Writing Articles for Academic Journals

1. Writing Articles for Academic Journals Based on Macmillan Scientific Communications’ Presentation (c)

3. RESEARCH • Idea 2. • Previous work (notes, record of literature, methods) • Major questions • Starting hypothesis • Approach: prove or disprove or provide supporting evidence 3. • Your methodology • Your data 4. Analyze and interpretation

4. PREPARATION(YOUR WORK IN CONTEXT) • Focus • Audience • Main message • Good scientific question •Novelty • The original data re-evaluation (publishable/non-publishable): 1. existing ideas 2. new data 3. new avenues of research

5. PLANNING(COHERENCE) 1. An outline (AIMRAD: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) 2. Main points – the backbone of the paper 3. List of all ideas • You don’t need to figure out a paper title at the beginning, use a working title => MAIN TITLE (NB) • Avoid aflow of arguments (salami-slicing): start with the introduction, include the necessary data to support the main claims but do not overcrowd the paper

6. PRESENTATION The ABC of writing style - Be Accurate - Be Brief - Be Clear

7. TITLE • Novelty • Key message • Descriptive • Understandable • Keywords for electronic searches • First words to avoid: “On the”, “Study”, “Investigation” etc.

8. ABSTRACT • A mini version of the paper • No detailed methods (unless methods paper) • Avoid obscure abbreviations, acronyms and references to literature and figures • Avoid ‘we did X, which told us Y, and has implications for Z’

9. INTRODUCTION(EVERYTHING IN BRIEF, FROM GENERAL TO SPECIFIC) • what you have studied and why • the task and objectives • need of the current study • the work in the context • the key findings (try to mention 80% of the results by the end of the introduction) • literature introduction • rationale for using of the methodology • principal findings and conclusions preview

10. METHODS • details for replication or reference • non-essential (but required) details in Appendix or Supplementary Information • why this method + statistical methods if necessary

11. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION • separately or in combination • the order of results (‘story line’, pedagogical way), not the chronological order of the experiment • one paragraph - one concept • top-down paragraphs (main message in the first sentence) •proved results only • justification • alternative explanations • only results crucial for your argumentation

12. CONCLUSION • deeper understanding of your findings, not a summary • impact of your work (perspectives, but not your personal plans) • less isbetter

13. REFERENCES • format of journal • selection • critical references • avoid over-reference • avoid excessive self-citation

14. CITE(TO AVOID PLAGIARISM) • quotations, opinions, and predictions, whether directly quoted or paraphrased • statistics • theories • case studies • experimental methods or results • specialized research procedures or findings

15. FINALIZING THE DRAFT • revision (structure => content) • proofreading • colleagues’ feedback • reworking • language-editing

16. CHOOSING THE RIGHT JOURNAL • Audience • Scope (broad or specific issues) • Quality of other papers published • Publication frequency (some journals weekly publish papers online ahead of a full issue) • Publication form (online/print) • Open-access/subscription-based • journal owner • production services: copyediting online search tools online commenting

17. HOW TO GET YOUR PAPER PUBLISHED • Online procedures • Cover letter, details about the authors, contact information, very brief background on the research field, brief overview of the paper’s objectives and findings => Why the study is relevant? Why the paper should be published?) • Peer review • After the review taking criticism constructively

18. NB!!! • Significance of research topic • Originality of the work • Adequacy of approach/experimental design/techniques • Soundness of conclusions and interpretation • Relevance of discussion • Suitability for journal • Efficiency of organisation • Adherence to style requirements of journal • Length • Clarity of writing • Appropriate citations of the relevant literature • Quality and suitability of statistical analysis

19. DON’T GIVE UP! • Most papers get rejected • Everybody gets bad reviews • The iterative peer-review process strengthens the message and scientific content of papers • Be professional, thorough and respectful in all communication with editors and referees

20. Teaching Methods Journals • http://iteslj.org/Techniques ESL/EFL • http://www.sagepub.com/journals/Journal200961/manuscriptSubmission JTE • http://ijl.cgpublisher.com/product/pub.30/prod.896 The international journal of learning • http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/cfp.cfm The international journal of teaching and learning in higher education • http://iteslj.org/links/TESL/Teaching_Techniques TESL • http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk/publications/education-today Education Today • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_educational_psychology_journals List of journals eLearning Journals • http://www.ejel.org/main.html EJEL • http://www.wwwords.co.uk/elea eLearning and digital media • http://www.aace.org/pubs/ijel IJEL • http://www.eurodl.org EURODL • http://www.kmel-journal.org/ojs/index.php/online-publication KMEL • http://thejournal.com/articles/list/elearning.aspx LMS • http://je-lks.maieutiche.economia.unitn.it/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index JE-LKS • http://journal.elnet.com.au/index.php?journal=impact IMPACT • http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/resources/technology/journals.php List of journals • http://je-lks.maieutiche.economia.unitn.it/index.php/Je-LKS_EN/index List of academic journals • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_information_systems_journals List of Journals mLearningJournals • http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalCODE=ijmlo IJMLO • http://www.online-journals.org/index.php/i-jimiJIM • http://navigator.nmc.org/library/mobile-learning-online-reflective-journal-mobile-learning-practice An online reflective journal