How can you improve your citation rate?

In the last edition of AGRO Biweekly we focused on how good we are at making ourselves known on the international scene as regards publication (AGRO at the top of the heap). Although we are above the world average, Head of Department Erik Steen Kristensen urges us to becoming even better. This begs the question: how do we do that? Biweekly has asked some of the researchers in AGRO with a good impact to let us in on their tricks. 

PhD students and postdocs are the key

Associate professor Inge S. Fomsgaard, CROP, stresses that PhD students and postdocs are important elements in increasing your publication rate. 

- PhD students and postdocs wield the pen in all the papers published with me as a co-author. We take it for granted that they write at least one paper a year, i.e. three papers per PhD. They draw on my experience of what to include and what not to include in the paper. Of course not everything should be included, but I can help them in shaping the papers, she says. 

Since the PhD students and postdocs are such an important part of the process, they must be accommodated so that they can work without unnecessary interruptions. 

- We use many advanced instruments, and they almost never come to a standstill because we have very competent laboratory technicians. This helps the students and postdocs because it means that they do not get stuck. My advice is therefore that you always make sure that there is funding for both PhDs and TAPs when you write an application. The PhD students increase your own publication rate, and the TAPs can make sure that the PhD students do not get mired down, says Inge Fomsgaard. 

Think in terms of papers throughout the project

Scientific papers in journals are not something only to be thought of during the last phase of a project. On the contrary, you need to think about papers right from the very beginning of a project. Professor Lis Wollesen de Jonge, JORD, explains that in her group they think about stories all along. 

- In everything we do, we think about stories. This is the case when we formulate hypotheses, write applications, hold meetings, hold PhD courses and everything else we do. We are good at spotting the stories in the things that we work with, she says and continues: 

- We think like a journalist and try to find a good angle. We work with the students so that they develop a story about their research. For example, we make them find 8-9 figures which can provide them with a storyline. The PhD students must use the figures to tell the story by means of a PowerPoint presentation. 

The journalistic way of thinking is repeated when writing the papers. The content must be written so that it is comprehensible.   

- We train the young scientists to develop good writing skills and to be articulate. We say ”Keep it simple” and work according to the motto ”We write to share, not to impress”. This means that what we write must be comprehensible. You get more citations when people understand what you write, the publication-experienced professor says. 

It is easier to pass through the eye of the needle if the papers are easy to understand, well-written and well-structured. The researchers make a point of helping each other to edit their papers. If a paper still is not accepted, they do not give up. They either edit the paper and return it to the same journal or try another journal.  

-  We are persistent and do not give up, Lis Wollesen de Jonge says. 

Research quality and paper quality go hand in hand

Section manager Mogens Nicolaisen, PATENT, agrees strongly that the papers must be well prepared. 

- It is an excellent habit to get your English-language colleagues read the manuscript so that the language flows and reads like correct English without a Danish character. It must a proper linguistic editing – not just correction of commas and spelling, he says. 

Mogens Nicolaisen also agrees with the view that the papers must be planned from the very beginning of the project. 

- You should think about your papers even as you formulate your research project and think about what you intend to publish and provide answers for. This may also aid in making it clear in your head which direction your research should take, Mogens Nicolaisen says. 

- You should seek to answer the fundamental, conceptual questions within your subject. Inventive thinking and the quality of your research are the most important aspects. If I take an example from my own subject, plant disease, I might carry out research into a specific problem in a specific pest. When I had solved that, I might set to work on a similar problem in another pest and so on. That is not solving a fundamental question, but more like run-of-the-mill, Mogens Nicolaisen explains who also finds that we should think more about quality than quantity. 

- I think that there is too much focus on the number of papers and too little on quality. I feel very strongly about this, which also was the subject of my editorial for Biweekly (Publication, publication and yet more publication). For example, we expect that PhD students publish three papers, while there is too little talk about the quality and content of the papers. It seems as if the papers become merchandise. 

Open Access means access for all

The ball does not stop at publication in a scientific journal. Wherever possible, you should publish in Open Access. The national strategy for Open Access has as its vision to create open access for all citizens, researchers and enterprises to all research papers from Danish research institutions financed by the public authorities and/or private foundations. 

Read about Open Access and how you publish your papers in this system here.