Writing Your Way into High Impact Factor Journals

Abstract

For better or worse, " publish or perish " has become a driving ethos in academic research. Search committees, tenure committees, and administrators evaluate researchers on both quantity and quality of papers they publish. However, proliferation of journals has led to numerous possible publication outlets, even in relatively narrow subdisciplines, so those evaluating researchers often rely on metrics of journal quality as a proxy for quality of research. Because Impact Factor (IF; Thompson Scientific) purportedly distills a complicated and nuanced judgment into a simple number, it has become the most widely used metric for this purpose (Seglen 1997). In theory, IF should relate to quality of research a journal publishes (Saha et al. 2003), but this assumption has been strongly questioned (Alberts 2013, Eyre-Walker and Stoletzki 2013). This suggests aspects other than scientific quality are important in determining the journal in which a paper is ultimately published. In a field as competitive as academic research, it is imperative for young researchers and students to maximize both the quantity and quality of their research output. As many of us do not have famous advisors, live in developed countries, or work in model systems (all of which might help publication in high IF journals), it is important that we maximize our chances of publishing in " good " journals. In this cut-throat environment, authors need their manuscripts to stand out, which may be effectively achieved through writing style. Strong scientific writing involves a certain level of " salesmanship " and " storytelling. " To be successful, authors must find a balance between creatively telling their story and articulating the significance of their findings (Day and Gastel 2012). Students are taught that small differences in writing style, emphasis, and presentation can influence the quality of journal that will accept a manuscript. Is this simply perception among seasoned scientific authors, or do differences really exist in presentation of papers in different-sized journals? If real differences do exist, it suggests (1) IF may be related to things other than scientific quality, and (2) authors may be able to take advantage of some relatively simple writing techniques to improve the chances of getting their papers in journals with higher IFs.