Planning for Impact
Before publishing, there are steps you can take to generate as much impact as possible, including search engine optimisation, selecting eye-catching images and writing explanations of your research which a non-specialist would understand.
- Choose a trusted journal
- Search Engine Optimisation
- Write a lay summary of your research
- Write a snappy title
- The importance of your abstract
- Attend a writing workshop
- "A picture is worth a thousand words"
- Talk to your institution’s media unit
- Further resources
There are many factors to consider in selecting a journal for your research, such as the journal’s relevance, audience and reputation. Make sure you choose a journal that reaches the best audience for your work to make an impact. With so many publications out there, Think. Check. Submit. [external link] helps researchers identify trusted journals and publishers for their research.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) enables your research article to be easily discovered by users of search engines such as Google and Bing. A high proportion of journal content is now being read online – by giving SEO consideration as you are writing your article, you will have a better chance of increasing both the quality and quantity of online readers of your work.
Some simple tips
- Consider search terms people might use to search for your research. Ask yourself:
- Who will be searching for your research?
- What questions are they trying to answer?
- What are the search terms or phrases they may use?
- With these search terms in mind, select 1– 3 keywords for your article;
- Include keywords in THE article’s abstract, body text, title and image captions, where relevant and logical;
A lay summary is a brief explanation of the key points of your research, which breaks down the complex and technical concepts in a way a person with no expert knowledge of your field might understand. They are useful to explain to funders, policy makers, journalists and of course the general public, why they should be interested in your research.
While not all our journals require lay summaries, they are always useful to have on hand. They can be:
- Used to pitch to your institution’s media unit;
- Provided to journalists making enquiries about your research;
- Used for public engagement on social media and other forums;
- Used to present your research at conferences;
Some simple tips
- Write a summary of your research in 240 characters – the length of a tweet;
- Describe your work without technical jargon;
- Ask a friend or family member who is not in your research area to read your lay summary and give you feedback;
After writing your lay summary, check if it answers these questions:
- What is the key finding of my research?
- In what context is the finding important?
- What is the impact of this research?
- Why should the public care about my research – what’s in it for them?
A good title should catch a reader’s eye and entice them to read your research article. The title helps your work stand out from the rest, includes keywords relating to the content and importantly provides an explanation of your article.
Some simple tips
- Identify the main point of your research:
- What is the main question your research sought to answer?
- Were the results ground breaking?
- Was this the first study of its kind?
- Was the methodology unusual?
- Limit your title to 10 – 20 words;
- Avoid superfluous words which don’t convey real meaning – keep it brief, succinct and clear;
- Use an active voice;
The abstract of your article, along with the title and keywords, will be free to read for all papers. Abstracts are indexed widely, aid discoverability, and may be the deciding factor in whether someone reads an article and adds it to their reference list.
The abstract should be a complete summary of the paper, outlining the following:
- context
- aim
- methods
- key results
- conclusions (drawn from the key results)
- implications (how might this research be useful in a broad context?)
If you think you might need more help with writing, whether it be your research article, a lay summary, a funding application or any other scientific document, you may consider attending one of our Scientific Writing Workshops. Courses are usually booked by an institution; but you can contact the course facilitators to find out about upcoming workshops in your region, or to forward a recommendation form to your faculty office, supervisor or university training centre.
Having an image on hand which provides a relevant illustration to support your research can serve several purposes:
- If your research paper is deemed newsworthy, an interesting image will help attract the interest of journalists;
- When you share your research paper on social media, including an eye-catching image will likely increase engagement;
- If you’re submitting to one of our journals which includes graphical abstracts or Table of Contents images, this might be a requirement;
- Many people are more receptive to visual forms of communication, so consider a good image as another method to explain your research and reach a larger audience;
An image could be a photo from the field, a graph, a map or an illustration of a formula or process.
Do you think your research is newsworthy or something topical the public would want to know about? Consider pitching your research to your institution’s media unit.
You don’t need permission from us for a media release, but we encourage you to liaise with our editorial and production team to coordinate timing and possible promotional activities.
Visibility of published papers: a collaboration between authors and publishers, Calver, Pacific Conservation Biology, 23(2), 2021
What makes a plant science manuscript successful for publication? Setter, Munns, Stefanova, Shabala, Functional Plant Biology, 47(12), 2020
Scientific Writing = Thinking in Words encourages scientists to write confidently and explains the principles that make communicating research easier.
The Science of Communicating Science is a practical guide to influencing beliefs, behaviours and policy.
Pacific Conservation Biology virtual issue, Publishing Science 101: advice on submitting and promoting your research paper