When you’re submitting a manuscript to a journal for consideration, do you include a separate cover letter to the Editor? Many people do, but some don’t. I always include a cover letter. It’s an opportunity to make a good first impression and tell the Editor a bit...

The word “significant” is used extensively when reporting the results of a study and discussing them. But when is it acceptable to use “significant”, and when should you use something else? Most journals specify that the word “significant” should only be used when...

Last week, I explored How to Select the Journal for Publication of your manuscript. Different journals have different rates of rejection. Nevertheless, it’s discouraging if your paper is rejected, with no invitation to revise and resubmit. After you’ve chosen the...

You’ve finished data collection and analysis, and perhaps you’ve presented your results at a conference. Now it’s time to write the paper. When in the writing process do you decide on the journal to which you’ll submit the manuscript? And how do you go about selecting...

By Guest Contributor Miranda A. L. van Tilburg, PhD   As we move into abstract season, I thought it would be worthwhile re-posting this blog by our guest contributor, Dr. Miranda A. L. van Tilburg from a couple of years ago. She has lots of great advice that...

You’re finally in a writing rhythm, and you’ve carefully crafted and edited your manuscript to perfection. But it surpasses the peer-reviewed journal’s word limit. In many cases, if a submitted manuscript is just one word over the maximum allowed, the paper is...