Access? • Option to make an article within a subscription journal open access • Supported by several funding organisations • Often referred to as the hybrid modelEXAMPLES • Elsevier has 1,600 journals that offer this service • Agreements with RCUK, Wellcome Trust, FWF, Telethon • Author processing fee per article published – sole mechanism to support journal • Some journals use subsidies, grants and waivers • Often referred to as “gold” open access • EXAMPLES • Elsevier has 100 OA journals • Subscription journals making articles freely available online after time delay • Time to free access varies due to differences in subject fieldsEXAMPLES • Over 90 Elsevier journals now offer this solution in fields such as medicine, life sciences and mathematics • Posted manuscripts, or pre-prints to websites and repositories • Supported by many universities and research organisations • Often referred to as “green” open access • Elsevier has a very liberal posting policy that supports researcher needs • Agreements developed with institutions to facilitate deposit

13. Other Allowances and Restrictions • Elsevier’s Posting Allowances • Pre-print version of article to internet websites • Revised personal version of text of final article to author’s personal or institutional website or server • According to funding body agreements (e.g. Wellcome Trust, HHMI, NIH) • Elsevier’s Commercial Purpose Prohibitions • Posting by companies for use by customers • Placing advertisements against postings • Charging fees for access or document delivery • Any form of systematic distribution 13

14. Elsevier content and ScienceDirect Over 12 million articles available Supported by your library Increasing distribution to mobile and apps

15. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation

16. Determine if you are ready to publish You should consider publishing if you have information that advances understanding in a certain scientific field This could be in the form of: • Presenting new, original results or methods • Rationalizing, refining, or reinterpreting published results • Reviewing or summarizing a particular subject or field If you are ready to publish, a strong manuscript is what is needed next

17. General Structure of a Research Article • Title • Abstract • Keywords • Main text • Introduction • Methods • Results • Discussions • Conclusion • Acknowledgement • References • Supplementary Data Make them easy for indexing and searching! (informative, attractive, effective) Journal space is not unlimited: make your article as concise as possible

18. Save the Editor and the reviewers the trouble of guessing what you mean Why Is Language So Important? • Write direct and short sentences • One idea or piece of information per sentence is sufficient • Avoid multiple statements in one sentence

19. Title of the Article • A good title should contain the fewest possible words that adequately describe the contents of a paper. • It is usually one complete sentence • It usually captures the entire essence of the discovery • Short catchy titles are more often cited • No abbreviations or obscure acronyms

20. Keywords • In an “electronic world”, keywords can determine whether your article is found or not! • Avoid making them: • too general (“petroleum”, “exploration”, etc.) • too narrow (so that nobody will ever search for it) • Effective approach: • Look at the keywords of articles relevant to your manuscript • Play with these keywords, and see whether they return relevant papers, neither too many nor too few

21. Abstract • A clear abstract will strongly influence whether or not your work is further considered. • Should stand alone! • Consider it the advertisement of your article. • Should tell the prospective reader what you did and highlight the key findings. • Avoid using jargon and uncommon abbreviations. • Use words which reflect the precise meaning • Follow word limitations (50-300 words)

22. Introduction The place to convince readers that you know why your work is relevant Answer a series of questions: • What is the problem? • Are there any existing solutions? • Which one is the best? • What is its main limitation? • What do you hope to achieve? General Specific

23. Pitfalls of The Introduction • Too wordy • Never use more words than necessary. • Do not turn this section into a history lesson. Readers lose interest. • A mixed bag of introduction with results, discussion, and conclusion thrown in for good measure. • Always keep sections separate to ensure the manuscript flows logically from one section to the next. • Excessive use of expressions such as “novel”, “first time”, “first ever”, “paradigm-changing” (use these sparingly!)

24. Methods / Experimental • Include all important details so that the reader can repeat the work. • Details that were previously published can be omitted but a general summary of those experiments should be included • Give vendor names (and addresses) of equipment etc. used • Avoid adding comments and discussion • Write in the past tense • Most journals prefer the passive voice • Consider use of Supplementary Materials • Documents, spreadsheets, audio, video, ..... Reviewers will criticize incomplete or incorrect descriptions, and may even recommend rejection

25. Results – What Have You Found? • Only representative results, essential for the Discussion, should be presented. • Show data of secondary importance in Supplementary Materials. • Do not “hide” data in the hope of saving it for a later paper. • You may lose evidence to support your conclusion. • Use sub-headings to keep results of the same type together • Easier to review and read • Tell a clear and easy-to-understand story.

26. Results – Figures and Tables • Illustrations are critical, because • Figures and tables are the most efficient way to present results • Results are the driving force of the publication • A figure/table should convey the message besides giving the data of the experiment • However, your figure legend should ONLY describe the figure, AND NOT THE DATA

27. Results – Appearance Counts! • Un-crowded plots • 3 or 4 data sets per figure; well-selected scales; appropriate axis label size; symbols clear to read; data sets easily distinguishable • Each photograph must have a scale marker of professional quality in a corner • All Text in English • Not in French, Chinese, Arabic, ... • Use color ONLY when necessary • Do not include long boring tables

28. Discussion – What Do the Results Mean? Check for the following: Do not Make statements that go beyond what the results can support Suddenly introduce new terms or ideas There is some flexibility here with being creative, but do not over sell your results • How do your results relate to the original question or objectives outlined in the Introduction section? • Do you provide interpretation for each of your results presented? • Are your results consistent with what other investigators have reported? Or are there any differences? Why? • Are there any limitations?

29. Conclusions • Without clear Conclusions, reviewers and readers will find it difficult to judge the work, and whether or not it merits publication in the journal. • Tells how your work advances the field from the present state of knowledge. • Do NOT repeat the Abstract, or just list experimental results. • Provide a clear scientific justification for your work, and indicate possible applications and extensions. • You should also suggest future experiments and/or point out those that are underway.

30. References: Get Them Right! • Please adhere to the Guide for Authors of the journal • It is your responsibility, to format references, not the Editor’s! • Check • Referencing style of the journal • The spelling of author names, the year of publication • Punctuation use • Use of “et al.”: “et al.” = “and others”, • Avoid citing the following: • Personal communications, unpublished observations, manuscripts not yet accepted for publication: Editors may ask for such documents for evaluation of the manuscripts • Articles published only in the local language, which are difficult for international readers to find.

31. Supplementary Material • Data of secondary importance for the main scientific thrust of the article • Or data that do not fit into the main body of the article e.g. audio, video, .... • Remember that Supplementary Material is online only

32. Cover Letter View it as a job application letter; you want to “sell” your work… WHY did you submit the manuscript to THIS journal? Do not summarize your manuscript, or repeat the abstract Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal Mention special requirements, e.g. if you do not wish your manuscript to be reviewed by certain reviewers, and any conflicts of interest. Mention if it is a revised and expanded version of a conference paper Most editors will not reject a manuscript only because the cover letter is bad, but a good cover letter may accelerate the editorial process of your paper.

33. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation • What does the Editor Do?

34. The three are the most common forms of ethical misconduct that the research community is challenged with: • Fabrication • Making up research data • Falsification • Manipulation of existing research data • Plagiarism • Plagiarism takes many forms, from “passing off” another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others 

35. Avoiding Plagiarism: Proper Citation Q A researcher, in writing his research paper, mentions a concept that is reported in an article written by his advisor. Does he need to cite his advisor’s work and list the advisor’s article in the bibliography? This is always a good idea Crediting the work of others (even your advisor’s or your own previous work) and noting permissioned materials is important to place your work in the context of the advancement of the field and to acknowledge the findings of others on which you build your research A

36. Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication • Ideally, the situation should be avoided where manuscripts that describe essentially the same research are published in more than one journal or primary publication • An author should not submitting a previously published paper for consideration in another journal • Duplication of the same paper in multiple journals of different languages should be avoided • “Salami slicing”, or creating several publications from the same research, is manipulative and discouraged

37. Plagiarism Detection Tools • Elsevier is participating in 2 plagiarism detection schemes: • Turnitin (aimed at universities) • Ithenticate (aimed at publishers and corporations) Manuscripts are checked against a database of 20 million peer reviewed articles which have been provided by 50+ publishers • Editors and reviewers • Your colleagues • Other “whistleblowers” • “The walls have ears", it seems ...

38. Crosscheck • 83 publishers • 25.5 million articles • 48157 journals, books, conference proceedings • Papers are run through iThenticate which matches the document against the Crosscheck database and major data providers and the open web • Get a report displaying degree of similarity to other documents and a link to the fulltext of the matching documents • Cannot detect plagarism but can identify a manuscript of concern

39. Publication Ethics – Self-Plagiarism 2004 2003 Same colour left and right Same text

40. Publication Ethics – How It Can End ..... • Consequences vary according to the severity of the misconduct and the standards set by the journal editors, institutions and funding bodies. • Possible actions include: • Written letters of concern and reprimand – sometimes to be published • Article retractions • Some form of disciplinary action on the part of the researcher’s institute or funding body

41. The article of which the authors committed plagiarism: it won’t be removed from ScienceDirect. Everybody who downloads it will see the reason of retraction…

42. Outline • Who we are • What does the Publisher Do? • Who sees it? -Access • What does the Author Do? • What not to do…Publishing Ethics • What makes it better? - Innovation

43. Innovation: Easy submitting / JOURNAL FINDER

44. Innovation: Easy submitting / JOURNAL FINDER

45. Innovation: Easy submitting / ARTICLE TRANSFER SERVICE • Article Transfer Service • No need to reformat or resubmit – we will transfer your manuscript for you in minutes • Shorter editorial times – the editors will use the work done by the previous editors and reviewers • Revise your paper, taking into account any reviews already received, before finalizing submission to the new journal • Keep the first submission date of your manuscript • Remain in control of the submission process with minimal effort; just one click to agree to the transfer

46. Innovation: Easy submitting / YOUR PAPER YOUR WAY • Your paper your way • Journal-specific formatting such as reference style is no longer needed • Authors can upload your entire manuscript as a single PDF or MS Word file • the submission still needs to be structured and complete enough to allow editors and reviewers to assess your works – for example Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials & Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork and Tables with Captions • Only when your paper reaches final revision stage, will you be requested to deliver the "correct format" for acceptance and provide the items required for the publication of your article. • The authors of 51.5% of submissions chose to submit via the Your Paper, Your Way route

47. Innovation: Format of the article / ARTICLE OF THE FUTURE

48. Innovation: Format of the article / AUDIO SLIDES • Audio Slides • 1212 published 2013 • Positive feedback • Non-peer reviewed • SD and YouTube Gallery

49. Innovation: Format of the article / GRAPHICAL ABSTRACTS • Graphical Abstracts • A single, concise, pictorial and visual summary of the main findings of the article • Either the concluding figure from the article or a figure that is specially designed for the purpose, which captures the content of the article for readers at a single glance • The Graphical Abstract will be displayed in online search result lists

50. Innovation: Format of the article / COLLAGE