#26 Why papers are rejected?

When you submit your manuscript to a good peer-reviewed journal, there are 3 possible scenarios:

• Desk rejection (your manuscript doesn’t go through peer review)

• Your manuscript needs revisions (very likely). Those revisions can be either of minor or major nature.

• Directly accepted (very unlikely)

Springer offers an author tutorial that explains why manuscripts are often rejected.

This tutorial makes an important distinction between technical reasons and editorial reasons.

I summarize them here.

𝗔- 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

1-Incomplete Data:

For example, you are using a too-small sample size.

And your manuscript misses or has poor controls.

2-Poor Analysis:

Use of inappropriate statistical tests.

Lack of statistical analysis.

3-Inappropriate Methodology:

Failing to use current, more robust methods. That’s when you use outdated or surpassed methodologies.

That’s where you need to stay up-to-date with latest developments.

4-Inaccurate Conclusions:

Drawing conclusions not supported by the data.

Making assumptions without proper backing from data.

Then comes the second type of rejection reasons: the editorial reasons.

𝗕- 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀:

1-Out of Scope for the Journal:

Not aligned with the journal's focus.

2-Lack of Impact:

Insufficiently groundbreaking or advancing the field.

Here, sometimes it’s a matter of positioning your study correctly to justify your contribution.

3- Structural Issues:

Not following the journal's formatting requirements.

Lack of proper organization or flow.

4- Insufficient Detail:

Readers can't fully understand or replicate the analysis.

5- Outdated or Self-Citations:

References not up-to-date or relying heavily on self-citations.

6- Poor Language Quality:

Incomprehensible writing due to language issues.

Illogical progression of ideas or poorly presented data.

7- Violation of Publication Ethics:

Engaging in unethical practices like plagiarism or data fabrication.

Technical reasons require more work before the manuscript can be submitted again.

Most editorial rejection reasons can be avoided by following the journal guidelines.

Let me know if I missed anything?

That’s it for this week. Let us know in the comments if you think I missed anything or if you have any other suggestions.

As usual, if anything is unclear or if you need help with your research projects, please contact me and I will reply.

See you next Sunday!

Jamal

Question of the Week

Any other reason why papers get rejected?

Let us know in the comments.

My favorite things this week

1. I organized my files on my laptop, and then I realized that I trained more than 20,000 researchers in the past few years only based on the number of certificates sent to them. I feel grateful for helping researchers achieve their goals. And this is just the beginning :)

2. Although I’m on leave, I’m thinking a lot about different content ideas. More on this soon.

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Source: Springer - Common reasons for rejection (Author and Reviewer tutorials)