‫عمادة البحث العلمي‬

‫جامعة الملك سعود‬

How to publish in
Q1 journals
King Saud University
22.10.2018

Dr. Dina Mahmoud

Ahmed
Rules
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Objectives
By the end of this session the audience should
know how to:
Find the best idea for your next
scientific article

write a good research paper

Submit in a high ranked journal

Get acceptance for your paper

Get citations for your work

 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Scientific Databases

ISI web of
Scopus
knowledge

Clarivate
Elsevier
Analytics

USA Germany

12500 20000
11500
450 8500
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Scientific Databases
ISI web of
Scopus
knowledge

Master Journal
List SJR

Journal Citation
Report
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Why publishing in ISI-Indexed journals?

• Requirement for graduation (PhD)

• Requirement for promotion (Faculty Members)

• To be recognized in the field/subfield of research

• To disseminate knowledge

• To get higher accreditation level (College and

university)
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

What is meant by Quartile?

Quartile rankings are derived for each journal in each of its
subject categories according to which quartile of the IF
distribution the journal occupies for that subject category.
Q1 denotes the top 25% of the
IF distribution

Q2 for middle-high position

(between top 50% and top 25%),

Q3 middle-low position (top 75%

to top 50%),

Q4 the lowest position (bottom

25% of the IF distribution)
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Why Q1?
• Prestige of journal and your own
institution
Strategies dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

Strategy 1: Understand the chemistry of the

“scholarly search.”
Strategy 2: Realize the importance of theory and
literature
Strategy 3: Start writing during the initial stages
(For doctoral program)
Strategy 4: Master the core concepts of impact
factor, peer review, contribution to knowledge,
and scientific knowledge
Strategy 5: Build networks and collaborations
 How to know the dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

Quartile for a Journal?

From Good Research to dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

Good Writing

Great findings need

to be reported in
the best possible
way to the world .
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Research Outlines

Dream

Discovery Design

Delivery
Publication

“ Creativity is an important characteristic of science,

which is driven by novelty.“
Deciding the Journal dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

for Publishing
Time

Temperate
Decide the target First tier journals, those
journal before journals which publish
writing the article. similar work

Or the journal If your competitor is ahead

articles you are of you, go for second tier
citing for your work. rapid publication journal.
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Points to be Considered
before Publishing

• Targeted audience
Points to be Considered dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

before Publishing

Open Access Subscribed

Availability free of charge on On payment

the world wide web

Author pays Reader pays

 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
What are we talking about
when we talk about impact?

Extent to which research is:

• Read
• Discussed
• Used
….And
• Disseminated Inside and outside academe
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Points to be Considered
before Publishing

• Impact factor of the journal

No. of citations (last 2 years)

No. of publications (last 2 years)
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Points to be Considered
before Publishing

• Eigen factor more robust

No. of citations from

more significant journals (last 5 years)
No. of publications (last 5 years)
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Points to be Considered
before Publishing
• Probability of acceptance
• Publication time
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What is Peer Review
Process?

Submission
Authors

Proof Reviewing
Authors Reviewers

Acceptance/
Rejection Decision
Editors
Editors

Revision
Authors
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Details of Manuscript
Writing

• Writing is a critical step

science although scientists
are not trained to write.
• Even very creative
experiments and novel
results will have dull
impact if the manuscript
is not written well.
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Skills of Writing

Read excellent articles.

Write…….and write…and write.
“Free write” your thoughts.
Don’t worry about structure
initially.
Use the best paper in your field
as a template.
Keep writing concise, dynamic
and simple in construction.
Convey enthusiasm in your
writing so it attract the
audience.
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
When to Write a
Draft of Manuscript?

Write the first draft at a

meeting where work is first
Prepare the figures and write
presented. The experiment will
the draft as the experiment is
be fresh in mind and free time
progressing
in the evenings may be
sufficient to write a draft.

The worst practice- to write a

Alternatively, the script of a
paper after you have left the
seminar can often be used as a
place (lab.) where the work
starting draft.
was performed.
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Divide and work on

• The easiest first and the

most difficult latter.
• If you get stuck on a
particular section, just
skip to a different
section that is easiest to
write.
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Manuscript parts
• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Acknowledgements
• References
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Title
The Backbone of an
Article
• It determines whether article is worth reading or not.

• Attractive and Catchy

How Article Title Affects dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
on Citation

• Most published articles are not cited- the title play a

vital role (article title has a significant impact on

citation frequency).
Abstract dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

The Most Serious Part of

the Article
Gives the quick idea of the contents (Stand alone).
• What and How was done ?
• Provide a brief conclusions
• The detailed information must be present in the
body text, not in abstract.
• I generally write abstract at the end.
Introduction dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

• Brief information of the study

• Integrated review of related work

• Updated literature citation

• Should not be too long

Importance of current study.
Setting the Scene
 Materials and dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Methods

• Study design-new methods must be described in detail

• Supplies, manufacturer, country needs to added.

Write the
methods
• Animal, human, protections details section first

• Measurements/ instruments

• Statistical analysis and data collection

Results dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

• Use descriptive headings that concisely state

the results.
• Data representation-concise and accurate.
• Consistent with the abstract and introduction
• Give tables and figures where needed
Discussion dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

•Answer the question posed in

introduction.
•Correlation of your finding
with the existing knowledge
•Differences between new
results and previously reported
results.
•Research limitations and need
for future research.
•Theoretical implications and
possible practical applications.
Conclusion dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

• Identify key findings and application

• Should not be a summary of the work done-

abstract is doing fine with that.

• Consistent with experimental and introduction.

References dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073

Use correct style for journal

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Acknowledgments
• Funding sources

• Intellectual contributions

• Dedications

• Notes
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Revision, Revision, Revision

Final step is revision and proofreading

 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Criteria for Acceptance
• Originality
Novel or creative research
methodology
New and important
research findings
• Scientific Quality
• Research data
representation
• Depth of the investigation
• Detailed and logical
discussion of results
 dhasanin@ksu.edu.sa 0580066073
Causes for Rejection
• Not novel

• Poor experimental design

• Targeted journal is not suitable

• Weakly written/presentation and language

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Ethics in Scientific Writings

1. Plagiarism(palg.scan,
turnitin,----)
2. Animal use concerns
3. Human use concerns