Every research professional, academic, scholar, and scientist who wishes to gain a reputation as someone who is known for his/her phenomenal research work, is well aware of the fact that the best way to do so, is to have a research paper or article published in a globally recognized journal or publication that is also indexed by a leading journal indexing database.
The challenge, however, is that such professionals, including –
- those who have tried having their research work published in top journals but have failed to get accepted,
- those who have had their work published but have failed to make a difference in their professional standing, as well as,
- those who are amateurs in the early stages of their research careers,
aren’t quite aware of what the entire publication process entails and how to prepare for it. This blog is intended to serve as an easy-to-follow guide on the entire journal publication process, for such professionals, so that when the time comes for them to pursue the publication of their research work, they will know exactly what to do and how to proceed.
- Identifying A Suitable Research Topic
While most researchers, academics, scientists, scholars, and others are well aware of what topic they want to carry out their research in, many don’t. The best piece of advice for such people is to pick a topic that they –
- are interested in,
- have some familiarity with,
- think is of significance to the future of their discipline and has some value to humanity, etc.
- Singling Out The Best Indexed Journal For Your Research Work
One of the biggest challenges that researchers and academics who wish to become well-known for their groundbreaking research work, face, is finding the best journal to have their research work published. Finding the best journal for one’s research work is all about considering factors such as the –
- reputability of the journal,
- reach of the journal,
- reader-base of the journal,
- nature of the publication process followed by the journal (whether it is straightforward and quick of cumbersome and lengthy),
- history of researchers whose work is commonly published, and
- relevance of the research articles published to one’s own work.
Thinking about all these factors while considering a journal should help one make the right choice. Another important factor to think about when choosing the best journal to have a research article or paper published in is the impact factor of the journal. The impact factor of a journal has to do with its capacity to influence readers and the widespread academic community across the world. A researcher who manages to get his/her research work published in the form of a research paper or article, in a high-impact journal is more likely to be recognized by the global academic community for their work, than someone who has their article/paper published in a journal with a mediocre or poor impact factor. It is highly recommended that undertake some careful investigation about the impact factor of a journal or publication before singling it out and proceeding to apply or submit a manuscript to it.
- Applying To A Journal
While one may have identified a reputable journal that they would like to have their research work published in, they still have to convince the officials (who are most often members of the editorial committee or the editor-in-chief of the journal) that their research work merits and warrants publication in their prestigious journal. To do this one will have to convince these officials by writing a –
- compelling cover letter, and
- an engaging abstract.
Writing a compelling cover letter is all about speaking to the uniqueness of the research work that has been carried out, what makes the findings of the research study of deep significance to the future of the discipline, and why the research methodologies employed to carry out the research are extraordinary and profound. Writing an engaging abstract meanwhile is all about preparing as captivating a snippet of your entire research work as possible. The entire purpose of an application is to convince the officials in charge of accepting proposals that the research that has been undertaken, and the findings accrued thereof, deserve to be broadcast and publicized extensively across the widespread academic community. If you wish to apply to Scopus indexed journals that have a high impact journal factor, then you will find that preparing a compelling cover letter as well as abstract is the best way to be accepted by such top-tier, globally recognized publications.
- Preparing & Writing A World-Class Research Paper
In order for a research paper to be highly captivating and engaging, such that the reader base of the journal will be deeply impacted by the contents and findings of the journal, it is important that one prepare carefully and spend time thinking about exactly how they should go about writing their research paper. This involves finding out –
- what the expectations of the publication are,
- how research articles/papers published in the past by the journal were written,
- what the formatting guidelines of the journal are,
- what sort of article structure is most appealing to readers,
- the best way to write a research article about the specific topic that the research is based on,
- how articles on the topic in question are normally written, etc.
Finding out what the formatting guidelines and the expectations of the publication are perhaps the most important of all these points because of the fact that being aware of and following every one of these guidelines to the tee, is the best way to go about getting a research paper and article published as quickly and seamlessly as possible by a journal.
Whether you’re applying to UGC-indexed journals or Web of Science journals, the best way for you to become a successful researcher who is recognized for pioneering work is to follow all the steps detailed above.
