The number of manuscript submissions to SCI journals vastly outweighs the amount of space journals have to publish. To ensure that appropriate manuscripts are sent for peer review, the editorial selection process has critical role to play. The editorial in an issue of ACS Nano (Sept 28 2010) by associate editor Jillian M. Buriak describes rejecting without review and how to avoid it.
Dr. Buriak's advice
There are three points that editors use to select the best papers for peer review:
- First, does your manuscript have the “wow” factor? Will it grab the attention of the journal’s readership?
- The second is novelty: is the work original? Interestingly, editors use internet searches, described in the editorial, to evaluate a manuscript’s novelty.
- The third, and arguably the easiest to achieve for all researchers, is submitting a well-written manuscript that follows the journal requirements. The way a manuscript is written directly affects what people will think about your work. Quoting from the editorial: “If your manuscript looks sloppy, then everyone will assume that your science is equally sloppy.” Thus, it is imperative to only submit manuscripts of a high quality language and avoid being rejected without peer review.
There are many ways to make sure your manuscript is not rejected prior to peer review. Ensuring the manuscript is clear, concise, and free of grammatical errors will give journal editors the best opportunity to judge your work on the scientific value and suitability for their journal.
Make sure you:
- Write the manuscript in simple and easy to read sentences.
- Have a colleague (or two!) read the manuscript and pay close attention to the journal’s guidelines for authors.
The original article can be found here.
Associate Editor Dr. Jillian Buriak screening ACS Nano submissions. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Murphy.
Summarized by Edanz Group Ltd from the original editorial article by Dr. Jillian M. Buriak (Associate Editor), ACS Nano, 2010, 4 (9), pp 4963–4964 DOI: 10.1021/nn1022318
Publication Date (Web): September 28, 2010 Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society
