Preparing papers for International Journals

1. Preparing papers for International Journals Sarah Aerni Special Projects Librarian University of Pittsburgh 20 April 2005

2. Overview of this presentation • The steps of the writing process • Style guides for the bibliography section of the paper • Information on the journal submission process, including examples from history and chemistry • Time for Questions

3. The Writing Process: a guide • Choosing a topic • Selecting resources and finding background information • Refining the topic • Writing • Revising and editing • Citing Sources

4. Choosing a topic • Start with the topic area you have • Brainstorm the idea, putting your thoughts about the topic on paper in any order. • Look for structures, common themes and areas for direction, including keywords. • Begin to read about these ideas to see what others have done.

5. Selecting resources and finding background information • Evaluate these factors when selecting resources: (1) Quantity (2) Diversity (3) Date of Publication (4) Quality and Reliability • Try to obtain a balanced perspective on the issue. • Pay particular attention to the source of electronic information. • Ask someone for help if you can’t find sources that you feel are reliable. Many people are willing to help students. Parts of this page are from: http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/evaluating.htm

6. Refining the topic and beginning the writing process • After you have done background reading, you will be able to refine and narrow your topic. • Next, make a rough outline of your paper and main topics. • Set these down first, and then proceed with filling in these main areas with text. • In order to avoid getting stuck, begin by writing as the thoughts come to you. The revision process will help clean things up later.

7. Revising and Editing – 1 • This is one of the most important steps! • Since you let yourself have some freedom when initially writing the paper or report, it is now time to go back and be critical about the language. • Look for these things: • Areas needing better transition between ideas. • Areas that are too wordy or unclear. • Words and concepts that are not fully explained.

8. Revising and Editing – 2 • Reconsider the order you present your topics. Could they be reordered to make the presentation more logical? • Edit your paper, and then leave it for a little while. This time can help you see areas that need more work. • If you have time, ask someone else to read the paper and to mark parts that seem unclear or hard to understand.

9. Citing Sources • This is often one of the most difficult areas for students. • It is a very important step in making your paper “legitimate.” Many scholars look at the bibliography before they read the main text. • Citing the sources you read also helps you avoid plagiarism, or illegally copying other people’s work. • There are many different ways to properly cite references. Become familiar with the way your discipline does this.

10. Specific information on citing electronic resources • The APA style manual has a special website for information on citing electronic resources. It is updated frequently. • http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html • In general, provide as much information as you can about how and when you accessed the information you are using.

11. Resources for further help • MLA Style Guide (from the Modern Language Association) • APA Style (from the American Psychological Association) • Journal submission guidelines. For example: Chemistry and History.

12. How to submit an article to a journal

13. The Submission Process • Most journals in academic disciplines allow and encourage electronic submissions. • Prepare your manuscript according to the specifications from the submission guidelines. This can be different from discipline to discipline, or even from journal to journal!

14. Scientific Topics • Examples of scientific writing and proper conventions for punctuation, abbreviation and others can be found here: http://www.sportsci.org/jour/9901/wghstyle.html • Pay particular attention to the format of tables and figures. Often journals have special regulations about these items.

15. Chemistry • Example: The Journal of Magnetic Resonance is published by a commercial publisher. • http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/622884/description • This page includes a description of the journal and its coverage. It includes information on how to submit articles online. • There is also a link to a guide for authors.

17. Humanities Topics • The Modern Language Association gives advice for humanities scholars. • http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml • It includes information on the writing process, paper formats, guides for the bibliographic format and grammar and writing tips. • Humanities disciplines tend to be a little more flexible in terms of the format of the materials.

18. History • As an example, the American Historical Review is published by a society publisher. • Information about this journal can be found here: http://www.historycooperative.org/ahr/ • Guidelines for submitting articles to this journal are also available from this website.

20. What happens after you submit the article? • If the journal is “peer-reviewed”, it will send your article out to other scholars in your field to review the article. • The peer review process can provide valuable feedback for you and your work. • It can also slow down publication time! • Results of two or three reviews lead to three options for your article: (1) the journal accepts it as is; (2) it requires revisions before acceptance; or (3) it rejects it.

21. Once your article is accepted • After your article has been accepted, the journal editors will do further editing on the document, and create a manuscript for you to proofread. • This is your final chance to make changes to the manuscript. • The editor may suggest final changes to you, that are usually not subject orientated.

22. Final Steps • After you carefully proofread the first copies, the journal will make any final changes. • Then you only have to wait for publication. • Sometimes the wait times for publication can be long - a year or two. An advantage of electronic publishing is that the time between acceptance and publication is often reduced.

23. More information on the writing process • http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/choosing.htm This page has excellent information about the whole writing process, and especially about the different formats for bibliographic resources.

24. Acknowledgements • Special thanks to James Cassaro, music librarian at the University of Pittsburgh and editor of the Journal Notes for his helpful support and information.