Authors wishing to publish their research aim to publish in journals with the highest ratings. Publishing in a prestigious journal not only looks good on your CV, but may also give you better career and funding opportunities. Researchers commonly use the journal impact factor (JIF) to assess overall journal quality. However, the JIF has its advantages and disadvantages. Here we describe other factors that you should consider while assessing a journal.

Journal rejection is something that every researcher faces at some point in their research career. As a researcher, rejection of your manuscript by a journal can be very discouraging after spending years planning your research, securing funding, compiling and analyzing data, etc. In this episode of Enago Academy’s podcast, we will share 5 top tips that will help you avoid journal rejection and have a successful publication journey. (more…)

Important research findings with ground-breaking results need to be published at the earliest. These findings are usually a part of the entire research but are often published as short or brief communications. Brief communications usually have a strict length, word count, and figure limits. Here, we provide essential tips when drafting brief communications. Are you looking to publish your research as a short/brief communication? Then don’t forget to keep the below tips in mind. (more…)

My name is Hope Mworia and am a postgraduate student pursuing a Masters degree In Agriculture and Applied Economics at the University of Nairobi, College of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences.. I have enjoyed today’s workshop on Scientific Writing. It was informative and eye opening. There were a lot of things I got a clear understanding on as well.

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TCC trained 65 participants from various research programmes in Scientific Communication and Publishing and  Science Communication and Communicating to Non Scientists.

TCC trained researchers from University of Nairobi, Gertrude Gardens Children Hospital, Kenya Agricultural Livestock and Research Organization, AGRA Alliance Research Fellows, Maasai Mara University. The training sessions were held in Kenya and we had participants from Burkina Faso, Togo, Rwanda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin and Senegal. (more…)

Science communication is defined by the aptly named journal, Scientific Communication, as “…the nature of expertise, the diffusion of knowledge, and the communication of science and technology among professionals and to the public.” (more…)

The role of social media in science has been hotly debated, with the most recent skirmish coming from a Guardian op-ed. Entitled “I’m a serious academic, not a professional Instagrammer,” the article has inspired both a “nonserious” response and ironically, its own set of hashtags: (more…)

Several years ago, actor Alan Alda led about 20 engineering students at the University of Southern California in an improv session. The students gave short talks about their research and then spent three hours trying the same exercises (more…)

It wasn’t until my fourth year of research in undergrad that I had a strange thought: Am I no longer part of the “general public?” It was an exciting thought — it felt great to be part of some exclusive club in which some of the smartest people were members. My mind was consumed by my research, so much so that I found myself analyzing data and working overtime in the lab instead of studying for my last few classes I needed to graduate. I wish that I had expressed this feeling to the primary investigator of my lab, as I think he would have put things in perspective and deflated my ego. (more…)

Science achieves little if it stays in the lab. Here’s what you need to get it out to the world, says Jessica Eise

Communicating about science is a noble profession, and one that’s becoming increasingly and ever more popular. Yet it isn’t the right fit for everyone. I got started in this field about five years ago, and was surprised by many of the things I needed that no one had ever mentioned. Here’s what no one ever tells you you’ll need. (more…)