How to Publish Research Articles in an International Journal ? Detailed Explanation
"Research Articles". What do you imagine as you hear these two words? May be finding something new or might be inventing something that has not been discovered yet. But it is an incomplete idea that we carry within us about Research articles.
Every one of us is pretty familiar with writing articles. It simply is the process of moving ideas into a written form. Research articles are much similar to these kinds of writing, or they might be an expanded essay. But the only difference is the format or the way it is written. Research articles are simply detailed writings about a certain topic with proper pieces of evidence or references.
So, like every other thing, these articles are of different types. Before getting deeper into other topics, proper idea and awareness about the types is the must.
Types of Research Articles:
1. Original Research
If we or the researchers actually perform certain kinds of study and present a report on it, then it can be classified as original research. It is also considered as primary literature. They provide background study, arguments, methods, results, findings, and discussion about the topic. A survey report can be a perfect example of original research. Here the researchers raise some questions, conduct the study to obtain the answer to those questions, and finally analyze the findings and results. These types of research require a proper investment of time.
2. Review Articles
As its name suggests, review articles are those which try to analyze and evaluate the data that has already been presented. It can be regarded as a secondary study. This study provides a proper analysis, comparison, and summary of the existing literature. They do not provide any sort of new ideas or experimental data but evaluate and provide recommendations to other's work.
A book review can also be considered as a type of review article. there are some academic journals that provide space for reviewing a certain book in a proper format. They play an important role to provide insight and opinions on published books.
3. Perspective and Opinion
They are the papers that present opinions and arguments about certain topics of current interest or importance. They are usually an essay that represents a personal point of view and ideas or fundamental concepts about certain topics. They are usually short and considered to be secondary literature.
4. Clinical Case Study
They are particularly related to the Medical field. They contribute significantly to the existing concepts, ideas, and practice about a certain topic. This can better be understood by an example. Let us assume a person is suffering from a normal fever. We know certain symptoms of fever that have been noticed to date and registered too. But in this case, we notice a new symptom. Maybe he is having a pain in the lower abdomen which is very new. So, this is a new diagnosis. Now, the case is strictly and precisely followed for months or maybe years until a certain conclusion is met. Therefore, such a study in which we follow up a certain case and study to present a new result is a clinical case study. They are considered to be primary literature, similar to Original articles. They require a lot of experimental knowledge and time dedication.
5. Clinical Trial
Once again, they are more specific to the Medical field. They are the experimental observations done in clinical research. They can simply be understood as a study that provides proper implementation, methods, and results of a particular topic or a trail. We have heard a lot about the Coronavirus vaccine and its clinical trial. This type of article is very similar to that of the Coronavirus trial. This can also be understood more precisely from an example. We use certain medications among a large group of people. Let's say we give a bottle of "Besar" to a certain population and a laboratory prepared vaccine to other populations. Now, we analyze and examine the impact of these two among those populations and finally publish the results, complications, findings, conclusion, and discussions in the form of a research article. This is what the clinical trial is.
So, these were some of the types of research articles. There can be many more depending on the Journals and their genre.
Journal Selection:
Selecting a good journal is a must. There are thousands of journals all over the world, so choosing a proper and suitable among them is the basic requirement. Some factors that play an important role in journal selection are:
i) Your Manuscript Format and Area of study:
The topic and objective of your study must match with the Journal you choose.
ii) Indexing/ Quality Factor:
They determine the ranking and status of the journal around the globe. Indexing ranges from 0-100. Even the best journals have indexing around 1-3. Q1 are considered to be good journals followed by Q2, Q3, Q4, Q5.
iii) Publication Charge:
The default charge for most of the journals is very high. So, looking at the journal's provision of waiver is important. Some offer no publication charges for authors from developing and underdeveloped countries.
iv) Open-Source:
Is my article free for the general public? You must have this thought. This is very important because your writing must reach different parts of the world and among different people. No one will be ready to pay dollars to read your article. So, it must be free for readers.
v) Google Scholar/ Pubmed:
These are free search engines where we can find only the research articles. Like google provides us the data all over the internet, they provide us the articles published in different journals. They can be a very helpful source of information.
Format of Research Articles:
Format plays an important role in the publication of your articles. It is a gate for further evaluations. It varies for different journals. But the most common and important format is mentioned below:
a) Title
Long Title ( Main Title ): 125 characters and Short Title ( Supporting Title ): 40 Characters
b) Authors and their Affiliations
It gives detailed information about the authors. Example: Ram Aryal, MBA, Kathmandu University.
c) Abstract
It is a summary of the whole article written in about 250 words. It should be attractive enough, written in plain language that encourages readers to go through the full article. References are not required.
d) Introduction
The introduction should provide sufficient background information about the study. The reader must have a clear idea about the topic by going through the introduction part.
e) Results and Findings
The outcomes of the study are mentioned in this section. The evaluated data and information is written here. Mostly in the percentage form. There may be different new findings in the study which are elaborated in the Findings section.
Data add strength to justify your findings and conclude in a strong way. Facts, data and experimental conclusions are strong points of a good research projects. Here are best software for statistics and data analysis which can help accumulate and analyze data in a efficient way.
f) Discussion
It means comparing our research article with other studies. There might be many such studies around the globe. So, we compare our data with theirs.
g) Material and Methods
Things required and the way the study is done. Depending on journals, we must detailly explain the way the research work is done.
h) References
References are a source of data and information. Everything inside an article should be referenced. For example, if we write " Sun rises in the East" then it's source must be mentioned. It is a very critical part of research writing. Different journals have different formats of referencing.
i) Figures and Tables
They are Supportive data of the manuscript. They help to provide additional information. For eg. Graphs, curves, images, etc.
Stepwise Process of Article Publication:
- Perform Research work
- Identify a journal with aims & scope close to your research work
- Prepare a Manuscript
- Submit your Manuscript
- Review by the editors
- Peer-review
- The decision, Comments, and corrections.
- Publication charge declaration, Publication
Qualitative vs Quantitative Study
The other very important part of your research is to specify the type of study. Will it be focusing on quality or quantity? A quantitative study simply deals with statistics or numbers. On the other hand, the quantitative study deals with the meaning and explanation of those numbers and stats. Qualitative helps to understand the actual reasons or opinions of certain studies. Let me explain through an example of how the same article can be studied both quantitatively and qualitatively. The title of the research is," Impact of the Internet on Student". Now if it is to be studied quantitatively, we just make a survey question and let people fill the questionnaire that mostly includes Yes/No questions. The evaluated data shows that this percentage of students are in higher-risk or this percentage of people are benefited by its use or any other quantitative results based on the questionnaire. If this has to be conducted qualitatively, we seek the answer to " How?". How the internet has impacted the students. What might be the problems they are facing? And many more. It is followed by a series of detailed explanations or might be an interview. A qualitative study might take more time to evaluate and analyze the information and is comparatively harder.
These were some of the very important tips and procedures for publishing a new research article. There is much more to learn but these are the basics that everyone must be aware of. While writing and publishing a new article, the most important thing is to be ready for Rejections. Your article might not be published on a single submission. This does not downgrade the level of your article. It just means that your article is not suitable for a particular journal. So, the main thing is to keep trying. Keeping exploring new journals and don't let your hard work drown in vein. In some cases, the article might not be selected in a low-quality journal but can be chosen in a good international journal.
This was all about Research articles. We will be coming in detail about some of the important topics mentioned above. Stay tuned.
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