Writing and publishing a scientific research paper COURSE CONTENT

Cofactor specialises in training researchers, especially early career researchers and postdocs, on how to write and publish a research paper in a journal

Part 1 : writing process and style

The writing process – Overview of the process of writing, including techniques for getting motivated, getting into the habit of writing and getting feedback. Exercise writing non-stop for 10 minutes.

Writing style – Guidance on the writing style needed for research papers. Exercises rewriting sample sentences.

Part 2 : Structure, main message, abstract and title

The main message and structure of the paper – Guidance on the elements that should be included, and in what order, and looking at example papers using these insights.

Abstracts and titles – Guidance followed by exercise and application to example papers. Exercise drafting an abstract and giving and getting feedback on each other’s abstracts.

Optional – We can also add expert feedback on participants’ abstracts, provided by one of our experienced editors who have PhDs in relevant subjects.

Part 3 : Choosing a journal

Choosing a journal – Guidance on the criteria to think about when choosing a journal. Exercise researching journals of interest.

Part 4 : Peer review process and publicising your paper

The peer review process – Negotiating the peer review process, responding to decisions, including rejection, and responding to reviewer reports. Includes guidance on being a reviewer and on variations in type of peer review. Exercise in which groups of participants act as editors of their own virtual journal.

Publicising your paper – Guidance on why this is essential and how to do it.

Course customisation

Just interested in a writing course?

Choose the first two parts.

Just interested in a course on getting published?

Choose the third and fourth parts.

Live sessions

Writing-only and publishing-only courses have three live sessions; full courses with four parts have five live sessions.

Other variations available

Contact us for more variations.

Experienced trainers

Course content includes insider insights from Cofactor's founder, using her 25 years of experience of scientific journals - as an author, peer reviewer, editor, copyeditor and consultant.

Associate trainers also bring a huge range of experience and expertise to Cofactor's training.

I loved the interactive approach of the trainings.

The passive and active content of the course were great. We learned a lot in the lectures but also have a lot of information in the form of videos and notes that we could use later. I loved the interactive approach of the trainings. Overall, great job, thank you, hope to have more courses with cofactor and good luck!

Mehdi Feizpour,  VUB, Belgium

Course content and customisations

Course delivery

We can deliver our key course content in a range of ways, both online and in person (when possible).

Our most popular format is a 5-week course with 5 live video sessions of 1.5 hours each, supported by videos and other materials on Moodle.

In person training can be 1-day or 2-day workshops at your location.

Course content

Cofactor training is based on our course ‘Writing and publishing a scientific paper’, which can be customised in a number of ways, including for different subject areas, or with the focus on either writing or publishing.

Our online courses are modular, so you can pick the modules you want covered and the pattern of live video sessions that suit you.

Training budget

From bespoke courses designed for your researchers, to off-the-shelf e-learning packages, we have options to support a range of training budgets.

Whether you run the central researcher development centre of a large university or are a small department or group, our courses can be customised to fit your needs. Get in touch to find out how.

More training options