Resources for Early Career Researchers: Publishing Your Research

Good news! Many times you can write the cost of the publication fee into your research grant. The NIH Grants Policy Statement includes a section related to publication and printing costs. The National Science Foundation also outlines publication costs in section 617 of their awards documentation. Be advised that it is best to consider publication costs early on in the research process. A lack of funding for publication fees can limit publishing options. 

For more information about how to include Article Processing Charges (APCs) in your funding proposals, watch the short video below. This video includes sample language you can use or adapt for your funding proposals.

Not sure who should get first author credit? Here are some resources on the pros and cons of shared authorship:

• Shared first authorship
• “Equal” Contributions and Credit: An Emerging Trend in the Characterization of Authorship
• Increased co-first authorships in biomedical and clinical publications: a call for recognition
• Reducing bias: accounting for the order of co-first authors

Predatory publishers use the open access publishing model for their own profit.

“Predatory” publishers solicit articles from faculty and researchers with the intention of exploiting authors who need to publish their research findings in order to meet promotion and tenure or grant funding requirements. These publishers collect extravagant fees from authors without providing the peer review services that legitimate journals provide prior to publishing papers.

Predatory publishers share common characteristics:

• Ultimate goal is to make money - not to publish scholarly research
• Use deception to appear legitimate
• Make false claims about services offered (peer review)
• Unethical business practices
• Exploit the need for academics to publish
• No concern for quality of work published
• Do not follow accepted scholarly publishing best practices

Take a look at Himmelfarb's predatory publishing guide for more information on this topic or review Cabell's Directory of Publishing Opportunities (Predatory Reports). 

Are you considering archiving a preprint? Here are some helpful resources:

• A guide to preprinting for early-career researchers 
• On the value of preprints: An early career researcher perspective
• Preprint resource center from ASAPbio
• Preprint guide from Himmelfarb Library