Let's Talk About Publishing a Research Article

With growing pressure to publish and participate in research-based evidence generation, it is paramount to approach research with clarity, structure, and purpose. This blog post aims to outline the steps that must be undertaken to successfully submit a research paper, beginning with conceptualisation of the research topic, followed by crafting a relevant research question, then preparing a protocol, submitting this for internal and ethics review, conducting thorough research, writing the paper, submission to a journal, production and editing by the journal and eventual publication. 

The first step that must be taken is to identify a research problem or question. The desire to undertake research is often inspired by situations encountered in clinical medicine, birthing a possible question. The next step is to then understand what existing research there is on the potential topic. This can be done through conducting a preliminary literature review, consulting seniors in the field to glean their knowledge on the topic, and identifying if there is a gap in knowledge, including context-specific answers to questions that may have answers that are not relatable to your research context (population, geographical location etc). Once you have developed a clear idea of the research question you aim to answer, a hypothesis can be synthesised and a suitable methodology selected. When selecting the methodology, it is important to consider the size of the population that will be studied, if the study will be observational or experimental, the exposures and outcomes being investigated, and the resources that will be available to you to undertake the study. The next step is then to generate a research protocol, outlining how you propose to conduct the study. Once this has been done, the protocol can be submitted for internal review by your research institution. They will then revert to you with feedback, and you can make the necessary edits. Once their feedback has been incorporated, the next step is to submit this internally-reviewed protocol, for external review by the ethics committee. They will then interrogate the appropriateness of the study, ensuring all ethical standards that protect the study population are met, and provide feedback. 

Once they have approved the study protocol, the process of data collection can begin. Data must be collected as per the chosen study design, and recorded meticulously. After the process of data collection, the data must then be analysed. It is important that the methods used for data analysis are compatible with the study design that has been selected. Ensure that if you are commenting on an association, e.g. odds ratio, the study can speak to this association, i.e. case-control. Once the data has been analysed, associations identified (if any), the research manuscript can then be written. The standard structure of a research paper includes the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion.

The Introduction must outline the research context and importance, the Methods must be detailed clearly and reproducibly, the Results presented logically and objectively with the use of visual data representations such as figures and tables, the Discussion must elaborate on the findings, compare these to existing knowledge, and infer the implications, and the Conclusion must summarize the key findings, and finally, propose recommendations and suggest future research questions.

Once these have been completed, a concise Abstract can then be written, summarising the manuscript. An appropriate Title that encapsulates the research question can then be devised. 

All references used must be cited at the end of the research manuscript, using a recognised citation style. 

Once the paper has been written, it is important to first select a journal to submit the paper to. You must identify a journal(s) that aligns with the scope of your research and addresses your chosen target audience. Also consider the impact the journal has, how frequently they publish and understand their peer review process. Finally, ensure that you satisfy the submission requirements and adhere to the author guidelines. 

Once you have selected a journal, cross-check that your manuscript is in keeping with all the stipulated formatting guidelines and does not contain any grammatical errors. It is useful to obtain a proofread from a colleague or supervisor at this stage. Once the manuscript has been proofread, it can be submitted through the submission portal. Ensure that the document is submitted in the correct format, and any attachments or request documents are included.

After submission, ensure there is acknowledgement of receipt. The journal editor will then send your manuscript for peer review by independent experts in the field. They will then review the paper rigorously, assessing it on its quality, originality, methodology and significance. They will then either accept the paper in its original form, reject it, or request revisions. If the paper is rejected, consider submission to a different journal. Before doing this, if feedback explaining the decision to reject is not provided, obtain feedback from mentors and experts in the field, and incorporate these to avoid rejection again. If revisions are requested, all of their comments should be addressed. The journal can then be resubmitted, detailing how you addressed their comments. If the paper is then accepted, the journal will proof read it and ensure that it is fit for publication according to their guidelines. The final version of the paper will then be published online and/or in print, and available to the wider research community. This can then be presented at conferences, and published on additional social media platforms.

Helpful Resources

1. Hulley, S. B., Cummings, S. R., Browner, W. S., Grady, D., & Newman, T. B. (2013). Designing Clinical Research (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

2. Learn more about the FINER criteria

3. How to write a good hypothesis

4. A brief overview of study design types

5. National Institutes of Health. (n.d.). Research Ethics and Compliance. https://grants.nih.gov/policy/humansubjects.htm

6. SA National Health Research Ethics Guidelines (NHREC)

7. Find an accredited ethics committee

8. EQUATOR network - Reporting guidelines

9. NRF (National Research Foundation)