Scientific Writing
Choosing Keywords and a Title for Discoverability
A paper no one can find is a paper no one cites. Your title and keywords are how search engines, databases and readers locate your work — here is how...
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Directive Academy
Guides on peer review, research integrity & scholarly publishing — for authors, reviewers and editors
Open Science
Funder Open-Access Mandates: What They Require and How to Comply
If your research is grant-funded, your funder may dictate how you publish. Here is what open-access mandates t...
Directive Editorial Team · 2 min
Open Science
Registered Reports and Study Preregistration
What if a study were peer-reviewed before the results existed? Preregistration and Registered Reports do exact...
Directive Editorial Team · 2 min
Research Integrity
Reproducibility and Replication: Why They Matter and How to Support Them
A result that cannot be reproduced is not yet knowledge. Here is the difference between reproducibility and re...
Directive Editorial Team · 2 min
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Research Integrity
Image Integrity: Where Adjustment Ends and Manipulation Begins
Adjusting an image is sometimes fine and sometimes misconduct. The line is clear once you know it — and journals now screen figures for exactly these...
Scientific Writing
How to Write a Limitations Section
Admitting your study's limits makes it more credible, not less. Reviewers look for the limitations section — and notice when the real weakness is miss...
Open Science
Research Data Management and the FAIR Principles
Your data can outlive your paper — if you manage it well. The FAIR principles are the standard for making research data findable and reusable, and fun...
Scientific Writing
How to Handle a Rejection (and Choose Where to Submit Next)
Every researcher gets rejected — often. A rejection is information, not a verdict on your worth. Here is how to read it, use it, and pick the right ne...
Research Integrity
Duplicate and Redundant Publication (and Salami Slicing)
Publishing the same work twice, or slicing one study into several thin papers, distorts the literature and counts as misconduct. Here is where the lin...
Open Science
How to Promote Your Published Paper
Publication is the start of a paper's life, not the end. A little deliberate promotion helps the right readers find your work — and citations follow r...
Scientific Writing
Writing Clear Scientific English (A Guide for Non-Native Authors)
Reviewers judge your science through your sentences. If the language gets in the way, good work can read as weak. Here is how to write clear scientifi...
Research Integrity
Ethics Approval and Informed Consent: What Authors Must Report
If your study involved people, their data, or animals, editors will look for two things: ethics approval and informed consent. Here is what needs appr...
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