How to Write and Publish in Food Chemistry & J. Functional Foods Fereidoon Shahidi, PhD, FACS, FAOCS, FCIC, FCIFST, FIAFoST, FIFT, FRSC Department of Biochemistry Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John’s, NL, Canada A1B 3X9 [email protected] Elsevier publishes more than 20 journals in the food science area 2 Why is it important to write a good paper? Before submitting an article make sure it is as good as you can make it. Not only because it makes YOUR life easier - your chances of acceptance will be increased …but also the lives of the Editors and Reviewers Editors and Reviewers are already overloaded. Incomplete or poorly written manuscripts create great frustration. 3 Your article should be of value… To the research community A research study is meaningful only if it is clear/understood/reproducible….. and USED  To yourself Your article is your passport to your scientific community  4 …My publishing advice is:        Submit to the right journal Submit to one journal only Pay attention to journal requirements and structure Check the English Pay attention to ethical standards Ask your colleagues to proof read the article Be self-critical 5 Why do we publish? What is your personal reason for publishing? PhD degree? Get funding? However, editors, reviewers and the research community do not care about these reasons! 6 Are you 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 7 Can I publish this?        Have you done something new and interesting? Have you checked the latest results in the field? Have the findings been verified? Have the appropriate controls been performed? Do your findings tell a nice story or is the story incomplete? Is the work directly related to a current hot topic? Have you provided solutions to any difficult problems? If all answers are “yes”, a good, strong manuscript is what is needed next 8 How to write a good manuscript: Preparations before starting Decide which type of paper is most appropriate Full articles/original articles/research articles Review papers/perspectives Letters/rapid communications/short communications 9 What about the Impact Factor?   the IF can give guidance but should NOT be the sole reason to submit to a journal. The IF indicates the cites to recent items / number of recent items (published in a 2 year period) in a journal Journal Impact Factor Cites in 2010 to items published in: 2009 = 3553 Number of items published in: 2009 = 1127 2008 = 3760 2008 = 988 Sum: 7313 Sum: 2115 Calculation:Cites to recent items 7313 = 3.458 Number of recent items 2115 10 New Impact Factor for Journal of Functional Foods  New journals may be given a partial impact factor (covering one year only) if they are considered highly topical and relevant Journal Impact Factor Cites in 2010 to items published in: 2009 = 68 Number of items published in: 2009 = 52 2008 = 0 2008 = 0 Sum: 68 Sum: 52 Calculation:Cites to recent items 68 = 1.308 Number of recent items 52 11 Relevence of the work to the Journal:   In Food Chemistry, there should be chemistry of food commodities. Bioactive components MUST be identified clearly. In Journal of Functional Foods, the submissions must be related to functional foods and nutraceuticals; both fundamental and applied research areas are of interest. Issues and Concerns • Language barrier and lack of experience is often a problem • Appropriate mentorship is missing and often senior authors have had little input • Integrity in research • Referencing is often incomplete and out-dated • Style of the journal is not always followed • Revisions are often done partially Integrity in Research • Authorship • Use of prohibited solvents and practices, including welfare of experimental animals • Lifting of material from sources that are not referenced’ including those of your own • Simultaneous submission to more than one journal • Some authors have NO obvious contribution (Often an English speaking author there, but MS is with unacceptable English!!!) WARNING!   DO NOT gamble or take risks by submitting your manuscript to several journals. Only submit once! International ethical standards prohibit multiple/simultaneous submissions, and editors DO find out – and your paper will be rejected. 15 Preparations before starting: Read the Guide for Authors CRITICAL ADVICE Apply the Guide for Authors to your manuscript, even to the first draft (text layout, paper citation, nomenclature, figures and tables, etc.). It will save your time, and the editor’s. 16 Building your article Each section of a paper has a definite purpose  Title Make them easy for indexing and  Abstract searching (informative, attractive, effective)  Keywords  Main text (IMRAD)  Introduction  Methods  Results  And  Discussions  Conclusion Acknowledgement References Supporting Materials    Journal space is precious. Make your article as brief as possible. If clarity can be achieved in n words, never use n+ 1 17 The Title  Tell readers what your paper is all about  Attract the reader’s attention  Be specific  Keep it informative and concise  Avoid jargons and abbreviations 18 The Abstract     This is the advertisement of your article. Make it interesting, and easy to be understood without reading the whole article. You must be accurate and specific! A clear abstract will strongly influence whether or not your work is further considered. Keep it as brief as possible!!! 19 Keywords – for indexing and searching    Don’t be too narrow, or too broad Avoid abbreviations Check the Guide for Authors! TIP: Search for your keywords online. Would readers find YOUR article using these keywords? 20 Introduction – convince readers you know why your work is useful Give overall picture, keep it brief Current state of knowledge 21 Introduction – convince readers you know why your work is useful What is the problem? Are there any existing solutions? What are the main limitations? What do you hope to achieve? Do NOT mix introduction with results, discussion and conclusion 22 Methods – how was the problem studied? Include detailed information so that a knowledgeable reader can reproduce the experiment However, use references and supplementary materials to indicate the previously published procedures 23 Results – what have you found? . Tell a clear and easy to understand story Only representative results Be structured 24 Discussion – what the results mean Describe •How the results relate to the study’s aims and hypotheses •How the findings relate to those of other studies •All possible interpretations of your findings •Limitations of the study Avoid •Making “grand statements” that are not supported by the data •Introducing new results or terms Don’t ignore work in disagreement with yours – confront it and convince the reader you are correct 25 Conclusions – how the work advances the field – don’t repeat the abstract! What have you shown? What does it mean for the field? Indicate possible applications and extensions 26 Acknowledgements  Acknowledge anyone who has helped you with the study, including: • • • Researchers who supplied materials or reagents, e.g. vectors or antibodies Anyone who helped with the writing or English, or offered critical comments about the content Anyone who provided technical help  State why people have been acknowledged and ask their permission  Acknowledge sources of funding, including any grant or reference numbers 27 References Typically, there are more mistakes in the references than any other part of the manuscript. It is one of the most annoying problems, and causes great headaches among editors… Cite the main scientific publications on which your work is based Do not inflate the manuscript with too many references Avoid excessive self-citations Avoid excessive citations of publications from the same region 25-30 references are appropriate for a full text article 28 Cover letter This is your chance to speak to the editor directly Submitted along with your manuscript Mention what would make your manuscript special to the journal Note special requirements (reviewers, conflicts of interest) Indicate approval of all authors for submission 29 Some technical details       Pay attention to length of manuscript Consider supplying data as supplementary material Text layout Always number the pages, and number lines if required Abbreviations Names of potential reviewers – authors in your subject area, not collaborators or friends, international Check the Guide for Authors of the selected journal for specific instructions – not all guides are the same! 30 Characteristics of good writing  • • •  • • • • Good writing possesses: Clarity Conciseness Correctness (accuracy) Good writing avoids: Repetition Redundancy Ambiguity Exaggeration 31 Revision and response to reviewers Many journals adopt a system of initial review by the editor. Editors may reject a manuscript without sending it for review. Why? The peer review system is overloaded 32 Example from one journal’s Guide for Authors “…..The Editor-in-Chief and Editors have the right to decline formal review of the manuscript when it is deemed that the manuscript is 1) on a topic outside the scope of the Journal, 2) lacking technical merit, 3) focused on foods or processes that are of narrow regional scope and significance, 4) fragmentary and provides marginally incremental results, or 5) is poorly written.” Make sure your manuscript does not fall in any of these categories or it will fall at the first hurdle! 33 How to respond to a request to revise your paper      Prepare a detailed letter of response State specifically what changes you have made to the manuscript. Provide a scientific response to the comment you accept; or a convincing, solid and polite rebuttal to the point you think the reviewer is wrong. Revise the whole manuscript Minor revision does NOT guarantee acceptance after revision. 34 …and if your paper is rejected     Don’t be desperate – it happens to everybody Try to understand WHY, consider reviewers advice Be self-critical If you want to submit to another journal, begin as if you are going to write a new article. Read the Guide for Authors of the new journal, again and again. 35 Accepting rejection – and moving on Suggested strategy for submitting elsewhere:  In your cover letter, declare that the paper was rejected and name the journal  Include the referees reports and show how each comment has been addressed  Explain why you are submitting the paper to this journal; is it a more appropriate journal? 36 Ethical issues in publishing Unethical behaviour can earn rejection and even a ban from publishing in some journals. Unethical behaviour includes: Scientific misconduct  Falsification of results Publishing misconduct  Plagiarism  Different forms / severities  The paper must be original to the authors  Duplicate/multiple submission  Redundant publication  Failure to acknowledge prior research and researchers  Inappropriate identification of all co-authors  Conflict of interest 37 Consequences of breaking ethical rules Authors of this article committed plagiarism. It won’t be removed from ScienceDirect. Everyone who downloads it will see the reason for retraction 38 What leads to acceptance??? Attention to details Check and double check your work Consider the reviewers’ comments English must be as good as possible Presentation is important Take your time with revision Acknowledge those who have helped you New, original and previously unpublished Critically evaluate your own manuscript Ethical rules must be obeyed Nigel John Cook Editor-in-Chief, Ore Geology Reviews 39 A final thought….. If your paper is accepted, you may be asked to review papers for the journal in future. Please accept this invitation – your accepted paper is only published thanks to the work of editors and other reviewers, and your participation in the review process will be a positive contribution to the scientific community. 40