Category: Academic Writing

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Understanding the Peer-Review Process

Peer-review is one of the essential component of the academic writing process. It helps ensure the validity, originality, and suitability of submitted articles before accepting them for publication. It can be simply regarded as a quality-control system. Getting research published in a peer-reviewed journal can be time-consuming and challenging. Most scientific journals, conferences and grant applications have some sort of peer review system long review process to meet scientific standards.

The process of peer review involves an exchange between a journal editor and referees. If editorial team judges there are no fundamental flaws, they will send it for review to other scientists who work in the same field, known as peer-reviewers. Then the reviewers will provide feedback on the articles. Editors request referees to give advice and constructive comments on the scientific merit before finally recommending whether an article should be published in the journal. After going through review process, the Author may then improve and revise their article, also resubmit it for consideration.

Reference:

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/scientific-peer-review3.htm

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PLAGIARISM AVOIDANCE TIPS: #2 MANAGING CITATIONS

Complete and accurate citing can enhance your credibility as a writer. It shows that you demonstrate to your readers that you are aware of the development of science and information in the field of research. It also provide evidence of your wide reading and research.

There are two areas  to acknowledge sources in academic work:

  1. In the body of the text, through in-text citations, footnotes (for additional information), or endnotes (placed before the reference list)
  2. A reference list placed at the end of an assignment or thesis, but before appendices

Make sure you know how to cite the sources correctly. It is not as simple as copying someone else’s work and including it into your paper. These sources may include books, journal articles, newspaper, government or institutional report, website information, or interview.

Here, we provide information on how you do citation properly:

1. Identifying Sources

When you cite sources, you have to identify your sources. Organize and documenting

2. Quoting

Quoting can be defined as taking an exact expression or a section of a text from original sources. If more than three lines, quotation should place separately from the rest of the text. You should also cite which page (s) you are referring to and enclose the quotation marks.

3. Use Citation Tools

Using a citation tools can be a quick way to create an appropriate referencing style and keep your research organized. You can access some citation tools freely, like Zotero, EndNote, CiteThisForMe, Citefast,and etc.

 

References:

https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources

https://www.enago.com/academy/handling-citations-cite-sources-manuscripts/

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PLAGIARISM AVOIDANCE TIPS: #1 PARAPHRASING

If you’re struggling to avoid plagiarism, you must know how to paraphrase in your writing.

According to ThoughtCo.com, a paraphrase is a “restatement of a text in another for or other words, often simplify or clarify meaning”. Paraphrasing can be simply defined as an attempt to rewriting other opinion in your own words. We can use paraphrasing as a way of demonstrating critical thinking skills and developing shared understanding.

Here is an example of paraphrase:

Original source:

“Differentiation as an instructional approach promotes a balance between a student’s style and a student’s ability. Differentiated instruction provides the student with options for processing and internalizing the content, and for constructing new learning in order to progress academically”

Paraphrase:

“Teachers use differentiated instruction to help students learn, allowing the teacher to cater lessons to the way each student learns and each student’s skill (Thompson, 2009).”

We have three useful strategies to help you create a satisfactory paraphrase.

  • Immerse yourself in the text

Read the paragraph several times and quickly review the important points and key statements. Close the cited book or article and make notes, if necessary.

  • Change words and sentence structure

When you paraphrase, you can’t simply replace a few words. To paraphrase a source, you can emphasize your interpretation by rewording and rewriting phrases and sentences without changing the meaning from the original text. You can also use thesaurus to find synonyms and other similar terms.

  • Use a signal phrase

A paraphrase must be cited by attributing to the original source. Signaling terms (e.g., “they write”, “Smith notes that…” “He believes that…”) lets the reader know that you are introducing a source and where the paraphrase starts.

References:

A Guide to Paraphrasing in Research Paper. Retrieved from: https://wordvice.com/a-guide-to-paraphrasing-in-research-papers-apa-ama/

Paraphrase. Retrieved from: https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-paraphrase-1691573

Using Evidence: Examples of Paraphrasing. Retrieved from: https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/evidence/paraphrase/examples

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PNJ Scientific & Academic Writing Workshop

On 23rd of October 2019, Research Synergy Institute held Scientific and Academic Writing Workshop collaboration with Politeknik Negeri Jakarta (PNJ). The participants was antuasiast to gain more knowledge regarding how to write high-quality academic papers.

 

This one day workshop was held in Jakarta which was participated not only lecturers from Politeknik Negeri Jakarta but also from Universitas Mercu Buana. Dr. Hendrati Dwi Mulyaningsih shared how to write a good content and how to choose the correct journal to the participant.

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UNILA Scientific & Academic Writing Workshop

Universitas Lampung was held Scientific and Academic Writing Workshop collaboration with Research Synergy Foundation in last August 19th 2019. The participant not only lecturers but also their students.

Dr. Hendrati Mulyaningsih as the Chairman of RSF shared how to write a good content that will attract more the editors in this one day workshop . This workshop is a one of the collaboration between UNILA and RSF before the the 2nd International Conference of Economics, Business and Entrepreneurship (ICEBE) conference being held.

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Scientific Writing and Publishing in High Impact Journal Workshop with Prof. Rosna

Research Synergy Institute in collaboration with Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction (Q2) was held a Scientific Writing Workshop in Ara Hotel, Tangerang, on October 3, 2019. Professor Rosna as the Editor of MJLI presented as the Trainer. The focus of this workshop is on developing a well-structured and qualified paper for Scopus indexed journals. In this workshop, 16 selected participants had the opportunity to discuss their paper and discover how it can fit into what Journal’s Editor expects. During the workshop, all participants presented the summary of their research and meet with trainer for advice on their scientific writing.

Prof Rosna confirmed that the participant’s research was able to contribute significant points and ideas for discoveries in the field of education. The thing that needs to explore more is how to package the results of their research into a detailed and systematic manuscripts, also put it precisely at the heart of the research development in the world.

To help improve this, the methods used by Research Synergy Institute and Professor Rosna at the workshop can be concluded as follows:

  • Pre-workshop paper review
  • Lecturing and Discussion between Trainer and Participants regarding the tips & tricks in making a high-quality manuscripts. This discussion was enriched by using examples from published papers.
  • Self-Reviewing. Participants are asked to exchange and review each other articles after they gained the new insights from the workshop.

 

With an interactive learning and engaging activities rather than passively listen to a lecture, the workshop ensured participants had a positive experience and fantastic learning opportunity that will help them increase their research work and scientific writing capacity. Research Synergy is committed to facilitating the development and dissemination of knowledge around the world, so we will continue to hold similar scientific workshops in the future.

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Conference or Journal: Which is the Best Preference for Publication?

Some of the researchers chose to present their research orally at the conference, some of them preferred to publish it in a journal, or they go on to publish their work presented at a conference in a journal publication.

We must first know what consider publication in a journal is and in a conference. In the conference, researchers can mingle and interact with other international audience with the same domain and might be able to alter the new ideas. The journal publication will be cited more and sometimes bring more prestige than the conference version. The quality of reputable journal is generally determined by various ranking systems, such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) from Thomson Reuters, Scopus’s Source Normalized Index per Paper (SNIP), Google Scholar Index and Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABs).

The papers submitted to a conference and journal are usually reviewed during a certain period. The conference review gives faster feedback and quite predictable, while the journal review takes longer and far more detailed to get into publication. Each journal and conference has its own specific set of guidelines, which must be adjusted in the author’s paper. Conference papers are typically published in “proceedings” which contains collections of papers presented at a conference. Journals papers refer to an articles published in an “issue or theme of the journal”. Like the conference organizers, the editorial board of the journal can also decide to accept or reject a paper. Formal accept, minor revision, major revision and straight reject are the most common types of journal’s decision based on the results of the review process. Conference have higher standards of novelty than a journal. The journal publication will be cited more than the conference version.

Publishing an academic work is a goal all academics strive for to make their research visible or as a way to improve their performance or career promotion. Generally speaking, both journals and conference are crucial places for researchers to advance and contribute in terms of knowledge. Where you publish will depend largely on the particular intention and scientific integrity of your research.

 

REFERENCES:

https://www.editage.com/insights/what-is-the-difference-between-a-research-paper-and-a-review-paper

 

 

 

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STIE Balikpapan Scientific and Academic Writing Workshop

STIE Balikpapan Scientific and Academic Writing Workshop has been conducted successfully with more than 20 participants. This workshop was held in STIE Balikpapan on September 12, 2019 which focused on scientific writing with facilitated by Dr. Hendrati Dwi Mulyaningsih as Founder of Research Synergy Foundation. This workshop was held to improve the quality and ability of writing papers from STIE Balikpapan lecturers.
Dr. Hendrati explained writing good content and using correct language. RSF also facilitates checking for plagiarism and also the use of proper grammar. In the second session, we already started for scientific technical writing. This writing starts from translate language, check for writing grammar, check for the paper plagiarism, then write the paper according to the appropriate template. The workshop ran smoothly, and participants were very enthusiastic about learning to write papers well.

By this experience, the participants expected to have high motivation in research publication not only because of job requirement as a lecturer but also passionate with the research itself.

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Dealing with Paper Rejection (Author’s Perspective)

Submitted articles in high-quality scholarly journals can be rejected for many reasons. A large number of papers get rejected solely on the basis of their writing or without being reviewed any further. Every researcher experiences rejection at all stages of their careers. Studies have shown that around 21% are rejected without review, and approximately 40% of papers are rejected after peer review. In such cases, every authors need to figure out number of options on what to do when their papers are rejected.

  1. Give yourself time and face it with a clear mind and proper analysis
  2. Provide the submission details and learn all the details of reviewer comments
  3. Asking Editor to reconsider with good reasons and arguments
  4. Revise, rewritten and (re)submit to same or another journal that fits your work
  5. Do a series of improvements for your articles
  6. Ask advice to a more experienced researcher who has published more than you
  7. Editors, like all humans, make mistakes
  8. Try again and do some research works

Having a paper rejected can be frustrating and make you unhappy, but you still have a chance to turn this condition into your advantage. Your work is likely not as terrible or flawed as you think it is and editors often make the wrong decision. Enjoy and good luck for publishing your research and get some more experience!

References:

https://www.wiley.com/network/researchers/submission-and-navigating-peer-review/5-options-to-consider-after-article-rejection

http://www.howtowriteanacademicpaper.com/paper-rejection.html

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Scientific Writing and Publishing in High Impact Journal Workshop with Dr. Hiram Ting

Research Synergy Institute was organized the workshop entitled “Scientific Writing and Publishing in High Impact Journal Workshop” in September 17, 2019, at Universitas Islam Bandung (Unisba). This event was held in cooperation with Asian Journal of Business Research, MAG Scholar and Universitas Islam Bandung (Unisba). Present as the trainers were Dr. Hiram Ting from from UCSI University, Sarawak, Malaysia, as a Vice President of MAG Scholar and Managing Editors of  Asian Journal of Business Research and Dr. Jacky Cheah from Universiti Putra Malaysia. The workshop was attended by 14 invited lecturers from universities that have been affiliated with RSF. Before attending the workshop, several participants had presented their articles at a conference organized by RSF.

The workshop was officially opened by Dean of UNISBA Master of Management, Prof. Dr. Muhardi, S.E.,M.Si and Research Synergy Foundation Chairman, Dr. Hendrati Dwi Mulyaningsih. The workshop began with a brief explanation from Dr. Hendrati regarding the scientific process commonly carried out by RSF to improve the development of higher education in Indonesia and even to the global scope. The workshop then continued with a very enlightening presentation from Dr. Hiram Ting. There are a number of salient pointes which were emphasized in Dr. Hiram’s presentation: the philosophy of research publication, technical preparations for publishing articles in reputable journals, understanding the reviewing process and how articles get accepted or rejected by a journal. Dr. Hiram also explained about the publish-or-perish as a part of scientific cultures among academicians and how to deal with it. In the midst of the challenges of lecturers to teach and the responsibility of research publication, Dr. Hiram shared his positive experience and some tricks that made him able to contribute many academics achievement, especially through research publication. He said that he always include his students and colleagues regardless of their level of education, to help contribute research ideas or data. The lecturers must create a comfortable and conducive environment in conducting a research. He also stressed the importance of being emotionally intelligent and open-minded person in accepting a constructive criticism from reviewers.

In the next session, his presentation was then continued by his friend who was a young researcher, Dr. Jacky Cheah. Dr. Jacky Cheah was one of the young researchers who has many achievements among Malaysian academics. He shared his experience of how he struggled to make a lot of research and then published it in reputable journals. He also contributes as a reviewer and editor in several reputable journals. Together with Dr. Hiram, Dr. Jacky communicated effectively with all participants and provided their best advice and review in each of their respective papers. They also recommend which journals that are suitable for their research. Both Dr. Hiram and Dr. Jacky, they acknowledged that their research activities are mostly done outside the university. The workshop atmosphere was very intensive and conducive with the recommendations and directions from the workshop trainers. The workshop then ended with a group photo session. By holding the workshop, RSF & RSI hopes that this will become one of the media to create a conducive research ecosystem and support the capacity-building of Indonesia Researchers.

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