Over the last few months we have looked at writing and publishing journal articles from a variety of different perspectives but mainly in the social sciences so here is a post for the natural and clinical scientists amongst our readers. Todays post comes from Dr Jigar Jogia. Jigar completed his PhD in the field of Psychiatry and Cognitive Neuroscience at the Institute of Psychiatry, (King’s College London, KCL) in 2010. He is currently a Postdoctoral researcher in the section of neurobiology of psychosis (Institute of Psychiatry, KCL). He also lectures and delivers training to staff and students for the Graduate School Researcher Development Unit at KCL. Jigar recently won the Samuel Gershon Award for Bipolar Disorder Research, in this post he reflects on the importance of journal selection. 

Recently I have published some original data in a peer reviewed Journal Molecular Psychiatry which is the highest ranked psychiatric journal at present with an impact factor of 15.470. The impact factor is a measure of the average number of citations to articles published in science and social science journals. It is commonly used as a proxy for the relative importance of a journal within its field; with journals with higher impact factors deemed to be more important. My advice to young postdocs in any field wanting to publish their research is to be realistic about the strengths and weaknesses of your studies and select the right journal, it is one of the most crucial parts of the publication process but the importance of this step is underestimated by many. Selecting a journal whereby your research can reach your target audience and have a real impact in your field is vital for furthering your career as a postdoctoral researcher. Publishing in a good journal will add indirect credibility to your work and also introduce you as a new researcher in the field.

In selecting the right journal first of all read through recent articles being published which will give you a feel for the scope of the journal. Next invesitgate journal impact factors or other new journal impact measures relevant to your field. Be meticulous when going through the ‘Instructions for Authors’ advice given by the journal, you don’t want a rejection before your paper has even been reviewed because of a simple mistake like not adhering to the referencing style of the journal. Most journals now also allow you to recommend potential reviewers for your submission, so nominate fellow experts in your field (just remember to cite their papers) and researchers you feel who would be receptive to your findings. Finally remember if you do get a rejection from a journal use the reviewer’s comments and work on them for your next submission and keeping your fingers crossed and praying to all the Gods out there also helps.

Dr. Jigar Jogia, a postdoctoral fellow in the section of neurobiology of psychosis at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King’s College London was presented with the Samuel Gershon Award at the 9th international conference on Bipolar Disorder held in Pittsburgh, USA.

The Samuel Gershon Awards, named in honour of the past President of the International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) and a pioneering lithium researcher, are presented by the ISBD in recognition of the vital role of developing the next generation of leaders in the field of Bipolar Disorder. The four awards are presented for unpublished original research papers submitted by young investigators who have made a significant impact in the field of Bipolar Disorder research and are offered the opportunity to present the award winning work at the ISBD biennial meeting.

Dr Jogia won the award in recognition of his work in the field of neuroimaging in Bipolar Disorder. His research focuses on examining functional brain abnormalities associated with reward and working memory processing in Bipolar Disorder. Dr Jogia said: ‘The Samuel Gershon Award is a significant landmark in my career. I feel very privileged and honoured that my academic work has received international attention and recognition’.