Regarding the process of production and dissemination of literature, and information. The activity of making information available to the general public.
40
votes
10answers
1k views
How do you judge the quality of a journal?
A colleague and I recently submitted a paper to a journal with an impressive-sounding name, the "International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Computational Research". According to their ...
24
votes
3answers
2k views
My research work stolen and published as his own by the co-author without my consent
My research paper was stolen by the co-author and published as his own. What do I do? All the data the paper is based on is my own work. I got it accepted in another journal but now I cannot get it ...
28
votes
4answers
910 views
Simplest way to jointly write a manuscript?
As with many papers in the sciences, there are multiple authors who aren't physically close to each other. I was curious about the most efficient and simplest way to technically share the writing. On ...
26
votes
4answers
3k views
Submitting the same research to multiple conferences
I'm aware that it's a violation of terms for most publishers to submit the same article to more than one journal, but I frequently see authors whose papers seem very similar, particularly papers ...
23
votes
6answers
468 views
Is it possible take take part in a research project if I'm not a part of a university?
I graduated with a Masters of Engineering, concentrating in digital signal processing, in particular medical and audio, almost two years ago. I've always been interested in research, but due to ...
22
votes
6answers
512 views
Can I publish the reviews I write?
This is a follow-up question to Open versus Blind reviewing process, and is somehow related to What happens to the reviews that people write for journal articles after they're sent back to the ...
13
votes
2answers
539 views
Under what circumstances can one republish a conference paper/presentation?
For conferences that "peer review" and "publish" full papers, when, if ever, can you resubmit essentially unchanged versions for publication in a peer reviewed journal?
In my field, when conference ...
17
votes
3answers
470 views
Do scientific journals in general have any kind of policy regarding papers submitted by the general public?
Assuming that there are no ethical or legal concerns involved, in general, how would scientific journals handle research submitted from the general public (e.g., if a carpenter were to perform a study ...
12
votes
2answers
237 views
Changing mailing and e-mail addresses as corresponding author--which to include?
I finished my undergrad last year and have since been working in the private sector. I'm about to submit a paper with my senior thesis results. Two questions about corresponding author information:
...
65
votes
7answers
2k views
Why don't people publish failures?
The following might be a slight generalization for all fields but something I've noticed especially in the field of Scientific Computing:
Why don't people publish failures? I mean, if they tried ...
49
votes
10answers
1k views
E-mail address to use in publications
It is customary to use one's academic e-mail address as contact address in publications; I have seen once or twice an @gmail.com address being used instead, but it simply looked unprofessional.
...
20
votes
3answers
281 views
Advertising one's publication
After posting a preprint on arXiv, or after an accepted paper appears online, how to bring other's attention to it?
(Unless one is already a big name in one's field, or one proves a long-standing and ...
24
votes
6answers
578 views
Preprint services other than arXiv (for other fields)
While arXiv is great, it covers only topics in physics, mathematics and computer science.
Are there any good preprint storage places for other scientific disciplines?
18
votes
3answers
319 views
In writing a paper, how far can criticism of previous works go?
What are the appropriate limits when criticizing the previously published work of others that you're citing in a paper? Are there limits with respect to maintaining decorum and decency?
14
votes
2answers
371 views
I'd like to use a figure from a paper, what's the best way to do this?
So, I've seen a really nice figure in a paper; what's the best way to 'get a copy'?
Will it be on the publisher's website?
Do I need to draw my own version?
Email the author?
And, finally, how does ...
22
votes
4answers
490 views
Value of light-to-none peer reviewed pay-to-publish articles
I have been approached by an international student about doing a PhD with me. As an MSc student in his home country he has published 3 articles in pay-to-publish venues, that are known to have little ...
10
votes
2answers
773 views
Is it acceptable to publish a paper using an affiliation with a former employer?
Recently I've changed jobs, and consequently the field of research has also changed. But I'm still getting proposals for publications in the previous field, and it is interesting for me to accept some ...
34
votes
7answers
858 views
Attitudes towards self-plagiarism
I am planning to write several papers exploring various aspects of the same scientific question. Each of these papers must have an introduction which motivates it and explains the relationship between ...
28
votes
3answers
1k views
Order of authors on publications
When you look at a paper, what order to you assume the authors are in? Most important/most work done first or alphabetical? In my group we usually use alphabetic order, but I've been wondering if that ...
15
votes
3answers
746 views
Does one need to be affiliated with a university to publish papers?
Assume you have already completed your undergrad and have been working for a number of years. Does one need to be part of a university or a learning institution to publish papers?
7
votes
2answers
143 views
Researcher ID - is there non-commercial alternative?
Identifying uniquely a researcher as author of a publication is important. There is a commercial effort to create researcher ID for every researcher. It is not likely to succeed if it is not multiple ...
21
votes
2answers
399 views
How important are citations when applying for jobs or promotions?
How important is citation count for fresh doctorates? Is this number more important for joining the academia than the industry?
What is the importance of citations for someone seeking tenure? Does ...
19
votes
1answer
550 views
How do I reference the Python programming language in a thesis or a paper?
I asked this question before on Stackoverflow, but it was closed as off-topic, so will try again here.
I'm writing a scientific article and a dissertation in biology, for which I used Python for ...
13
votes
1answer
232 views
Spam “The International Journal of Science and Whatever”
I'm a very early stage researcher and my first two conference papers weren't great, but that doesn't stop new journals spamming me with offers to publish them again. This morning I received two emails ...
11
votes
5answers
552 views
How much should I worry about British spelling when submitting to a U.K. journal?
I'm in the U.S. and have always written in American English. I will be submitting a paper to a U.K. journal for the first time. To conform to British spelling, I've changed the Microsoft Word ...
7
votes
1answer
119 views
What are risks or disadvantages in uploading to figshare or related services?
Figshare lets researches publish figures and data for long-term archival and public access. I just found out about it and find the idea sympathetic. See for example their F.A.Q..
What risks are ...
20
votes
5answers
642 views
Supervisors and authorship
I understand that in a lot of big-lab fields it is common for the PI to append their name to a paper even if they did not write the paper, design experiment, or collect data since they spend energy ...
15
votes
2answers
335 views
How should a PhD student approach a collaboration?
I'm a PhD student at a top-ten university in the UK. I'm just starting the second year of my social science doctorate. I'm way 'ahead' of where I should be at the moment in terms of words written, ...
13
votes
5answers
285 views
Open versus Blind reviewing process
A question I have been wondering for a while is if there exists an actual proof that a blind reviewing process (i.e. where the reviewers are anonymous, and the reviews not published) is better than an ...
12
votes
4answers
497 views
Why should the scientific community avoid double submissions?
Every Journal has strict rules about duplicated submissions, and I do not mean by any mean publishing the paper in 2 venues.
My approach is mostly form an Economics point of view, given the fact that ...
9
votes
1answer
232 views
Submitting a subset of my work to ArXiv
I've been thinking of publishing a subset of my work in fluid dynamics to arXiv. I realize the following about arXiv:
ArXiv isn't a journal
I would need to be endorsed to submit an article on arXiv
...
13
votes
2answers
344 views
Can I show my co-author the final version of an accepted publication I reviewed?
I was reviewing a journal paper recently that is closely related to work a colleague and I are doing. We are currently in the process of writing up our paper, and I plan to cite the paper I reviewed ...
9
votes
3answers
278 views
Is it a faux pas to ask for a colleague's figure in a separate but related publication?
I'm an undergraduate with virtually no experience with the expectations of academia (so I apologize in advance for the silly question). I'm finishing up a paper describing my research and would like ...
5
votes
2answers
117 views
What figure formatting can, should, or will be done by a publisher?
Background
When preparing a final version of a figure, it appears that some changes could be more easily made in a graphics software (gimp, inkscape, scribus, adobe) as opposed to R. Such changes ...
35
votes
5answers
760 views
How to publish an academic book but make the PDF freely available online?
Background
I like the idea of writing an academic book.
It currently looks better on a CV when applying for jobs, grants, promotions, etc. than a blog post, or a website.
Libraries and people ...
30
votes
7answers
1k views
How do I overcome fear of rejection when writing academic papers?
I don't know how to put it. I have never published before. Previously my one paper was rejected, that was because the experiments were not ready and my advisor asked me to still submit it just to have ...
41
votes
14answers
3k views
What does first authorship really mean?
In my field (theoretical computer science), authors of any paper are always listed alphabetically; our papers don't have "first authors". (Well... hardly ever.) In most other disciplines, at least ...
27
votes
3answers
768 views
How common is it to inadvertently “reinvent the wheel” in academia?
When engaging in research, I know its a good idea to read lots of papers and talk to others about what has been done before and what is currently being researched to avoid "reinventing the wheel". ...
17
votes
5answers
882 views
How to prevent plagiarism of my papers?
I have recently discovered that several of my papers have been plagiarized in order to create one paper, and that this paper has been published at a conference. I informed the organizers of the ...
23
votes
3answers
537 views
Rediscovery of calculus in 1994: what should have happened to that paper?
There's a well-known paper in academic circles that features a rediscovery of the trapezoidal rule for numerical integration by a medical researcher:
“A Mathematical Model for the Determination of ...
17
votes
10answers
2k views
OpenOffice Vs. LibreOffice Vs. MSOffice for academic writing
What office package is good for academic writing purpose? These three are the most popular for a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) style rich text editor.
PS: Avoid LateX reference please. This ...
20
votes
5answers
410 views
Data publication basics - where, why, how, and when should I publish my unpublished data?
Many researchers have unpublished data. Some of this data may never be published as a manuscript. But I would like to make scholarly contributions of data that I have no intent on publishing, e.g. by ...
27
votes
3answers
482 views
How active should professors be in writing papers with their students?
In recent months, I have found myself getting involved in varying degrees with the papers being written with members of my group. Some of the papers—by the more senior and experienced members of the ...
11
votes
4answers
507 views
How to gain research experience after master program?
I just finished an MBA in the UK. It included a research dissertation (about 18,000 words) and a research methods module and adviser to go with it. However, my adviser made it clear during my research ...
19
votes
1answer
846 views
How to withdraw your paper from an open access journal where it has been accepted?
My paper got accepted in a mediocre open access journal. However later I found out that its publishing fees was too high.
What would be the correct way of asking a withdrawal of your article from ...
18
votes
1answer
374 views
Rules for affiliation for undergraduate students
Lets say an undergraduate student does some research in his/her free time and wants to write a paper about the findings. What are the rules regarding affiliation when the student tries to publish?
...
16
votes
1answer
187 views
How successful are publication agreement addenda?
I work in the field of chemistry, where some of the prominent publishers have very invasive (or restrictive) copyright transfer agreements. Thus, I'm considering the use of amendments (or addenda) to ...
13
votes
3answers
2k views
When / how should I ask about a manuscript's status in review?
I have a manuscript that has been in review for 60 days. The journal asks for reviews within four weeks. At what point is it acceptable (and not detrimental) to contact the editor for an update? How ...
8
votes
1answer
217 views
Beginners' guide to publications in mathematics
I solved an interesting problem in probability, and I think it's worth publishing as an interesting application. However, I am not a mathematician and don't know anything about existing journals or ...
5
votes
2answers
189 views
Publishing the same results at multiple conferences
I presented my psychology thesis at an undergraduate conference, an international conference in France, and am now interested in submitting it to be presented at the 2013 APA conference in Hawaii. ...
