How to get published in IOP Journals

1. How to get published in IOP Journals Professor Mingfang Lu, PhD, FInstPChief Representative/Editor-in-Chief, China IOP Beijing Office and IOP Publishing Yunnan Astronomical Observatory, CAS 9 March 2010 mingfang.lu@iop.org, www.iop.org, IOPscience.iop.org

2. Outline • Papers and their qualities from China • Quality - IOP criteria • What determines your quality • Select the journal and submit your paper • Process at the journal • What referees do for your paper • Responding to referees • Getting published in IOP Journals

3. 中国大陆作者向IOP期刊投稿和发表论文情况 Year Submitted Accepted Acc rate=Acc/Sub 1995 134 1996 150 1997 158 1998 170 1999 858 177 20.63% 2000 1,132 196 17.31% 2001 1,383 262 19.09% 2002 1,550 468 30.2% 2003 2,016 568 28.2% 2004 2,505 (+24%) 624 (+10%) 24.9% 2005 3,415 (+36%) 788 (+26%) 23.1% 2006 4,282 (+25.4%) 1,125 (+42.8%) 26.3% 2007 5,507 (+28.6%) 1,510 (+34.2%) 27.4% 2008 6,627 1,562 23.6% 2009 7,080 1,570 22.2%

4. 2009 IOP全球范围接受投稿和接受论文情况 Year Submitted Accepted Acc/Sub 2009 33,331 13,415 40.3% 中国(No 2) (7,080)21.2% (1,570) 11.7%22.2% 2009 其他主要国家向IOP投稿和发表论文情况 No. 1美国 3德国 4英国 5法国 6日本 7意大利 8印度 9加拿大 10西班牙 投稿 5,159 2,050 2,015 1,498 1,487 1,159 2,621 874 914 接受 3,070 1,493 1,326 986 861 755 544 524 513 接受率 59.5% 72.8% 65.8% 65.8% 57.9% 65.1% 20.8% 60.0% 56.1% http://IOPscience.iop.org/

5. QUALITY ASSESSMENT CRITERIA FOR IOP JOURNALS • Q1 Makes major contributions to the advancement of the subject world-wide (top 15%) • Q2 Good quality work - original and internationally competitive • Q3 Borderline work of limited interest • Q4 Low quality work - adds little or no new knowledge • Q5 Poor work, clearly unsuitable • Q1 or Q2 papers are expected • Q3 papers unlikely to be accepted • Q4 or Q5 papers will be rejected

6. 2009IOP发表中国大陆作者论文的质量水平 Quality rating Papers accepted Percentage Accumulated % Q1 13 0.8% Q1.5 66 4.2% Q1.5 better 5.0% Q2 1,283 81.7% Q2 better 86.7% Q2.5 178 11.3% Q2.5 better 98.0% Q3 30 2.0% Q3.5 0 0 Q4-Q5 0 (Total 1,570) http://IOPscience.iop.org/

7. What determine your quality • Original work, novel and significant • Interest to the community • Have sound motivation and purpose • Not previously published • Not under consideration for publication in any other journal or any other form • Scientific quality not quantity of papers • Ethical code: • Research results – true, properly recorded • Authorship practices – who can be your co-authors

8. Helpful techniques for writing your paper • Focus on new and important research results • Make sure the language is clear and precise, especially your conclusions • Ensure that figures and tables are clear • Ensure that the paper is of the right length

9. Something to avoid • Presenting new but trivial or obvious results • Making unsubstantiated conclusions • Burying new results beneath too much scene-setting • Recapping of findings already published • Presenting incremental research • Being long winded – keep short • ‘Flowery’ language • Abbreviations and jargon • Speculation or anecdotes – keep to the facts • A ‘gimmicky’ title • makes wild, unjustified claims • Poor or incomplete references • Poor quality figures • Incomplete data • Don’t cover up or ‘fudge’ the data

10. More helpful tips • Allow time for rewriting • Use figures instead of tables • Ask a colleague to read and comment on an early draft • Check the structure of the paper: • Title – proper and complete • Abstract – more details, key words, PACS • Introduction – history, why, what you have done • Method – details and standard • Results and Discussion – fact and more • Conclusion – what you have achieved • References – objective and up-to-date

11. Selecting the journal • Choose the right one for you

12. 电子投稿Electronic Submission • 对所有IOPP期刊，可直接电子邮件投稿至 • E-mail: mingfang.lu@iop.org • 在标题栏中用英文注明电子投稿及所投期刊 标准格式，如: Electronic submission to JPCM 稿件（附件）+英文投稿信(Cover Letter) 适用于所有IOP期刊，简单、快速、可靠！ • 或网上直投： Online submission

13. Process at the journal • Via esub@iop.org or Online – temporary ID, but unable to track your paper, e.g. CM/T123052/FTC/29135/ • Editor acknowledges your paper, assign a ref number, e.g. CM/337116/PAP/183301 • Pre-screening process • Editor selects referees for the paper • Referees send their reports back to the Editor • Editor makes decision based on referee reports • Adjudicator is selected if the reports are conflicting

14. What referees do for your paper? • Independent assessment by experts in the field • Referees provide constructive criticism and feedback on your paper • A ‘filter’ for scientific quality control • Publishing a paper in a peer-reviewed journal gives more credibility to your work than if you post it on your own web site • Peer review is an essential part of publishing in a journal or obtaining a grant

15. Referees’ assessment: Scientific Quality • Scientific merit: significant new results and originality • Accurate and correct • Sufficient discussion of the context of the work, and suitable referencing • Suitable material for the Journal

16. Referees’ assessment: Presentation • Title: is it adequate/appropriate? • Abstract: is it complete by itself and suitable for direct inclusion in an abstracting service? • Diagrams, tables, and captions: are they clear and essential? • Text and mathematics: are they brief but still clear? • Conclusion: does it summarise what has been learned and why it is interesting and useful? • References: objective and up-to-date • Clear writing and communication of ideas, readability and discussion of concepts

18. International Refereeing • Fully international refereeing is possible through the internet • We still need more referees from China • Account for 2.7% of the total referee reports • Volunteer at http://referees.iop.org • or contact the IOP journal where you have published

19. Responding to referees’ comments • Read referees’ report and put away for a day! • Read them again! • Respond to each and every comment specifically • Keep a list of your changes • Where you disagree, explain why • If referee misses a point it is not necessarily his/her fault • Be polite! • Prepare a detailed covering letter with your response

20. If your paper is rejected • Do not despair: treat referees’ comments as a free expert advice • You may be able to re-write your article taking into account the suggestions of the referees and re-submit it • Note: If you re-submit the paper to any IOP journal, you need to add enough significant new results in it • If you think the review was unfair, appeal to the journal by sending a letter and explaining why you think your work did not receive a fair treatment

21. If your paper is accepted • Great - celebrate! • The journal will expect you to check your proofs rapidly • Nominate another person if you are unavailable • Give one copy of proofs to somebody else to read • Reply to editor’s queries

24. IOP Flagship Journals • Journal of Physics series

25. J Phys A: Mathematical & Theoretical (2008 IF: 1.540) 1. Quantum field theory 2. QFT/BEC overlap 3. Quantum information 4. Foundations of quantum mechanics 5. Open quantum open systems 6. Quantum condensed matter physics 7. Computational physics 8. Mathematical methods for materials and biology J Phys B: Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics (2008 IF: 2.089) 1: Quantum optics and quantum information processing 2: Ultrafast science 3: Cold atoms and molecules 4: Novel light sources for atomic and molecular physics studies Journal of Physics – IOP flagship journals range

26. J Phys CM: Condensed Matter (2008 IF: 1.900) 1. Soft condensed matter 2. Biological physics 3. Nanostructured surfaces and surface processes 4. Spintronics 5. Correlated electrons 6. Solid-state quantum information processing All on fundamental CM physics, experimental or theoretical! J Phys D: Applied Physics (2008 IF: 2.104) 1. Magnetism and magnetic materials 2. Applied interfaces 3. Photonics and semiconductors 4. Spintronics 5. Biomedical optics, biophotonics and biomagnetism 6. Tribology 7. Nanostructures and nanoelectronics 8. Terahertz physics Journal of Physics – IOP flagship journals range

27. J Phys G: Nuclear and Particle Physics (2008 IF: 5.270) 1. Quark Matter / QGP / Relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions 2. Cosmic Rays & Particle Astrophysics 3. Hadronic Physics 4. Neutrino physics 5. Nuclear Structure 6. Lattice QCD 7. Underground Lab Physics ISI影响因子的计算: A=2006年发表的论文数, B=2007年发表的论文数 C=(A+B)在2008年被引用的总次数 (能够追踪的) 2008 Impact Factor=C/(A+B) 发布时间: 2009年6月20日 Journal of Physics – IOP flagship journals range

28. IOP 67种期刊目录及最新SCI 影响因子 (1-7) • IOP最著名的期刊系列 -- Journal of Physics series • (2008 Impact Factor, updated in June 2009) • 1. Journal of Physics A: Mathematical & Theoretical (1.540) • 2. (1)Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics (2.089) • 3. (2)Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (1.900) • 4. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics (2.104) • 5. (3)Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics (5.270) • 6. Journal of Physics: Conference Series • 7. New Journal of Physics (3.440) Notes: • No page charge except NJP which is an open access journal. • For journals marked (1) - (8), IOP Beijing Office provides free pre-refereeing and English polishing services. • For journals marked “*”, authors need to submit papers directly to their editorial offices, please check IOPscience.iop.org

29. IOP 67种期刊目录及SCI 索引和最新影响因子 (8-23) • (2008 ISI Impact factor) • 8. The Astronomical Journal (AAS, 4.769) • 9. The Astrophysical Journal (AAS, 6.331) • 10. The Astrophysical Journal Letters (AAS, 6.331) • 11. The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series (AAS, 13.990) • 12. Biofabrication (New) • 13. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics (New) • 14. Biomedical Materials (1.233) • 15. *Chinese Journal of Chemical Physics (USTC, 0.455) • 16. *Chinese Physics B (CPS, 1.680) • 17. *Chinese Physics C (CPS, new) • 18. *Chinese Physics Letter (CPS, 0.743) • 19. (4) Classical and Quantum Gravity(3.035) • 20. * Communications in Theoretical Physics (CPS, 0.719) • 21. Computational Science & Discovery (new) • 22. Environmental Research Letters (1.719) • 23. European Journal of Physics (0.625)

30. All IOP Journals (24 - 40) • 24. * EPL (Europhysics Letters) (2.203) • 25. Fluid Dynamics Research (1.012) • 26. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science (new) • 27. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering (new) • 28. Inverse Problems (1.912) • 29. Journal of Breath Research (new) • 30. *Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics (6.389) • 31. Journal of Geophysics and Engineering (IGP, Nanjing, 0.621) • 32. *Journal of High Energy Physics (5.375) • 33. *Journal of Instrumentation (0.333) • 34. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering (2.233) • 35. Journal of Neural Engineering (2.737) • 36. (5) Journal of Optics (1.742) • 37. *Journal of Radiological Protection (1.169) • 38. Journal of Semiconductors (new, Semi, CAS, China) • 39. *Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment (2.758) • 40. Measurement Science and Technology (1.493)

31. All IOP Journals (41 – 57) • 41.*Metrologia (1.780) • 42. Modelling and Simulation in Materials Sci. & Eng. (1.388) • 43. (6)Nanotechnology (3.446) • 44. Nonlinearity (1.359) • 45. * Nuclear Fusion (IAEA, 2.730) • 46. *Physica Scripta (0.970) • 47. Physical Biology (3.137) • 48. Physics Education • 49. Physics in Medicine and Biology (2.784) • 50. Physiological Measurement (1.691) • 51. Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (2.299) • 52. *Plasma Science and Technology (IPP, 0.402) • 53. Plasma Sources Science and Technology (2.685) • 54. Reports on Progress in Physics (12.090) • 55. * Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (NAOC, 0.689) • 56. SciDAC Review (DOE, new) • 57. * Science and Technology of Advanced Materials (NIMS, 1.267)

32. All IOP Journals (58 – 67) • 58.* Science Foundation in China (NSFC) • 59. (7) Semiconductor Science and Technology (1.434) • 60. Smart Materials and Structures (1.743) • 61. (8) Superconductor Science and Technology (1.847) • 62. *Izvestiya: Mathematics (Turpion) (0.494) • 63. *Physics-Uspekhi (Turpion & UFN) (2.471) • 64. *Quantum Electronics (Turpion) (0.835) • 65. *Russian Chemical Reviews (Turpion) (1.832) • 66. *Russian Mathematical Surveys (Turpion) (0.430) • 67. *Sbornik: Mathematics (Turpion) (0.415) • Notes: • No page charge except NJP which is an open access journal. • For journals marked (1) - (8 ), IOP Beijing Office provides free pre-refereeing and English polishing services. • For journals marked “*”, authors need to submit papers directly to their editorial offices, please check IOPscience.iop.org

33. IOP期刊的显著特点, IOPscience.iop.org • 双审稿人审稿机制，对作者更公平和更多的发表机会。 • 均为享誉国际的著名期刊，1,000人的一流国际编委，多名中国编委 • 广泛的传播性， 电子期刊达到全球180多个国家和地区的4,000多个研究机构，包括所有200多个世界最著名实验室。2008年被点击8000万次，全文下载超过1500万次。 • 全电子服务：esub, eStatus, eSearch, eAlert, RRS 方便作者投稿和研究。 • 审稿和出版速度快，JPCM：Receipt to First Decision = 38 days, Receipt to Acceptance = 76 days, Receipt to Web Publication = 104 days;网上出版可快至20天、平均2-3个月或更快。NJP 的最快记录只有25小时，前提是保证论文和出版质量。Check with your co-authors first! • 多媒体附件，免费附加“活”的公式、数据库，彩色图片或动画电影片段等， 向读者充分介绍自己的研究结果和过程。 • 所有IOP期刊均不收取版面费, 运行经费完全来自期刊的销售 • 所有新发表论文30天网上免费阅读和下载， IOPscience.iop.org • 自1874年成立以来135年的过刊全部全文上网，总计超过15万篇论文和150万页的物理学，其中包括许多荣获诺贝尔奖的经典之作。

34. Where to read and use IOP journals • http://journals.iop.org • http://www.iop.org/EJ • http://iopscience.iop.org

36. journals.iop.org 2 Return to Contents IOP最近的新闻 直接访问我们的期刊 IOP选出的最近出版的文章

37. Journals list at www.iop.org/EJ 3 Return to Contents Display journals by subject 按照学科索引 连接到IOP出版过的所有期刊，回溯文档，最早从1874年开始! 连接到我们所有的现刊

38. Journal homepages 4 Return to Contents 进入我们最新的一卷，一期内容 进入我们的回溯文档 将要出版的文章信息 作者投稿

39. Submitting the manuscript: Web, e-mail or hard copy Fill in online form

40. Institute ofPhysics (IOP) –关于英国物理学会 • Institute of Physics, 76 Portland Place, London W1B 3NT United Kingdom • 成立于1874年，原名为Physical Society, 1970年由英国女王授权更名为Institute of Physics • 国际著名学术机构之一 • 致力于在全球范围内推动和传播物理学的研究和应用，以及促进物理学教育的发展 • 在英国注册为非盈利性皇家慈善机构,注册号码:293851 • 在全球范围内拥有约3.4万名会员, 其中约9千名国际会员 www.iop.org

41. 英国物理学会出版社--(IOPP) • IOPP是英国物理学会(IOP)下属的非盈利性出版机构 • IOPP采用公司化运作方式，所有盈余全部上缴英国物理学会 从资金和知识两个方面，支持物理学发展的慈善事业 • IOPP是全球领先的物理学及相关学科的信息传播机构之一， 出版物包括： • 60余种著名物理学期刊,包括《 Journal of Physics 》系列 • Magazine, 包括3种杂志, 如 Physics World, 等 • 物理学网站，physicsweb.org, physicsworld.com, eprintweb.org, nanotechweb.org，等 www.iop.org，IOPscience.iop.org

42. IOPscience.iop.org

43. Current Journals at IOPscience

46. YNAO, CAS - Main Building

47. 英国物理学会北京代表处 -- IOP Beijing Office • 2000年7月7日在北京正式成立, IOP Beijing Office • 联络和促进中英两国在物理学方面的友好合作, 中国著名的大学和研究机构,中国科技部、中国科协、国家基金委、中国物理学会,等 • 为中国物理学家向IOP期刊发表论文、作为审稿人或编委提供服务 • 为中国作者向IOP期刊投稿提供预审服务和免费修改英文服务 • 希望大家能够从中受益 • Contact us: 英国物理学会北京代表处 • 北京海淀区中关村南三街8号A楼512房间 • （中国科学院物理研究所内） • 北京603信箱37号分箱 • 邮编：北京 100190 • Tel: (010) 82649679, Fax: (010) 82649678 • E-mail: mingfang.lu@iop.org, iopchina@aphy.iphy.ac.cn • http://www.iop.org/iopbeijing/chssej_intro.html

48. 为8 种期刊提供预审和免费英文修改, 方便中国作者投稿 (2008 Impact Factor) • 1. Classical and Quantum Gravity (CQG, 3.035) • 2. Journal of Optics (JOPt, 1.742) • 3. Journal of Physics B: Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics (JPB, 2.089) • 4. Nanotechnology (NANO, 3.446) • 5. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter (JPCM, 1.900) • 6. Journal of Physics G: Nuclear and Particle Physics (JPG, 5.270) • 7. Semiconductor Science and Technology (SST, 1.434) • 8. Superconductor Science and Technology (SUST, 1.847) • 将扩展到包括所有Journal of Physics期刊: J Phys: A, D • All cited by SCI

49. IOP北京代表处提供稿件预审和免费英文修改服务IOP北京代表处提供稿件预审和免费英文修改服务 • 国内稿件质量不齐, 低质量论文对高水平论文带来不利影响，造成多种浪费 —时间、声誉 • 对稿件内容水平和写作把关，增加可读性 • 国际审稿时加速审稿过程, 增加可接受性，提高命中率 • 整体上提高学术声誉

50. 被拒稿的国内论文主要存在的一些问题 • 科学水平不高，追求论文数量。 • 写作水平和英文水平欠缺，不能正确表达研究结果和对其进行充分的讨论，难以达到学术交流目的，甚至使审稿人难以相信你的研究结果 – 不一定是偏见。 • 内容不适合所投期刊，如JPCM强调基础凝聚态物理，因此，属于材料科学的论文难以被发表 • 关于如何发表高水平研究论文，请参见：http://www.iop.org/iopbeijing/howto_get_published_in_chinese.html