Publishing journal articles with high importance in the field of research has become very important for researchers for advancement in their career and credibility in their field. When there is so much pressure to publish quality paper it is then that novices are producing papers that may get them a bad impression. Therefore it is very important for them to know the basic rules of how to avoid writing bad journal articles.
No time to read previously published journal articles in your field
It is very important to read previously published journal articles before starting to write your own. This is necessary so that you have a fair idea about all the topics that have been published previously and tend to avoid researching and writing on it again, as this may lead to rejection of paper. Hence take time to read articles related to your field of study.
Avoid plagiarism
As the deadline to submit the journal article nears authors tend to take the ‘copy pasting’ route to complete their paper. This leads to the papers being rejected on the basis of plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious breach of publishing ethics, which is punishable under law. It also earns the authors a black mark on their reputation and originality.
Disrespecting other’s work and thinking too high of your own work
While writing your journal article never should previous research works be portrayed in a negative light or dismissed. Your article should not disregard or point out the loopholes in previous researches; rather it should focus on elaborating as to how your research has covered up the shortcomings of the previous researches.
Remove ambiguity and inconsistency
Journal article should present the study in a very clear manner so that the readers have a clear idea of what they are dealing with and they don’t get confused. The article needs to be written such that nothing is left to the interpretation of the reader; rather everything is presented in a clear and descriptive way.
Insert reference to statements correctly
It is necessary to reference statements correctly and before that to add a reference wherever required.
Not taking care of the English language part of the journal article
It is a sign of disrespect to the reviewers who do voluntary service for the journal to give them sloppy papers with terrible English and disastrous grammar for review. The paper is also liable to get rejected if the figures and tables do not have proper legends making it impossible to understand their meaning. Therefore, researchers should take proper care to double check the paper for any spelling errors or grammatical mistakes.
Ignore editor and reviewer comments
After reviewing the paper sometimes the editors and reviewers find your paper to have the potential to get published but after incorporation of a few changes suggested by them. Always keep in mind that the reviewers are subject experts with high credibility in their field of study and hence they give positive suggestions to make the paper of superior quality. Therefore it is advised not to ignore their suggestions.
Keeping these few basics tips in mind can get your paper published and earn you recognition in the research field.