enagoacademy-blog

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Do you get confused when citing sources for the literature #review or #discussion sections of your #manuscript? Follow these simple tips https://www.enago.com/academy/handling-citations-cite-sources-manuscripts/ … on handling citations and avoid #plagiarism.

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Check out these useful #tips and avoid getting cheated by #predatory journals!

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Importance of Punctuation in Research Papers (Part 1)

Writing formally in English is more than just choosing the right words in the right order. Using punctuation in your writing helps the reader to clearly understand the message that is being conveyed. Punctuation primarily helps to indicate the pauses and the emphasis on certain ideas or thoughts that are discussed in the text. In particular, in academic writing, it is essential to accurately use punctuation as it helps to strengthen arguments that are made in the text. Here, we give you an overview of two of the most common punctuation marks: the period and comma.

The Period

In British English, the period is known as the “full stop,” which neatly summarizes its major purpose: to help end a sentence. While most other punctuation marks in formal English mark a pause in a sentence or add an emphasis, the period completes a sentence.

Related: Not entirely sure about the punctuations in your journal manuscript? Check out these posts now!

In academic writing, periods are also used to denote an abbreviation has been used. In science, the most commonly used abbreviation form is “et al.,” which is an abbreviation of the Latin et alii. A list of Latin abbreviations that are used in academic writing is as follows:

et cetera = etc.

nota bene = n.b.

conferre = cf.

ibidem = ibid.

Finally, three periods in a row are called an ellipsis and this indicates that entire words have been cut out of a quote. For example, here is a full quote from a newspaper article:

“I hope it’s only a matter of time before, in the same spirit, we reimagine zoos.”

However, in our work, we do not need the complete subordinate clause, so we can use an ellipsis to cut it out while demonstrating academic rigor by acknowledging that we have edited the quote:

“I hope it’s only a matter of time before…we reimagine zoos.”

The Comma

The comma is one of the most misused of the common punctuation marks, probably because it has so many technical uses: a comma acts to separate subordinate clauses from the main sentence clause. The three primary functions of comma in academic writing are as follows:

1. Separating Adverbial or Introductory Phrases from the Main Clause

This is a very common use in academic writing, which relies on transitional and adverbial phrases to develop a line of argument. Some very common examples are:

However, the…

Therefore, researchers argue…

As a result, participants…

After this occurred, the…

2. Separating Dependent Clauses from the Main Clause

This is common in complex academic writing, where certain concepts often require nuance or additional information. The purpose of such commas is to clearly demonstrate to the reader the essential information that is part of the main clause and the non-essential information that provides additional information.

The subordinate clause can be in the middle of the sentence, which requires a comma before and after it. For example:

“I hope it’s only a matter of time before, in the same spirit, we reimagine zoos.”

This issue is, as described previously, central to this work.

The book, claimed Smith, was found in an attic.

OR

It can be placed at the beginning or end of the sentence, requiring just one comma. For example:

In the same spirit, I hope it’s only a matter of time before we reimagine zoos.

This issue is central to this work, as described previously.

The book was found in an attic, claimed Smith.

3. Separating a List of Items

This is the most well-known use of the comma; however, there is a point of contention around what is known as the Oxford comma or the serial comma. In American English, it is mandatory to have the Oxford comma, whereas in British English, this comma is required only when you require clarity in a given list of items. Thus, using the Oxford/Serial comma helps improve clarity in a given list, although it may seem to be simply a matter of style. For example:

The organization has recently expanded into China, Brazil, India, and Russia.

The application can be downloaded to PCs, smartphones, tablets, and iPods.

The mice demonstrated higher fecundity, improved appetite, and increased activity.

Common Comma Mistakes

Commas have many uses, and, as a result, there are many ways that they can be used incorrectly. Three issues which appear regularly in academic writing are the comma splice, the missing comma, and the extra comma.

The Extra Comma

A comma splice is a comma that is placed randomly in a sentence. It often appears because writers feel that the sentence requires a pause, as a common way of teaching comma use is to describe them as a pause or a place to take a breath. While this is useful for school children, it leads to many mistakes in formal writing. A comma should never come between the main clause and its subordinate clause, a verb and its direct object or objects joined by a conjunction. These commas are all used incorrectly:

One should never, argue with a deconstructionist.

The song refers to holly and ivy.

It is important to remember to, feed the mice.

The Missing Comma

Missing commas are common because writers are often afraid of overusing them, or using them incorrectly, and so they avoid them altogether. These lead to sentences which make little sense or which have ambiguous meaning. These sentences all require commas:

However, the penny fell onto its side.

The executive director who was known to be short-tempered told his subordinates that they needed to do better.

The application can scan print save send and edit documents.

The Comma Splice

A comma splice is a comma which separates two independent clauses which should be separated by another form of punctuation, such as a period, a semicolon or a subordinating or coordinating conjunction. The use of a comma is incorrect in English because it combines two independent thoughts that should be clearly and distinctly separated. Here we see some comma splices and ways to correct them:

The audience did not enjoy the movie, they felt the story was unrealistic.

The audience did not enjoy the story because they felt the story was unrealistic.

87% of participants agreed that they were satisfied, the test was successful.

87% of participants agreed that they were satisfied, therefore the test was successful.

Participant A did not understand the computer, he had not read the manual.

Participant A did not understand the computer. He had not read the manual.

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  The Enago Open Access Journal Finder enables you to find quality open access journals that are pre-vetted to protect you from predatory publishers. This free journal finder solves common issues on predatory journals, journal authenticity, and article processing fees by utilizing a validated journal index provided by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Enago’s proprietary search algorithm helps you shortlist journals that are most relevant to your manuscript and research objectives, thus giving you the best chance of publication.

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Introducing SciCrunch and RRID - An interview with Dr. Anita Bandrowski : Part 1

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How to Avoid Image Manipulation in Research Papers

Image manipulation in manuscripts has become an emerging type of research misconduct, with nearly 4% of papers exhibiting some type of suspicious image alteration. Between Google images and photo editing tools, it is possible to modify images easily. While modifying images may be for better presentation purposes in research papers, biomedical researchers should be careful. As a result, image manipulation is broadly considered acceptable, inappropriate, or fraudulent.

Acceptable: Simply seeks to format a picture for publication requirements

Inappropriate: Does not modify how an image would be interpreted (i.e., the results are not changed by the manipulation)

Fraudulent: Image is modified and affects interpretation of results

Removes background noise or other information

Modifying contrast to obscure background noise

Splicing different microscope fields together

Removing a band from a negative control lane

Importantly, scientists must be mindful of the type of image manipulation they are doing to ensure that it does not purposefully or accidentally mislead their readers.

Image Quality for Publication

There are many tools available to improve the quality of images for publication, such as R, ImageJ, Cytoscape, GIMP. High-quality figures are essential to improve the likelihood that a manuscript is accepted. Indeed, several journals even have minimum requirements for publication, such as 300 dots per inch. When editing images for publication, be careful to clarify without being deceptive. For example, ask yourself, “Do the results change because of what I am doing?”

When Image Enhancement Becomes Misrepresentation

As noted above, guidelines are available that distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable image manipulation. Even if publishers are unable to identify image manipulation, readers often carefully review images and point out inconsistencies in images to the journals. Once alerted by readers, journals either investigate the alleged misconduct or retract the paper.

Recently, a systematic search of 20000 articles over a decade investigated the incidence of images with some type of suspicious characteristics. It was observed that approximately 3.8% of papers had images that were potentially fraudulent.

When considering what to do, there is essentially one golden rule:

Do not modify an image such that its meaning changes

For example, do not modify any specific features of a larger image, such as a band in a western blot or reuse a part of an image elsewhere.

Publishers Policing Image Fraud

When a manuscript is submitted, publishers use forensic tools to spot image manipulation. These tools include:

Forensic Droplets

Adobe Bridge

ImageJ

Furthermore, in response to increasing image manipulation, companies, such as Image Data Integrity, have been established to provide consultation regarding the misuse of image modification techniques. These companies provide counseling to journals, funders, lawyers, and institutions regarding how to prevent or detect image manipulation.

While many researchers do not mean to mislead readers, image manipulation as a form of research misconduct does not require intent for it to be a problem. Therefore, exercise caution when you modify your images. In this case, maybe less is more.

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How to Write a Good Academic Biography (Part 1)

When your journal article gets accepted or you are preparing for a public presentation, you will often be asked for a short biography. For many people, these bios are more difficult to write than a dissertation. How do you sum up yourself and your work in 3-5 sentences? What should you include? What should you leave out?

What You Should Do

Start with your full name followed by your current position, your general interests, and your current project, keeping them all very brief. If you are within a year of receiving a prestigious award, mention that as well. Finally, finish with a sentence that’s personal: add a hobby, a pet’s name, the city you live in—whatever you are comfortable with that is personal but not too private.

What You Should Avoid

Avoid speaking in the first person, i.e., don’t use “I.” Also, don’t divulge details beyond your current position. In a longer bio of multiple paragraphs, you may add more awards and information about your master’s and bachelor’s degrees, but not in a short bio. Moreover, don’t add anything that happened before grad school—including your place of birth. For example:

Hi! My name is Scott. I was originally born in Vermont and now I’m a professor at North Yankee University in Fargone, New York (in upstate New York). I study antelopes’ migration patterns and their impact of native grain growth. My interest in antelopes began as a teenager when I first saw one in the wild. I did my undergrad degree in biology at SUNY and my masters and UCLA and my PhD in Forestry at Hunter College.

The above example is far too casual and Scott’s work and current position are overshadowed by all the other random details. This can be written in a much better way:

Scott Sampson is a professor of Wildlife Biology at North Yankee University. His work focuses specifically on the migration patterns of antelope and their impact on the growth of native grain. His favorite place to do research is his backyard, which opens to the Akron National Forest.

This improvised version is concise, relevant, and makes Scott’s bio appear professional while giving a short description of his personal details.

Longer Bios

For longer bios, follow the same basic rules, but go into a bit more depth about your work, your education, and your future projects or interests. You may also consider adding a line about your immediate family. But as always, leave the personal details for a short and friendly mention at the end of the bio.

Mostly, your bio will be used by someone to introduce you at a conference or public event so if you write your bio using these tips, you will help them give a smooth and accurate introduction. Remember that the bio is the first thing that people know about you so pack it full of the most important things about yourself!

If you would like to know more about different formats of academic biography, read the next article in this series!

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Using Hyphens in APA Style in Academic Writing

Submitting a manuscript for publication in international journals can be a daunting task, especially for those whose native language is not English. Academic papers must follow specific protocols and author guidelines, and the information must be presented clearly and succinctly. To that end, authors rely on style guides to provide guidance on syntax, formatting, and punctuation. There are several different style guides, with the main differences being the formats for citations and references. The protocols on syntax and punctuation are fairly standard across all of them, with some exceptions.

The American Psychological Association (APA) publishes its Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, a commonly used reference tool for academic writing worldwide and used in the social sciences and engineering disciplines. It was created approximately 80 years ago to “establish sound standards of communication.” APA’s rules help authors ensure that their writing is clear and concise and also help them to use proper punctuation with phrases that might otherwise be confusing to the reader.

One area that even authors often find confusing is when to include or omit hyphens in English writing. The material presented here outlines the APA rules for hyphen usage and will help clear up any confusion.

Using Hyphens with Prefixes

In most cases, the APA Style dictates that there is no hyphen after the prefix; however, there are some exceptions, especially with technical terminology. If a word has the same spelling but different meanings, it might be prudent to use a hyphen after the prefix to differentiate them. For example, recreation and re-creation have different meanings, one being a fun activity and the other being to create again. A hyphen is necessary in this case. Below is a short list of rules for prefix hyphenation.

A hyphen after the prefix is needed as follows:

The word could be misread (see above example)

The prefix is followed by double vowels (e.g., aa, ii, oo, or uu)

A proper noun follows the prefix (e.g., un-American)

A numeral follows the prefix (e.g., mid-2016)

The words are always hyphenated (e.g., foot-candle)

A prefix is added to a compound word that is already hyphenated (e.g., post-glacial-period climate)

If “self” is the prefix (e.g., self-taught), a hyphen always follows

Using Hyphens with Compound Adjectives

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Know More About Journal Editorial Processes: An Interview with Rebecca Benner

https://www.enago.com/academy/interview-with-rebecca-benner/

About the Interview

In this interview series, we will take you through Rebecca’s journey as an active member and facilitator in the publishing industry. Based on her rich experience, she highlights several key points that researchers should know about the publication process and explains in detail how journals, academic societies, and publishers are involved.

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Headnotes or Footnotes? A Quick Guide on Organizing Your Research Paper

In academic writing, footnotes, endnotes, and headnotes provide additional information on a particular topic. They are placed in the document as a supplement to the main text. These notes can be inserted within the document as a footer or at the end of a chapter.

The notes should be kept as brief as possible. The objective is to provide more information without distracting the reader. We discuss the different types of notes, how to use them, and their pros and cons.

What Are They and Why Use Them?

Footnotes

A footnote is a reference placed at the bottom of a page or footer. When writing your research paper, you would use a footnote to cite sources of facts or quotations. Footnotes are referenced in the text in the same way as a citation. That is, the referenced text is followed by a superscript numeral, which corresponds to the numbered footnote at the bottom of the page.

The two types of footnotes are:

Content: Supplements or simplifies substantive information; not detailed.

Copyright permission: Cites quoted text and any reprinted materials used in the text.

The format of footnotes is fairly standard (see below for specific rules) and is the same as that for references as follows:

Adrian Johns. The Nature of the Book: Print and Knowledge in the Making(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998), 623.

When citing the same reference again, the footnote can be shortened as follows:

Johns. Nature of the Book, 384–85.

Some older journals use “ibid” instead of a shortened version of the reference. Ibid is short for the Latin “ibidem”, which means “in the same place.” This format was previously used in the most printed text but rarely used now.

Endnotes

Endnotes are much the same as footnotes except that they are placed at the end your research paper instead of at the bottom of a page. In books, they can be placed after each chapter or at the end of the book.

In many cases, the book publisher decides the best placement. Endnotes, as footnotes, are numerically noted in superscript. The format is the same as that for footnotes.

Headnotes

Headnotes are used as introductions in legal documents or as summaries of the text that follows them. In academic writing, headnotes are explanatory notes included with tables and figures. They are placed below the table itself or just below the figure title and typed in a font size that is smaller than the main text (e.g., 8- or 10-point font). Headnotes are used to define acronyms used, units of measure, significance, etc. Because tables and figures should be able to “stand alone” without the main text, headnotes should always be used.

Format for Footnotes, Endnotes, and Headnotes

Although the format for footnotes and endnotes is almost similar, there are specific rules depending on the journal where the paper is submitted. Most scientific journals use specific reference formats; however, some style guides do not allow footnotes and endnotes.

For example, the Modern Language Association (MLA), which deals specifically with disciplines in the humanities allows limited use of footnotes. These are to provide the reader with other sources for more information on the subject covered. The MLA style for these notes is shown in the example below and the number corresponds to the superscript number noted in the referenced text:

See [name of author], especially chapters 3 and 4, for an insightful analysis of this trend.

MLA suggests using “content” footnotes when necessary to avoid interrupting the text with an explanation or other details.

In contrast, the American Psychological Association (APA), the style for the behavioral and social sciences, does not usually allow footnotes. Your particular journal guidelines will provide that information.

A third style guide, the American Medical Association (AMA), is used mostly with papers in the biological and medical sciences. AMA also discourages the use of footnotes but allows them on the title page. The information on the title page would include the authors’ names and affiliations, corresponding author, members of affiliated groups, etc.

Pros and Cons

Scientific papers do not usually include footnotes. Endnotes may be used sometimes, but sparingly. Other disciplines, such as law and history, still use them regularly. There are pros and cons to each.

The advantages of using footnotes are that they provide the reader with a fast reference and link to additional information. They are easy to insert and will automatically print. The advantage of using endnotes instead of footnotes is that their placement is less distracting. They also provide the reader with an easy reference list in one place.

According to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), endnotes are preferred to footnotes simply because they don’t clutter up a page. CMOS does caution that it can seem disconcerting to a reader to see pages of notes at the end of a chapter or book, so use them sparingly.

Again, another disadvantage to footnotes is that they tend to interrupt the flow of the text. The reader might feel that he must stop and look at the note before moving on, which can be very distracting. Some disadvantages to endnotes is that the reader must turn to the end of the text or chapter to find the additional information. In books with several chapters, this can be tedious, especially if the endnotes are renumbered in each chapter.

As for headnotes, there are really no drawbacks to using them in tables and figures. They offer the reader helpful information that is readily available as they read the data or interpret a figure.

Bottom Line

The style to which you conform when writing your paper will ultimately depend on the journal’s guidelines. Pay careful attention to its protocols for citations and references and whether it will allow footnotes and endnotes. If allowed, be mindful of the disadvantages of both and consider either greatly limiting them or eliminating them altogether.

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Scientific Papers: Is Readability Declining?

Are scientific papers getting more difficult to comprehend? According to a report in BioRxiv, the readability of scientific texts has been declining significantly. Science articles and abstracts alike have become fraught with confusing phrases and terms familiar only to experts or specialists in that field.

Now, it almost seems that part of the scientific process is learning to read and write in a foreign, scientific language. Research should be written and presented in a way that it can be reproduced and understood easily.

Complicated Scientific Writing

Published in BioRxiv, a report from researchers in Sweden included an analysis of how easily scientific papers could be understood. These researchers analyzed 707,452 abstracts published between 1881 and 2015 from 122 influential biomedical journals. Interestingly, they found that, in general, the readability (or the ease of reading something) has been steadily decreasing.

To assess readability, the researchers measured many factors in writing, including the “number of syllables in a word, the number of words in a sentence and the number of words in a paper not included in a predefined list of common words.” The researchers described the use of scientific jargon as one of the reasons. When scientists describe their work, genes and proteins are described in ways that make no sense to an individual who is not familiar with science. Now, nearly a quarter of abstracts can’t even be understood by someone with college-level English skills.

What Has Led to this Situation?

Jargon-heavy writing isn’t the only problem in science. Even the use of simple words that one can look up has changed. The syntax of a sentence, or how a sentence is structured, has evolved too. To sound complex and sophisticated, scientists have mimicked the confusing writing of previous scientists. Now, with many co-authors on a single scientific paper, everyone has an opinion. The effort to accommodate the nuanced intentions or desires of the various authors has led to more confusing sentences.

As the field of science becomes more specialized, the use of jargon and the number of co-authors have been increasing at a similar rate. The habits of a group of researchers in a specific field become normalized over time, thereby leading to this trend. And it should be stopped – everyone has the right to know about the research information being released in the public domain.

Tips for Writing Clearly

Sure, many scientists are able to figure out what is being written in a paper. But, who has the time? As a researcher grows in his/her career, time becomes more valuable. We all could benefit from needing less time to understand a research paper. Clearly written English can be found in the works of older scientists. For example, Charles Darwin has clear writing – why not write like him?

Scientists can also learn some tricks for writing their scientific abstracts and papers. First, use fewer words in a manuscript – write in a clear and concise way. Removing filler words and using active voice are both sure ways to increase the readability of your text. It also shortens your manuscript length. Similarly, abstracts should be short and independent. Journal reviewers and conference organizers will enjoy an abstract that can be read and understood easily. Finally, avoid anthropomorphizing your writing! When ascribing human feelings to non-human objects, like bacteria, readers can get confused.

In short, there are several ways to increase the readability of scientific texts. As shown by a recent study deposited in BioRxiv, scientific articles and abstracts are becoming too long and hard to comprehend. Clear and easily understandable papers will help both scientists and non-scientists to appreciate the published work.

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Trends in Open Access Book Publishing

Many initiatives have been undertaken to make journal articles and other content available through open access. For many disciplines, books are equally important as a source of published information when conducting research especially in humanities and social sciences. Authors of academic book chapters could choose gold open access wherein they pay a fee and the publisher makes the chapter freely available. Another alternative is green open access, wherein an author would place a version of the chapter in an open access repository.

The results from De Gruyter Open Author survey reveal some interesting statistics. To read more visit the article - Enago Academy

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Download Enago Academy’s mobile app and instantly access #scholarly #publishing resources.

http://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/

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How to Find an Open Access Journal to Publish Your Paper?

The open access model has garnered support from scientific communities over the years.  OA allows members of the public to access the content without permission and paywall barriers. OA journals make it easier for scientists to share their data with a wide audience. Most research done in public institutions use government research grants. These public institutions also pay journal subscription fees to allow their staff and students to read these journals. This means that public funds help in supporting and accessing research. This is one of the reasons that governments and funding agencies support OA journals.

Types of Open Access Journals

The open access model has evolved into many variants.

Megajournals: In this model, journals offer full open access for a relatively low article processing fee and high volume. These megajournals have an objective peer review. They also tend to offer rapid publication. PLOS One, BMJ Open, and Scientific Reports are examples of megajournals.

Delayed: These journals involve an initial embargo period. The journal chooses a time duration during which all their articles are behind the paywall. After that period, the articles are freely accessible. Let us say you choose to publish in a delayed open access journal in January 2017. If the journal has a 12-month embargo period, your article will remain behind the paywall until January 2018. As of 2018, your article will become fully open access. Some OA journals also allow self-archiving or green open access. In this model, the published version of the article exists behind the paywall. The journal allows you to deposit a copy of your paper in a public place. This could be your website or your institution’s repository. The version can be pre-print or post-print based on journal copyright policies.

Hybrid: These open access journals still offer a subscription service. They give authors the option to make their articles open access. If you decide to publish your article as open access, you have to pay an article processing fee.

Flipped: These subscription-based journals have now changed into OA. For example, Nucleic Acid Research and Nature Communications.

Choosing an Open Access Journal

How do you find an open access journal to publish in? You can use following platforms to find OA journals:

DOAJ: You can find a list of open access journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals. The DOAJ also makes it possible for you to access content in OA journals.

ROAD: You can also use ROAD (Director of Open Access Scholarly Resources). ROAD identifies open access resources which have been given ISSN numbers. The corresponding ISSN records are updated. ISSN records are matched with coverage lists provided by indexing databases, registries, and journal indicators. This process creates bibliographic records of open access content.

SciELO: The Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) is another option. It is a digital library of open access journals. SciELO is used for electronic publishing in developing countries. It was launched in Brazil in 1997. It hosts more than 1,161 OA journals and more than 500,000 open access articles.

Ulrich’s Knowledgebase: It has information on more than 300,000 periodicals. This list includes OA journals. Ulrich’s can be searched which makes discovery of open access journals easy. The database also includes links to full-text and other content.

BASE: Bielefeld Academic Search Engine is one of the most voluminous search engines especially for academic web resources available through open access.

You can use these online platforms to help you identify and narrow down your search for OA journals. Why not make your next publication open access? Have you tried any of the above or other platforms to help you in your search for OA journals? Do share with us by leaving a comment below!