CAN WE AFFORD TO COMPROMISE THE QUALITY IN RESEARCH PAPER WRITING AND PUBLISHING?

Publishing a scientific paper in an indexed journal or in a journal with high impact factor is not an easy task. There could be many obstacles which the researcher has to face to fulfil the standards and expectations of the publisher and peer reviewers. The writing and publishing may not be so difficult, if available guidelines, formats and tips are adequately followed. An efficient English writing skill may not guarantee publication of a poorly conceptualized research paper. Similarly a quality research work may fail to get through the rigorous reviewing process for publishing due to very poor skill of writing and presentation. It is implied that every review committee of a reputed journal has to take utmost care to review and certify a piece of work for publication. A scientific paper does not only contribute to existing knowledge base of any subject or domain, but more it has to drive the future research by providing insight and guidance to the scholars. Hence, ensuring the quality of a research paper and its publication seem to be more important than the quality of source, i.e. the thesis. Many research experts, academicians and scholars may differ in terms of their views or perceptions about the ‘standard or quality of a thesis’ and ‘quality of a research paper’. We may go on debating the issue in different academic events, but the time calls for our pragmatism and courage to restore, preserve and promote the scientific temper of research through the publication of research papers. The current paper is based on the observations through reading the research papers published in a few reputed journals. The names of the scholars and journals are not mentioned here to satisfy the ethical principles.