Getting Published in a Science Journal
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Anonymous
| My daughter is interested in trying to publish an article in a Science Journal. She has no idea where to start. Does anyone have any experience with this and wouldn't mind sharing. Her father and I are not Stem savvy and have no knowledge in this area. Thanks for your help. |
Anonymous
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Is she an undergraduate or grad student?
If it is her first publication, it will be both a better product and extremely much more likely to be published* if done in collaboration with established researchers. That's generally how it's done -- and with experience under her belt, the senior researchers will step back and promote her name earlier in the listing of authors (that indicates credit, e.g., "lead author"). |
Anonymous
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PS:
The "*" was for *published, meaning serious publication -- not essentially self-publication through Medium.com, which might as well be LiveJournal 2021. |
Anonymous
| What does she wants to publish? Do you mean a peer-reviewed science journal? Those articles are the result of years and years of research. If she wants to publish the first step will be to join a research lab. |
Anonymous
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I don't think you know what getting published in a science journal involves.
If this is to boost a resume for college, that's aiming a bit high. |
Anonymous
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This is something she should talk to her professors about. Even if you were experienced in a specific STEM field, it would be hard for you to help her, as it's going to vary hugely by the subfield, her experience and knowledge, whether she's working in a lab, and dozens of other factors. She should be wary of fake journals, which will often publish anything but require payment. Again, her professors should be able to help.
And to be blunt: If her research is not enough to get the attention of a professor at her school, it's not publishable. If she doesn't have a specific paper that she wants to publish but just generally wants to publish, then she's also not ready. (It would be sort of like saying, "I want to go to the Olympics" without having chosen a sport.) As a student, focus on the substance and follow your interest, and (maybe) the publications will come. There are some journals that are targeted at undergrads: https://uncw.edu/honors/info/student-life/journals-that-publish-undergraduate-student-research.html |
Anonymous
+100 OP - this isn't like submitting some op/ed article to your local newspaper. Or reporting your results on her HS science experiment. And I'm guessing your DD hasn't so much as taken a technical writing class. At least start there. |
Anonymous
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She needs to complete a research project and have results worthy of publication. realistically, she would be part of a project being done at a research university and would make enough of a contribution that the team would include her as one author.
My understanding is that this entire process takes several years. If she works on the project in high school, the publication date would likely come at some point after she has graduated high school. |
Anonymous
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1. Complete a research project and produce results that are original, innovative and significant.
2. Draft a manuscript in a style consistent with the journal you intend to submit to. 3. Submit the manuscript to the journal. 4. Have a backup list of journals in case the first submission is rejected. |
Anonymous
| OP ... Sorry she's a high school student rising junior. I should have said that. Is it even realistic? Thanks for your guidance. |
Anonymous
If she's not working in a research lab making original contributions, no, it's not realistic. |
Anonymous
| Thank you!! I appreciate the feedback! I honestly didn't know. |
Anonymous
It is is realistic if she gets into a project that is already ongoing and she is assigned and succeeds at a task significant enough that the team would put her on the paper an an author. this would likley not happen until after she has graduated form high school but it would still be a very nice achievement. I would not count on in but the goal in high school should just be starting to learn about science research. Getting published would just be secondary bonus. |
Anonymous
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Not realistic (unless she’s working in a lab, in which case she has access to people who know how to publish in science journals and she should ask them about it).
Longer term, she should look into summer programs next year (AEOP, SERC, university-based) that might give her a chance to work in a lab. Meanwhile, she might look for sci comm and/or citizen scientist opportunities locally (e.g parks, non-profits). Sci comm is devoted to making science accessible to non-scientists so wouldn’t require her to do research. My guess is there won’t be sci comm opportunities for her age, but it’s worthwhile for her to check out the field if what she’s really interested in is science writing. |
Anonymous
Has she done scientific research worth of being published? |