How to publish a research paper, step by step

Before you start: rules, supervisor and co-authors

If you are a student or PhD candidate, talk to your supervisor first and check your university's rules on publishing, authorship and outside help. Agree authorship early: the ICMJE bases authorship on four criteria, including a substantial contribution, drafting or critical review, final approval and accountability (ICMJE). Make sure you have the ethics approvals and consents your study needs, and see ethics approval and consent statements for how to report them.

Step 1: Know what has to count

Many universities and ministries require a particular index, such as Scopus or the Web of Science Core Collection, sometimes with a quartile. You cannot publish "in Scopus" directly: Scopus is a database, so you publish in a journal it indexes. Write down the exact rule and your deadline. Our guide SCI vs SCIE vs ESCI vs Scopus explains the labels.

Step 2: Choose one suitable journal

Choose the journal before you finish writing, so you can follow its article types, word limits and style. Build a long list, check scope against recent articles, then verify indexing in Scopus Sources and the Master Journal List (free to search). See how to choose a journal and how to check if a journal is really indexed. Check any fees, too: Scopus publication fees and APCs explains how they work.

Step 3: Write to the journal's guidelines

• Follow the guide for authors: structure, word count, abstract format, figures and reference style.
• For health research, use the matching reporting guideline from the EQUATOR Network, such as CARE for case reports, CONSORT 2025 for clinical trials or PRISMA 2020 for systematic reviews.
• If the paper comes from your thesis, cut and restructure it into one article: see thesis to journal article.
• Cite sources properly. Many publishers check submissions with Crossref Similarity Check, which shows editors where a manuscript overlaps with other work.

Step 4: Prepare the submission package

Most journals ask for some or all of the following. Check the list in the author guidelines.

• the manuscript, often with a separate title page;
• a short cover letter explaining the study and why it suits the journal (see how to write a cover letter);
• figures, tables and supplementary files in the required formats;
• declarations on funding, competing interests, ethics approval, consent and data availability;
• all co-authors' details and agreement to submit.

Step 5: Submit, one journal at a time

Submit through the journal's own online system. The ICMJE says authors should not submit the same manuscript, in the same or different languages, simultaneously to more than one journal (ICMJE overlapping publications). You never need an agent: Taylor & Francis warns about agents who falsely claim journals accept submissions only through them, and about fake acceptance letters (fraudulent submissions).

Step 6: Understand the editor's decision

The editor may reject the paper without review, send it to peer review, or ask for revisions. Springer Nature lists common editorial reasons for rejection, including being out of scope, not enough of an advance, ignored research ethics, not following formatting requirements and poor language quality, alongside technical reasons such as incomplete data or poor analysis (Springer Nature). Most of these can be checked before you submit. Published review times are averages, not promises, so leave a margin before any deadline.

Step 7: Revise and respond

A request for revision is an opportunity. Answer every comment in a point-by-point response letter and make every change in the manuscript: see how to respond to reviewer comments. If the paper is rejected, use the comments to improve it before you try your next journal.

Step 8: Acceptance and proofs

After acceptance, check the proofs carefully and keep to the journal's deadline. If you chose open access, any APC is usually due at this stage, unless an agreement or waiver covers it.

How we can help

You write the paper; it stays your work. We provide manuscript editing for language, clarity and formatting, and journal submission support with guided or authorised submission. If you receive reviewer comments, we can edit the point-by-point response you have written and the revised paper. We never correspond with reviewers or editors about your paper. If you have explicitly authorised us to handle a portal submission, we upload only the files and response you have approved. Our team of qualified researchers and subject-specialist editors with publishing experience works across most academic disciplines, with Arabic support.

If the paper will also be examined as part of your PhD (for example, a thesis by publication), your university's editing rules come first. Confirm your supervisor's approval and choose flag-only editing (comments only) or full corrections in tracked changes, whichever your university allows; see PhD thesis and dissertation editing. Acceptance is always decided by the journal.

Independence: On Time Publication is not affiliated with Elsevier/Scopus, Clarivate/Web of Science, the ICMJE, Springer Nature, Taylor & Francis or any journal or publisher named on this page. We have no office in the GCC or Jordan. We link to public guidance so you can check it yourself.

Sources and further reading

We link to official sources so you can check the rules yourself. Always follow your target journal's and institution's current instructions.

• ICMJE: Defining the role of authors and contributors
• Scopus Sources (free source title search), Elsevier
• Master Journal List, Clarivate
• EQUATOR Network: reporting guidelines for health research
• Similarity Check (Crossref)
• ICMJE: Overlapping publications (duplicate submission, prior publication, preprints)
• Fraudulent submissions and acceptances (Taylor & Francis Author Services)
• Common reasons for rejection (Springer Nature)