How to Get Your papers Published – Part 1 in ISI Journals

How to Get Your papers Published
in ISI Journals – Part 1
Fakulti Geoinformasi & Harta Tanah
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
8th April 2014
Azman Hassan
Head of Enhanced Polymer Research Group
(EnPRO)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Presentation Outline
• Types of research outputs
• Motivation for publication
• UTM’s KPI and achievement in
research publication
• Criteria for choosing a journal
• Structure of manuscript
• Reasons for rejection
• Addressing Reviewer’s Comments
• Habits of Effective Researchers
• Conclusion
My Research Team - 2011
Writing a journal paper is like running a
marathon. Why ?
The success of research is measured
from the outputs.
• PhD/masters degrees
• New/improved
Products/Software/Process
• Scholarly Publications
• Other publications
• Innovation awards
• Networking
• Training programmes
• Services
• Intellectual properties
5
What motivates you to publish in high
impact journals ?
Others
Why Publish?
• Publication is an important
research output.
• To pass on the knowledge you
have gained
• Publishing your work can assist
you in preparing for your
dissertation.
Why Publish?
• Publication lends credibility
to our research.
• Publishing increases your
profile as a researcher.
• Publishing your work can
lead to future funding.
My Experience
 Submission of manuscript to
a journal….
 News of acceptance from the
Editor….excited
UTM’s Publications Achievement : 20072011
Items
a. Total number of publications in citationindexed journals including refereed
proceedings
b. Cumulative impact factor of publications
2007
2008 2009
2010
2011
367
407
973
1078
587
148 153 262 545 805
c. Cumulative citations of publications
286
1372 1992 2928
3791
d. Total number of publications in non-citationindexed Journal
223
408
271
191
300
e. No. of book Chapters
262
1176 119
62
91
f. Other Publications (including conferences)
that have created an impact to government/
society/policy
883
1104 1548
890
444
Cumulative Impact Factors for:
2012: 1350
2013: 1600
Types of Journal Papers
Full Papers: contains original research
Short Communications
Review Articles
Where to Publish?
Indexed Journal
Non-indexed Journal
Conference
What is an Indexed Journal?
• A journal is Indexed when its
bibliographic and citation information
is included by the citation data
supplier.
• For “Research University” the citation
data supplier is Scopus & Web of
Science
Why submit to an ISI Journal
ISI Indexed
Journals
Scopus indexed
Journals
If published: better visibility, higher credibility, good
incentive
If rejected: valuable experience with free useful
reviews.
If your paper is of high quality but submitted to a nonISI journal, you have wasted a rare chance
ISI Journals and Impact Factors
The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) was founded by Eugene
Garfield in 1960. It was acquired by Thomson Scientific & Healthcare in
1992, became known as Thomson ISI.
ISI publishes the annual Journal Citation Reports (JCR) which list the
Impact Factor for the journals.
A list of over 14,000 journals is maintained by the ISI.
What is an Impact Factor ?
A journal’s “impact factor” is an annual measure of the
extent to which articles in that journal are cited.
The 2011 impact factor of a journal would be calculated as
follows:
A = the number of times articles published in 2009 and
2010 were cited by indexed journals during 2011.
B = the total number of "citable items" published by that
journal in 2009 and 2010.
2011 impact factor = A/B.
Criteria for choosing a journal
• How good is your paper
• Scope of journal
• Indexing
• Impact factor
• Journal ranking
• Publication frequency
• Time to review
• Publisher
Criteria for choosing a journal
• Time to publish
• Friendliness of the editor
• Rejection rate
• Reference
• Quality of review
• Members of editorial board
• Categories of journal
• Who published in that journal
1. Type “PVC Composites”
2. Click Search
1
2
3. Click Analyze Results
3
4. Click Source Title
4
5. Click Author name
5
Name of journals
6. Click Affiliation name
6
Ex : Hassan, A.
Name of authors
UTM ranked 10th
Affiliation
http://journalfinder.elsevier.com/#results
http://www.springer.com/authors/journal+authors
International Journal of Polymeric Materials
Now covered in Thomson Reuter's Web of Science, and Science Citation Index
Expanded!
2010 Impact Factor: 0.458 (©2011 Thomson Reuters, 2010 Journal Citation
Reports®)
Published By: Taylor & Francis
Volume Number: 60
Frequency: 14 issues per year
Print ISSN: 0091-4037
Online ISSN: 1563-535X
Abstracting & Indexing
The International Journal of Polymeric Materials is abstracted and/or indexed
in: Chemistry Citation Index; CSA Corrosion Abstracts; CSA Engineered Materials
Abstracts; CSA Metals Abstracts/METADEX; Journal Citations Report/Science
Edition; Materials Science Citation Index; Polymer Library; and Science Citation
Index
Read the Scope of the Journal
Polymer Testing provides a forum for developments in the
testing of polymers & polymeric products and is of interest to
those concerned with testing rubbers & plastics in research, in
production & in connection with specification & purchasing of
products.
It covers all branches & aspects of testing, including new
apparatus, new techniques & standards, together with their
application to quality assurance and product development.
Structure of Manuscript
(i) Titles
(ii) Abstract
(iii) Introduction
(iv) Materials and Methods
(v) Results and Discussion
(vi) Conclusion
(v) Acknowledgement
(vi) Reference
Title
What your paper is all about. It should be:
• Concise and relevant to the subject matter
• Attract attention (editors and readers)
• Interesting, significant and different from other
papers
• Avoid abbreviations
• Less than 15 words
Examples of Titles
Big returns from small fibers: a review of polymer/carbon nanotube
composites
Future prospects for wood cellulose as reinforcement in organic
polymer composites
Autonomic healing of polymer composites
Single-walled carbon nanotube–polymer composites: strength and
weakness
Controlled interactions in cellulose‐polymer composites. 1: Effect on
mechanical properties
Nanoparticle polymer composites: where two small worlds meet
Who should be the corresponding author?
Fabrication and characterization of
polycaprolactone/calcium sulfate whisker composites
J. Y. Liu1,2, L. Reni1, Q. Wei 3, J. L. Wu1, S. Liu1, Y. J. Wang1, G. Y.
Li2*
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangdong, 510640, China
2School of Electronic and Information Engineering, South China
University of Technology, Guangdong, 510640, China
3China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou, 510070, China
Received 9 December 2010; accepted in revised form 1 March 2011
Abstract
• The abstract should be short and precise
• Selling point of the paper.
• It is summary of the work
(Introduction & Objective, Method, Results,
Conclusion)
• No figure, table and reference.
• About 200 words should be sufficient
Vegetable oil-derived epoxy monomers and polymer blends: A comparative
study with review.
Glycidyl esters of epoxidized fatty acids derived from soybean oil (EGS) and linseed
oil (EGL) have been synthesized to have higher oxirane content, more reactivity and
lower viscosity than epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) or epoxidized linseed oil (ELO).
The EGS and ESO, for comparison, were used neat and in blends with diglycidyl
ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). Thermosetting resins were fabricated with the epoxy
monomers and either BF3 catalyst or anhydride. The curing behaviors, glass
transition temperatures, crosslink densities and mechanical properties were tested.
The results indicated that polymer glass transition temperatures were mostly a
function of oxirane content with additional influence of glycidyl versus internal oxirane
reactivity, pendant chain content, and chemical structure and presence of saturated
components. EGS provided better compatibility with DGEBA, improved intermolecular
crosslinking and glass transition temperature, and yielded mechanically stronger
polymerized materials than materials obtained using ESO. Other benefits of the EGS
resin blend systems were significantly reduced viscosities compared to either DGEBA
or ESO-blended DGEBA counterparts. Therefore, EGS that is derived from renewable
sources has improved potential for fabrication of structural and structurally complex
epoxy composites, e.g., by vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding.
Non-uniform dispersion of toughening agents and its
influence on the mechanical properties of polypropylene
To achieve excellent properties of polymer blends and composites, good
dispersion and uniform distribution of second component or filler in the matrix are
often required. However, more and more evidences reveal that uniform distribution
is not always the best. To further prove this idea, in this work, we purposely
designed and prepared different samples of isotactic polypropylene
(iPP)/elastomer or iPP/beta-nucleating agent with uniform and non-uniform
distribution of the modifiers via stacking the blending sheets in different
sequence. It was found that for a given amount of toughening agent, the impact strength
of polymer blends with non-uniform distribution of elastomer or beta-nucleating agent
could be much higher than its uniformly dispersed counterpart, while the tensile strength
and tensile modulus remain relatively constant. The instrumented impact test confirmed
that among the samples with different layered structures, the absorbed energy during
crack initiation differs little from each other. Whereas absorbed energy during crack
propagation process shows the same trend as final impact strength, making it the
controlling parameter during the impact process. When cracks are initiated at higher
toughening agents content side, the relatively smooth fracture surfaces near the crack
edge area proved that they absorb small energy and the adjacent inner part showed
obviously plastic deformation, corresponding to higher energy absorption. Our work
demonstrates again that design and control of the hierarchical structure of
polymer articles is vital for high performance properties and non-uniform
distribution of filler could be much better than the uniform distribution.
Keywords
The keywords should reflect the subject matter of
the manuscript in the same way the title of the
manuscript should.
Most of the keywords may already be present in the
title
The number of keywords should not be more than
five
Use only established abbreviations (i.e. DNA)
Introduction
 Serves as an orientation for readers, giving them the
perspective they need to understand the detailed
information coming in later sections.
 Contain review of up-to-date literature.
 Explain the novelty of the work.
 Discuss the objective and significance of the work.
Introduction
First Stage: general statements about field of
research
 Second Stage: More specific statements about
the aspects of the problem
 Third Stage: Statements that indicate the need
for more investigation.
 Fourth Stage: Very specific statements giving
the objectives
Fifth Stage: Optional statements that give
values or justification.
Examples of 3rd Stage Introduction
Statements that indicate the need for more investigation.
Missing Information
• However, few studies have reported on the effects of
computer assisted instruction
• But there is little information available on the air flow
rates on simple flat plate solar collectors
Example of 3rd Stage Introduction
Flammability of Wood-Polypropylene Composites.
On the basis of the above mentioned facts, it may be concluded
that it is worth studying the influence of rheological properties
of polymeric matrix on the supermolecular structure and
mechanical properties obtained in polypropylene/wood
composites. Until now, investigations of the influence of
polypropylene matrix MFI on the flammability characteristic of
the composites with lignocellulosic materials have not been
carried out.
Polymer Degradation and Stability
Example of 4th Stage Introduction
Very specific statements giving the purpose/objectives of the
writer’s study
Even though a lot of work has been reported on the
flammability of polymers, very little work has been
reported on the flammability of the composites. The
objective of this paper is to study the effects of Mg(OH)2
on the flammability and mechanical properties of
wood/natural fibre composites.
High-resolution Solid-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (SS-NMR)
spectroscopy has become a powerful tool in studying the structure
of natural aluminosilicates [9], [10]. In particular, 29Si and 27Al
Magic-Angle-Spinning (MAS) NMR have provided important
information on the Si and Al distribution in tetrahedral and
octahedral sites, the sequences of charged sheets, and the
structural distortions for variety of clay minerals [11]-[13].
Nonetheless, much less attention has been devoted to NMR
studies of chemically stabilized soils.
In this paper, in order to understand the main mechanisms that
contributed to the improvement of phosphoric acid stabilized
bentonite and lateritic soils, the time-dependent changes
occurring in the molecular structure of treated soils were
investigated.
Introduction
Very recently, a comprehensive and general review article dealing with study on
various aspects of cellulosic biofibers and biocomposite materials was published [19].
The overview on biocomposite science and technology, its environmental issues and
market potential were found in the literature [8]. In year 2000 and 2004, a review
article [20] about structural discussion on certain biofibers, biodegradable polymers,
and biocomposites, and an overview article [21] on pineapple leaf and sisal fiber and
their biocomposite reinforced with thermoset and thermoplastic polymers was
published, respectively. Nevertheless, a specific review article on OPEFB fiber
polymer composite materials including both thermoplastic and thermosets polymers
have not been published so far to our knowledge. Indeed, it becomes essential to
assess the previous and ongoing research for OPEFB fiber polymercomposite
materials. This will surely enable the researchers, materialist, industrialists, scientist,
and upcoming experts to establish the lag in till date research work and find approach
for futuristic development for OPEFB fiber polymer composite materials. This might
even open room for development of other natural fiber polymeric composite materials.
Shows our understanding of the literature and our ability to or
analyze people’s work.
Materials and Methods
The description should be detail enough for others to
repeat the experiment.
The equipment and materials must be adequately
described
The measurements must clearly described.
Results & Discussion
 Results and Discussions section is the most
important part of the manuscript in which critical
analysis of the results are done.
 Sufficient number of Figures and Tables with good
quality.
 Compare with previous studies
 Consistent with Materials and Methods.
Conclusions
 A review of the most important findings of the
work
 This section should re-inforce the originality of
the work presented.
 Should be consistent with the objectives –
highlight the achievements.
Conclusions
• Must fulfill the study objectives
• Include how the paper advances research in this area.
• Refers to only work done in the present study
• Should not be more than one third of a page
• Include practical implications of the study
• Recommendations for future works
Acknowledgments

Give credit to funding authorities,
collaborators or other colleagues whose names
do not appear as co-authors but had made some
contribution in producing the material for the
manuscript
Reference
Author, year style (Harvard)
Adrian, R.J., Particle-imaging techniques for experimental fluid mechanics.
Ann. Rev. Fluid Mech., 1991. 23: p. 261-304.
Alapati, A., Kang, S., Suh, Y.K., 3D lattice Boltzmann simulation of
droplet formation in a cross-junction microchannel, in Proc.
3rd IASME/WSEAS Intl. Conf. Cont. Mech. 2008.
Breyiannis, G.V., Lattice kinetic simulations in three-dimensional
magneto hydrodynamics. Phys. Rev. , 2004. E 69: p.
065702/1-065702/4.
Cercignani, The Boltzmann equation and its application in applied
mathematical sciences. Springer, 1988.
Reference
Numbering style
[1]Couette, M., 1890. Etudes sur le frottement des liquides. Ann. Chim.
Phys., 21: 433.
[2]Taylor, G.I., 1923. Stability of a viscous fluid contained between two
rotating cylinders. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London, Ser. A, 233: 289.
[3]Di Prima, R. C., Swinney, H. L. 1981. Instabilities and transition in
flow between concentric rotating cylinders, in: Hydrodynamic instabilities
and transition to turbulence (Swinney, It. L., Gollub, J. P., eds.), p. 139.
Springer
[4]Bühler, K., Wimmer, Zierep, M. J., and Coney J. E. R., 1986 Advances
in Taylor Vortex Flow: A report on the Fourth Taylor Vortex Flow
Working Party meeting Acta Mechanica, Vol 62(1) pp 47-61
Submitting the paper
• Traditional submission (by mail)
• As e-mail attachment
• Via a journal online submission
Include a cover letter
Cover Letter
• Title and author(s) of paper
• Type of submission (full length article/
technical note)
• Fact that paper is new and not being
submitted elsewhere
• Why the paper is important
• Some possible peer reviewers (some journal
request that)
Subject: SUBMISSION OF A MANUSCRIPT FOR EVALUATION
I and the co-authors would like to submit the attached manuscript entitled XXXX for
consideration for possible publication in Polymer Science and Engineering.
The following experts are the possible reviewers for this manuscript:
(i) Prof Dr Zainal Ariffin Mohd Ishak
School of Materials Eng, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia
Email: zarifin@eng.usm.my
(ii) Dr Abdirahman Yussuf
Petroleum Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scietific Research, Kuwait.
Email: aayussuf@gmail.com
With the submission of this manuscript I would like to undertake that the above mentioned
manuscript has not been published elsewhere, accepted for publication elsewhere or under
editorial review for publication elsewhere.
Thank you
Prof Dr Azman Hassan
Department of Polymer Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Cover Letter
Dear Editor-in Chief,
I am pleased to submit a manuscript entitled Water Absorbtion and
Hygrothermal Degradation Peroperties of Linear Low Density
Polyethyelne Toughenned Polylactic Nanocompsoites to be considered
for publication in Polymer Degradation and Stability. This manuscript is
suitable for Polymer Degradation and Stability because the content is
relevant to the main interest of the journal which is degradation of
polymers.
Looking forward for a favorable reply from you soon.
Thank you.
With regards
Prof. Dr. Ishak Aziz
Faculty of Chemical Engineering
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Cover Letter
Dear Azman Hassan,
I have the honour to submitted my paper to publication in" Malaysian
Polymer Journal" , my submitted paper is :
Curing of Phenol – Formaldehyde Resin : rheological study by XXX A.
S.* , TTTT K. I. ,and CCCC A. Shenta
please inform me when my paper is reached to you . Thank you very
much for your interest in letter with my all the best wishes to you .
Yours sincerely
Mawar A.S.
Polymer research center
University of VVVV
What happens after you have submitted your
manuscript to the journal?
Initial screening by the Journal Editor
• For appropriateness of subject matter
• For compliance with instructions
• For overall quality : anything new ?
• Language
Peer Review
Purpose:
• To help the editor decide whether to
publish the paper
• To help the authors improve the paper,
whether or not the journal accepts it.
Some ways peer reviewers are identified:
References, literature searching, editors’
knowledge, databases, authors’ suggestions
Review Process
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
It may take from 1 hr to 6 months
One to 4 reviewers along with editorial comments
Decision from Editor: Accept/reject/revise
Corrections by production dept
Proof preparation for checking by authors
In press/queue/article in press
Completion (vol, issue, page number, year)
Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Questionnaire
1. Does the manuscript contain new and significant
information to justify publication?
2. Is the problem significant and concisely stated?
3. Are the experimental and/or theoretical methods
described comprehensively?
4. Are the interpretations and conclusions justified
by the results?
5. Is the summary (abstract) concise?
6. Is the language acceptable?
European Polymer Journal
Assessment
• Originality
• Important Contribution
• Reliability of Results
• Critical Discussion
• Adequate References
BioResources - Reviewer Guidelines
1. Are the findings sufficiently novel to warrant
publication or do they simply reproduce or are
insignificant variations on what is currently known in
the literature?
2. Are the conclusions adequately supported by the
data presented?
3. Is the article clearly and logically written so that it
can be understood by one who is not an expert in the
specific field?
4. Does the work provide an important contribution to
its field, consistent with the scope of the journal?
BioResources - Reviewer Guidelines
5. Has the article covered related scientific
work in the introduction/background section.
6. Determine if the main body is organized well
enough to sufficiently support the central
hypothesis of the work.
7. Comments on the use of English. If the
article demonstrates acute errors in standard
written
The editors and reviewers need to
make recommendation whether your
paper is acceptable:
•
•
•
•
•
In its present form
After a minor revision
After a major revision
Not at all
Rejection with recommendation
for submission.
• Rejection
Based on your experience, what are the reasons your manuscript is
being rejected for publication in high impact journals ?
Others
Decision: Rejection
The manuscript apparently seems to
correspond to the standard of scientific
papers; however, a closer scrutiny reveals
numerous deficiencies, which make it
unacceptable for publication.
Apart from publishing another paper, I do not
see the philosophy of the work, the message
sent or any new information offered, which
could be used by the scientific community or
anyone in industrial practice.
Reviewer(s)' Comments to Author:
The stated objective of the study is to
determine the engineering suitability of
the tested blends and no specific
conclusion was made to this.
In
addition, the observed trends seem to
be predictable, it is only the magnitude
of the changes that are relevant
information.
Unfortunately, it is not felt that
enough
new
and
relevant
information
is
presented
for
publication at the current time.
Decision: Revision and Resubmission
Your manuscript # APP-2009-03-0676 entitled
"MECHANICAL, THERMAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL
PROPERTIES OF POLYLACTIC ACID/LINEAR LOW
DENSITY POLYETHYLENE BLENDS" which you
submitted to the Journal of Applied Polymer Science,
has been reviewed. I am sorry to inform you that
based on the reviewers' comments, I must ask you to
revise and resubmit this manuscript before I can
reach an editorial decision. The comments from
reviewers are included at the bottom of this letter.
Please note that resubmitting your manuscript does
not guarantee eventual acceptance, and that your
resubmission will be subject to re-review by the
reviewers before a decision is rendered.
Decision: Acceptance
Dear Prof. Hassan,
Thank you for submitting your revised manuscript
entitled "Heatsealability of Laminated Films with LLDPE
and LDPE as sealant Materials in Bar Sealing Application"
to the Journal of Applied Polymer Science. It is a
pleasure to accept your manuscript in its current form
for publication.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for contributing
your work to our Journal.
Sincerely,
Prof. Eric Baer
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Applied Polymer Science
Thank you for your time