Rachel PC Won

How to get your papers published in

Nature journals?

如何让您的论文问鼎< 自然 > 系列期刊 ?

Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD

Associate EditorNature Photonics

5 March 2008

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Overview● nature and Nature research journals• How to get published

- Manuscript preparation- Manuscript submission

• Summary

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nature &Nature research Journals

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nature was launched on 4 Nov 1869

The world’s foremost weekly scientific journal

For 2006, nature’s impact factor is 26.681

A flagship journal of Nature Publishing Group (NPG)

nature

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nature• A weekly print copy

(>65,000)• An anytime-anywhere

electronic rendition of an item or of a print copy (>3 million users of nature.com per month)

• A gateway to a seamless flow of relevant and timely information and opinion

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NPG’s Biological Sciences Division

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NPG’s Physical Sciences Division

Nature MaterialsLaunched in 2002

Impact factor 19.194

Nature PhysicsLaunched in Oct 2005Impact factor 12.040

Nature NanotechnologyLaunched in Oct 2006

Nature PhotonicsLaunched in Jan 2007

& Nature Chemistry will be launched in Jan 2009

Nature GeoscienceLaunched in Jan 2008

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Nature Research JournalsNature BiotechnologyNature Cell BiologyNature Chemical BiologyNature GeneticsNature Geoscience (Jan 2008)Nature ImmunologyNature MaterialsNature MedicineNature MethodsNature NanotechnologyNature NeuroscienceNature Photonics (Jan 2007)Nature PhysicsNature ProtocolNature Structural and Molecular BiologyNature Chemistry (Jan 2009)

Nature Review JournalsNature Reviews CancerNature Reviews Drug DiscoveryNature Reviews GeneticsNature Reviews ImmunologyNature Reviews MicrobiologyNature Reviews Molecular Cell Biol.Nature Reviews Neuroscience

Nature Clinical Practice8 titles

Academic JournalsAround 40 titlesThe ISME Journal

Nature Publshing Group’s Publications

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What makes Nature titles distinct?

Highly selective Focus is on quality rather than volume High impact Full-time professional editorial staff No external editorial board or affiliations Editorially independent of each other

Share general policies but not submissions Pass on manuscripts only at request of authors

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Publications from China

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Submissions from China to nature

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USA UK Japan China USA UK Japan ChinaAccepted 10% 11% 5% 1% 12% 13% 6% 2%Rejected 49% 46% 46% 31% 50% 47% 42% 35%RTA - no review 26% 28% 39% 62% 26% 28% 43% 55%Pre-Sub No 15% 15% 9% 6% 13% 12% 9% 7%

20042003

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Myth of Editors’ Bias

• Ever since Nature’s foundation in 1869, Nature’s editors and editors of all Nature journals have been 100% responsible for selection of papers – no editorial boards.

• Editors read and assess papers in a way that is independent of country of origin.

• Editors are of many nationalities, including Asian.• Editors visit many countries, including China.• There is no bias against countries by the editors of

Nature or Nature journals.

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How to get published in Nature journals?

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Steps to a great paper• Thoughtful research

深思 / 周道的研究• Thorough preparation彻底的准备

• Logical exposition逻辑的说明

Plan your papers-When you plan your research-Again before you start writing the draft

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Before writing a paper

• Why does the topic interest YOU? • What are the key findings of your work? • What was thought/known/done before this work?• What’s the main message for your readers?• Re-evaluate the original data, not only the ‘for

publication’ figures• How does new data change thinking, or support

current approach, or open new avenues or research?

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孙子兵法 :

知己知彼 百战百胜

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What editors seek• High degree of novelty or innovation

高度新奇或创新的主题• Interesting to a broad range of readers

能引起广泛的读者感兴趣• Significant step forward

值得注意的的进步 • Breakthrough in performance

突破的表现• High impact in the field

重大的影响• Important advance in scientific understanding that

provides new directions for research在科学理论上有显著 , 优越的进展为研究提供新的方向

• Data persuasively supports conclusions可说服性地支持结论的数据

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SubmissionEditorial

assessment Decline

Externalpeer review

Editorialdecision

Decline

Revisionrequested

Accept

Editorial Processes

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Results

Several possibilities:

• Accept, with or without editorial revisions• Invite the authors to revise their manuscript to address specific concerns• Reject, but indicate to the authors that further work might justify a resubmission• Reject outright, typically on grounds of specialist interest, lack of novelty, insufficient conceptual advance or technical/interpretational problems

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• Write (not phone) to us and explain why you believe we (referees and editors) have overlooked or misunderstood something

• Revised manuscripts normally go back to the same referees; need a strong case to replace a referee as they normally come back with new set of points

• The paper must not be submitted for publication elsewhere during this time

• It is likely that some time will elapse before we can respond

www.nature.com/naturephotonics

How to make an appeal?

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Manuscript preparation

How to get your point across…

HINT: Write for both the beginner and the expert

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• Nature is for broadest or deepest impact• Research journals overlap • Depends on the editorial scope of the journal and your target audience

Which journal?

…

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Presubmission enquiry

Ask us!

• All Nature journals have a presubmission enquiry procedure on the submissions page

• It is not compulsory

• Simply send in a fully referenced summary with a cover letter and we’ll tell you within 2–3 working days if it’s suitable

• Editors cannot make an absolute commitment to have a contribution refereed before seeing the entire paper

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• All Nature journals including Nature are editorially independent

• A rejection from one does not mean a rejection from the others

• Manuscripts rejected from one journal can be automatically transferred to any of the others

• Eliminates need for author to re-input a manuscript

• Author’s choice if they wish to do full transfer or just partial transfer

• Transfer link can be found at the end of the rejection letter

Manuscript Transfer System

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• Letterusual format for research findings, up to 1500w

• Articlemore detailed study, around 2000 – 3000w

• Review articleoverviews of an up and coming topic, 4000 – 5000w

• Commentaries opinion articles on topics that are considered of wide-ranging appeal and timely

• News & Views short articles explaining the significance of a recent piece of research (not your own)

Types of submission

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• Double-spaced• Normal A4 paper, single column in word or Latex

format• English as in Oxford English dictionary• Title, text, methods, references, end notes

(Supplementary Information, Acknowledgements, author contributions (optional)), tables and figure legends

General format for Letters and Articles

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• Clear and attractive• Not too general or vague • Not too long, less than 90 characters for Letters &

less than 75 characters for Articles (incl. spaces)• Does not normally include numbers, acronyms,

abbreviations or punctuation• Instead of:

“Record electro-optic coefficient of 170 pm/V and V of 1V at 1.55 μm in hybrid crosslinkable polymer/sol-gel waveguide modulators”, why not:“Hybrid polymer/sol-gel waveguide modulators with exceptionally large electro-optic coefficient”?

Title

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• Original reports with substantial advance in understanding of an important problem and have immediate, far-reaching implications

• Do not normally exceed 5 pages• Summary of up to 150 words• Introduction of about 500 words• 2 Headings: Results and Discussions 6 subheadings in Results• Main Text of typically 3000 words (excl.

summary, incl. Introduction)• 5-6 displays (figures or tables)• Up to 50 References

Articles

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Summary 150 words

Introduction 500 words

Heading 1: Results

6 Subheadings

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Summary• 150 words• equivalent to Abstract in many journals• separate from main text• no references, numbers, abbreviations,

acronyms or measurements• aimed at readers outside the discipline • 2-3 sentences of basic-level introduction• a brief account of the background and motivation of

the work• a statement of main conclusions (introduced by

“Here we show…”)• 2-3 sentences putting the main findings into

general context

Articles

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• Short reports of original research focused on an outstanding finding that will be of interest to scientists in other fields

• Do not normally exceed 4 pages• No summary or introduction sections• Introductory paragraph of about 200 words• Main text of not more than 1500 words (excl.

introductory paragraph)• No subheadings• Discussion does not repeat previous introductory

paragraph, briefly conveys the general relevance of the work

• 3-4 displays (figures and tables)• No more than 30 references

Letters

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Introductory Paragraph 200 words

No heading!!!

No summary!!!

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Introductory Paragraph• ideally of about 200 words, definitely not more

than 300 words• aimed at readers in other disciplines• with references• 2-3 sentences on basic introduction to the field• one-sentence statement of the main conclusions

starting with 'Here we show…' or equivalent phrase

• 2-3 sentences putting the main findings into general context

• note that main text will continue to describe the findings of the paper

Letters

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Main text

• Materials• Methods• Principles• Mechanisms• Results with displays• Discussion

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Discussion

• Comparison to previous work• Theoretical or practical implications• Conclusion regarding the

significance of the work• Limitations• Future work

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Write with the readers in mind!

• Focus on a single main question• Plan the content and organization with an

outline especially the flow of reasoning• Use simple, direct and concise wording• Check that all parts are connected with

persuasive reasoning, appropriate structure, linkage and context

• Express appropriate level of confidence:impossible implausible unlikely plausible possible probable likely

certain

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Paper writing tips

• Write in active voice; for example, “We demonstrate…” rather than “It is demonstrated…”

• State the present work in present tense• State already published work in past tense• Do not extend your conclusions beyond those

that are directly supported by your results• Give potential impact and future work

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Paper writing tips

• Make sure that you reference relevant previous literature

• Be concise; format for letters is 1500 words for the main text; put lengthy method and simulation details in separate sections at the end of the paper if you need more space

• Clearly put your work into context, explain the importance of your findings in relationship to previous papers

• Refer briefly to your results to support your discussion statements

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Methods

• If brief (less than 200 words in total), include them in the text at an appropriate place

• Cite a reference to methods published before to save space; with the new addition or variation briefly stated

• Can also create a new section called “Methods”; 1000 words, not counted as main text

• Figures in “Methods” should be submitted as Supplementary Information

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Supplementary information

• Supplementary information is encouraged• Peer-reviewed• Online access only, not in print • Material directly relevant to the conclusion of a

paper that cannot be included in the printed version for reasons of space or medium, e.g. movie clips or sound files

• Not subedited; authors should ensure that it is clearly presented

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Manuscript Submission

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• A letter that you submit together with your manuscript but in a separate file only to the editors

• Authors are encouraged to write cover letter

Cover Letter

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• Restate main message and significance of paper• Explain in clear and simple terms why the findings are

important and what is their potential impact e.g. “first time…”, “big leap in performance…”, “will help enable applications in…”, “new level of understanding…”…

• Include a separate summary for non-specialist audience

• List the details of the submission - submission type - number of words and figures - any supplementary information and supporting

manuscripts

Cover Letter

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• Can suggest referees and include their areas of expertise

• Can suggest exclusion list: who should NOT be approached to review the MS because of conflicts of interest

• Statements that experiments done comply with animal care and human subject laws

• Statement that manuscript is not simultaneously being considered at another journal

• Include your contact information (email, phone, address)

Cover Letter

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What’s wrong ? - Too brief- No explanation as to why paper is important- No suggested list of qualified referees or exclusions- No details of format, length

Cover LetterHow not to write a cover letter:

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- Explains paper is letter format

- Explains and emphasizes main important points of the paper

- Gives a list of referees

Cover LetterA good example:

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More tips

• Visit Nature’s manuscript formatting guide: www.nature.com/nature/authors/gta/

• Visit Nature journals’ websiteswww.nature.com/siteindex/

• Read published papers • Always run the spelling checker; no excuse• Find someone you trust who is a native speaker

to check your paper

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Summary

• Plan your paper when you plan your research• Consider the reader/listener• Organize your material well

- focus sharply- outline- provide appropriate structure, linkage and context

• Carefully choose the journal and follow the guidelines

• Seek and value feedback and criticism

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Helpful websites• SciDev.Net’s “How do I?”

www.scidev.net/ms/howdoi/ • Inter-Biotec gives free online writing course to help

biomedical scientistswww.inter-biotec.com

• Human Frontier Program’s “Websites and searching for collaborations”www.hfsp.org/pubs/HFSP_articles/websites-scol.php

• Element of Style by William J. Strunk is free online www.bartleby.com/141/

• Nature has one-page downloadable information sheet on “summary paragraph” and many more…www.nature.com/authors/author_services/how_write.html

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Rachel Pei Chin Won, PhD

Associate EditorNature Photonics

如何让您的论文问鼎< 自然 > 系列期刊 ?

谢谢 !

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Summary in Articles & introductory paragraph in Letters

• The most-read section of any paper• Key points:

1. One or two broad general statements to orient the reader, set the stage, and provide context

2. Concise description of results, with mention of methodology used

3. Major conclusion4. How this advances the field - why this is

significant for readers

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Summary in Articles or introductory paragraph in Letters

How to confuse your readers?– Mix already published conclusions with claims

made in this paper– Overinterpret & overspeculate– Misrepresent the data or conclusions– End with a throw-away line: “…effect on butterfly wings are discussed.”

when it is better with:“The iridescent scales of the Morpho butterfly give a different optical response to different individual vapours, and that this optical response dramatically outperforms that of existing nano-engineered photonic sensors.”

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Paper writing tips

• All variables should be defined• Avoid ambiguous use of pronouns “this”,

“that”, “these”, …• Avoid jargons and the excessive use of

abbreviations and acronyms• Don’t make claims that you are not sure,

avoid hype and speculation• Never say “for various reasons”

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References

• Are numbered sequentially• Reference numbers are superscript• Use “et al.” if more than five authors• Cite only published or submitted articles• Titles are required• References to websites should give

authors if known, title of cited page, URL in full and year of posting in parentheses

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Figures

• Figures tell the story• Order is absolutely

critical• Strive for data-rich

presentation• Show as much raw data

as possible. If n experiments done for each data point, then show all points, rather than the average and standard deviation

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More on figures• Label clearly

• Figures must accurately reflect data as gathered

• Choose carefully – Main text for main data– Figures in Supplementary Information

appear online only

• No ‘data not shown’. Either put data in the Supplementary Information section, or remove reference to it altogether