Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ten Ways to Improve Getting a Scientific Manuscript Accepted

  • Comment
  • Published:
Head and Neck Pathology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Scientific publication is the cornerstone to academic and private practice advancement in patient management and outcomes. Writing a manuscript requires a certain discipline and skill set that can be achieved with diligence and hard work.

Methods

Anecdotal and review.

Results

Several factors must be considered in scientific writing and journal manuscript submission and acceptance. Choosing where to submit the manuscript; understanding the instructions to authors; disclosing ethically; formatting correctly; never plagiarizing; supplying high quality appropriate images; creating meaningful tables; curating a pertinent but thorough bibliography; having valid, supported conclusions; and respecting timelines.

Conclusion

A discussion of relevant components in manuscript writing and journal submission to improve your chances of acceptance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Not applicable.

Code Availability

Not applicable.

References

  1. Balch CM, McMasters KM, Klimberg VS, Pawlik TM, Posner MC, Roh M et al (2018) Steps to getting your manuscript published in a high-quality medical journal. Ann Surg Oncol 25(4):850–855

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Abbott JH (2017) How to choose where to publish your work. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 47(1):6–10

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Wong TE, Srikrishnan V, Hadka D, Keller K (2017) A multi-objective decision-making approach to the journal submission problem. PLoS ONE 12(6):e0178874

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Gøtzsche PC, Kassirer JP, Woolley KL, Wager E, Jacobs A, Gertel A et al (2009) What should be done to tackle ghostwriting in the medical literature? PLoS Med 6(2):e23

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Peh WC, Ng KH (2008) Basic structure and types of scientific papers. Singapore Med J 49(7):522–525

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Inubushi M, Shidahara M, Takahashi Y, Ogawa M, Kiyono Y (2019) From the respective expert viewpoints of the ANM specialty editors. Ann Nucl Med 33(12):877–880

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Beall J (2012) Predatory publishers are corrupting open access. Nature 489(7415):179

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Moher D, Srivastava A (2015) You are invited to submit…. BMC Med 13:180

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Barbour V, Astaneh B, Irfan M (2016) Challenges in publication ethics. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 98(4):241–243

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Cuschieri S, Vassallo J (2019) Write a scientific paper (WASP): editor’s perspective of submissions and dealing with editors. Early Hum Dev 129:93–95

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Setiati S, Harimurti K (2007) Writing for scientific medical manuscript: a guide for preparing manuscript submitted to biomedical journals. Acta Med Indones 39(1):50–55

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Tomaska L (2007) Teaching how to prepare a manuscript by means of rewriting published scientific papers. Genetics 175(1):17–20

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Struthers C, Harwood J, de Beyer JA, Dhiman P, Logullo P, Schlüssel M (2021) GoodReports: developing a website to help health researchers find and use reporting guidelines. BMC Med Res Methodol 21(1):217

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. von Haehling S, Morley JE, Coats AJS, Anker SD (2017) Ethical guidelines for publishing in the journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle: update 2017. J Cachexia Sarcopenia Muscle 8(6):1081–1083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Cleland JA, Boumil M (2020) Four examples of potential competing interests affecting how clinicians read and use research: financial, academic, idealistic, and personal. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 50(3):116–117

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Bain LE (2017) Ethics approval: responsibilities of journal editors, authors and research ethics committees. Pan Afr Med J 28:200

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Brand JC, Rossi MJ, Provencher MT, Lubowitz JH (2016) Pearls of publishing: advice for increasing your acceptance odds. Arthroscopy 32(7):1223–1224

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Botea F, Popescu I (2020) How to submit a clinical paper: basics, tips and traps—Part III. Chirurgia 115(5):554–562

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Malički M, Jerončić A, Marušić M, Marušić A (2012) Why do you think you should be the author on this manuscript? Analysis of open-ended responses of authors in a general medical journal. BMC Med Res Methodol 12:189

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  20. Bonekamp S, Halappa VG, Corona-Villalobos CP, Mensa M, Eng J, Lewin JS et al (2012) Prevalence of honorary coauthorship in the American Journal of Roentgenology. Am J Roentgenol 198(6):1247–1255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Peh WC, Ng KH (2009) Authorship and acknowledgements. Singapore Med J 50(6):563–5 (quiz 6)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Morton B, Vercueil A, Masekela R, Heinz E, Reimer L, Saleh S et al (2022) Consensus statement on measures to promote equitable authorship in the publication of research from international partnerships. Anaesthesia 77(3):264–276

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Merlin T, Weston A, Tooher R (2009) Extending an evidence hierarchy to include topics other than treatment: revising the Australian ‘levels of evidence.’ BMC Med Res Methodol 9:34

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. LeBlanc AG, Barnes JD, Saunders TJ, Tremblay MS, Chaput JP (2019) Scientific sinkhole: the pernicious price of formatting. PLoS ONE 14(9):e0223116

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  25. Publishing BuddJ (2017) Reformatting wastes public funds. Nature 543(7643):40

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Zon LI, Boisvert JD (2021) A uniform format for manuscript submission. Cell 184(7):1654–1656

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Guo Q (2016) Publishing: Journals, agree on manuscript format. Nature 540(7634):525

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Read the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals News and Editorials: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors; (2023). https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

  29. Caon M (2015) What should not be in a manuscript submitted to a scientific journal. Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 38(2):203–204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Bannas P, Reeder SB (2017) How to write an original radiological research manuscript. Eur Radiol 27(11):4455–4460

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Gjersvik P, Gulbrandsen P, Aasheim ET, Nylenna M (2013) Poor title–poor manuscript? Tidsskrift for den Norske laegeforening 133(23–24):2475–2477

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Habibzadeh F (2017) Statistical data editing in scientific articles. J Korean Med Sci 32(7):1072–1076

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Günel Karadeniz P, Uzabacı E, Atış Kuyuk S, Kaskır Kesin F, Can FE, Seçil M et al (2019) Statistical errors in articles published in radiology journals. Diagn Interv Radiol 25(2):102–108

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Assel M, Sjoberg D, Elders A, Wang X, Huo D, Botchway A et al (2019) Guidelines for reporting of statistics for Clinical Research in Urology. Eur Urol 75(3):358–367

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Hickey GL, Dunning J, Seifert B, Sodeck G, Carr MJ, Burger HU et al (2015) Statistical and data reporting guidelines for the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery and the Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery. Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 48(2):180–193

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Hillebrand JJ, Wickenhagen WV, Heijboer AC (2021) Improving science by overcoming laboratory pitfalls with hormone measurements. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 106(4):e1504–e1512

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Higgins J, Dalgleish R, den Dunnen JT, Barsh G, Freeman PJ, Cooper DN et al (2021) Verifying nomenclature of DNA variants in submitted manuscripts: guidance for journals. Hum Mutat 42(1):3–7

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Murphy SP, Bulman C, Shariati B, Hausmann L (2014) Submitting a manuscript for peer review–integrity, integrity, integrity. J Neurochem 128(3):341–343

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  39. Kalnins AU, Halm K, Castillo M (2015) Screening for self-plagiarism in a subspecialty-versus-general imaging journal using iThenticate. Am J Neuroradiol 36(6):1034–1038

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  40. Kwak SG, Kang H, Kim JH, Kim TK, Ahn E, Lee DK et al (2021) The principles of presenting statistical results: table. Korean J Anesthesiol 74(2):115–119

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Forero DA, Lopez-Leon S, Perry G (2020) A brief guide to the science and art of writing manuscripts in biomedicine. J Transl Med 18(1):425

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  42. Rosenfeldt FL, Dowling JT, Pepe S, Fullerton MJ (2000) How to write a paper for publication. Heart Lung Circ 9(2):82–87

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  43. Hing CB, Higgs D, Hooper L, Donell ST, Song F (2011) A survey of orthopaedic journal editors determining the criteria of manuscript selection for publication. J Orthop Surg Res 6:19

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  44. Aczel B, Szaszi B, Sarafoglou A, Kekecs Z, Kucharský Š, Benjamin D et al (2020) A consensus-based transparency checklist. Nat Hum Behav 4(1):4–6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Grant MJ (2014) Peer review at the health information and libraries. Health Inf Libr J 31(4):251–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  46. Peh WC, Ng KH (2009) Role of the manuscript reviewer. Singapore Med J 50(10):931–3 (quiz 4)

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  47. Cavaliere F, Antonelli M (2009) Processing a manuscript submitted to a medical journal. Minerva Anestesiol 75(10):574–576

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  48. Al-Khatib A, Teixeira da Silva JA (2019) Is biomedical research protected from predatory reviewers? Sci Eng Ethics 25(1):293–321

  49. Happe LE (2020) Distinguishing predatory from reputable publishing practices. J Manag Care Spec Pharm 26(8):956–960

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  50. Shah J, Smart P (2015) An author’s guide to submission, revision and rejection. Ann R Coll Surg Engl 97(8):546–548

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  51. Venketasubramanian N, Hennerici MG (2013) How to handle a rejection. Teaching course presentation at the 21st European Stroke Conference, Lisboa, 2012. Cerebrovasc Dis 35(3):209–212

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

None.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Head and Neck Pathology Consultations, 22543 Ventura Blvd, Ste 220 PMB1034, Woodland Hills, CA, 91364, USA

    Lester D. R. Thompson

Authors
  1. Lester D. R. Thompson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

LDRT is the sole author.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lester D. R. Thompson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing interests.

Ethical Approval

No human participants were included in this invited review, but all materials were treated in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Consent to Participate

Not applicable.

Consent for Publication

Peter M. Sadow, M.D., Ph.D., Brenda L Nelson, D.D.S., M.S., and Lester D. R. Thompson, M.D., editors of Head and Neck Pathology Journal gave written consent for their likeness’ to be published.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Thompson, L.D.R. Ten Ways to Improve Getting a Scientific Manuscript Accepted. Head and Neck Pathol 18, 22 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-024-01617-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-024-01617-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation