Submitting research to a journal and achieving publication
Navigating journal and peer review processesLearning outcomes:
- Key points to consider when choosing a journal
- Tips on choosing between local, and national, and international journals
- What the term “indexed journal” means
- Measures of impact, particularly journal impact factor
- Publishing with open access
- Typical peer review process
- How journals try to minimise bias in peer review
- Research evidence for different kinds of peer review
- How to avoid predatory journals.
Learning outcomes:
- Why journals vary widely and have different editorial policies
- Core requirements for all medical journals
- The Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
- Importance of key ICMJE policies (on authorship, conflicts of interest, clinical trial transparency)
- Overview of the authorship rules and the role of the corresponding author
- The rules on clinical trial registration
- Examples of specific journal policies eg The BMJ’s patient review of research.
Learning outcomes:
- Why consent to publication about potentially identifiable living patients matters
- Circumstances in which journals need such consent to publication
- How journals handle consent, and what they do when consent is unavailable or privacy is breached
- Policies, regulations, and laws that protect study participants’ privacy.
Learning outcomes:
- How to submit an article
- Typical author journey through the peer review process
- Roles and responsibilities of authors, editors, and reviewers during peer review
- Why ORCID (open researcher and contributor ID) is useful
- What peer reviewers do
- How to respond to comments and revise the manuscript
- What happens after manuscript acceptance
- How to approve proofs
- Working with the media
- Using social media to disseminate research
- When to respond to post publication peer review.
Learning outcomes:
- Why journals reject research
- Evidence on what might lead to rejection
- How to interpret rejection letters
- What to do after rejection
- Waste in research and how to avoid it
- When and how to appeal against rejection.