The Impact Factor and h-index are both metrics used to evaluate research, but they assess different aspects. The Impact Factor (IF) measures the average number of citations to articles published in a particular journal, reflecting the journal's overall influence within its field. The h-index, on the other hand, measures the productivity and impact of an individual author's publications, taking into account both the number of publications and the number of citations they have received.

You don’t need to be at a top-tier university or have decades of experience to produce research that makes a real difference. With the right approach, your next paper could be the one that changes your field forever. But there is a strategy to publishing research that ensures your research makes a difference. It starts with asking the right questions. In today’s issue, I’m sharing ten steps to ensure your work gets the attention and citations it deserves.The quality of your research process directly impacts the quality of your findings. It’s that simple. So, what do I recommend to create highly quality research is to establish a high-quality research process. An easy way to do this is to start research with a literature map to synthesize previous research. I always use reference manager tools like Zotero, Paperpile, Mendeley, or concept-mapping software at this stage. Next, I would want to make sure I follow a robust methodology (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods). My methods should always align with leading standards in my field. Of course, it takes a bit of time and reading to understand what those standards in your field are. Good research processes can therefore not be rushed but require some time to develop well. A good process includes collecting and analyzing data well and with rigour. One way to guarantee your data collection is rigorous is to simply document every step so that other researchers can reproduce your work and how you did things is transparent to your readers. Finally, I would want to deliver hard evidence to support my conclusions in my research. Yes, data is great, but you will always need to argue for the insights that you are drawing from it. I like to do this with clear visuals like tables, figures, and charts.Of course, I’ve talked about this in many a masterclass and webinar before, but here is how to write the best publication possible. I would use a version of the IMRAD structure: Introduction (and Related Work), Methods, Results, and Discussion. In my field specifically, we always have related work in a separate section after the introduction. I would use a version of this structure for both my introduction and my abstract as well. For your abstract, double-check that it contains the following:

• Problem statement
• Methodology
• Key findings
• Significance

Then, I’d use my abstract to create a clear and concise title that includes keywords, and maybe a colon. I’ve written about this before. For your title as well as your paper, you’d always want clear sentences that flow well, so alternate short and long sentences and find clear transitions. I try to avoid field-specific jargon unless absolutely necessary to get my point across. And finally, I put some extra effort into writing an impactful conclusion that ties findings to broader implications.