Journal Article Editing and Proofreading Services
A journal article is a paper that provides the most current research in a certain field. Journal articles are mostly peer-reviewed and academic in nature. The different types of articles presented for journal publication include original research, brief reports or letters, review articles, case studies, and methodologies. The peer-review process ensures that every article presented in a recognized journal is scientifically verified as valid and reliable. Scientific principles must be used to reinforce the claims, conceptualization, and processes used by researchers to arrive at conclusions or inferences.
The peer-review process is conducted without disclosing the author of the article in question to avoid bias. Academic institutions may use the number of articles published in a particular reputable journal as the qualification criteria for their decisions in recruitment, promotion, or research fellowship appointments. After journal editing, the peer reviewers determine whether the article is approved for publication, returned for revisions, or rejected altogether.
The trends and developments in technology have significantly affected the publication of journal articles to a great extent in the recent past. Among these trends is Open Access (OA) publishing. A survey of 200 professionals working in research institutions across the globe revealed that 70% of those who responded agreed that academic content should be openly accessible. In addition, 91% of the librarians also acknowledge OA as the future of scholarly and scientific publishing. In a similar survey conducted in 2017, only 62% of the respondents had agreed to open-access publishing, a clear indication that OA is becoming popular with digital migration over the years.
As the OA continues to grow, so should the demand for journal article editing and proofreading services. These services are professionally offered by experts to enhance and protect the quality of the journals. The fact that there may be no standards for scrutinizing the journals in OA publishing, one should not allow the readers to complain over depreciating quality by publishing sub-optimal and erroneous articles.
The information in this article is focused on the factors we consider in our journal article professional editing services. Journal article writers and researchers can benefit from this article through quality improvement for their writing that increases chances of approval by peer reviewers and positive comments from readers.
19 Factors to Consider When Offering Journal Article Editing Services
There are various factors that can lead to the rejection of journal articles. The rejection rates depend on the quality of articles and competition for the best research and studies published in highly-ranked journals. Most journals with the highest rejection rates are the most prestigious and excellent in terms of a quality publication. A study shows that 20% of the journals that were being edited in 2017 had received 80% of the publication jobs, leading to high rejection rates of 90% to 95%.
However, despite the high rejection rates, it is further shown that 62% of the manuscripts that were published had once been rejected at a particular journal. Therefore, there is still hope even after an article is rejected journal submission process. Authors and researchers should examine their works to identify areas of weaknesses that can lead to rejection or negative reviews and comments by the target audience. Among other services, our professional journal article editors help in improving the quality of articles through thorough English language editing and general manuscript evaluation by addressing the following factors.
1. Guidelines for submission provided by the specific journal
Before submitting an article to a journal of choice, one should strive to know its requirements for publication success. Our editing service is founded on a clear understanding of the agenda and standards of that journal, enabling us to judge whether the article at hand aligns with the specifications. The subject matter experts review one’s article against those published in the journal before to confirm whether the writing style and quality of the academic writing match the already-published journal articles.
Researchers should also consider the rejection rates of their chosen journal. The higher the rejection rates, the more prestigious a journal is, and the better the quality of articles published in it. If one is confident enough and willing to compete with other competent researchers, the journals with law acceptance rates could be ideal for them. After researching and writing the article, they should buy journal article editing and proofreading services to make it stand out and set them apart from the rest.
2. Scope of the article compared to the journal requirements
A journal article may be rejected not because of poor English or errors, but because it is out of scope and does not fit in the journal's coverage areas. The topic or the type of research may not appeal to the target audience for the journal. Reviewing the scope of a journal article before submission enables one to fine-tune their work and evaluate its relevance to the journal’s target audience to avoid submitting it to the wrong journal.
3. Clarity of the research question(s)
Ensuring clarity of the research question is essential to enable the reader to follow through with the argument, methodology, and inferences in a journal article. The journal editor from our team ensures that research questions and objectives are clearly stated from the introductory stage of the article to give readers enough reasons why the article should matter to them.
4. Suitability of the topic
Journals may have different preferences for topics when selecting articles for publication. The specifications are mostly included in the submission guidelines. We, therefore, review the topic of the article to ascertain whether it is among those preferred by the submission journal to ensure publication success. Articles whose topics do not align with the preferences of the chosen journal may not be considered at all.
5. Presence of flaws in research design or methodology
The methodology used to answer the research question and achieve its objectives affects the validity of the entire study and its findings. If the journal article presents minor issues in methodology, the peer reviewers and journal editors may return it for revision. However, when major problems that cannot be addressed in a revision are found, the journal article rejection chances are high.
To avoid all the frustration and embarrassment of having a journal article rejected or returned, researchers and authors ought to hire a person to edit and proofread the journal article on their behalf. Our subject matter experts in editing and proofreading are able to detect flaws and inconsistencies in the research design and methodology and help fix them before the article is sent to the target audience. We ensure that all the important information about the methodology is provided for purposes of replicability and reproducibility of the research.
6. Excellent knowledge of dominant theories in the research area
A journal article can stand out if the researcher demonstrates explicit knowledge and understanding of the arguments and philosophies surrounding their research topic. It is through this knowledge that one can explicitly present their arguments supported by empirical proves to make the article unique and outstanding. No claim should be put across without evidence because the reviewers are experts and can differentiate between facts and speculations.
When hiring experts for editing and proofreading help, one should consider a specialist in the subject area in order to get the be best journal article editing and proofreading service. Having our experts in the subject area for editors ensure excellent service and correct evaluation and assessment of the article based on knowledge, skills, and experience.
7. The target audience
Journal articles, like any other piece of writing, must have a clearly defined target audience. To avoid rejection, authors of journal articles must ensure they clearly understand the target audience and the characteristics that make the article fit for their consumption. The target audience for the article should also align with that of the submission journal. If reviewers do not find the defined target group in an article, the chances of its rejection are high.
8. The title of the article
The title of a journal article is among the first things that the audience will read on receiving the it. Our journal article editing services ensure that the title comprises the most relevant keywords that can be helpful in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Using the right keywords makes the article easily searchable and locatable on the internet after publication. We review the article title to ensure it is accurate, concise, and informative without language errors.
9. Use of relevant and current references
Proofreading a journal article is essential because it gives one a chance to confirm whether they have cited information from the most current literature. Our professional editing and proofreading services evaluate whether the references used to demonstrate the researcher's awareness of the newest developments in the body of knowledge the article is contributing to. The relevance of the referenced material in that journal article should be clear to the readers.
10. Originality of the researcher(s)
Originality is among the most important characteristics of research work. Even though one may be exploring an already existing concept, their work should be founded on a unique point of view or angle so that it does not look like a duplication of another person’s research. A research article that does not present any new ideas or unique points of view on an issue is bound to be rejected. If the researcher decides to hire a person to edit and proofread the journal article on their behalf, the expert hired should be able to confirm whether the writing presents the most original ideas about the research topic that has not been published in any journal before.
11. Relevance of the research to the target audience
The relevance of a journal article content is based on its ability to satisfy the needs of the journal’s target audience. The publishing space in journals tends to be limited and only the most relevant articles make it to the publication stage. Our journal article editing and proofreading experts evaluate the relevance of the article against the characteristics and needs of the journal’s audience to increase its chances of acceptance for publication.
12. Language and style issues
The language of journal articles should be formal and technical, depending on the target audience and the discipline it is written in. Even if the article presents the most relevant research, we conduct English language editing to ensure it is simple and easy for the readers to understand.
13. Lack of focus
Reviewers and readers for a journal article may not understand what specifically the article author is contributing if there are so many questions and problems being addressed in the content at the same time. Our journal article editing services evaluate the paper before handing it in for peer review to ensure that its topic and content are narrowed down to address a specific issue. Lack of focus can lead to rejection of the article or negative reviews at the expense of one’s credibility and reputation as a researcher.
14. Length of the article
The length of the writing can also lead to its return or rejection by reviewers. The number of words specified in the submission journal guidelines should be complied with. Too long and repetitive content may be boring to the readers and the journal editors may not consider such articles for publication.
15. Accurate interpretation and validity of results
To differentiate between answers to the research question from mere suggestions, the results must be reliable and valid. Peer reviewers are experts in the same field and they may determine the value of one’s article based on the relatability of its findings to theirs. If the findings cannot be built on by other researchers in the same field, the article may be rejected.
In addition to the validity of results, the article should also provide an explanation, discussion, and justification for the results in the broader context, and their implications and applicability in resolving real-life situations.
16. Relevance of the conclusion
After presenting the report on the findings and the implications with regards to the research question, one should also give the audience a take-home message in the conclusion. It is the message that determines why the article should matter in the lives of readers. The audience should get the main point of the paper and learn something helpful from the journal article.
The best journal article editing and proofreading service should be focused on bettering the writing with the reader in mind. Our experts review the document from an average reader’s perspective and assess whether there are lessons to be learned. The conclusion must address such lessons and demonstrate the relevance of the journal article to the lives of the audience.
17. Author's affiliation
In journal articles, the author is often listed with their credentials and affiliate university or research institutions. These credentials are important in identifying the author’s expertise and credibility. Before sending the article for review, one should confirm the correctness of the details to avoid contradiction.
18. General structure and sections
Most journal articles are divided into the abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion and recommendations, and references/bibliographies sections. However, the labeling for these sections may vary as well as the number of sections to include, depending on whether the submission journal has given such guidelines in the structure and sections preferred. Editing and proofreading give the opportunity to confirm whether the number of sections and how they are structured matches the requirements of the submission journal.
19. Technical accuracy
Our proofreading and editing services also evaluate the language quality, identify and correct punctuation errors, grammar, spelling, and formatting issues. We take into account our clients and author instructions before submitting the edited and proofread document back to the client. Our objective feedback pertaining to the journal article is meant to generally improve the overall quality of the paper.
All these factors, if thoroughly addressed, can be helpful to researchers in attaining a superb quality for their journal articles. The first thing to consider should be the journal in which they wish to publish their work requires. It is only after understanding the submission journal requirements that our editors can review and evaluate the article to confirm whether it attains the standards and fits the acceptance criteria. In, addition, one should evaluate the factors that may have led to the rejection of other articles submitted to such journals before. If a researcher or author of an article knows why their work may be rejected, they can definitely fix issues before submission.
Our journal article editing and proofreading services help in fixing errors and all sorts of flaws in a well-written article to make it stand out. The best journal article that presents the most relevant content in the right writing style, and has no mistakes and inconsistencies can find its well-deserved space in the most prestigious journals.
If a journal article is returned for revision, one should keenly evaluate the reviewers’ comments and address given recommendations to attain publication standards. In case of any difficulties, it is prudent to seek editing and proofreading help from professional journal article editors for the best results.