Developing the culture and discipline of conducting and publishing scientific research: Guiding principles

Abstract

The pressure to publish is a fact of life in academia. Academics are expected to demonstrate that they are active researchers and that their work has been vetted by peers and disseminated in reputable scholarly forums. In practice, however, a number of critical constraints hamper effective publication of scientific research in most developing countries. These include lack of effective mentoring system, poor facilities and inadequate funding for effective research and heavy workload where too much time and effort are spent in teaching, grading, meetings and other non-academic activities. In spite of these seemingly insurmountable challenges, with proper planning and commitment, one can still conduct research and publish to advance ones career and exchange of knowledge. The paper discusses the critical guiding principles in scientific writing and publishing in an unfriendly research environment as pertains in most universities in the developing world. The overriding principle is to cultivate the discipline of scientific writing consciously and follow it through religiously. This could be achieved if time is allocated for scientific writing in the scheme of weekly schedule of activities and made to be functional through meticulous planning and commitment. Equally important is to avoid procedural mistakes in scientific writing. While the quality of the research is the single most important factor in determining whether an article will be published, a number of procedural mistakes can help tip the balance against its publication. It should also be noted that when a manuscript is submitted to a scholarly journal, there are two audiences to satisfy: first the editor and external reviewers, and then the journal’s readers. That first group must be satisfied to create the opportunity to appeal to the second. Thus, familiarity with the style and tone of the specific journal is crucial.