Table of Contents  
GUEST EDITORIAL
Year : 2016  |  Volume : 9  |  Issue : 2  |  Page : 161-163  

Dear author: It is time to revisit your manuscript


Department of Pharmocology, M P Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India

Date of Web Publication1-Mar-2016

Correspondence Address:
Anupama Suklecha
Department of Pharmocology, M P Shah Government Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat
India
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Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.177650

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How to cite this article:
Suklecha A. Dear author: It is time to revisit your manuscript. Med J DY Patil Univ 2016;9:161-3

How to cite this URL:
Suklecha A. Dear author: It is time to revisit your manuscript. Med J DY Patil Univ [serial online] 2016 [cited 2024 Mar 28];9:161-3. Available from: https://journals.lww.com/mjdy/pages/default.aspx/text.asp?2016/9/2/161/177650

Just like a good art takes patience and time to prepare, a good research paper also takes efforts and time. It has become much easier to prepare manuscripts than it was over a decade ago. Computers has made it easy for anyone to prepare manuscripts and submit them for publication. There are advanced search engines for literature search in large databases. We have software for statistics and excel sheet to enter data and make graphs. There is software for writing references. On the other hand, research dishonesty, for example, plagiarism, can be detected with plagiarism detection software with just a click. In the good old days, all this was done manually.

With increasing need of a publication to get a promotion, there is a boom of manuscript submissions in most of the top indexed journals. Therefore, the acceptance rates are falling and rejection rates are rising. There are various reasons for manuscript rejection. Some of these could be:

Manuscript not Catering to the Journal

Many manuscripts are rejected before they even undergo peer review because the manuscript is not appropriate for the journal's readership or does not fit into the journal's aims and scope. Manuscripts that do not follow the format specified by the journal (e.g., case report submitted to a journal that clearly states it does not publish case reports) are rejected straight away. The authors can make a list of journals and review their options before deciding which journal to submit their manuscript to.

Lack of Originality and Significance

Academic journals look for research that is exciting and novel. Most of the top rated journals want to know "what is so new about a submitted write up and how does it add to what is already known on that topic." They also want to know whether all the authors listed have contributed intellectually on that topic. Many authors cite the reason that "this has never been studied before" to explain why their paper is significant. Authors should give specific reasons why the research is important, for example, the research could affect a particular medical intervention, it could have a bearing on a specific policy discussion, or it could change a conventional theory or belief.

Use of methods that have become obsolete because of new techniques may not be accepted by journals. Secondary analyses of data that extend or replicate published findings without adding substantial knowledge could be rejected by journals. Studies that report already known knowledge but term it as a novel by extending it to a new geography, population, or cultural setting may not be given preference in publication.

Results that are not original, predictable, or trivial and those that have no clinical, theoretical, or practical implications may not find a place in journals with high impact factor. If there are an error in results, the authors may even be asked to revisit the original data or send a copy of raw data or master chart.

Flaws in Study Design

Manuscripts with a poorly formulated research question or poor conceptualization of the approach to answering the research question and choice of a weak or unreliable method will be rejected. In a research study, data cannot be cooked up or copy-pasted overnight and manuscripts prepared. If data is incomplete or unreliable, sample or sample size is inappropriately chosen, and there is inappropriate statistical analysis, manuscripts will be rejected outright. Even a well-written paper will not mask flaws in study design. It is a fundamental problem that must be resolved in the initial stages of the study, i.e., while conceptualizing the study. A thorough literature review would determine the best methodologies and practices for research.

Poor Rationale and Organization

If introduction does not establish the background of the problem to be studied and there is an insufficient literature review and insufficient explanation of the rationale for the study, the manuscript may not be accepted. The manuscripts with the discussion that only repeats the results but does not interpret them and conclusions that do not appear to be supported by the study data are less likely to be accepted. One should be able to convince readers that their research is both sound and important through writing.

Inadequate Preparation of the Manuscript

Title, abstract, and cover letter that are not persuasive may be rejected or asked for a revision. Failure to follow the journal's instructions for authors or sentences that are not clear and concise may need to be revised. Wordiness and excessive use of jargon are not needed in scientific writing. A large number of errors, such as poor grammar or spelling mistakes, poorly designed tables or figures would call for revision.

Authors from the vernacular (non-English) medium in school may have a good manuscript content but may not be able to express well. Thus, their manuscripts may end up getting negative comments even if the research is of high quality. This can be overcome either by getting the paper professionally edited and formatted or taking the help of an English-speaking friend.

Rejection for Reasons not Related to Quality of Manuscript

Low quality of the manuscript is not the only reason for rejections. There are some major factors that can also affect journal decisions. The first being-space constraint. Journals want to publish on a range of topics that represent the entire scope of the journal. Editors of print journals have to choose which papers to publish since they can only publish a limited number of articles. Space is not a big issue for open access journals. Another reason could be volume of submissions. Journals that attract a large number of submissions also reject a large number of manuscripts. This would make the rejection of high-quality manuscripts inevitable.

Yet another reason is journal's decision-making policy. Some journals follow a policy of rejecting any manuscript that will require major revisions, while some journals will complete another round of another peer review if they are not sure of the manuscript quality. The journal editor could be looking for something specific at a particular time.

Sometimes, journal editors publish a thematic issue of the journal or may be interested in publishing a current hot topic, in which case they might tend to accept more papers focusing on that particular topic. If the journal receives more than one submission on the same topic, it may choose to publish only one of the manuscripts and reject the others.

Finally, the quality of peer review varies widely according to reviewers' educational background, research interests, professional experience, etc., and this could influence the decision to accept or reject.


  Conclusion Top


They are many factors that influence the decision of accepting or rejecting a paper. Ignoring the literature, designing poor studies, choosing inappropriate instruments, and writing poor manuscripts are major flaws warranting rejection of manuscripts.

The authors should keep in mind that submitting a paper to a journal does not guarantee publication. Getting a manuscript published cannot be claimed as a matter of right. The right to publish solely lies in the hands of chief editor.

Rejection of a paper of a senior research scientist does not mean hurt of ego. Neither does it mean end of the world. It is an opportunity to improvise ones manuscript and submit to another journal by using the suggestions given by reviewers. They should beware of booming business of predatory journals whose sole purpose is to publish anything for a handsome amount. The authors are advised to choose only peer reviewed and indexed journals to submit their valuable research work.[6]


  Bibliography Top


  1. Pierson DJ. The top 10 reasons why manuscripts are not accepted for publication. Respir Care 2004;49:1246-52.
  2. Coronel R. The role of the reviewer in editorial decision-making. Cardiovasc Res 1999;43:261-4.
  3. Byrne DW. Common reasons for rejecting manuscripts at medical journals: A survey of editors and reviewers. Sci Ed 2000;23:39-44.
  4. Garmel GM. Reviewing manuscripts for biomedical journals. Perm J 2010;14:32-40.
  5. Bordage G. Reasons reviewers reject and accept manuscripts: The strengths and weaknesses in medical education reports. Acad Med 2001;76:889-96.
  6. Kumar M. A review of the review process: Manuscript peer-review in biomedical research. Biol Med 2009;1:1-16.





 

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