How to write and publish a research paper for journal publication?

Writing and publishing a research paper is an art that you need to learn. It is very easy to write and publish research papers in reputed journals such as publishing in Springer, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis Journals, etc; You just need to know the basic points that we are going to discuss in this post.

Publishing a research paper in a journal is key to success in the academic sector. But unfortunately, it is very challenging for new researchers to write and publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals.

In this blog post, we will help you to write and publish a research paper for journal publication.

In order to get published effectively, one must construct an appropriate title and abstract with important keywords, followed by a well-structured introduction, literature review, methodologies, results, and discussion.

We are dividing this post into two parts. Part 1 is describing the writing of a research paper. In part 2, the submission process of the research paper is illustrated.

Writing a research paper

Format of a research paper/ scientific article:

• Abstract
• Introduction
• Previous Research
• Problem Formulation
• Model or Methods and Results
• Conclusion
• References

The abstract and title are the most essential parts of any research paper. The paper is written should use simple language, short phrases, and passive voice should be avoided as much as possible.

While writing a research article two things should always be taken into consideration: Firstly, one should have a clear research objective in his/ her mind. Secondly, the language should be informative as well as consistent. Before starting writing the paper, one should have gathered all the research data which is significant and helps in concluding the results. The researcher should be able to answer the following questions:

1. What is the research paper trying to communicate?
2. Who are the targeted audiences?
3. Whether the results are worth reporting?
4. Will the research findings can directly be applied to societal benefit?

The title should be written in such a way that it intrigues the reader besides reflecting the main idea of the content of the paper.

Abstract

The abstract must include the key findings in the research study. Generally, the word limit of abstracts for most of the journals is between 200-250 words. It is basically a summary of the whole paper in one paragraph. There are several other factors that influence successful writing and publishing.

Introduction

Most of the journals prefer short, concise, and focused introductions as it gives all the essential information summarized in a paper. Writing an introduction bridges the gap between the reader from a general subject to a particular research subject area.

The introduction should give an outline of the research problem, help in revealing the research gap, highlight the important characteristics in the research study. The last paragraph of the introduction should clearly be able to explain the research problem and what we have done to solve this.

Literature Review

Reviewing the literature helps in collecting all the previous published research articles related to our domain/ area of interest. There are many online open databases such as Science Direct, Google Scholar, Research Gate through which research can get access to all the research materials.

The literature review helps in bridging the research gap, identifying the statement of the problem, and formulating a hypothesis. While writing a literature review, the researcher should keep the following things:

1. How my research findings help in bridging the research gaps?
2. What are the main assumptions and implications of my research?
3. Are the collected data most recent one?

Research Problem and Methodology

The body of the research paper should highlight and report actual research work that is done. While writing this section, the researcher should address the research problem and probable solution.

In the methodology section, one should be able to explain the methods of collecting and analyzing the data. He/She should be able to evaluate and justify the methodological approach (Quantitate/Qualitative) that he/ she followed during investigating a research problem.

If the researcher has used the survey method, he/she used to prepare a detailed checklist of all the designed questions intended to get research data.

The researcher can include the method of the survey he/she done, whether it was through phone or online, through the mail, or in person. The researcher has to describe the time frame (Days/Weeks/Months) given to the participants to answer the questions. What was the type of questions asked (subjective/objective)?

On the other hand, if the researcher has used an experimental method for investigating a research problem he/she should have to provide all the details of the procedures, tools, and techniques that are followed by him/her. The researcher can explain how was the experiments designed and the time interval of experiments that have been performed.

The researcher should also include details of sample size and sampling method used by him/her. An overview of the study can be demonstrated in the form of tables and figures which are self-explanatory. The title of figures is usually placed at the bottom whereas for the tables it should be mentioned at the top.

After writing the methodologies section, the researcher should explain clearly in an informative manner that how data can be analyzed? Generally, data can be analyzed either through the software or through statical methods.

Results and Discussions

The last section of the research paper should be comprised of results and discussions. The summary of analyzed research data should be included in this section. It should clearly give descriptions of key findings in the research study.

However, while writing the discussions section one should not repeat the results, instead he/she should be able to interpret the result data. The researcher should outline the ideas to defend the idea of novelty of his/her research. The following questions should be addressed in writing the discussion section.

1. What is significance and key findings in our research?
2. Did the results support the hypothesis?
3. How did your research data helped in answering your research questions?

Publication of a research paper

Submission of a research paper to a journal

Before submission of a research paper to a journal, it is always advisable to get feedback on our manuscript from co-authors, colleagues and revise accordingly. Once we have read the manuscript several times and identified the target journal, the next important step is to read the aims and scope of the journal. It will help in increasing the rate of acceptance in the journal.

One can use the journal finder tool to find target research journals.

Once you have selected a journal for your manuscript, Upload it to the journal’s website. Within a few days, you will get the reviews of your paper from the reviewers.

List of research journals

• List of Scopus Indexed Journals
• Free Indian journals for publication: UGC CARE, Scopus, etc;
• Call for papers in UGC CARE journals 2023: All subjects
• Free Springer Journals: Publish without publication fee

Frequently Asked Questions

Thanks for visiting our website for getting the tips to write and publish a research paper. If there is any doubt, please comment below, we will try to help you.

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