The interactive research resource for bioscience students
 Introduction > Going Professional > Some Food for Thought |
Some Food for Thought Before you start writing a paper for publication, there are some important decisions you'll need to make:
Should I consider publishing my work?This decision should be taken by you and your supervisor. If your research is original and has produced new results, you should seriously consider publishing your work. Your supervisor will be able to give you guidance on whether your work is publishable, where and how to publish your work. Remember, your supervisor is likely to have contributed to your work and therefore you would normally be jointly publishing your findings. Which journal will you send the paper to?The type of research you've conducted will determine the types of journals you can submit your work to, so along with your supervisor you'll need to review the range of journals that span your research area. Different journals will have different formatting styles and requirements so you should always check the 'Notes for Authors' before you start writing. During your research, you may find that you focused on using one or two particular journals in your field so you might first consider submitting your paper to one or other of these journals. Who is the typical audience of the journal?Although it's likely that your work will be published much quicker in an undergraduate research e-journal than in a mainstream scientific journal, it's important to consider the wider implications of your choice. For example, the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science states that its audience is primarily composed of Animal Ethologists, Animal Scientists and Zoologists. The audience of undergraduate research e-journals, however, is likely to be primarily other undergraduates; it's also important to establish whether or not students from other universities can access papers published in 'in-house' undergraduate e-journals. One restriction of submitting your work for publication is that you cannot then submit the same paper to a second journal. This means that you cannot publish the same research findings in an undergraduate research journal AND then in a mainstream scientific journal, therefore it's important to take your time to decide where to submit your research paper and to discuss this with your supervisor.. What is the impact factor of the journal?The impact factor of a journal is essentially an indication of the journal's relative 'importance'. It's calculated by dividing the number of times articles published the previous year were cited in the journal by the total number of articles published the previous year. So if there were 108 articles from 2004-2005 cited in 2006, and a total of 124 articles published in 2004-2005, the 2007 impact factor would be 108/124 = 0.871. The higher the impact factor of a journal the more prestigious it's considered to be.
Will the journal charge you a publishing fee?Some journals charge authors to have their paper published. This is generally done on a cost per printed page basis and can add up to a significant amount. If you're unsure if you can/should publish, fill out the Publishing Proforma. |
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