HOW TO WRITE A
QUALITY PAPER FOR
PUBLICATION
Prof Mohammad Hudaib
UPM, Madinah
KSA
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Three Essential Points:
 Consider publication:
 Have a new and original research that advances
the knowledge
 Have quality manuscript to present the contribution
to the scientific community.
 Do not consider to get publication:
 Results with lack of interest/outdated work
 Replication of work already published
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Develop Awareness of the Topical Issues
and the Various Platforms
 Find exciting topic
 Most downloaded, e.g. search for top 25 science direct
 Most cited, e.g. SCOPUS & Web of Science
 Most shared – who is talking about your research? e.g.
https://www.altmetric.com/
 Trends in Subject Area
 Keeping informed of advances in the field through journal alerts published
 Assess the quality of the journal
 Impact Factor
 Journal Metrics (SNIP & SJR)
 Quality list (ABS & ABDC)
 Author Guidelines
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Getting a research paper published
in a quality journal can be a
challenge
■ Risk of submitting the paper to a journal that’s not the
right fit
– Desk rejection
– Rejection after few rounds
– Adding months to publication
– Slowing career progress
■ Looking at the references – this will help narrow the
choices
■ Journal finder tool – key in the title and abstract to find
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Language
Save the editor and the reviewers the trouble of guessing what
you mean
1. Write direct and short sentences – more academic looking
2. One idea or piece of information each sentence
3. Avoid multiple statements in one sentence – as they confuse readers, e.g.
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A growing number of studies point to the benefits of active interaction and communication with
backers in reducing information asymmetry and uncertainty in crowdfunding (Mollick, 2014) as
this effect not only attracted greater number of participants but also boosted the amount of fund
collected (Block, et al. 2018) thereby improving the overall success rate (Bento, et al. 2019).
4. Too short and/or hard to read, e.g.
“Interaction quality signals can be transmitted. It goes through updates comments. Also, through
frequently asked questions (FAQ) (Kunz et al., 2017).”
“It is worth noting that the maximum total goal (Film & Video) does not correspond to the
maximum total pledge (Technology) nor the maximum total number of backers (Games).
Remarkably, although Games category had one of the lowest success rates in 2013, its
performance was progressively enhanced.”

Good structure of a manuscript
1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Introduction
4. Literature Review
5. Research Methodology
6. Data Analysis & Results
7. Discussion
8. Conclusion
9. Implications
10.Limitations
11.Future research Directions
12.References
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Title & Abstract
1. A good title should contain the least possible number of words that
adequately describes the content of the paper.
2. Articles with short, catchy titles are better cited.
An Abstract inform the readers what you did and the importance of
findings
1. Soliciting for the article.
2. Counts for 50-250 words – depends on the journal recommended style
3. Be accurate and specific.
4. Be clear too; a clear abstract strongly influences the editor and the
reviewers to consider your work for publication.
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Writing the Introduction
1. Adds value to the validity of researching the topic.
2. Highlight why there is a need to do this research on this particular
area.
3. Offers glimpse on the existing research and what relationships/areas
have been researched.
4. Describes how this paper extends the existing literature.
5. Locate the paper within the limitations/gaps/future research
directions based on past studies that are not more than 1 to 2 years
prior to your research.
6. The theoretical lens adopted.
7. Contribution of your study to the body of knowledge – summaries the
findings.
8. Proposed structure of the paper. 9

Writing the Literature review
A survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current
knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the
existing research.
o It is essential part of the writing journey
o It situates the research within existing knowledge
o It gives the chance to:
1. Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
2. Develop a theoretical framework and methodology suitable for the research gap
Offers glimpse on the existing research and what relationships/areas have been
researched
■ Key steps to the writing of a literature review:
– Search for relevant literature
– Evaluate sources
– Identify themes, debates, and gaps
– Outline the structure
– Write your literature review
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DON’T SIMPLY AGREE!!
Argue … Criticize … spell professional doubt on all or parts of prior papers
…
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A good literature review doesn’t just summarize
sources – it analyses, synthesises, and critically
evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of
knowledge on the subject… hence

e.g. literature review of a positivist paper:
Independent/Individual Discussion on
Variables
1. The concepts of the variable utilized.
2. Is there any special conceptualization of the variable in this particular
study (e.g. effectiveness of audit committee)?
3. What does the variable do for the companies and the economy – how
it facilitates the impact in general and to the particular industry?
4. Why studying the concept is important in this particular field? Discuss
the general consequences, if it is a predictor (independent) variable.
If it is a criterion (dependent), then discuss its relevance in the field.
5. What conceptualization/operationalization definitions you are using
for each concept? Do they reflect in the instrument / proxies /
measurements cues?
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Develop a framework to establish
relationships
1. How prior studies linked the concepts? What were the
findings?
2. Were the findings unanimous or contradictory?
3. Are there different way of linking them together? Propose it.
4. Why the proposed link between the variables is important?
5. How independent variables affect the dependent?
6. Do the dimensions/traits of independent variable link to the
dependent variable?
7. Employ theories, prior literature and own intuitive to help
develop set of hypotheses, or assumptions or proposals to
develop linkage. 13

Research methodology
1. Population
2. Sample size & sampling technique
3. Research instrument: e.g. questionnaire – how and when were distributed?
4. Why the proposed link between the variables is important?
5. Primary data vs. secondary data
6. Method of analysis: descriptive, univariate, multivariate
If the research is on social constructionism (critical or interpretive)
■ Use a theoretical lens to interrogate the concepts and categories that are deployed in
the conduct of your research. In particular, try to probe for the common-sense
explanations and arguments that have become accepted within the local setting of the
research.
■ Inquiry on how people come to define, explain or account for their world, including
their own lives and selves. In this framework, a ‘discourse’ refers to a set of
statements, meanings, metaphors, images and representations that construct a
particular version of events and the ways in which events and persons, or a class of
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Data Analysis & Results
1. Descriptive statistics
2. Reliability, Convergent & Discriminant Validity (for questionnaires)
3. Hypotheses Testing
4. Summaries overall the hypotheses findings
If the research is on social constructionism (critical or
interpretive)
■ Report eloquently and concisely how people socially constructed
concepts to reflect and construct their social lives – e.g. everyday life
of feeling natural, even if they are not and those inventing their social
lives and hence they are not accurately reflect reality.
– However, be aware of biasness… in this type of research the
researchers can create a false reality in order to fit the
stereotype about the people under observation. 15

Discussion
■ Start with the objective of the study
■ How the findings compare to prior researches – or how you
have untangle and deconstruct the phenomena under
observation.
■ What are the significance of the findings and why they exist
as they are? Those which were not significant or important,
why they were not?
■ Use your own interpretation within your theoretical believe.
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■ Conclusion
– An overall conclusion from the research in relation to the research
objectives.
■ Implications
- The paper needs to identify the implications of the research on
practice (economic and commercial impact) or society or education
(teaching & the body of knowledge) or influence public attitudes and
quality of life.
■ Limitations
– What are the limitations of the study – it terms of the sample size,
data collection methods, etc.
■ Future research directions
– What would you recommend for future research; how can the
research in this area been taken forward? – use different
techniques, concepts, setting, etc.
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