Questions about a “model” paper in your research area
With your partners, work through the following questions in any
order. You have 45-60 minutes. Try to get to all of the questions,
so do not spend too much time on any one question.
Observe how the answers are different (or the same) for each of
your papers.
You will need to go to your journal's website to see journal
instructions and compare yours to other published papers.
- Does the journal in which this was
published have an "Instructions for Authors" or "Style Guide"
document? Look this up on the web.
- If there is one, is there anything in there that surprises
you?
- Is the document/guide lenient or strict?
- Are there significant differences between the document for
the journal of your paper and that for the journal of your
partners' papers?
- What are the main parts of the paper?
- Title, Abstract, …
- Does the journal require these? Do all other papers in the
journal have the same main parts?
- How long is the paper? (#pages)
- How does that length compare to other papers in the same
journal?
- Would you guess this paper was shorter or longer than
average in your research area?
- How long is the abstract? Does the
journal have a word-count limit?
- How much does the abstract use the word “we” in the
Abstract?
- Does the abstract express the research goal as a question?
- In how many words does the abstract summarize what the
actual main results are? Is there one sentence that
essentially summarizes the entire result?
- How does the abstract emphasize what is new about the
results?
- How does the abstract tell you why the result is
interesting? (the contribution?) Is there a difference between
saying what is new and saying what is interesting?
- How does the abstract use the space? What proportions does
the abstract use for the following purposes?
- Explain the goal/question
- Explain what was done
- Explain the resulting data
- Explain what the data tells us, what the results mean,
what the answer is
- Explain the application of the result
- What are the section headings and
subsection headings?
- Look at the numbering system for the sections and
subsections. Was this required by the journal? How many main
sections and subsections are there?
- If you read just these headings, do they form a good outline
of the paper?
- Look at the number system for the sections and subsections.
What are the differences between your triple’s papers? Do you
know if a certain style was required by the journal?
- How long is the literature review,
compared to the rest of the paper?
- How selective is the reviewer? Does it seem to you that the
author is including every possible related paper? Is that a
good idea?
- Is it clear to you how each in-text citation relates to the
paper’s result? Is each citation needed?
- How would you describe the function of
the Conclusion section?
- Does it review analysis that is presented earlier in the
paper, or is this the place the results are analyzed?
- What does the Conclusion section contain that has NOT been
mentioned previously in the paper?
- How many references are in the reference
section?
- Rule of Thumb: Every paper in the References section should
be cited somewhere in the text. Does the author follow this?
(Also, of course, every paper cited in the text must have a
corresponding entry in the References section.)
- What is the ratio of (#pages in References section) to (#
pages in rest of manuscript)?
- What is the range of dates in the references? Is there a
focus on foundational papers or recent papers?
- Suppose you were the corresponding
author for this paper and the journal editor said you had to
make the paper shorter by 25%.
- How would you do this?
- What would you compress or delete?
- What should not be changed?