Writing Sequential Numerical References for a Research Paper

Reference list: Introduction

A formal reference is a published or unpublished source from which information is sought while writing a research paper. A reference list is a list of the information used in the original paper, sorted in the order in which it occurred. It is normally found in the last part of the paper, nevertheless, it can also be found as a footnote or an endnote.

Significance of a Citing your Sources

Referencing is essential for conducting excellent research and for your readers to understand how you conducted your research. Knowing why you need to reference can help you see why it’s critical to know how to reference.

Types of Reference/Citation Styles

A citation style specifies the material that must be included in a citation, as well as the order in which the information is presented, as well as punctuation and another formatting. There are a variety of methods for citing sources from your research. The citation style used can vary depending on the academic discipline.

There are four referencing techniques or conventions that are regularly utilized. The Modern Languages Association, the American Psychological Association, the Harvard, and the Modern Humanities Research Association are the four systems. Further styles used in styling include Oxford, Chicago and Vancouver (numeric).

Numeric style of Reference format

Vancouver is a numbered style. In Vancouver referencing, every data/information is assigned a number that relates to the sequence same as it appears in the text, which is a numeric reference style. The same number is used if the same source is mentioned more than once in the text.

Using references in the manuscript as citations (i.e. in-text citations)

You can enter the number in brackets or as a superscript when adding an in-text citation to your document. Whichever option you use, be sure you maintain consistency throughout your work. e.g. (1) or [1] or 1.

Include the citation number for each piece of work if you want to cite more than one source in a sentence. To connect two integers, use a hyphen. g. There are many studies that have examined the effect of alcohol on cognitive impairment (1,3, 4-7, 9).

Example: These findings were in agreement with the results of previous studies [2,22-24]. It is noteworthy that some researchers have reported that BMI does not correlate with H. pylori incidence [8,23].

Listing references (i.e. reference list at the end of the paper)

It is not necessary to mention the author in the citation in the text while using the Vancouver style, but you must include the author in your reference list at the conclusion. This list appears at the end of the paper, in numerical order same as it appeared in the text.

Example: Pattnaik K, Das K. Property rights, control, and the performance of firms in Indian industry. Journal of Economics 2019;42(1): 109-138.

APA (American Psychological Association) Citation for a Research Paper

Citations: Introduction

Citations are the documentation required in a research paper to get accepted for academic purposes or publications. While writing an article or any academic content, an author must include citations (in-text) whenever they refer to a sentence, paragraph, or quote from another source. It basically acknowledges the fact that the information used in a research paper did not originate with the writer.

Types of Citation

Different types of citations contain a different set of rules on how to cite sources in academic writing. There are certain ways the citations can be arranged in a document: Parenthetical citations, Endnote, Footnote, works cited as Lists, Bibliography, etc.

The most common citation styles are MLA, APA, Chicago, as their syntactic conventions are widely known and easily interpreted by readers.

 

APA (American Psychological Association)

APA Style of referencing is the most commonly used form citations in academic and research papers related to social and behavioral sciences by students, researchers, and professionals and it is recommended by American Psychological Association, USA. The APA system updates the referencing guidelines in electronic formats in a separate guide called the APA Manual, which the University students and researchers can use in book format or online through the library.

Disciplines using APA Style include Social Communication, Administration, Business, Education, Political Science, and Psychology.

There are two things to be considered when working with the APA citation style: in-text citations and the reference page. An APA in-text citation consists of the author’s last name and the year of publication (also known as the author-date system). APA style recommends using a reference list for references cited in the text of a paper rather than a bibliography. A reference list includes only those references which were actually cited in the text of the paper. The references must be corresponding to each other.

APA formatting guidelines with Examples

APA in-text citation style

The in-text citation uses the author’s last name and the year of publication, for example: (Mohanty, 2007). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Mohanty, 2007, p. 77). A paragraph number can be used for websites and e-books as they do not have page numbers.

APA Reference List citation style

  1. Journals and Periodicals

Journal articles should appear in alphabetical order in your reference list.

Rule:

Author Last Name, First Name Initial. (Publication Date in parenthesis). Article Title. Journal Name (Italicized), Volume (Italicized), Issue number, beginning page-end page. DOI or URL

Example:

Mohanty, B., & Mohammed, A.B.C. (2001). Title of the Paper. Bioscience Reseapro Journals, 15(112), 123-153. DOI: 10.1433005e24/brjda/21d46

  1. Books

Rule:

Name of author (last name, first initial). The date of the publication in parentheses. The italicized title of the book. Edition of the book in parentheses. Name of the Publisher. DOI number or URL or ISBN. Place period after each element.

Example:

May, K.V.R. C., & Abdul, Z. (Eds.). (2018). Title of the Book. Reseapro Academic Press. ISBN 97afqwf28137666.

  1. Website/Online Source

Rule:

Name of author (last name, first initial). (The date of the publication in parentheses). Title of article. Website name. Website URL

Example:

Keay, Y. (1191, June 22). Article Title or Headline. Reseapro News. https://www.reseapronews.com/news/national/1191/06/10/dsd-martin-wdff-fwfn-fwf-for-office-india.html

APA Citation for a Research Paper Overview

Hundreds of reference examples and their respective in-text citations are presented in the 7th edition Publication Manual. The Examples of most common research that writers site are available on this page and other additional examples are available in the Publication Manual.

To cite an appropriate and specific source, first select a category (e.g., Journals) and then select the appropriate type of work (e.g., articles) and follow the relevant example provided under each category.

Please note: When work does not fit within another category that is provided, please use the website’s category.

Publishing your article after Acceptance

What is an Accepted Manuscript?

The version of the manuscript that has been peer-reviewed is the accepted version. The simplest permitted versions are files that are effectively just plain text with no layout characteristic. This is how the vast majority of accepted papers appear. The Accepted Manuscript should be identical to the final published edition, but there should be no logo, citation details, copyediting, formatting, or copyright marking from the publisher. The document might be in PDF or Word format. Keep a copy of your Accepted Manuscript for any future postings after you receive the acceptance email from the Editorial Office.

What documents do you receive after acceptance?

When your paper is accepted for publication, the proofs are sent to the corresponding author. A paper is subedited (copyedited) after it is accepted to achieve optimum clarity and reach. Ensuring the accuracy of references is vital as published papers should not contain errors. Your paper is combined into an issue of the journal and published in its final form once the associated author approves them.

  • An acceptance letter from your journal’s editorial system.
  • When the object is passed to production, the Production Tracking System (PTS) sends an acknowledgment letter with the following information:
  • The reference code for the utility to track your accepted article.
  • Offprint Order form link to order Proofs and reprint of your article.
  • Copyright, sponsorship and funding, and open access are all covered in the Rights and Access form.
  • A link to a colour figure reproduction form, if applicable.

What to do after Research Paper acceptance?

There are still things that you must-do if you truly want to benefit from your publication.

  • Get an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) as it assigns a unique identification to each research output, ensuring that your work is not mistaken with that of others.
  • Making the accepted work online provides some advantages, including:
  • Earlier access to research that can be read and cited
  • Authors can promote their work as soon as it is acknowledged by their peers, keeping the publication process moving forward.
  • Share it with people as possible to recognize and respond to your work. Breaking down technical and language barriers is another powerful and effective strategy to increase public interest in your work. The way different publishers and periodicals address the problem of sharing differs.
  • Researchers will have more prospects for grant acceptance because they would be able to list their work early.
  • After all of your time and work has gone into publishing and promoting your paper, it only makes sense to keep an eye on it and assess the feedback.

Conclusion

The length of time it takes to prove an article varies by journal. Most journals will send you proofs within two weeks of receiving your acknowledgment letter. Many papers are published online one week before they are printed, and the corresponding authors of these papers will be notified via e-mail when the online publishing date is confirmed. It takes roughly 4-6 weeks for an article to be published after it has been accepted. After that, you can unwind, relax, and reward yourself for your work until the next piece.

Benefits of Outsourcing Medical Writing Projects

Outsourcing Medical Writing

Outsourcing scientific and clinical writing assignments lower the staffing needs by lowering the cost of recruiting, training, and retention. Medical device and pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to outside vendors to meet their technological and regulatory writing needs for business development.

What are the Stages of Outsourcing?

What And When To Outsource Medical or Scientific Research Paper? 

  • If a team determines that it will need medical writing assistance, the process of outsourcing medical writing activities should begin with a schedule for what documents will be required and when they will be required.

 

Finding And Selecting A Medical Writing Company

  • Ask the right questions and provide the right information to the Medical Writing Company

 

Managing The Services Provided

  • Make sure the writer is an empowered member of the clinical team should be part of managing the ongoing medical writing

 

Evaluating Performance At The End Of The Project

  • It’s crucial to assess the results at the end of the project before deciding whether to work with the same writing company on future projects.
  • Take the opportunity to meet with the main clinical team members and the medical writer after the project’s final activities are completed to share and review everyone’s opinions about how far the partnership went.

 

What are the Benefits of Outsourcing?

Adaptability – The re-appropriated writings from the Medical or clinical research writing firms have a lot of versatility for those who can’t afford to hire their authors.

Increase in profits – When companies outsource to Medical writing firms, they can save money in a variety of ways by minimizing or removing in-house workers and relying on a team of professional outside authors.

Best to focus on your core competency – Most businesses do not specialize in medical writing. The world of medical devices and pharmaceuticals is rapidly changing. By outsourcing, focus can be directed on Core Competency.

Compact writing services – Medical Writers, skilled editors, specialist statisticians, and staff writers make up a competent medical writing team. As a result, you won’t need to employ many people to do the writing, editing, and presentation of the abstract poster. This will help you save even more money.

Documents that adhere to strict regulatory guidelines – Pharmaceutical companies and clinical testing firms must meet the conditions set out by the respective regulatory authorities to introduce a new drug or perform a clinical trial. Medical writing services make it simple to solve this obstacle by sending documents that meet regulatory requirements.

Effective medical communication – Health content writing necessitates knowledge of medical terminologies, as well as experience and technical writing skills. The rethought writing of medical writing experts helps you share your thoughts easily.

Improvement in your sales and services – Medical device ads, product literature, and service brochures can all be outsourced to professional medical writers who can create eye-catching marketing material and increase sales revenue.

Tips for outsourcing medical content writing

  • Clearly describe the need as well as the audience you want to reach.
  • Provide detailed indications
  • outsourcing entails a collaborative effort.
  • Establish realistic deadlines
  • Be ethical 

 

Conclusion

Outsourcing medical writing successfully necessitates selecting medical writers who are not only knowledgeable about the requirements of each paper, but also capable coordinators who can push your clinical teams to present a straightforward, well-argued tale.

 

MY TARGET JOURNAL REJECTED MY RESEARCH PAPER: WHAT SHOULD I DO?

A journal rejecting a submission is an unfortunate reality in the life of an academician. This is especially true for young scholars who rightly feel dejected given the hard work and high expectations hinged in their submissions.

However, a journal rejection is not the end of the world and there are still various options before a young scholar, depending on the exact type of rejection. Here are some quick tips on how to react to a journal rejection.

What type of rejection: Read the communication carefully to understand what type or stage of rejection has been made by the journal. In some cases, rejections are desk rejections, where the editors reject an article in the first stage of sorting. This may be due to poorly written or structured articles, failure to follow formatting instructions of the journals, lack of proper English, improper referencing, etc. These can be easily rectified and you can share it back after revision with the same journal.

Poor fit with the journal: Often journals reject articles because it does not fit their exact focus area or the interests of its readership. In such cases, you may either try to rework the research paper, but perhaps it makes more sense to try some other journal perhaps better suited for your research paper. Sometimes, journals also suggest ‘insignificant advancement to current knowledge’ as a reason, which basically means your article is not adding much value to the present discourse. This is where you have to think about how to improve upon your work to make it more relevant.

Reviewer Comments: Reviewers often share detailed comments and suggest resubmission post revision. This is not a total rejection but an ask to improve upon your paper. You can revise your research paper and resubmit it with a detailed response to the review comments.

Technical issues: Sometimes journals reject submissions because of technical factors. There may be complaints of plagiarism, insufficient data work, reviewers finding flaws with the methodology or data collection, challenges to the hypothesis, etc. For plagiarism, often unintentional due to improper referencing, it is best to engage professional editorial help for a plagiarism proof manuscript.

Critiques of data work, methodology, etc are serious concerns that require not just a relook at the research paper but the entire research exercise. In such a case, you may either choose to revisit your entire work, or you may choose to share a revised version with some other journal, as the one who has rejected it on these grounds is unlikely to entertain even a revised version.

Change journals: This is always an option, often a tempting one, especially an emotional one in wake of rejection. except for some specific reasons, trying to resubmit to a new journal means only going through the entire submission process all over again. This means delays as well as extra work. Therefore, such a decision, if taken, must be done judiciously considering all factors of rejection.

How Much Does It Cost To Publish in Science

Just writing a good research paper for a scientific journal is often enough to get published. Publishing one’s article often involves considerable monetary expenses as well. There are certain misconceptions about publishing that need to be clarified on the matter of author charges; (a) not all well-reputed peer-reviewed journals publish good quality articles for free and (b) any journal asking for an article processing charge is not necessarily a fraud or predatory journal.

Asking authors for certain charges for publication is a common practice that depends on the various business models followed by different journals, which in turn determines how they monetize the entire process. Depending on the business models, there are numerous forms of charges or levies that different journals impose on authors.

Well established traditional journals that have a substantive subscription base or a well-endowed trust to back their activities often do not charge fees from authors. But that too is not a set norm as many of them may charge some or nominal charges nonetheless. Some journals today do not charge money for the digital versions of the articles but request contribution to cover printing charges and distribution. Open access journals, which are often digital-only, may also charge fees to cover for peer-review and other administrative or operational expenses. There are different business models even for open access journals where some maybe subscription-based while others giving free access to anyone. Depending on the mode of access, the article processing charges may vary.

In most cases, good academic institutions are subscribers of good journals or have a membership or other such arrangements, such that any author from these institutions offering a research paper or review article for publication get institutional monetary support. This may be in the form of discount rates or even nominal expense coverage/grants for publication.

Some of the typical forms of charges associated with publishing in a scientific journal are:

Submission fee: many peer-reviewed journals levy a submission fee at the time of the review article submission. While authors may find this practice to be restrictive, some journals levy it only to keep spamming or substandard submissions at bay.

Membership fee: some journals seek to develop long-term relationships with authors and charge a membership fee. This covers charges for a specified number of articles over some specified time. Some also seek authors to do peer-review for other articles in exchange for getting their articles reviewed. The charges may depend on the type of engagement.

Publication fees: this is the most commonly understood charge, also known as author publishing charges or article processing charges (both read as APC), that covers the actual cost of publication.

A peer-reviewed article may charge all or a combination of these charges for a research paper. Thus, you may be charged a subscription fee during submission, and only have to pay a publication fee if your articles qualify for publication after peer review.

HOW TO WRITE A RESEARCH PAPER A PERFECT FIT FOR A JOURNAL

Getting a research paper published in a journal is difficult given the high level of competition. There are numerous scholarly authors producing excellent research papers and good journals are flooded with manuscripts from which they can pick and choose. The editors of reputed journals are always keen to improve upon the impact factor of their journals and therefore pick and choose from applications only those articles that they feel add value to their journals. For a successful journal publication, as an author, you have to offer manuscripts that will appeal to the publisher and at the same time showcase your expertise as a researcher.

Here are some tips on how best to write a research paper fit for a journal publication

Focus on the right journal: There are numerous journals in any specific field of study and all such journals try to differentiate themselves from each other in order to gain relevance and higher impact factor. Identify the differentiating factor each journal tries to develop, the type of articles or publications they tend to give preferences to, the topics they are presently focusing on, and so forth.

It is advised to form a list of journals based on background research and sort them in terms of not only preference (in terms of impact factor) but also relevance to your work. One way to develop it is by reading articles published by these journals, checking how many of your references are from these journals, etc.

Work smart: You have to offer a journal publisher not only good content but also something that adds value to their publication. Check recent issues for topics similar to your research area.; Have they published something too similar and may perhaps reject your work as being repetitive? Or perhaps there is a series of publications as part of a vibrant academic discourse taking place in a journal in which you can add some value?

Stick to basic: Every journal has its own specifications for formatting, article style, charts, and data-work, referencing, etc. it is imperative that you do thorough background work to ensure your research paper meets all these criteria. Remember, publishers are first to reject any article that does not meet their formatting guidelines and you should not give them such an excuse to reject your article.

Introduce yourself: Many authors underplay the importance of a good cover letter. The role of your cover letter is to convince an editor that your research work is worth publishing in their journal. Always refer to the scope and aim of the journal and why you think your article is a good fit for the journal. Refer to the journal audience or letter to editors that you might have come across on the topic to cite greater relevance if you can. This also reflects your level of engagement with the journal as an academician.

Remember, it is always better to have some back-up journal as well and a similar exercise needs to be done separately for that publisher to increase chances of publication.

General Discipline for Writing Scientific paper

Conducting scientific research and writing a research paper for publication requires a different skill set. Scientists often come up with poor write-ups, as they mostly ignore the requirements for drafting a good research paper. This often leads to adverse comments from peer reviewers and even rejection of manuscripts.

Here are a few pointers of common errors and how to address them.

Word limit, page limit, figure limit, and limited attention spans are some of the constraints within which a scientist has to write a research paper. It is advisable to set certain objectives as benchmarks while meeting these constraints. The basic objectives are (a) clarity on the purpose of the research paper, the key hypotheses and the message it tries to convey; (b) the target audience, journal of publication, and intended outreach;

A scientific paper encounters thousands of critics during peer review as they often fail to convey their intentions. If scientists do not clearly define and communicate terminologies, concepts, or technical matters in their scientific paper, other scientists reading the paper will use their own logical reasoning to fill in for what is missing, and this often creates a gap. Therefore, it is important to give special attention to glossaries, etc. to clarify the exact meaning of any technical term being used in the research paper manuscript.

Often, scientific papers have multiple scientists contributing as authors. In such cases, usually different sections of papers are initially written by different people. This creates sharp distinctions, as often the tone and syntax of different sections are markedly different. Such differences affect the experience of reading the scientific paper and often the real message gets lost. This is where a professional editor becomes critical for reviewing the manuscript before it is finalized for publication.

It is very critical to stick to the correct format for a scientific article. Formatting includes the structure of the paper, depending on whether it is presented as a review, commentary to an ongoing discussion, reporting of primary investigations, etc. Formatting includes proper structuring of the paper with an introduction, literature survey, discussion of methodology, proper reporting of findings, etc. Each of these sections to have its own proper syntax and format.

A research paper should be written in an authoritative style, but must not be preachy. Criticisms to other’s work under the literature survey section must be logical and not become dismissive of their work. Affirmation for one’s arguments must allow for space of contradictions and not pose to be definitive and absolute.

The Process of Publishing a Research paper in a Journal

The publication of a research paper in a journal is a long and painstaking process. It involves many stages that need to be completed at the author’s end before submission to a journal. After submission, there are further steps at the publisher’s end over which the author has no control. In order to get a successful publication in good time, it is important for an author to understand the various steps involved in the process.

It all starts with the draft manuscript. A properly edited research paper, with proper references along with a good title, a short but precise abstract, and a detailed cover letter is the first step.

Any research paper submission for publication in a journal goes through an editorial screening to start with. The authors must ensure their research paper matches the focus area and objectives of the selected journal so that it is not rejected at the first stage. The best way to go about it is to follow the journal’s instructions with precision and consistency. Research papers that clear editorial screening are then forwarded for peer review.

Peer review is often a time-consuming process. Two or more reviewers are usually chosen of which one might be picked from experts the authors suggested as potential reviewers in their initial submission. Those engaging in the peer-review process are professionals from their fields of expertise who have other engagements and hence they often take time to revert back. Reviewers recommend immediate acceptance without changes or immediate rejection without reconsideration, although reconsideration after minor/ major changes is the common response.

The final decision on any research paper is taken by the editor, who reverts back to the author with comments from the editorial team or peer review. The author has to respond to the editor with a revised manuscript along with a detailed letter that explains exactly what changes were made and a compelling academic or scientific reason why certain suggestions were not accommodated.

Depending on the gravity of changes involved, the editor may decide to take a call by themselves or re-share the research paper for the second round of peer review. These processes, even though they delay the publication process, only help improve the quality of the publication and hence are very important.

When the paper is finally accepted by the editor, it goes into production for final checking and reformatting to fit the journal’s conventions and styles. The journal may revert to the author for a final proofread of the final manuscript they design for publication.

in case of a rejection, the journal will convey why the research paper was rejected. The author can take note and either rewrite the research paper to fit the journal or share it with some other journal for consideration.

Conclusion

Clarity over the publication process by a journal is important for authors, and they should prepare accordingly to ensure a smooth publication process.

A professional guide to research paper writing

Research is not only about investigating, proving a theory, or discovering scientific novelties; it is also about sharing these findings and discoveries with fellow researchers and other interested parties. To achieve this, researchers must write and publish the implications of their research findings.

Writing a research paper requires a completely different skillset from writing an essay or drafting an email to your professor and friend. Hence, it is a good idea for every researcher to keep learning how to improve research writing. Moreover, even native English speakers struggle to write a standard research paper. Visit https://seomagnifier.com/online-paraphrasing-tool to obtain the best rewriting tool for writers.

From the researcher’s point of view, there are five standard steps that need to be considered for writing a quality research paper in order to achieve research funding, publication in a renowned journal, university credit or other professional goals. They are:

  1. Choosing a topic
  2. Understanding the topic and creating a list of relevant research topics
  3. Preparing an outline
  4. Preparing the first draft
  5. Proofreading and finalizing the draft
  1. Choosing a topic

Selecting a topic is the first step of writing the paper. Notably,a good and relevant topic must be selected with a narrow and interesting focus area, and yet wide enough to find sufficient data.

  1. Understanding the topic and creating a list of relevant research topics

To understand a topic, a list of keywords must be created. Keywords can be located in search engines (Google Scholar) or databases (PubMed, SCOPUS, Elsevier, etc.) and background information may be found in thesis libraries or eBooks. After creating the keywords list, relevant research and review papers can be searched in the article databases. The most relevant articles must be selected and sorted as the references, which will help in the writing process.

  1. Preparing an outline

Once the list of relevant articles is created, it is important to note down all the information or ideas that must have come to mind while going through the articles. Moreover, while conducting the research,tons of great ideas also must have appeared. Now it should be organized as an impressive presentation. This is a vital step for making a paper more focused and this will further help you revise the draft later.

Key points must be noted down to support the research statement. These key points can be used as subheadings for the body of the paper. Make sure you include only the relevant information that fit under your sub-headings and directly support your research implications.

  1. Preparing the first draft

The next step is to organize the information collected. A rough draft must be prepared where the ideas are written in an unfinished form. This step helps organize ideas and determines the final format of the paper. The draft must be revised as many times as possible to create a final product. The final document thus created is the first draft of the research paper. The next step requires citation of the sources (references). Citing the sources provides proper credit to the authors of the papers referred by you. As per the general guidelines of the most reputed journals, MLA and the APA styles are the most recommended citation formats.

  1. Proofreading and finalizing the draft

To prepare the final draft of the paper, the output, scientific knowledge, flow, and transitions must be checked. The paper can be revised by adding useful knowledge that might have been skipped or by rewriting and rearranging certain paragraphs for greater clarity. The ideas must be completely developed and all relevant references must be cited. After the revision of the paper, the next step is to edit the content to check and eliminate filler words and phrases and improve the overall word selection. The paper must also be proofread for errors in punctuation and grammar.

Finally, the paper should be sent to a friend or professor to go through and give their inputs.