Scientific Writing and Publishing

What We Cover

Module 1: Publishing your work

In this first module we shall explore some of the issues around the challenges and opportunities you may encounter when looking to publish your work. We will look at ways in which you can select appropriate journals to submit your paper and how to avoid the dreaded predatory journals that prey upon the unsuspecting. We have some helpful Top Tips for you to engage the editor and ways you can tactfully and productively respond to reviewer’s comments. Unfortunately, not every submission will result in a publication, and that is a fact of academic life, and we will look at ways you can deal with those feelings of rejection. Finally, we look at new publishing models such as preprints and discuss when you might (or might not) consider using this to disseminate your research.

Module 2: Paper structure & writing skills

Now we move into the structure of the paper, and consider each of the sections from the abstract to conclusion as well as your choice of title. Not only will you learn what to write in each section, you will explore which sections to approach first, and gain feedback on your own work. We will also look at writing skills, since how you write can be as important as what you write.  Writing papers requires us to be efficient as well as up to date, and to do this we will consider reference management systems you can adopt.  Let’s not forget your choice of journal in the first place – we will discuss the important of following their guidelines and how to ensure your content is well matched to the journal you have chosen.

Module 3: Presenting results, data and visualisations

All of the sections in your paper are important, but the results section provides a snap shot of what you found using visuals and graphics.   After all the effort you have put into collecting data and analysing it, now you need to show what you discovered – whether statistically significant or not. This module will guide you through some ways to think about what and how to present your findings. As well as Figures and Tables, there are other ways of presenting results, such as infographics, that can help explain your research in a simple, visually appealing manner.

Putting it all together

Each module gives you an opportunity to put what you have learned into practice through an assignment that you will receive feedback on.  We expect that by the end of the course you will have a draft outline of your paper and a good idea of where you wish to publish.  You will still have access to the course materials afterwards to help you to do this.

We look forward to seeing you on the course!