Writing and Publishing a Scientifc Research Paper

197 Pages·2017·5.045 MB·English

by  Subhash Chandra Parija

Writing and
Publishing a Scientific
Research Paper
Subhash Chandra Parija
Vikram Kate Editors
123
Writing and Publishing a Scientific Research
Paper
Subhash Chandra Parija • Vikram Kate
Editors
Writing and Publishing a
Scientific Research Paper
Editors
Subhash Chandra Parija Vikram Kate
Department of Microbiology, Jawaharlal Department of Surgery
Institute of Postgraduate Medical Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical
Education & Research (JIPMER) Education & Research (JIPMER)
Puducherry, India Puducherry, India
ISBN 978-981-10-4719-0 ISBN 978-981-10-4720-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4720-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017943127
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
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Foreword

Writing and publishing a scientific research paper
Research today has become an integral part of every professional’s life. Once the
research study is done, it is imperative that the knowledge be shared. And the best
platform to do so would be in the form of a publication. However, if research is a
gray area, publishing is, to most professionals, a completely unchartered territory.
And to explore these terrains, one needs not only to know the broader rules of the
land but also the finer nuances, keeping in mind the words of D. J. Griffin “the road
to publishing success is paved with writing.” Many a time, it’s the lack of guidance
in the various aspects of writing and publishing that keeps the valuable research in
the dark. And so the need for assistance, a helping hand, in this situation is a wel-
come thing, the want for which need not be further exemplified.
The present book entitled Writing and Publishing a Scientific Research Paper by
Prof. Parija and Prof. Kate goes above and beyond to serve the same purpose. The
well-structured content addresses the most pressing needs of a novice researcher
and helps the reader to easily navigate the path to develop a well-designed research
approach and in successfully publishing the results. Further, the book also helps to
understand the finer points of writing and publishing a manuscript that elude many
v
vi Foreword
an experienced individual. In over 18 chapters, the authors have managed to encom-
pass all the vital aspects of research in a simple and easy to understand language
aided with multiple illustrations that both provide comic relief and help in driving
the point home. It also touches upon issues like what a reviewer expects, and such
inputs from the other side of the fence help the researcher appreciate another per-
spective of the work being done. By the end of the read, the reader is no longer
daunted by the jargon of a researcher or unnerved by the idea of initiating a research
project.
Both Prof. Parija and Prof. Kate are experts in their respective fields. Professor
Parija has to his name several papers in national and international journals and has
authored ten textbooks. He has been awarded the B. C. Roy National Award of the
Medical Council of India for his contribution to the development of medical micro-
biology. Professor Kate has contributed more than 25 chapters in reputed textbooks
of surgical gastroenterology and surgery and has several papers to his credit.
Between the two of them, they have amalgamated decades of experience with
respect to research, experience that they have poured into this book making it an
invaluable read to young researchers and which speaks like an old friend to the ones
familiar with the game that is research.
In the end I would like to quote the words of Gore Vidal: “In writing and politick-
ing, it’s best not to think about it, just do it.” So to all the creative and enthusiastic
minds out there, I urge you to go on board with research and promise you it will be
one of the most rewarding rides of your life!
Preface
Around the world, evidence-based medicine has become the essential component of
healthcare. Researchers are expected to find the answer and solution for the scien-
tific query and convey that vital piece of information by means of presenting it in a
scientific forum or publishing it in a scientific journal. Publication of research work
has the advantage of reaching the maximum number of audience in addition to
being available permanently for future reference.
‘Work not published is work not done’ – a critical quote that pronounces the
importance of publishing the research work. However, very often, it is the lack of
information/knowledge on scientific writing and publication that hinders the valu-
able research work from reaching the audience. Young faculty and trainees who are
starting their research career find themselves stranded and are in need of a compre-
hensive guide which provides all essential components of scientific writing and aid
in getting their research work published.
In this book, we have attempted to cover all essential components of writing a
scientific research article through carefully selected 18 titles having essential con-
tent that is a must know for writing a robust scientific article. This book also covers
the other underdiscussed areas of scientific writing including dealing with rejected
manuscript, the reviewer’s perspective as to what they expect in a scientific article,
plagiarism and copyright issue and ethical standards in publishing the scientific
paper. Illustrations, line diagrams, cartoons and scenarios have been included for a
better understanding of the chapters. We have included “key points” and an “appli-
cation scenario” in all the chapters to enable the reader to identify the core areas as
well as to test them at the end of each chapter.
We thank all the authors for their contribution. The authors have consistently
maintained the lucid style across chapters to make it easy to understand and adapt
into practice. We thank our publisher, Springer, for their unwavering support in
bringing out this book. We are hopeful that this book will serve as a simple and
comprehensive resource for beginners as well as senior faculties in publishing their
research.
Pondicherry, India Subhash Chandra Parija
Vikram Kate
vii
Acknowledgements
First of all, our thanks go to the participants and the authors of this book. We would
like to thank all the authors for their contribution to the scientific content and prepa-
ration of this book. We would like to express our deep gratitude to Dr. Kalayarasan,
Dr. Suresh Kumar and Dr. Mohsina Subair for the editorial assistance, assembling
the text, tables, graphs and reference from the various authors into a coherent manu-
script. We thank Dr. Surendiran for providing assistance for plagiarism checking for
the content of this book. We are grateful to Dr. Niroj Kumar Sahoo, Junior Resident,
Department of Ophthalmology, JIPMER, for providing wonderful cartoons for the
chapters, which made the book look more reader friendly. Last but not the least, we
would like to thank the publisher, Springer Nature, for the association and for help-
ing to bring out this book for the readers.
Subhash Chandra Parija
Vikram Kate
ix
Contents
Part I Writing a Scientific Research Paper
1 Why Write a Scientific Research Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Subhash Chandra Parija and Vikram Kate
2 Components and Structure of a Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Sitanshu Sekhar Kar and Rakhee Kar
3 Title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
S. Shyama Prem
4 Abstract and Keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Vikram Kate, S. Suresh Kumar, and Mohsina Subair
5 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Tamilarasu Kadhiravan and Molly Mary Thabah
6 Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
B. Vishnu Bhat, S. Kingsley Manoj Kumar, and G. Krishna Rao
7 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
R. Ramesh and N. Ananthakrishnan
8 Discussion and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Zubair H. Aghai and David Carola
9 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Anup Mohta and Medha Mohta
10 Figures, Tables and Supporting Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Dinker Pai, Soon Kyit Chua, and Suneet Sood
Part II Publishing a Scientific Research Paper
11 Choosing a Journal for Paper Submission
and Methods of Submission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Vikram Kate, Madhuri Parija Halder, and Subhash Chandra Parija
xi
xii Contents
12 Revision of an Article and How to Deal
with the Rejected Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Vikram Kate and Raja Kalayarasan
13 Authorship and Contributorship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Akash Shukla and Avinash Supe
14 Types of Manuscripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Rajive Mathew Jose and Kiruthika Sivasubramanian
15 What Does a Reviewer Look into a Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Devinder Mohan Thappa and Malathi Munisamy
16 Open Access for Publication – Can It Be Chosen? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Savio George Barreto
17 Publishing Misconduct Including Plagiarism and Permissions . . . . . 177
C. Adithan and A. Surendiran
18 E thical Dilemmas and Etiquettes of Scientific Publication . . . . . . . . . 189
Subhash Chandra Parija, Jharna Mandal,
Dinoop Korol Poonambath, and Ajay Halder