CSIRO PUBLISHING

1. CSIRO PUBLISHING Alison Green Senior Physical Sciences Editor Scientific Publishing in a Time of Rapid Development and how to get your work published in the best possible journals

2. Talk Outline • Part One • Background • Part Two • Why Publish? • What makes a good journal? • What does an editor look for in a MS? • Tips for authors • Tips for referees • Part Three • Developments in Publishing • Clustering of papers • Preprint Servers • Open Access • Summary CSIRO PUBLISHING

3. Background CSIRO PUBLISHING

4. Current Role • Senior Physical Sciences Editor • CSIRO PUBLISHING, Melbourne • 2001 – present • CSIRO PUBLISHING • Owned by CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) • CP Financially and intellectually independent from CSIRO • Not-for-profit publisher… not for loss either! • CSIRO PUBLISHING • Publishes 20 scientific journals • 30 book titles per year • Further 50 titles co-published in partnership with other publishers CSIRO PUBLISHING

5. Developments at Aust J Chem New subtitle, cover, table of contents New articles • Short Reviews • Current Chemistry • Focus articles • Research Fronts (see later) Online content back to 1948 XML since 2004 Deep indexing by Google CrossRef CSIRO PUBLISHING

6. Expanding the scope — by topic and geography Broader scope: includes green chem, ionic liquids, polymers, colloids, biological organic and inorganic chemistry, crystal engineering, med chem, drug design, etc Actively seeking papers in these areas More international authors (~60% non Australian) Dynamic, involved Editorial Advisory Committee Positive effects: In 2004 the Impact Factor doubled and the citation ranking of the journal rose to 37 out of 123 IF now 1.5 Outlook for 2006 is 1.9 CSIRO PUBLISHING

7. Environmental Chemistry • In development since 2002 • Environmental chemistry (atmospheric, marine, trace metal biogeochem, organic pollutants, etc) didn’t have an integrated, dedicated journal • International advisory board – offer support, advice, advocacy CSIRO PUBLISHING

8. Greg Ayers, AUS Graeme Batley, AUS Peter Brimblecombe, UK Peter Campbell, CANADA Greg Carmichael, USA Terry Collins, USA Bill Davison, UK Olivier Donard, FRANCE Joerg Feldmann, UK Kevin Francesconi, AUSTRIA Ole Hertel, DENMARK Keith Hunter, NZ Mike McLaughlin, AUS Bill Maher, AUS Mario Molina, USA Simon Petrie, AUS F. Sherwood Rowland, USA Shinsuke Tanabe, JAPAN Shizuo Tsunogai, JAPAN Kevin Wilkinson, CANADA Jonathan Williams, GERMANY Paul Worsfold, UK International Advisory Board Advice, support, advocacy CSIRO PUBLISHING

9. Environmental Chemistry • Addresses chemical processes of the environment (solid earth, hydrosphere, atmosphere, biosphere) • Aims to facilitate links between diverse aspects of environment • Encourage papers that take a multidisciplinary approach, and attempt to view the environment as an integrated earth system, rather than separate reservoirs • Started July 2004 (three issues) • 2005 four issues • 2006 six issues CSIRO PUBLISHING

10. Environmental Chemistry • Truly international – Australia ~10% of authors and referees • Articles address fundamental chemistry but contain introductions (the Environmental Context) for non specialists • Mix of Research Papers, Reviews, Highlights, Opinion Pieces • Now listed on ISI. Calculated 2006 IF = 2 • No publication charges • Fast turnaround times RAPID COMMS can be published in 6 – 8 weeks. Average 3 – 5 months submission to publication CSIRO PUBLISHING

11. How to get published in the best possible journals

12. Why Publish? Disseminate information Moral obligation to share findings “Publications are the fertilizer that stimulates ideas in other scientists” Phil Clapham, BioScience 2005, 5, 390 “Interesting and unpublished is equivalent to non- existent” George Whitesides, Adv Mater 2004, 15, 1375 Forces you to think deeply about your own work Peer review adds value Credibility - quality control of science Registration of ownership of discovery Archive – scientific legacy Career advancement – most important way to show your research achievements CSIRO PUBLISHING

13. What makes a good journal? • Peter Goelitz, Editor, Angewandte Chemie • “There are three things you need to make a good journal: quality, quality and quality” • Quality = relevant, current, significant, novel, interesting, etc CSIRO PUBLISHING

14. What makes a good journal (2)? CSIRO PUBLISHING

15. What do publishers and editors look for in a manuscript? Quality – science: significance, originality Quality – presentation: clear, well thought out arguments Consistent with scope Broad interest to readership CSIRO PUBLISHING

16. Tips for writing - general • Planning • What do you want to tell people? What is the main message? • Notes, ideas, questions – Why did I do it? What does it mean? (these questions are not easy, but it is important to answer them before you start writing) • Outline, discuss, revise • Start early – “… writing an outline will help guide the research.”George Whitesides, Adv Mater 2004, 15, 1375 • Try to write a story to engage the reader • Selecting a journal • Who do you want to reach? Your direct peers? Others? • Read a few papers in the target journal • Which papers are good? Why? CSIRO PUBLISHING

17. Tips for writing – parts of a paper • Title • Brief, interesting and accurate • Abstract • Attract readers to your paper • What is the main message? Why, how and what? • Include important keywords for searching • Should be self contained (therefore avoid acronyms and references) • Strong introduction • What does the reader need to know to understand the significance of the results? Context, background, state of the art • Summarize clearly and simply (or allude to) the scientific advance and its significance • Engage reader CSIRO PUBLISHING

18. Tips for writing – parts of a paper (2) • Results & discussion • Explain results, support claims • What does the reader need to know to understand the results and believe the claims? Leave out anything that does not answer this question • The reader is more interested in what your great results are, rather than how you arrived at them • Conclusion • What can you conclude? Be brief • Explain how the work advances the field • Can pose a question for future work • Speculate if appropriate (you are the expert) – it’s rarely the end of the story CSIRO PUBLISHING

19. Tips for writing – parts of a paper (3) • Experimental • Concise, unambiguous, easy to understand • Should allow others to • repeat the work • and to see if and where their results differ “Use clear and simple language that drives your story forward” (Schoenfeld) CSIRO PUBLISHING

20. Before you submit Proof read • Ask your peers to read it to get an alternative perspective • Ask someone outside your field to read it • Take the time to revise, rewrite, clarify – your referees may be your most important readers • Read the Notice to Authors • Follow format and submission instructions • Write a letter to the editor • Should clearly explain (without overstating) the scientific advance in general, jargon-free language (should be much less technical than abstract or intro) • Assume that the editor is not an expert in your field • Remember you have three distinct audiences: • editor, referees, readers CSIRO PUBLISHING

21. The refereeing process • Referees: Crucial to Quality Control • Referee selection is most important part of my job • Tips for referees • Comments about the significance are helpful for editor (but on their own are not very helpful for the author) • Specific criticisms are especially helpful for the authors when accompanied by clear and constructive suggestions for improvement • Aggressive, insulting or personal comments are rarely justified and can damage the referee’s credibility CSIRO PUBLISHING

22. A recent controversial example from Environmental Chemistry Referee 1: (emotive, dogmatic?) “These authors contemptuously downgrade a decade of published experimental work. The paper does confirm that blindly following theory leads to flat-earth vision.” Referee 2: (objective language, allows for possibility that the reviewer and the accepted paradigm may be wrong) “This paper challenges the broadly accepted paradigm in a crucial way. Here, I raise several objections that are key to resolving this crisis.” The paper and comments were published as a Research Forum in Environmental Chemistry CSIRO PUBLISHING

23. Dealing with referees’ comments • If you receive strong criticisms, wait until you’ve calmed down before responding • Even comments that seem aggressive or ignorant can be helpful – chance to improve the impact of the paper • Once the MS has been revised • Write a letter to the editor • Thank the referees for their advice • Address each comment individually and indicate the changes made to the MS • Questions? CSIRO PUBLISHING

24. Internet technologies - HTML, Ref linking, email correspondence Challenges for existing journals New innovative models of publishing Developments in scientific publishing

25. Developments in Scientific Publishing • HTML • CrossRef allow fast searching, fast access, fast communication • Email information that is published online can be linked, manipulated, imported and therefore used in a broad variety of ways which are distinctly different from print Web features • Readers: access to vast amounts of information • social networks, peer review and authoritative • opinion are becoming more important • Research Fronts Editorial features New publishing models New business models CSIRO PUBLISHING

26. Latest Developments: RESEARCH FRONTS • The Research Front • Cluster of papers in rapidly developing or topical area: Includes Opinion Essay, Critical Review, two or three Rapid Communications • Research Front acts as a Forum, enables readers to get an appreciation for the topic and its pressing issues • Gives authors opportunity to publish alongside peers &/or competitors • Aust J Chem Research Fronts • Ionic Liquids – The Neglected Issues (issue 3, 2005) • Light-Driven Molecular Machines (issue 3, 2006) • Enzyme Electrochemistry (issue 4, 2006) • Single Crystal – Single Crystal Transformations (issue 9, 2006) • Environmental Chemistry Research Fronts: • Arsenic Biogeochemistry (issue 3, 2005) • Iodine and Marine Aerosols (issue 4, 2005) • Extremophiles (issue 2, 2006) • Environmental Nanoparticles (issue 3, 2006) • Cadmium Bioavailability and Biosorption (issue 6, 2006) CSIRO PUBLISHING

27. Developments in Scientific Publishing • HTML • CrossRef allow fast searching, fast access, fast communication • Email information that is published online can be linked, manipulated, imported and therefore used in a broad variety of ways which are distinctly different from print Web features • Readers: access to vast amounts of information • social networks, peer review and authoritative • opinion are becoming more important • Research Fronts Editorial features • Pre-print servers – freely available non peer reviewed papers • Open format journals – Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics New publishing models New business models CSIRO PUBLISHING

28. Developments in Publishing - Open Format • European Geosciences Union • Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics - since 2001 • submitted papers (non peer reviewed) free online • all referee and author correspondence free online • final accepted papers free online • authors pay ca 800 Euro per paper • Current success – is this sustainable? CSIRO PUBLISHING

29. Developments in Scientific Publishing • HTML • CrossRef allow fast searching, fast access, fast communication • Email information that is published online can be linked, manipulated, imported and therefore used in a broad variety of ways which are distinctly different from print Web features • Readers: access to vast amounts of information • social networks, peer review and authoritative • opinion are becoming more important • Research Fronts Editorial features • Pre-print servers – freely available non peer reviewed papers • Open format journals – Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics New publishing models • Post-print repositories New business models Open Access • OA (authors pay) journals CSIRO PUBLISHING

30. “Serials Crisis” • As the number of researchers has increased, the number of journals has increased, and the prices of journals have increased. • “This is truly the decade of the journal, and one should seek to limit their number rather than increase them since there can also be too many periodicals” • published 1789 • review in Neues med. Wochb. f. Aertzte CSIRO PUBLISHING

31. Peer-Reviewed Journal Growth 1665-2001 CSIRO PUBLISHING

32. Relationship of Journals & Researcher Growth CSIRO PUBLISHING

33. The Open Access Debate • Open Access - scientific publications that are freely available and usable by anyone • New business model possible because of internet • Two major models • OA self-archiving • Institutional repositories of published papers • OA Journals • PLOS Biology – started 2003 • The quality of journals will be constantly tested as temptation to increase revenue by lowering the peer review bar will be great • Funding • Publishing incurs costs • Authors will pay – PloS charges ~US$2500 per article • Major implications for institutions, libraries and funding bodies • Repositories will be costly to set up and maintain CSIRO PUBLISHING

34. To Conclude • Publishing is an important part of the scientific process • To become an author in the best journals, keep the referees, readers and publishers in mind • Internet Technologies have led to exciting developments on the face of scientific publishing; speed, availability, innovation in publishing • Most are very positive, but Open Access should be approached with caution CSIRO PUBLISHING

35. Thank You CSIRO PUBLISHING Phone 1300 788 000 +61 3 9662 7632 Email alison.green@csiro.au Web www.publish.csiro.au