Library

Unit 3: Publishing in Reputable Journals

Presenter: Mr. Ndhlovu, A. Sipho (+263 772 921 416)

Email: asndhlovu@uzlib.uz.ac.zw
 Presentation Overview

▪Objectives
▪Outcomes
▪Background
▪Benefits of publishing in reputable/peer reviewed journals
▪Contemporary issues in academic publishing
▪Peer review process
▪Publishing ethics
▪Activity

▪
 Objectives

To demonstrate how to publish a research article in a

peer reviewed journal
▪To identify the various types of scholarly articles
published in journals
▪To differentiate reputable journals from predatory
journals
▪To explain the steps involved in publishing a journal
article
 Learning Outcomes

▪Increased research output

▪Improved quality of articles published.
▪Improved skills that support publishing of quality
research articles.
 Background

▪Peer reviewed journals-quality-controlled scientific and scholarly

journals- are journals that have been reviewed by experts in the
field before being published.
▪Peer review is essential in intellectual communication,
particularly in journals.
▪Process of having an author's article reviewed by other
professionals in the same field before it is published in a journal.
▪The goal is to assure the scientific validity and quality of the
publications and research they report.
▪Supports and maintains integrity and authenticity in the
advancement of science.
 The role of journals in scholarly
communities
▪Provide a platform for researchers to publish their work
and share their findings with others in their field.
▪Serve as a minefield of communication for scientific
communities
▪Contribute to the formation of new scientific
communities.
▪Essential for building a knowledge base for scholars.
▪Maintain scientific community standards in how
research and scholarship are conducted.
 Benefits of Publishing in
Reputable/Peer Reviewed
▪Preserving researcher labour in permanent records of field research.
▪Broadens one’s professional network and increasing the possibility
of collaborations and engagement with colleagues.
▪Aiding in learning from others and increasing visibility of one's work
among other academics in the field, outside one’s personal contacts
and colleagues.
▪Boosting one's research's visibility, citations, and possible influence.
▪Assuring that the study is of high quality and that the findings are
legitimate.
▪Serving as a filter, keeping low-quality publications out of the
scientific community.
 Benefits of Publishing in
Reputable/Peer Reviewed
Journals (cont’d)
▪Confirms the quality and impact of published work.
▪ Allows an array of viewpoints to be expressed.
▪Provides information on highly-detailed subject matter and
complex analyses available.
▪Develops one's career for academic appointments and
promotions.
▪Aides in the establishment of one as an expert in one's field of
knowledge.
▪Gives evidence used to assess the validity of research funding
requests.
 Contemporary issues in
academic publishing

Democratisation of academic publishing

▪Developments in Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) and Open Access initiatives
Stratification in contemporary publishing
▪Scientific research is now primarily disseminated online,
even when published in traditional pay walled/
subscription journals
Predatory journals
 Authors are charged to publish their work but do not
provide the editorial and publishing services that
reputable journals do.
 Contemporary issues in
academic publishing (cont’d)
Subscription-based journal publishing
Costs of access
Publishing timelines

Rise of open access journals

▪They provide free access to research articles.
▪Researchers publish their work at little or no cost and
ultimately increasing research output.
▪The same peer review, production, and publication
standards apply to Open Access journals as they do to
subscription-based journals.
 Open Access models

Gold Open Access

Articles are registered under Creative Commons (CC)
The author or their institution is normally responsible for the
cost of publication e.g. PLOS and BioMed Central
Articles and related content viewed for free
Green Access
Self archiving or their funder, or on a third-party repository.
The article's deposited version may or may not be final.
Either journal's accepted paper or a nearly finished one
following peer review known as "post print”
 Benefits and Challenges of OA
publishing
Benefits Challenges
Increased visibility and Lack of funding for Open Access
accessibility of research publishing
Increased citation and impact of Difficulty in maintaining quality
research control

Reduced cost of publication for Difficulty in transitioning from

authors traditional publishing models
Increased collaboration and Difficulty in convincing authors
innovation to publish Open Access due to
the cost of article processing
charges (APCs)
 Tools for identifying trusted
journal publishers
▪Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ): This directory can help
you determine if a journal is peer-reviewed.
▪Web of Science: Is an academic journal, book, and conference
proceedings database. It is a Clarivate Analytics product that is
frequently utilized by researchers and scholars all over the world.
▪Elsevier Journal Finder: A smart search technology and field-of-
research specific vocabularies to match your article to Elsevier
journals
▪Think. Check. Submit: help you discover what you need to know
when assessing whether or not a publisher is suitable for your
research.
 Criteria for identifying trusted
journals
What to look What to check
for
Contact  Does the journal's website provide complete
information contact information?
 Does it include a verifiable address?
Scope of the  Is the journal's scope multidisciplinary?
journal  Does it combine multiple, unrelated, wide-
ranging fields?
Editorial  Does it include recognized, affiliated experts?
board
 Criteria for identifying trusted
journals (cont’d)
What to look What to check
for
Indexing  Is the journal indexed or a member of a
information prominent publisher association?
Email  Do the journal, its editors and all staff have
invitation institutional or journal-affiliated email
addresses?
Ethics Does the journal address issues such as
plagiarism, conflicts of interest, internal review
board approval?
Does the journal website have information on
 Types of scholarly/journal
articles

▪Original research articles: report on original data and findings

from research studies.
▪Theoretical articles: contribute to the theoretical foundations of
a field by presenting new theories or synthesizing existing ones.
▪Review articles: summarize the current state of the field by
critically evaluating previously published studies
▪Case studies: present detailed analyses of specific cases or
events
▪Methodologies: describe new methods or techniques for
conducting research in a particular field (Avila, no date).
 The Peer Review Process

(Dolnicar,
2023)
 Attributes of Reputable
Journals
▪Rely on peer reviewers who are experts in their respective fields to
carefully review submitted manuscripts for suitability for publishing.
▪Have a board of experts in relevant areas that serve in an advisory
capacity to the editorial staff.
▪Follow recognized publishing standards to guide their policies e.g
determining authorship, to journal management, to handling
allegations of misconduct.
▪Transparent and fair about their levied fees, avoiding any real or
perceived conflict of interest.
▪Indexed in searchable databases that have quality selection criteria
for inclusion (Happe, 2020).
 Publishing Ethics-Author
▪Authors presenting the findings of original research
should provide impartial evaluation of the work done as
well as its relevance.
▪Authors shouldn't submit submissions presenting the
same research to many journals or primary publications.
▪Proper acknowledgment of all works used in the study.
▪ Use of chemicals, techniques, or equipment with
unusual hazards, should be clearly noted in the
publication.
▪Disclosure of any financial or other major conflicts of
interest that may impact the findings or how they are
interpreted in the publication.
 Publishing Ethics-Editor
▪Responsible for everything published in the journal
and decides which articles submitted to the journal
should be published.
▪Careful considerations (colour, gender, beliefs, sexual
orientation, etc.) should be made before disclosing
some information about a manuscript being reviewed
to avoid prejudices.
 Publishing Ethics-Editor
Confidentiality- share info submitted with relevant
parties only.
Appeals and complaints
such as manipulating or falsifying data, reprocessing
of text, plagiarism, or research misdemeanors).
 Publishing Ethics-Editor
Disclosure, conflicts of interest, and other issues
▪Editors follow Guidelines for Retracting Articles,
Appeals and complaints.
Involvement and cooperation in investigations
▪Maintain an honest written record by providing
corrections as needed
▪ Look into reviewer and editorial misconduct.
▪ Reply in a reasonable manner to ethical concerns
about a submitted manuscript or published work.
 Publishing Ethics- Reviewer

▪Only qualified reviewers to evaluate the research

presented in a submission and able to finish the
review in time carry out the reviewing.
▪All manuscripts submitted for consideration must be
treated as private documents.
▪Reviews should be done objectively and no personal
attacks allowed
 Common Challenges in Peer
Review Process
▪Reviewers’ failure to uncover serious faults in the author's
methodology
▪Excessive workloads for peer reviewers
▪Editors act as a liaison between the author and the reviewer,
therefore they wield a disproportionate amount of decision-making
authority.
▪The double-blind peer review approach is rarely used due to its
impracticality, a
▪Articles are evaluated based on the author's reputation rather than
merit.
▪The entire review process takes a long time while approval is sough
▪Progress may be hampered if a researcher has a series of trials in
the works.
 Conclusion
▪Peer-reviewed journal publication is a crucial part of
scientific research.
▪Peer-reviewed journals serve as an avenue for the
dissemination of research findings and ideas.
▪Publishing in a peer-reviewed publication can be time-
consuming and demands close attention to detail.
▪It is critical to adhere to the journal's criteria and to
ensure that your work is well-written and clearly
presented.
 Activity
Consider the email below: what are the warning signs that
would make you suspicious? Note down your thoughts
and you can use Think. Check. Submit. checklist to help
you investigate.
Dear Writer
We are collecting papers for the Journal of Modern
Research now. As a prospective writer, you are codially
invited to submit your new papers to this special issue.
We codially welcome your scientific works for
submission via our Article Submission System.
 Activity (cont’d)
Or by e-mail to papersubmission@gmail.com (please
indicate the name of journal or special issue you want to
submit to).
The topics to be covered (not limited to)
Employment and unemployment; Labour market analysis;
Job creation; Land reform; Corporate governance; Editorial
Procedures
Manuscripts are expected to be submitted at Online
Submission System. Once a manuscript is accepted for
publication, it will undergo language copyediting,
typesetting, and reference validation in order to provide
the highest possible publication quality.
 Activity (cont’d)
We look forward to receiving your excellent work.

Dr Jane Mandimutsira (Senior Editor)

Journal of Modern Research
Samora Machel Avenue, Harare, Zimbabwe

You have read the email soliciting articles from a

journal publisher. What are the warning signs?
References and Further Reading
AIJR Publisher: Scholarly Journals & Books Publishing
Solutions. (2023). AIJR Publisher. Retrieved 23 October 2023,
from https://aijr.org/
Beall, J. (2017). What I learned from predatory publishers.
Biochem Med (Zagreb), 27(2), pp. 273-278. Available at: doi:
10.11613/BM.2017.029 (Accessed: 3 July 2023).
Difference between Green and Gold Open Access | Elsevier
Author Services (2020) Elsevier Author Services - Articles, 14
February. Available at: https://scientific-
publishing.webshop.elsevier.com/publication-process/
difference-between-green-gold-open-access/ (Accessed: 3
July 2023).