Writing a manuscript title
Deciding on a manuscript title and other descriptive keywords can be tricky business for a variety of reasons. Not only do you want to catch your audience’s attention and be clear in what the publication is about, you also want the widest audience possible to FIND your work. Think about the search terms you would use to find your article.
These resources provide tips on writing a good article title:
- Tips for writing better papers: TitlesFrom Chemistry Views. Richard Threlfall, Managing Editor, Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, gives some insider tips on how to improve each your article title.
- Writing titles and abstractsAdvice from the open access publisher, BioMedCentral, (owned by Springer) about the opening parts of your paper.
- Twelve tips for authorsGeneral writing tips from the Association for Psychological Science.
- Springer author academy: Writing your manuscriptA tutorial on preparing your manuscript, including writing, title choice, and other tips.
Selecting a journal
When possible, select a journal that is indexed in the major databases for your field. Ulrich’s Periodical Directory (Print: Reserve Deak PN4832 .U5) lists the databases each journal is indexed in. Librarians can help you discover this information - just ask us.
Consider submitting to an open access journal. Studies suggest that articles available freely online are more likely to be discovered, read and cited later on.
- Ask a LibrarianEmail, phone, and hours of operation info for Milne Library's Research Help services.
Share your data
Although many researchers make data available upon request, studies suggest that openly sharing the data associated with a research study increases the likelihood that a study will be cited later on.
Sharing your data via a data repository (such as FigShare or Dryad) may increase the impact of your work.
- Data DryadDryad is an international repository of data underlying peer-reviewed articles in the basic and applied biosciences.
- figshareA repository where users can make all of their research outputs available in a citable, shareable and discoverable manner.
Make connections with other scholars
Subject to the limits placed on sharing your work by the copyright transfer agreement you signed, post a copy of your publication on a personal webpage or social networking site. If you don’t have permission to post the full text, add the article title, authors and abstract to your profile page along with a link to the article on the publishers website.
Check Sherpa/Romeo for more details about which journals allow their authors to share a copy of their paper or ask a librarian for assistance.
- SHERPA/RoMEOUse this database of publishers to determine what rights you may retain to your work.
Scholars actively share their research on popular social networking site such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as more academically focused social networks:
