How to publish in the Health Sciences

While the publishing process will vary with each journal, you can expect to wait between at least 9 to over 20 weeks from submission to publication.

Example Publication Process

The Public Library of Science. (n.d.) Understanding the publishing process. PLOS. https://plos.org/resource/understanding-the-publishing-process/.

Many health sciences journals are published by publisher groups such as:

• Sage
• Wiley
• Taylor & Francis
• Springer
• PLOS (Public Library of Science)
• Lippincott Journals (Wolters Kluwer)

While you must check the journal for its specific submission guidelines, you can visit the relevant publisher site for more tailored information on manuscripts and resources to help you during the submission process.

Once you have decided on a journal to submit to, your manuscript must comply with the publisher's formatting specifications outlined in their submission guidelines. Basic items to consider include:

• Word limits
• Citation style
• File formats for illustrations, graphs, pictures, and videos 

There are many more elements to consider and every journal will have different requirements. Some journals will require cover letters and/or title pages, in addition to other materials. Once you have selected a journal, look for a page entitled 'Publishing', 'Submissions', or other similar language for more information about how to prepare your manuscript.

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• Verifies formatting against journal requirements and recommends alterations where necessary (subscription required).

Writing a title and abstract for a paper should occur only after writing the manuscript has been completed, as well as after keywords have been identified. This will ensure the accurate and consistent description of an article, and will help readers locate it. 

1. Generate keywords

Keywords form the foundation for the way your paper is described and using proper keywords allows users to find your paper when they search a topic. You might already have an idea of what keywords you would like to use, however it is ideal to go through your manuscript and highlight a list of terms (or phrases) that make up the focus of your work. Additionally, if you used PICO, SPICE, or another question framework, your concepts are a good starting point when listing keywords.

• You can do this manually, or create a word cloud which will visually demonstrate which words feature largely in your work
• WordItOut is a free word cloud generator. Simply copy-paste your manuscript to generate a visual word cloud
• Use full form words and avoid acronyms (e,g, "Streptococcus pyogenes" instead of "Strep A"; "registered nurses" instead of "RNs")
• For words with variants, include the alternative terms (e.g. "cell phone", "mobile phone", "smart phone")
• 5-12 keywords is ideal
• Make sure to test your keywords by running a search in a database and confirming that the results are relevant to your article

2. Determine subject headings for your keywords

Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) terms are another way that users can find your article. MeSH terms are a type of controlled vocabulary used by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and are used to index articles in PubMed, Medline, and other databases. Because they are controlled, or standardized, once you have selected keywords, you must find the corresponding MeSH term that best fits. Note that not all keywords are associated with a MeSH entry, and sometimes the MeSH terms can be quite broad, but the author-supplied keywords bring a level of specificity.

• Access MeSH directly or through PubMed (bottom right of the homepage). Search your keywords to determine if there is an existing MeSH entry
• Alternatively, you can copy-paste your manuscript into the NLM tool MeSH on Demand to generate MeSH entry suggestions

3. Create the title using 1-2 keywords

As the first point of contact for a reader, a well executed title is crucial. Titles are especially important because some databases do not display abstracts, and so the title must effectively convey your research to the reader. A good title is equally as concise as it is informative. It should have just enough details to pique the reader's interest and curiosity, and having a title that is too long or complicated can drive away a reader (Tullu, 2019). 

Do:

• Keep the title to 10-12 words
• Incorporate the 1-2 keyword(s) within the first 65 characters, which will increase the chance that your article is included in an online search.
• Use full form words, (e.g. "Escherichia coli" rather than "E. coli")
• Use specific rather than general terms (e.g. a specific drug name rather than just the class of drug)
• Use simple word order and common word combinations: (e.g. "juvenile delinquency" is more commonly used than "delinquency amongst juveniles")
• If your work is a systematic or scoping review, remember to include this in the title

Don't:

• Use abbreviations, acronyms, formulae, and numbers as they can have several meanings depending on the context
• Use filler words such as “Investigation of…”; “Study of…”; “More about…”; “…revisited”.
• Include quotations, witticisms, or phrases 
• Use Roman numerals in the title as they can be interpreted differently (e.g. part III could be mistaken for factor III)

4. Write a structured abstract

An abstract is a short description of an article which relays what the research is about, what methods were used, and what was discovered. Most journals have word limit between 100-400 words. Many health sciences journals will require a structured abstract, and even if they don't it is often a helpful way to frame your research in an abstract. Keep in mind that this structure will not work for every article (for different abstract styles, visit this page's References). Each section should be no longer than a couple of sentences:

• Background: Contextualize your research/study/review within the current knowledge in its field and list the purpose of the work. Essentially, explain why you carried out your research.
• Methods: Summarize how your research/study/review was performed and the different techniques or procedures used. Include details of any statistical tests, reporting guidelines such as PRISMA, etc., or frameworks.
• Results: Describe the main findings of your research/study/review.
• Conclusions: Briefly summarize the content of your manuscript and the potential implications of its results.

Do:

• Write simple, to-the-point sentences
• Include your keywords
• Include synonyms for words and concepts that are in the title (e.g. if referring to "neoplasms" in the title mention "tumors" in the abstract)

Don't:

• Use abbreviations, footnotes, or citations
• Include any images, background information or technical terms that may not be understood without further explanation
• Discuss anything that does not appear in your manuscript

Content adapted from:

• Taylor & Francis, "Using keywords to write your title and abstract"
• BioMed Central, "Writing titles and abstracts"

There are various types of peer review, and different methods are used by different journals. To find out more about what kind of peer review a journal performs, look for an 'About' page. Below are the four most common types of peer reviews used by journals.

Single-blind peer review

• The reviewers know the names of the authors, but the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript unless the reviewer chooses to sign their report.
• Reviews and responses are not published if the manuscript is accepted.

Double-blind peer review 

• The most common type of peer review used by journals.
• The reviewers do not know the names of the authors, and the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript.
• Reviews and responses are not published if the manuscript is accepted.

Open peer review 

• Authors know who the reviewers are, and the reviewers know who the authors are.
• If the manuscript is accepted, the named reviewer reports and the authors’ response to the reviewer are published alongside the article.

Transparent peer review

• Reviewers know the names of the authors, but the authors do not know who reviewed their manuscript unless the reviewer chooses to sign their report. If the manuscript is accepted, the anonymous reviewer reports and the authors’ response are published alongside the article.

Content adapted from:

• BioMed Central, "Peer review process"
• University of Toronto LibGuide, "Understanding peer review"

"Peer review is the system used to assess the quality of a manuscript before it is published. Independent researchers in the relevant research area assess submitted manuscripts for originality, validity and significance to help editors determine whether a manuscript should be published in their journal" (BioMed Central Ltd., 2024).

The peer review process will vary with each journal, but below is a general representation of the process.

Example Peer Review Process

BioMed Central. (n.d.) How Peer Review Works. BMC. https://www-biomedcentral-com.uml.idm.oclc.org/getpublished/peer-review-process.

After submitting your work, there are three decisions that a publisher can make:

1. Accept with no revisions
2. Accept with revisions recommended by editors and reviewers
3. Reject the manuscript

It is highly uncommon for a manuscript to be accepted for publication without revisions. Ultimately, it is up to author to accept the revisions and resubmit or decline revising their manuscript. However it is important to remember that comments from reviewers and editors are meant to be helpful and should be taken into consideration.

Read the article below to make sense of the peer review process, and optimize any feedback you receive.

Content adapted from:

• University of Toronto LibGuide, "Post Submission Process - Getting Published in Health Sciences"

If your work is rejected, you can submit an appeal. Most journals will have a policy outlined for this very purpose, but often times it will include a point-by-point response to any comments made by reviewers or editors. It is important to remain professional and reason with any comments on a scientific-- and not emotional-- basis. Be prepared to explain why you disagree with a comment. Once they receive your appeal, editors may go back to the reviewers, or they may enlist new ones. 

There are other options besides an appeal, such as submitting to another journal, with or without revisions. For more suggestions, read the resources below.

Content adapted from:

• University of Toronto LibGuide, "Post Submission Process - Getting Published in Health Sciences"

Biomed Central Ltd. (2024). Peer review process. https://www.biomedcentral.com/getpublished/peer-review-process

Tullu, M. (2019). Writing the title and abstract for a research paper: Being concise, precise, and meticulous is the key. Saudi Journal

of Anaesthesia, 13(5), 12-17. https://doi.org/10.4103/sja.SJA_685_18