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Top tips

Top tips for publishing

  • Determine your target audience
  • Ask colleagues and supervisors for recommendations based on their discipline expertise and experience
  • Determine where the well-known scholars in the field are publishing
  • Check the aims, objectives and scope of a journal, and follow the instructions for authors
  • Consistently publish using the same version of your name and sign up for a unique author identifier via ORCiD at UniSA so your research is easier to locate and follow
  • While at UniSA, list your affiliation as University of South Australia in full. You can also include the name of your Unit/Centre/Institute. See the Author affiliations on research outputs guidelines Research Quick Guide for more information and examples
  • Critically evaluate potential impact, reputation and reach before you submit your work
  • Use informal networks such as conferences and X (formerly Twitter) to make contacts (e.g. editors, co-authors) and keep up-to-date with developments and trends
  • Co-author with a recognised researcher to develop a publishing track record in your field (discuss with your supervisor if undertaking a research degree)
  • Consider journal metrics as part of choosing the right journal for your research
  • Cite the journals you want to publish in
  • Familiarise yourself with the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, associated Authorship guide and University policies (see Academic Policies - RES)

Special disciplinary requirements

In medicine and health sciences, there are some requirements that need to be followed for particular journals or publication formats. These include:

In psychology there are some requirements that need to be followed for particular journals or publication formats. These include:

What's new in publishing / FAQs

Publishing and use of generative artificial intelligence

Publishers are beginning to provide information regarding the use of generative AI by authors. Author guidelines may also be updated with information about if and how AI can be used and acknowledged, including:

COPE also have a position statement on Authorship and AI tools

Delisting journals from Web of Science

In 2023, Clarivate stopped indexing over 50 journals from its Master Journal List/Web of Science (WoS) due to journals failing to meet 24 quality criteria, including peer review, appropriate citations and papermill activity. Clarivate may remove content already indexed in WoS, not index any new content, and the journal loses its journal impact factor and authors lose citation counts.

UniSA researchers share their tips

Recordings from the 2021 seminar Publishing your research and what editors want held Thursday 8 July in the Bradley Forum, City West Campus.

Keynote presentation by Tamara D'Mello, Journal Publishing Manager, Wiley (access via UniSA login). Video length: 56 min 51 sec.

Dr Eileen O'Brien outlines her recommendations for early career researchers and research students commencing their publishing journey in this 32 minute video clip from the 2024 Publishing with Impact EDGE series.

Navigate to Professor Emily Hilder giving tips for Publishing

Professor Emily Hilder covers top tips for publishing from an editor's perspective.

Recording from the 'Publishing with impact' workshop held in  2019. Video length: 34 min 50 sec.

[The art of writing, in The analytical scientist, Paul Haddad, Emily Hilder, Frantisek Svec, 08/13/2018 https://theanalyticalscientist.com/business-education/the-art-of-writing]

Recording from 'Publishing with impact: where and how' workshops.

Dr Elissa Pearson is a lecturer in psychology with a research focus in the emerging field of conservation psychology. In this presentation she shares her insights on publishing from the perspective of an early career researcher. Video length: 33 min 24 sec.

Recording from 2018.

Dr Jill Dorrian speaks about the factors that influence her publishing choices and some of her most impactful works. Jill's expertise is in sleep research and she collaborates extensively with both other disciplines and industry. She has published extensively - primarily journal articles, but also other output types such as books and reports. Video length: 28 min 29 sec.

Recording from 2014.

 

Assoc. Prof. Armando Corsi shares hints and tips on writing papers and articles, submitting for publication, and navigating your way through the highs and lows of getting published. Video length: 42 min 55 sec.

Dr Corsi has authored more than 50 refereed journal and trade articles on food and wine marketing and is a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Market Research, the Wine and Viticulture Journal, and Economia e Diritto Agroalimentare.

Recording from 2018.

 

Dr Drew Evans is an Associate Professor of Energy and Advanced Manufacturing (Future Industries Institute) at the University of South Australia, with expertise in thin film coatings for commercial applications. ​Recording from Publishing with Impact series (video length: 41 min 32 sec).

Dr Evans has 67 documents indexed in the Scopus database, which have been cited by 1,454 documents. Forty-nine publications are available Open Access through the UniSA Research Outputs Repository. 

This 30 minute video features footage of Dr Rick Fabretto (Future Industries Institute -  Research Fellow) presenting at a Publishing with Impact RESA workshop, and also includes interview segments and information about Library support. Rick’s tips and useful insights will assist any aspiring author, but particularly Early Career Researchers and research students. 

Recording from 2017.

This recording is from the Publishing with Impact series (video length: 26 min 26 sec).

More from the experts

Publishing your research: Practical guidelines for authors & reviewers

Developed by the American Chemical Society, Publishing Your Research 101 is an educational video series designed to assist authors and reviewers with the process of writing, submitting, editing and reviewing. 

Included in the series is an interview with Professor George Whitesides from Harvard University, author of over 1100 published articles. Professor Whitesides offers valuable tips and information on effective writing and publishing.