How to Publish in SCIENCE

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Publishing in Science Outliers, Closers,
Leaders
Pamela J. Hines, Ph.D.Senior Editor SCIENCE,
AAAS Washington DC
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• WHO publishes in and reads Science
• WHERE are authors and readers
• WHAT to publish in Science
• WHEN is the research ready
• HOW to publish in Science
• WHY is it worth the effort

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Content from a variety of sources
WHO publishes in and reads Science

• Content usually - but not always - invited by
  the editors
• Perspectives
• Review Articles
• Special Issues
• Editorials
• Book reviews

• Content welcome
• - from anyone, anywhere, of any age,
  without any previous agreement
• Research papers
• Research Articles
• Reports
• Brevia
• Letters to the Editor
• Technical Comments

• Content usually written by staff
• The news pages
• .

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Professional sectors Readers All AAAS members
get Science
WHERE are authors and readers

• Academia
• Non-profit
• Industry
• Teaching
• Policy

Crossover rate 42 of non-industry readers are
nonetheless involved with industry
5
Geographical locations Readers All AAAS
members get Science
WHERE are authors and readers
20 non-US
Of non-US subscribers, 50 in Europe
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Research papers are submitted from all around
the worldAuthors need not be subscribers or AAAS
members
WHERE are authors and readers
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Research papers are published in all topics
WHAT to publish in Science
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What helps
WHAT to publish in Science

• Work that represents a large step forward
• Solution to long-standing problem
• Broad implications
• Overturns conventional wisdom
• Clear presentation
• Interesting to specialists
• Accessible to non-specialists
• Optimizes the use of Science formats

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What doesnt matter
WHAT to publish in Science

• The eminence of the authors
• The age of the authors
• The prestige of the institution
• Whether you contacted Science before submitting
• Whether you are from the USA
• Whether you are a member of AAAS
• The field of inquiry

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What hurts
WHAT to publish in Science

• The LPU
• Excessive or unfounded speculation
• Repeat examples of a known phenomenon
• Insufficient advance over previously published
  work

Common reasons for manuscript rejection

• Topic is not of broad interest
• Result is too small of an advance
• Conclusions are not convincing
• Interpretations are poorly supported
• Insufficient mechanistic insight
• Insufficient evidence of relevance

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Papers in Science are or are not like other
papers in Science?
WHAT to publish in Science

• Features of papers that might be similar
• Importance
• Impact
• Clarity
• Language
• Text length
• Format
• Supplements exist

• Features of papers that might be different
• Topic
• Technology
• Methods
• Domain
• Authors
• Locations
• Country
• Research sites

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Common reasons for acceptance
WHEN is the research ready

• How to define quality?
• Science looks for
• Outliers
• Closers
• Leaders

• Important question
• Interesting or unexpected answer
• Great science!

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Think like reviewers and editors
HOW to publish in Science

• The importance
• If the interpretation is correct, would this
  paper be interesting enough?
• The data
• Robust data?
• Appropriate controls?
• Original approach?
• The presentation
• Well written text?
• Well organized argumentation?
• Thoughtful discussion?
• Formats suitable for the journal (length,
  figures, references, sections) ?

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Learning the Ropes of Peer Reviewing
by E. Pain, in Science
Careers web site, August 15, 2008
HOW to publish in Science

• Assess scientific rigor, significance, relevance,
  originality
• Confirm that you -
• Have the relevant technical knowledge
• Can meet the time limit
• Are free from conflicts of interest
• Support your opinions with evidence and clear
  arguments
• Offer advice for improvement
• Clarify which improvements are necessary, and
  which are optional
• Be kind and gracious to the author

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What Editors Wantby L. Worsham, in the
Chronicle of Higher Education, Sept. 8, 2008
HOW to publish in Science

• Only submit work appropriate for that journal.
• Replicate the style and tone of work from that
  journal in your own article.
• Follow the journals style guide and submission
  rules.
• Submit content free of errors.
• Place your work in the context of articles in the
  field.
• Accept rejection Competition is fierce, so
  maintain a positive attitude.

L. Worsham is a professor of English.
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Submitting a manuscript to Science
HOW to publish in Science

• Should you enquire before? (presub inquiry)
• Submit the manuscript
• Through Sciences web site
• Instructions to Authors, length limits, SOM
• If manuscript is rejected, should you appeal?
• If manuscript is viewed favorably, should you
  revise?

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HOW to publish in Science
Over 200 manuscripts submitted each week
What happens to your manuscript?
Editorial and BoRE analysis
25
75
Advice from reviewers
Editorial analysis, revisions, re-review,
editing
7
93
Manuscript rejected
Publication in Science
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About Science and AAAS
WHY is it worth the effort?

• AAAS, founded in 1848 in Philadelphia with about
  400 initial members.
• AAAS American Association for the Advancement of
  Science
• Science, founded in 1880 by Thomas Edison, became
  the official journal of AAAS in 1900.
• Science retains editorial independence.
• AAAS is a non-profit organization (www.aaas.org).
• AAAS goals are to advance science and serve
  society through initiatives in
• science policy
• international programs
• science education

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WHY is it worth the effort?
The rejection rate is tough
3
4
18
75
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WHY is it worth the effort?
But the visibility is great

• Science is in over 1400 libraries and
  universities around the world
• Site licenses make the journal broadly available
  online
• Over a hundred thousand individuals have personal
  subscriptions
• And they usually pass their copy on to on average
  7 other people
• Total readership, print plus on-line,
• 1 million people every week
• Rapid targeted international growth
• About 28,000 subscriptions outside the US
• Subscriptions doubled in the past ten years
• Fastest growth in Asia and South America

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WHY is it worth the effort?
Access to Science papers

• Original research is freely available with
  registration 1 year after publication
• Self-archiving If an authors grant agency or
  institution requires deposition after 6 months in
  a public repository (such as PubMedCentral) the
  accepted version can be posted with a link to the
  final version of the paper in Science
• Authors can link to the final version from their
  website for free access

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WHAT to publish in Science et al.

• The Science family includes
• Science Signaling
• Science Translational Medicine
• Science Careers

New
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The editors at Science
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The American Association for the Advancement of
Science

• Future meetings
• Washington, D.C. 17-21 February 2011
• Vancouver, Canada 16-20 February 2012
• Boston, MA 14-18 February 2013

AAAS seeks to advance science and innovation
throughout the world for the benefit of all
people.
http//www.aaas.org/