Presentation at the L2L Seminar "Best Practice for Communicating Library Initiatives and Research: How to get Noticed" held in the Institute of Technology Carlow on 8th November 2018. L2L (Library Staff learning to support learners learn - www.l2l.ie) is a two year collaborative project between IT Carlow, DIT and DKIT.

1. Dr. Fintan Bracken
IT Carlow Library
Publishing a Journal Article: The Why and the How

2. Presentation Outline
• Why publish?
• Identifying appropriate journals
• Structure of an article
• Search engine optimisation
• Peer review & manuscript revision

3. Why Publish a Journal Article?
• To inform the discipline & share knowledge
• To increase the impact / visibility of your work
• To disseminate your research findings
• To gain recognition & enhance your CV
• To express yourself creatively

4. Identifying Appropriate Journals (1)
• Need to identify the right audience for your paper
• Professional journals
 An Leabharlann
 SCONUL Focus
 Information Professional
• Academic journals
 College and Research Libraries
 Aslib Journal of Information Management
 New Review of Academic Librarianship
 Reference Services Review

5. Identifying Appropriate Journals (2)
• Journal scope
• Editorial Board / Peer-Review System / Waiting
time
• Number of issues per year
• Terms & Conditions e.g. Open Access
• Impact factor metrics (JIF, SJR, SNIP, CiteScore,
etc.) should be used as a guide to selecting high
impact journals
• Query email to journal editor(s) to gauge
interest

6. Journal Citation Reports https://jcr.incites.thomsonreuters.com/

7. SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) www.scimagojr.com

8. CiteScore https://www.scopus.com/sources

9. Web of Science & Scopus Analyse Results Tools
• The analyse
results tools in
Web of Science
and Scopus can
be used to find
appropriate
journals for your
article:
 Web of Science:
Video tutorial
 Scopus:
Video tutorial

10. Tools to Help You Select an Appropriate Journal
• In EndNote Online there is a tool called “Match” which
will suggest suitable Web of Science journals for an
article title & abstract (see http://endnote.com/product-
details/manuscript-matcher)
• See also: https://www.edanzediting.com/journal-selector

11. Article Structures
• Structure different for various types of articles
including:
 Practice-based article
 Research article
 Review article

12. Practice-based Article Structure
• Introduction
• Background/Context
• Case study
• Results/Reflection
• Conclusion
• References (usually small number, some articles
may have none)

13. https://ulir.ul.ie/handle/10344/3744

14. Research Article Structure
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Background/Context
• Methodology
• Results/Analysis
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References

15. https://doi.org/10
.1108/AJIM-02-
2013-0009

16. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
• The process of identifying factors which impact
search engine accessibility
• Key aspects of article for SEO:
 Title
 Abstract
 Keywords

17. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
1. Ensure the title is clear & descriptive & incorporates a
key phrase related to your topic. Avoid humorous titles.
2. Choose appropriate keywords & phrases for your
abstract and repeat them 3-4 times throughout the
abstract.
3. Provide at least five keywords or phrases in the
keywords field including those you repeated in your
abstract. Provide additional relevant keywords &
synonyms for those keywords as they relate to your
article.
4. Use headings for the various sections of your article to
tip off search engines to the structure and content of
your article.
Further information: http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileyblackwell/pdf/SEOforAuthorsLINKSrev.pdf;
https://authorservices.wiley.com/author-resources/Journal-Authors/Prepare/writing-for-seo.html; Beel, J., Gipp, B. and Wilde, E.
(2010) 'Academic search engine optimization', Journal of Scholarly Publishing , 41(2), 176-190,
http://muse.jhu.edu/article/369308; Grieves, C. (2015) 'Maximising the Exposure of Your Research: Search Engine Optimisation
and why it matters', methods.blog: Official blog of Methods in Ecology and Evolution [online], 18 Dec 2015, available:
https://methodsblog.com/2015/12/18/seo/ [accessed 08 Nov 2018]; Hays, J. C. (2010) 'Eight Recommendations for Writing Titles
of Scientific Manuscripts', Public Health Nursing , 27(2), 101-103, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1446.2010.00832.x

18. Well-Optimised Abstract Example
• Source: http://www.wiley.com/legacy/wileyblackwell/pdf/SEOforAuthorsLINKSrev.pdf

19. Submission & Cover Letter
• Submit via online submission system or via email
to editor
• Submit a cover letter explaining the importance
of your manuscript to the editor
• Academic journals – peer review

20. Outcomes of Peer Review
• Accepted as is
• Accepted with minor revisions
• Accepted with major revisions
• Rejected
• There may be a second or third round of
revisions before the paper is accepted

21. Manuscript Revision
• Make changes as quickly as possible
• Prepare a response letter replying to each
reviewer comment in detail
• If you don’t implement a reviewer’s suggestion,
explain why
• Persistence is key – don’t get disheartened &
stick with it
• Often comments aren’t as bad as they first
appear & can be dealt with relatively easily
without major changes to the manuscript

22. Tips
• Look for co-
authors & be
open for
opportunities to
collaborate
• Be patient -
Some papers can
be slow burners!
https://doi.org/10.18352/lq.10222
https://doi.org/10.1111/ecog.03295

23. Google Scholar Researcher Profile
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v9oKT5AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao

24. Helen Fallon (MU) – Workshops & Blog
• http://academicwritinglibrarian.blogspot.com/

25. Questions?
Thank you for listening
Dr. Fintan Bracken, Deputy Librarian, IT Carlow
Tel.: 059 9175770
Email: fintan.bracken@itcarlow.ie
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1228-5109
Google Scholar profile:
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=v9oKT
5AAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao
Acknowledgements:
This presentation draws on content from the
following talks:
Dunne, D. (2017) Introduction to scholarly
publishing: The journal publishing cycle.
Available at:
http://libguides.ul.ie/ld.php?content_id=2904890
6 [accessed 07 Nov 2018].
Fallon, H. (2013) Publishing and disseminating
your research and practice. Available at:
https://www.slideshare.net/Helen999/writing-for-
academic-publishing-
24281699?next_slideshow=1 [accessed 07 Nov
2018].