@Devashish - it's not impossible at all for 'neophyte' researchers and publishers - but careful planning will help to avoid the common pitfall of inexperienced authors submitting manuscripts that are often 'doomed' to fail. You've already discounted journals that charge to publish and that's not a bad thing - as they are often low quality with dubious review processes. The main things to remember is that you judge the quality and originality of your study findings and how they are presented in manuscript form. The better the quality - the better the chance. Also check the scope, house-style and previous content, related to your topic area, for a range of established journals in your field. Again, the better targeted your manuscript and the more that it is structured to the requirements of the journal - the more likely it will succeed. Even if it doesn't succeed at first, you should have the benefit of reviewers feedback on how to improve the manuscript - ready to send to the 'next journal on your list'.

Hello Devashish

It is possible to publish research paper as a student also.

Firstly you should search for journals in your respective field which are publishing free of cost. Because unless and until you have a funding source, I don't think a student should bear the cost of publication when free journals are also available. But as it is your beginning, a paper in a low impact will also help you to understand the process of paper submission and further stages which will be helpful further in your upcoming studies. Publishing with a big journal (in terms of impact) and paying high publication fee is not at all a wise decision.

Most important thing is that your research should reach the scientific community as early as possible. It doesn't matter where you have published at this juncture. The journal should be open access preferably and should be free. I hope you can get such journals which will suit this criteria.

Yes, you can go for a poster presentation because it doesn't hinder the process of publication. At least you have a record of presentation of facts as a poster publication. Important is reaching the scientific community. A scientific study loses its significance if remains unpublished for a long time.

Gud Luck and regards

@Devashish - it's not impossible at all for 'neophyte' researchers and publishers - but careful planning will help to avoid the common pitfall of inexperienced authors submitting manuscripts that are often 'doomed' to fail. You've already discounted journals that charge to publish and that's not a bad thing - as they are often low quality with dubious review processes. The main things to remember is that you judge the quality and originality of your study findings and how they are presented in manuscript form. The better the quality - the better the chance. Also check the scope, house-style and previous content, related to your topic area, for a range of established journals in your field. Again, the better targeted your manuscript and the more that it is structured to the requirements of the journal - the more likely it will succeed. Even if it doesn't succeed at first, you should have the benefit of reviewers feedback on how to improve the manuscript - ready to send to the 'next journal on your list'.

After my masters I published my first paper in Physics Letters, without mentioning any affiliation to a university: my address on the paper is my home address. I have the impression, though, that in Physics the rejection rate is less than say in the life sciences.

I see regularly papers being published by non-affiliated individuals.

What would help acceptance is:

(1) demonstration that you have truly something new to say - which is best done by referring to the closest pertinent literature, and by showing that you are aware of this literature.

(2) Clarity; in spite of what cynics say, I doubt whether it helps to be vague;

(3) Some may deny it, but there definitely are fashions in science. Try to be aware whether your publication corresponds to one of those in-things, and notice where those papers are published.

(4) Never feel confident that your paper is as good as it can be. Be sure that you give the impression that you really tried to avoid mistakes. Sloppiness puts off, as everybody is busy.

(5) Show it to other people with experience in getting papers accepted.

(6) If one journal rejects it, you can try another.

On the other hand, you can always put in a repository such as the physics archives; you must be affiliated with a university, though. It does not have as much status than a paper in a regular journal, but people will at least find it by (Scholar) Google.

(7) And finally: reviewers can be wrong, a whole series of reviewers can be wrong: but authors can be wrong as well.

@Jeremie Guinard: Thanks for the input Jeremie.

But isn't hard to find a postdoc working on the same field?

And is there a need of a group which can actually review student work(for free)? Is that seems real?

For the start of publishing your results its better to try free journals and from them first go for journals with low IF, by this way the possibility of getting acceptance is high and this will increase your self-confidence and then step by step go for higher impact journals.

Good Luck

At least for PLOS and BMC, I am sure they offer leniency to developing world researchers in terms of fees (usually mentioned in Note to Author). There is certainly cheap access to articles under HINARI, may be it applies to publishing too (please tell me if I am wrong).

Furthermore, the question of fees may not come in until they are on the verge of accepting. Probably worth submitting, and then asking for leniency.

Alternatively, you could trade co-authorship for somebody who could front the funds. That is a a bad option, but worthwhile if the name is recognizable, and the individual can offer expertise.

Better than putting repository, though. Nothing beats peer-review... even low IF peer-review.

Not at all because you will either be as good as your teacher or you will be aiming for better taking your teacher as a threshold

I have grown in the area of scientific publication just because my senior most professor already had significant publications. He always encouraged me to write ( actually he wrote the draft of my first paper which was a case report

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › Journal List › J Med Case Reports › v.3; 2009‎

Hi,

The research on Bioinformatics is increasing tremendously. All reputed Journals either will charge heavily or may not accept without experimental proof (wet lab).

With the intention to publish the dry lab work with no processing fee, we started a Journal called International Journal of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (IJCOB), Strings Publications.

http://www.ijcob.stringsjournal.com/

Being the editor-in-chief of IJCOB I request you to share your manuscript and publish in IJCOB.