Lesson from PhD Course: Publishing

Lessons from Richard Horton, Editor of the Lancet

• The forces of publication
• Open Access: Science should be accessible for everyone, especially since the public paid for it by way of taxes
• Impact: Brand names of universities are built by publications. More publications mean better recognition.
• Liars, cheats & fraud: Science is not better than any other area, it has it's fair share of bottomfeeders.
• What do journals want in the articles they publish?
• Originality; is anything new brought to the table?
• Relevancy: is the disease discussed in media? 
• Readership: are the main readers of the journal going to be interested?
• Then - and only after this - do the journals consider the truthfulness of the research.
• Open access publications like PLOS One have a bias to publish more, especially research that may have been turned down in higher impact journals like the Lancet or BMJ.

• Think about the message you want to convey
• Be actively engaged in the publishing process
• Convey passion for your work in in the paper and in the cover letter.