Q: I was advised to revise an original article into a communication paper. What should I do?

Detailed Question -

I submitted an original article of around 3000 words, but the journal replied that they would accept a short communication article compressed to around 800 words. I can’t decide if I should revise it as advised and resubmit, or I should resubmit the original article to another journal which has a lower reputation. It is painful for me to drastically compress the original article on which I spent so much time and effort.

1 Answer to this question
Answer:

Short communications are brief independent articles that report new ideas and recent developments in the field. They do not provide background information about the topic and only present the key information about the significant contributions. As the name suggests, they are short and concise and they must contain novel information. Short communications are often published on priority as the information in such papers is new and would make significant contribution to the field.

I can understand that it took much time and effort to write your original article and it would be very difficult to rework into a short communication paper. But if you feel that publishing a short communication in a reputed journal would be better for your career advancement, then you can consider compressing your article. One advantage that you will have is faster publication; you will be able to claim the credit for discovery or innovation in your field before anyone else does it. And since short communications cover the hot topics in the field, it will gather much publicity, which will add to your reputation and career opportunities.

However, if you wish to submit your paper as a full-fledged journal article, then you can consider submitting it to another journal that will be willing to accept your paper. A lot of conversations are taking place in academia about focusing on the significance and novelty of the research instead of the impact and reputation of the journal. In such a time, you must not hesitate while submitting a paper to a journal with a lower perceived reputation. Remember, it is the significance of the research that matters the most. The only thing you should be careful about is predatory journals. Before you submit your paper, please make sure it’s not a predatory one.

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