{"id":4395,"date":"2023-10-19T09:01:49","date_gmt":"2023-10-19T09:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/dealing-with-journal-guidelines-mastering-the-art-of-research-paper-submission\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T06:16:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T06:16:29","slug":"dealing-with-journal-guidelines-mastering-the-art-of-research-paper-submission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/dealing-with-journal-guidelines-mastering-the-art-of-research-paper-submission","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with journal guidelines: Mastering the art of research paper submission"},"content":{"rendered":"

You have prepared a solid research question, collected your data, and decided what to write. Now it\u2019s time to open your word processor or text editor and put the information on the page, right? Well, perhaps. Have you checked the journal guidelines? Depending on the journal guidelines, your paper can end up looking very different.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The importance of journal submission guidelines<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Early research publications had very few guidelines. Scholars wrote their papers as they wished and any alterations were made at the discretion of the editors. As scholarly publishing grew, researchers and publishers settled on certain standard practices that became formalized in style manuals like The Chicago Manual of Style<\/i><\/a> or the MLA Handbook<\/i><\/a>, which promoted uniformity in format. Nowadays, nearly every publication will have a preferred house style that reflects the expectations of the research field and the branding of the journal or periodical.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The goal of guidelines is not to reduce research writing to a pro forma<\/i>. It is to facilitate every step of research publication, including manuscript preparation, peer review, typesetting, and even reading the paper. Therefore, these guidelines can be considered a way of improving the reliability and practical use of research papers.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Typical guidelines and how to check them<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

If you take away nothing else from this article, remember that checking journal submission guidelines is imperative<\/b>. Almost all publications have a dedicated page that lists their guidelines. These pages can be in-depth, multi-page instruction manuals defining everything from indentation to acceptable abbreviations, to a few sentences outlining basic sections and declarations expected. In any case, treat the page like a checklist. Check if each point is relevant to your paper and if so, whether you have met the guideline.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In most journals, this page can be found in a navigation bar along the side or top of their homepage with a title like \u201cPreparing your Manuscript,\u201d \u201cAuthor Guidelines,\u201d or \u201cFor Authors.\u201d It may also be found in a collection of pages with titles like \u201cAbout the Journal\u201d or \u201cAuthor Center.\u201d Below are two examples of showing where and how some journals list guidelines.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Example 2. In this example from <\/i>the World Journal of Gastroenterology<\/a>, the guidelines are on the side navigation bar. N.B. that there are multiple pages (my highlights) relevant to preparing your manuscript.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As a manuscript editor, I find that many researchers make the same common errors in following guidelines. Some common guidelines that go unfollowed include:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Example 1. The top bar of <\/i>Biomaterials <\/a>with the \u201cGuide for authors\u201d menu highlighted. Many other Elsevier publications will display the guidelines in this way.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n