Research by itself is a slow and sluggish process. It requires meticulous planning, optimization and sometimes even replication of experiments. When you have completed your data analysis and other time consuming task, all that you want to do is to publish it as soon as possible. If your publication process goes through a rapid speed, it helps in quick dissemination of findings and allows you to get back to a fresh assignment at the earliest. It would be great to know some tips that can accelerate your publication speed:
Know your figures well: If from the initial stage itself you design your experiment keeping the publication in mind including the controls and layouts you wouldn’t have to waste time later struggling to make the data presentable according to the specifications. Also, when you collect the data, try to draft your figures at that time itself. This becomes more daunting with more time lapse in between.
Have a clear writing style: A well designed study may not be of much use of it is not written clearly. It also becomes a big reason for revision and rejection from the end of editors and reviewers. Hence unclear and vague writing can be a big barrier in the speed of the publication process. This is truer for the non-native English speakers. So always try to ensure that from the very beginning your writing has the desired clarity.
Use software for reference formatting: Reference formatting is a meticulous and time consuming task. Good software can be used for archiving relevant references and also reducing the time wasted in searching for already read papers. Software also assists in automatic formatting of citations as per the guidelines specified in the journal and even update as and when you make changes.
Get peer review prior to publication: publication speed can be increased further by using services that can provide peer review before publication. It helps to improve the quality of your document and guides you to make it in a way that it can get accepted in your target journal. It saves a lot of time in the redundant review process of the journals if they agree to accept your independent peer review as one of the reviews.
Know how to choose the right journal: if you wish to increase the probability of paper acceptance you must find one whose scope fits in well with the focus on your research. Take opinion and advice from your colleagues, friends, and peer and browse journal websites to choose the most appropriate journal for your publication.