General Structure of Journal Article

Title

Abstract and Keyword

Introduction

Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgements

References
 Write in what order?

1. Title
2. Abstract and
Keyword
3. Introduction
4. Methods
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Acknowledgements
8. References
It is important to publish often to be
regarded as a source of good science and
creative ideas
 1. TITLE
Uses keywords that
Determines whether researchers in a
paper gets read. particular field will
recognize.

Avoid long title (see

journal rules) and
abbreviations.
Why are titles important?

The title is the first information that

readers use to decide if they want to read
a paper.

• The Editor is the first reader.

 Good Titles
Use key words but only when informative.

Describe the key findings or questions.

Raise reader interest: Be provocative.

Omit unnecessary “waste” words.

 “A study of…”

“New…” “Investigations
of…”

“Novel…” “Observations
on…”
Normally less than 12 WORDS but law and
management journals can go more than 50 words!

Brief (short and sharp) phrase describing /

reflecting the contents of the paper.

Print authors' full names and affiliations, the name

of the corresponding author along with HP/office
phone (International Code), fax and e-mail
information & complete current addresses.
Be consistent with your own names for e-search
databases/citation purposes.

Concise and informative - titles are often used in

information-retrieval systems.

Avoid abbreviations, prepositions and formulae where

possible.
2. ABSTRACT and KEYWORD

Critical part of paper.

State main objective.

Summarize most important results.

Avoid acronyms and mathematical

symbols.

Write and rewrite until flawless!!

 Covers main
points of
Serves as Use same
article:
decision- level of
making tool technical
for readers. languages as
Topic, problem in articles.
purpose,
conclusions
100-200 WORDS, sometimes a
maximum of 250 words.

Informative and completely self-

explanatory.
 Check the Journal Information for Authors
page to see how what length is required.

Make sure that you stick to this limit,

otherwise it is likely that your abstract
will be edited.

24/01/2023 13
Write a very strong abstract !
 Your abstract is what readers will use when they are deciding whether
to read your article. For this reason your abstract is very important
and you should spend time making sure that it is readable and that it
contains a complete description of your research.

In approximately 100-200 words, you will need to summarize your

findings and what the implications of those findings are.

The abstract must be accurate as a reflection of what is in your

article.

24/01/2023 15
The abstract must be self-contained, without abbreviations, footnotes, or
incomplete references. It must make sense on its own.

It is a good idea to include keywords in your abstract, as this will help

readers to find it. Key phrases need to make sense within the abstract.

Try to keep to a maximum of three or four different keyword phrases, and

avoid over-repetition of such phrases as this can look like an attempt to trick
a search engine, which may result in a page being rejected.

Check that the abstract reads well.

24/01/2023 16
 For papers reporting original research, state the
primary objective and any hypothesis tested;
describe the research design and your reasons for
adopting that methodology; state the methods and
procedures employed, state the main outcomes and
results, and state the conclusions that might be
drawn from these data and results, including their
implications for further research or
application/practice.

24/01/2023 17
Briefly present the topic with 1-2 lines of:

introductory statement,

objective/s,

scope of the experiments/methodology,

major results/findings (indicate significant data and results)

conclusions
(with research limitations/implications (if applicable)
Exclusions/next steps, practical implications (if applicable)
Applications to practice/’So what?’ Social implications (if applicable)
Impact on society/policy/future work/suggestions/recommendations)

originality/value – Who would benefit from this and what is new

about it?
Sentences must be complete and passive verbs used.
The 3rd. person (he, she, they) should not be used.

Should be written in the past tense and standard

nomenclature should be used and NO abbreviations.

No literatures be cited or quoted in the abstract since

your abstract is your summary highlights of your own
work/research.
 KEYWORD

Usually 3-8 WORDS (preferably < 5 words).

For the purpose of indexing/references. i.e. to enable searches in

databases, include all the keywords of your research.

NOT necessarily represent all the words in your title.

Some journals, esp. submission through Scholar One

Manuscript Central already specified the keywords in a
particular chosen field.

Try to avoid abbreviations except standard ones.

 2. INTRODUCTION
Introduce the topic.

Explain the context of the work being reported.

Give the reader enough background information to

understand and evaluate the results of your work.

Relate to current knowledge.

Indicate the gap.

State research questions and objectives.

 Write this section in the
Importance/necessity of
past or present tense, never
study.
in the future.

Avoid expressions
like "This study will
examine.
This section should contain:

Current state of knowledge or understanding

at the beginning of the investigation
(background);

A statement of the purpose;

hypothesis/hypotheses and predictions.

The introduction must answer the questions:

What was studied?

Why is the purpose of the study important?

What was known about the topic/question before this

study?

How do the results advance our knowledge?

Introduce the reader to your research, not
summarize and evaluate all past literature on
the subject.

Save other studies you may be tempted to

discuss for the Discussion, where they become
a powerful tool for comparing and interpreting
your results.
 Some editors think that: The
principal results and
conclusions should be
summarized in the
Introduction.

Most biologists disagree, arguing that such a

summary appears in the abstract and should not
be repeated in the Introduction.
• Don’t repeat abstract in introduction.
• Don’t repeat introduction in discussion.
Rules for citation in text:

Use authors last names

• "Smith (1983) found that N-fixing plants could be infected by
several different species of Rhizobium."

If there are more than two authors, the last name of the 1st author is
given followed by the abbreviation et al., .
• "Walnut trees are known to be allelopathic (Smith 1949,  Bond et
al., 1955, Jones and Green 1963)."
 Devote half the writing time to the introduction and
conclusion.

Once the ideas of a publishable paper are roughly

formulated, writing should be done within a month.
Otherwise, you lose interest. You may even forget about the
entire paper.

About half of your writing time should be devoted to write

the main body of the paper, which should be done first.

The remainder of your effort should be devoted to write the

introduction and conclusion.

24/01/2023 29
 Get their attention early…

Provide evidence of why it is interesting

(i.e., why it should be published) in the
introduction.

If an apple does not taste good at the first

bite, he/she simply throws it away without
giving any thought on the nutritional value
hidden in the apple.

Likewise, most referees make up their mind

at the first bite, i.e., within 15 minutes of
reading a paper.

24/01/2023 30
 If the referees don't like a paper, they begin to look for reasons to justify
why the paper should be rejected.

If the referee loses interest from reading the introduction, he/she might
postpone reading the paper.

If a paper is set aside, it could be several months later when the referee
picks up the paper again, probably if and when he/she receives a
reminder about the review. This is one of the major reasons why it takes
a long time to get a report.

Do not repeat the concluding remarks in the introduction.

24/01/2023 31
 If you write more than two pages, then either

you are discoursing a lot about other

people, in which case you are sending a
signal that your contribution is minor,
relative to the literature, or

you are discussing too many technical

details, which do not belong in the
introduction.

24/01/2023 32
 The introduction should be two pages or less

If the introduction Shorten it to 2

is more than two pages or 1.5 of the
pages, it is too paper, whichever
long. is less.

24/01/2023 33
Normally 1-1.5 PAGE but more with
business/management papers.

Should provide a clear statement of the problem, the

relevant literature on the subject, and the proposed
gap/approach or solution in present tense.

Lays the overview/groundwork for why the paper that

follows is important-often includes the definition of
relevant terms, a literature review, any hypotheses, and
how this paper differs from other studies or papers on
this topic.
Provides insights to the current or past problem.

It should be understandable to colleagues from a broad range of

scientific disciplines.

At least 15-20 REFS cited with most current literatures of 1-3

years back from the year of submission. E.g.. 2011 submission
must have 2010, 2009 & 2008 refs although your research has
been conducted 5 years ago.
May include Outline how your
Objective must
research questions work adds to
appear in the last
and justifications knowledge / fills
paragraph.
of study. the gap.
 Introduction: Guideline Style 1

1. Begin with the most

general information. Background

2. Focus on the specific

problem you studied.
Problem

P
3. Provide statement of
ur
purpose and rationale. po
se
 Introduction: Guideline Style 2
Move 1: General information Establish the field

Move 2: Establish context Summarize previous research

(What was already known?)

Move 3: Focus on specific problem Set up present research

(What is unknown?)

Move 4: State purpose Introduce present research

State the purpose, problem, and
approach
 Statement of Purpose

Expresses the central question you are asking and thus

presents the variable you are investigating.

e.g.:
• This study investigates the relationship between tree
density and fruit size.
• The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of
enzyme concentration on the reaction rate of ....
 Hypothesis

The explanation you are proposing for

certain observations.

It should be accompanied by a prediction of

results.

If competition lowers
reproductive output, then fruit
e.g.: size should be smaller when tree
density increases.
4. METHODS and MATERIALS

NO limited page nos.

Should be complete enough to allow experiments to

be replicated or reproduced.

Only truly new procedures should be described in

detail

Previously published procedures should be cited,

and important modifications of published procedures
should be mentioned briefly.
Capitalize trade names and include the manufacturer's name and
address (if applicable).

Subheadings should be used and consistent with the order of

methodology.

Methods in general use need not be described in detail.

Explain why you selected the sample and group you

did/participants.
Other previous relevant research must be presented
adequately.

Why did you use a particular questionnaire/instrumentation

and why was it selected?

What is its validity?  

Describe the measure you used.

Why did you use a four or five scale Liked questionnaire?

 
LOVE YOUR DATA !!
 6. RESULTS and DISCUSSION
Clarity and precision.

Must be in-line/in order with your methodology, written in past

tense.

EXPLAIN and DISCUSS WHY YOU GET SUCH results-may cite

previous refs for comparisons. Be crisp!
Answers research questions.

Support and defend answers with results.

Explain: conflicting results you got, unexpected findings and

discrepancies with other research.

States limitations of the study.

States importance of findings

Establish newness.

Announce further research.

 The Discussion should contain
at least:
• The relationship between the
results and the original
Analyze the data and hypothesis.
relate them to other • An integration of your
studies. results with those of
previous studies .
• Possible explanations for
unexpected results and
observations.
• Trends that are not statistically significant can still be
discussed.
• Avoid redundancy between the Results and the Discussion
section.
• End the Discussion with a summary of the principal points you
want the reader to remember.
• Do not end with:

– the tired cliché’ that

"this problem needs more study."

– What you wish you had done..

Better illustrated with
charts/graphics/tables
(charts/graphs preferable than
tables).

All figures and tables must be

referred to as close as possible in
text.

Use past tense when describing

findings in the authors' experiments.
Previously published findings should be
written in the present tense.

Results should be explained, but largely

without referring to the literature.

Results must be compared and discussed with

previous literatures.
Results = Main finding, main
purpose for writing.

Result help guide decision of

match to journal.
Other sections should relate to results.

By placing them in context of other research

in the introduction and discussion.

Supporting or contrasting your results with

other research.
When writing your results:
DO objectively present your key results without interpretation.

DO present results in an orderly and logical sequence using text, tables

and/or figures where appropriate.

DO highlight the answers to the questions or hypotheses of your study in this

section (which should be clearly stated in your introduction)

DO report important negative results.

In the results section

DO NOT restate each value form a Figure or Table in the

text.

DO NOT present the same data in both a Table or Figure,

Instead decide which format best shows the result and go
with it.

DO NOT report raw data values when they can be

summarized as means, percents, or other forms.
 Tables and Figures

Straight forward and concise.

Do not include the same data in both a table and a figure.

Present the data in a table unless there is visual information that

can be gained by using a figure.
 • a regression analysis (line graph),
A figure is useful for
• comparing the several treatment levels (bar
reporting:
graph with error bars).

Avoid using figures that show too many variables or trends at once.
A table's legend appears above it.

A figure's legend appears below it.

Describe how the data were

manipulated in a legend not in the
text.

Each figure or table included in the

paper should be referred.
The good features of Table 1 are:
(i) The legend explains key details.
(ii) It is clear.
(iii) It explains the meaning of unusual abbreviations.
 7. CONCLUSION
MUST FULFIL THE STUDY OBJECTIVES (e.g. Two
conclusions for two objective statements).

Include how the paper advances research in this area. What is

unique about it?

REFERS TO ONLY WORK DONE IN THE STUDY.

SHOULD NOT ONE(1) PARAGRAPH.

Include STUDY PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS that goes

beyond the scope of your work or Malaysia.

Include RECOMMENDATIONS* OR FUTURE WORKS.

(*Recommendations must be in accordance with future study

improvements for better accuracy to be conducted by future
researchers).
Should briefly state your major final points, based
on the synthesis of your results and the introduction
and discussion.

Should emphasizes why your work is important

based on your results.

Should usually be concise and to the point.

 DO
Look at other papers to determine if including
implications, or giving suggestions for future
research, is appropriate – Journals differ on what they
want you to include in the conclusions.

Read the instructions to authors carefully!

 DO NOT

Repeat what you have previously stated,

including over-summarizing.
 7. REFERENCES

Responsibility for the accuracy of

bibliographic citations lies entirely
with the authors.
Relevant and Be highly
recent. selective.

Read the Do not

references. misquote.

Use correct
style for
journal.
 Citations in the Text
Cite your own past relevant work, referees you like and
journals you are going to submit.

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is

also present in the reference list (and vice versa).

Avoid citation in the abstract.

Unpublished results and personal communications

should not be in the reference list, but may be
mentioned in the text.

Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item

has been accepted for publication.
Citing and Listing of Web References

As a minimum, the full URL should be given.

Any further information, if known (author names,

dates, reference to a source publication, etc.),
should also be given.

Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the

reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be
included in the reference list, PENDING ON THE
JOURNAL’S INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS or
GUIDELINES TO AUTHORS.
 Text
Citations in the text should follow the referencing style used by
the American Psychological Association (APA)., Chicago or
Harvard styles.

You can refer to the Publication Manual of the American

Psychological Association, Fifth Edition, ISBN 1-55798-790-4,
copies of which may be ordered from
http://www.apa.org/books/4200061.html or APA Order Dept.,
P.O.B. 2710, Hyattsville, MD 20784, USA or APA, 3 Henrietta
Street, London, WC3E 8LU, UK.

Details concerning this referencing style can also be found at

http://humanities.byu.edu/linguistics/Henrichsen/APA/APA01.ht
ml
.
 Listing of Authors
References should be arranged first alphabetically and then
further sorted chronologically, if necessary.

More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same
year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed
after the year of publication.

If >= to 3 authors, use et al. & italicize in the text but full
listing in the references list.
 Listing of Journals, Textbooks, Proceedings,
Papers Presented & Monographs

Be consistent throughout (e.g.. Year in text MUST match year in References list,
names in text = names in references list).

Volume , Issue, Number and Page Range Numbers MUST be consistently

written {eg. 7(6): 245-253 or Vol. 7, No.6, p. 245-253 or 7(6), 245-253} pending
on Instructions to authors.

Either title of journals or title of papers to be italicized or underline or in bold.

Year after author’s name or at typed last and whether in bracket or not.
Process of Research
Completion of research

Preparation of manuscript

Submission of manuscript

Review

Decision
Rejection Revision

Resubmission

Re-review
Acceptance
Rejection
Publication
Reasons for Early Rejection
Limited interest of
paper.

Unacceptably poor Routine application of

English. a well-known method.

Incomplete coverage
No novelty.
of literature.

Failure to meet
submission
requirements.
Rejection : not the end of the world
What Gets You Accepted?
ACCEPTANCE

Attention to details.

Check and double check your work.

Consider the reviews.

English/Malay language must be as

good as possible.
Presentation is important.

Take your time with revision.

Acknowledge those who have helped

you.

New, original and previously

unpublished.

Critically evaluate your own

manuscript.

Ethical rules must be obeyed.

 Reread the introduction, conclusion, and
abstract before submission.

Reread these three parts carefully before you

submit the paper to a journal and eliminate all
typographical errors and other embarrassing
mistakes.

A typographical error on the first page of

introduction or abstract indicates that the author is
careless.

24/01/2023 77
 Such errors tend to lead referees and editors, rightly or
wrongly, to conclude that the paper should be rejected.

They conclude that the author is likely to be sloppy in

substance as well. And they might be right.

If you don't proofread your own introduction, why expect the

referees to spot and correct all the errors?

24/01/2023 78
 Use, but do not rely totally on spelling checkers.

One should always check spelling before

submission. But there are no substitutes for
reading the papers personally.

Spelling checkers do not check word meanings.

24/01/2023 79
 Consider electronic submission if allowed by
journals

Journal offices increasingly are more willing to receive electronic

submissions.

Electronic submissions are faster and safer.

Word processor files can damage the hard disk of the journal office.
For this reasons, they prefer PDF files.

When submitting to journals that adopt double-blind refereeing

process, submit the cover page and the main body separately.

Remove your name in the document property (Your computer may

record it automatically).
24/01/2023 80
 Experienced people report that Acrobat PDF Writer does not
always produce dependable PDF files.

Use the dependable Acrobat Distiller. For instance, after the

Acrobat is installed, you can print a Word document using
Acrobat Distiller and save it at a desired drive. You can then e-
mail the file.

After a PDF file is produced, go over it to see if all symbols are

properly represented.
24/01/2023 81
 Visit the NSF site
Avoid using
If a symbol is not concerning problems
nonstandard
properly converted you encounter when
symbols, because
by Adobe Distiller, creating PDF files,
Acrobat Distiller
try retyping it using http://www.fastlane.
may not convert
another font. nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.h
them properly.  
tm.

24/01/2023 82
 Submit Your Paper to a Rising Journal

Good specialty journals are rising.

The acceptance rate may be higher. Pay off is

greater later.

Identify and avoid the declining journals

whose acceptance rate is low with a
diminishing payoff later.
General journals, except for a few at the top,
are expected to decline because of increased
specialization and the resulting drop in
demand for them.
24/01/2023 83
In general journals, "readers are confronted with a decreasing probability of finding
at least one important article" (Holub, Tappeiner, and Eberharter, 1991) in their
field.

In the 1970s, the top ten journals were general journals.

In the 1990s, half of the top ten journals were field journals.

As you become more specialized, an increasingly smaller fraction of

papers in general journals become relevant to your research.

Accordingly, demand for general journals is likely to decline.

Increased specialization is more likely in the future.

24/01/2023 84
 Do not submit two papers to the same
journal in two months.

Especially if the two articles are related.

Other things being equal, editors prefer to

publish two articles by different authors, rather
than two articles by the same author.

24/01/2023 85
You may submit more papers to the same journal simultaneously if
there is more than one editor.

They do not often communicate with one another.

In this instance, acceptance of one article by one editor does not

adversely affect the chance of another being accepted by a different
editor.

24/01/2023 86
 Avoid the journals which consistently reject
your papers

Haven't you learned your lesson yet?

Avoid (temporarily) the journals which have rejected your

papers consistently, say three times in a row.

The editor still remembers all those bad remarks about your
papers.
24/01/2023 87
 Wait until a new editor is appointed.

First and middle names, as well as last name, often reveal the
sex, race, or nationality of the authors.

If you have reason to believe that you are being discriminated

against on the basis of sex, race, or nationality, you may
consider using initials instead of spelling out the first and
middle names.

You may reveal your full name after the paper is accepted.

24/01/2023 88
 Use Professional Editorial Assistance

Particularly if you are not a native English speaker.

Editors will not publish papers with grammatical errors.

It is safe to assume that referees are biased; they have an

excuse to recommend rejection when grammatical errors are
detected.

24/01/2023 89
 You can easily find a copy editor who charges a reasonable
fee.

24/01/2023 90
Getting help with your writing

If you’ve been told the English needs

“serious” work, you should

SHORT term: Hire a

LONG term: Work
professional editor
to improve your
if you want to get
English writing
your paper
skills.
submitted quickly.
Language editing/polishing services

Services offered by companies

Polishing and editing of language (not

review of science)

Price based on:

• Length of document.
• Turnaround time.
• Type of edit needed.

Turn around time typically 3-7 days,

can be less if premium is paid.
Level of manuscript review

Language polishing

Basic English: grammar, spelling,

basic sentence structure.

Basic Copyediting: readability

word choice, reference and style
checking.
 Content/Language editing

Substantive Editing: logic-based

review.

Analytical Editing: standards-

based review.

Peer review.
Who does the editing?
Native English-speaking Ph.D or
graduates from high-status institutions.

Ph.D scientist published in “top

international journals”.

Graduate students and post-docs in

Ph.D. programs.

Editors with experience editing for ESL

authors.
When selecting a service:
ASK QUESTIONS!

Where is your editing done? US?

UK? Malaysia?
Do you use American or British
English?

How do you select your editors?

What qualifications must they

have?
 Do you have a quality control
system in place?

What is included at different levels

of editing?

Do you have an online submission

system?

Do you provide an editing

certificate?
WRITING A COVER
LETTER
A cover letter should….
Always be written…not writing a cover
letter is a missed opportunity.

Never be just a brief note.

Never be a long letter.

Usually be a short letter, no more than

one page.
 Basic information.

General or scientific background.

Explanation of article contents (short).

What is new.

Why it is important.

Why this journal?

Why now?

Ethical information.
 Basic information

Title

Names of all authors

Contact information for

corresponding author.

The correct journal name!