Read this first! How to prepare a manuscript for submission to a chemical science journal Scientific paper
Main Article Content
Abstract
In addition to the subject-matter theoretical knowledge acquired during undergraduate and especially postgraduate studies future young scientists must also acquire the accompanying academic skills. This skillset will enable them to plan and conduct their research in accordance with the scientific method, but also to present the results of that research in suitable forms. No result and no new knowledge derived from research is valuable in itself, as long as it is not presented to the scientific community and society as a whole. This dissemination is most often done through the peer-reviewed publishing in scientific journals. Hence, acquiring the skill of writing scientific publications must be an integral part of education, e.g., part of the acquired academic skills. However, that is not currently the case in all scientific environments and a significant number of (young) scientists and researchers do not possess all the necessary knowledge and skills to write academic articles, especially when it comes to the standardized format and technical preparations. This skill-gap often results in a significant number of submitted papers to be rejected or sent back for resubmission even before they reach the Editor’s desk. In an effort to provide an academic-writing-skill resource for young academics in the field of chemistry, this article points out the general principles of a well-written and prepared paper, indicates the most common errors and omissions, and suggests ways to prevent them. In addition, the article considers the current state of academic skills in less developed scientific environments, with Serbia as an example, and some of the causes of such a state.
This article was published as a preprint: on https://www.preprints.org/:
Version 1, May 19th 2023
https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1443.v1
Version 2, August 1st 2023
https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202305.1443.v2
Downloads
Metrics
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Funding data
-
Ministarstvo Prosvete, Nauke i Tehnološkog Razvoja
Grant numbers 451-03-47/2023-01
References
How Many Academic Journals are There in the World?, https://publishingstate.com/how-many-academic-journals-are-there-in-the-world/2021/ (accessed: October 31, 2022)
SJR : Scientific Journal Rankings, https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php (accessed: October 31, 2022)
SJR – International Science Ranking, https://www.scimagojr.com/countryrank.php (accessed: October 31, 2022)
Reducing the time from basic research to innovation in the chemical sciences, A Workshop Report to the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, The National Academies Press, Washington DC, 2003 (https://doi.org/10.17226/10676)
L. Brown, R. Griffiths, M. Rascoff, K. Guthrie, J. Electron. Publ. 10 (2007) (https://doi.org/10.3998/3336451.0010.301)
M. Nentwich, Poiesis und Prax. 3 (2005) 181 (https://doi.org/10.1007/S10202-004-0071-8)
M. Kozlov, Nature 613 (2023) 225 (https://doi.org/10.1038/D41586-022-04577-5)
C. D. Kelly, M. D. Jennions, Trends Ecol. Evol. 21 (2006) 167 (https://doi.org/10.1016/J.TREE.2006.01.005)
M. R. Shen, E. Tzioumis, E. Andersen, K. Wouk, R. McCall, W. Li, S. Girdler, E. Malloy, Acad. Med. 97 (2022) 444 (https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000004563)
H. J. Coolidge, Archibald Cary Coolidge, life and letters, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, MA, 1932 (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/2530584.html)
J. H. Grossman, P. P. Reid, R. P. Morgan, J. Technol. Transf. 26 (2001) 143 (https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1007848631448)
H. Aguinis, C. Cummings, R. S. Ramani, T. G. Cummings, Acad. Manage. Perspect. 34 (2020) 135 (https://doi.org/10.5465/AMP.2017.0193)
P. Rzymski, M. Nowicki, G. E. Mullin, A. Abraham, E. Rodríguez-Román, M. B. Petzold, A. Bendau, K. K. Sahu, A. Ather, A. F. Naviaux, P. Janne, M. Gourdin, J. R. Delanghe, H. D. Ochs, J. E. Talmadge, M. Garg, M. R. Hamblin, & N. Rezaei, Int. Immunopharmacol. 86 (2020) 106711 (https://doi.org/10.1016/J.INTIMP.2020.106711)
M. J. Mrowinski, A. Fronczak, P. Fronczak, O. Nedic, A. Dekanski, Scientometrics 125 (2020) 115 (https://doi.org/10.1007/S11192-020-03619-X)
I. Drvenica, A. Dekanski, N. Buđevac, I. Umeljić, O. Nedić, Hem. Ind. 73 (2019) 275 (https://doi.org/10.2298/HEMIND191020029D)
Održan seminar o recenziranju u Narodnoj biblioteci – CPN, https://www.cpn.edu.rs/odrzan-seminar-o-recenziranju-u-narodnoj-biblioteka/?script=lat (accessed: January 17, 2023) in Serbian
How to Write a Research Paper: A Step-By-Step Guide, Grammarly Blog, https://www.grammarly.com/blog/how-to-write-a-research-paper/?gclid=CjwKCAiAzp6eBhByEiwA_gGq5N-uF3vL5wEqTKopDXLpK3_0t6Xvonj2U9MnfTfsz8THZdVWCdnP_hoCgxEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds (accessed: January 22, 2023)
J. H. Shubrook, J. Kase, M. Norris, Int. J. Sports Phys. Ther. 7 (2012) 512 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.osfp.2010.06.004)
How to write a scientific paper – YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vky9PDKx5KU&ab_channel=GlobalHealthwithGregMartin (accessed: January 18, 2023)
Z. Popović, Kako napisati i objaviti naučno delo, Akademska misao i Institut za fiziku Beogradskog univerziteta, Beograd, 2014 in Serbian
A. Dekanski, J. Serbian Chem. Soc. 79 (2014) 1561 (https://doi.org/10.2298/JSC140610066D)
F. Ecarnot, M. F. Seronde, R. Chopard, F. Schiele, N. Meneveau, Eur. Geriatr. Med. 6 (2015) 573 (https://doi.org/10.1016/J.EURGER.2015.08.005)
S. M. Richardson, F. Bella, V. Mougel, J. V. Milić, J. Mater. Chem., A 9 (2021) 18674 (https://doi.org/10.1039/D1TA90183D)
F. A. Maiorana, H. F. Mayer, Eur. J. Plast. Surg. 41 (2018) 489 (https://doi.org/10.1007/S00238-018-1418-Z)
P. Kukołowicz, Polish J. Med. Phys. Eng. 23 (2017) 1 (https://doi.org/10.1515/PJMPE-2017-0001)
J. Faber, Dental Press J. Orthod. 22 (2017) 113 (https://doi.org/10.1590/2177-6709.22.5.113-117.SAR)
How To Write A Chemistry Research Paper? All Details, https://www.rasayanika.com/2021/05/06/how-to-write-a-chemistry-research-paper-all-details/ (accessed: January 18, 2023)
S. Abdullah, EFL J. 1 (2016) 1 (https://doi.org/10.21462/EFLJ.V1I1.1)
J. Swales, “Create a Research Space” (CARS) Model of Research Introductions. in Writing about writing : a college reader, E. Wardle, D. P. Downs, Eds., Bedford/St. Martin’s, Boston, MA, 2014, pp. 12–15 (https://vdoc.pub/documents/writing-about-writing-a-college-reader-1mb5686j3i9o)
IUPAC Recommendations Archives – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, https://iupac.org/tag/iupac-recommendations/ (accessed: February 14, 2023)
A. D. Mc Naught, A. Wilkinson, IUPAC (2012) 1670 (https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook)
SI Brochure – BIPM, https://www.bipm.org/en/publications/si-brochure (accessed: February 18, 2023)
Essentials of the SI: Base & derived units, https://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/units.html (accessed: February 22, 2023).