Research published in PLOS ONE?

[boxer0011]

I want to publish a research paper in PLOS ONE. i I did the research myself. How will adcoms see it?

Would it be better to take more time and effort to publish it in a "real" journal? I can get some professors to review it, and then hopefully publish it in a journal, but then i will not be the only author and it will take a lot of time. Thank you.

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[efle]

PLOS ONE still gets peer reviewed does it not?

 

[boxer0011]

PLOS ONE still gets peer reviewed does it not?

Yes. But unlike real journals it does not check for quality of research produced. It only checks that all the facts are right, statistics are correct, citations are appropriate, etc.

 

[efle]

Yes. But unlike real journals it does not check for quality of research produced. It only checks that all the facts are right, statistics are correct, citations are appropriate, etc.

I have no personal experience with this, but I have seen mimelim (an adcom) say that he looks at authorship position (first, second, third) and quality of the journal. So, if you'd still get to be first author, might be a good bet to have a prof review it and help you get it into a "real journal". See if he will give you some advice himself

@mimelim

 

[minor.groove]

PLoS ONE is a real journal. While they do not in theory account for impact when deciding to publish or not I suspect you are underestimating the difficulty of getting through peer review there at all let alone as a single author without an advanced degree.

(I will edit and admit that reading your original post I assumed that "research you did on your own" was not in the lab under the direction of a professor, if the later I would change the caveat to: there is nothing wrong with PLoS ONE, the way papers are ultimately judged is quickly changing as no one need spend countless hours in a library looking through journals in search of relevant articles/high tier journals, the big three in particular, are gaining a reputation for publishing a lot of media grabbing articles that later turn out to be crap/have to be retracted. Publish where you can, if it's good it will be read and cited, if it's crap it will fall through the cracks even if the journal has a high "impact factor.")

 

[boxer0011]

PLoS ONE is a real journal. While they do not in theory account for impact when deciding to publish or not I suspect you are underestimating the difficulty of getting through peer review there at all let alone as a single author without an advanced degree.

(I will edit and admit that reading your original post I assumed that "research you did on your own" was not in the lab under the direction of a professor, if the later I would change the caveat to: there is nothing wrong with PLoS ONE, the way papers are ultimately judged is quickly changing as no one need spend countless hours in a library looking through journals in search of relevant articles/high tier journals, the big three in particular, are gaining a reputation for publishing a lot of media grabbing articles that later turn out to be crap/have to be retracted. Publish where you can, if it's good it will be read and cited, if it's crap it will fall through the cracks even if the journal has a high "impact factor.")

Ok thank you, it is a survey study I am doing by myself, not lab work, in which case I would have to include the lab personnel in the study.

 

[boxer0011]

I have no personal experience with this, but I have seen mimelim (an adcom) say that he looks at authorship position (first, second, third) and quality of the journal. So, if you'd still get to be first author, might be a good bet to have a prof review it and help you get it into a "real journal". See if he will give you some advice himself

@mimelim

Thank you

 

[lifetothefullest]

The important part is that you can talk/write about your research in a way that shows you devoted a great deal of time to it and understand it and how it fits into the field. That's important. Getting published in Science or Nature would be impressive but it takes years and years of work to have that quality of work and writing - especially if you were doing the brunt of the project, e.g. design, writing, by yourself.

 

[boxer0011]

The important part is that you can talk/write about your research in a way that shows you devoted a great deal of time to it and understand it and how it fits into the field. That's important. Getting published in Science or Nature would be impressive but it takes years and years of work to have that quality of work and writing - especially if you were doing the brunt of the project, e.g. design, writing, by yourself.

Thank you. My research is really very simple, but from what I gather, adcoms appreciate that you can do research, can read, and are interested. My project--honestly, it would be an insult to real scientists to call it research--is small but it is on public safety, a subject that I am interested in. I would like to go into family medicine, so I believe that this experience would be valuable.

 

[hoihaie]

Thank you. My research is really very simple, but from what I gather, adcoms appreciate that you can do research, can read, and are interested. My project--honestly, it would be an insult to real scientists to call it research--is small but it is on public safety, a subject that I am interested in. I would like to go into family medicine, so I believe that this experience would be valuable.

then you probably wouldn't be able to publish that in plos one

 

[boxer0011]

then you probably wouldn't be able to publish that in plos one

Why?

 

[hoihaie]

Why?

plos one still has standards. It's a real journal, though much easier to publish in than others, it still has criteria that you have to meet in order to be accepted. They do look at the quality of your research, and not that it just meets editorial requirements.

See this for more detail:
http://www.plosone.org/static/information

 

[boxer0011]

plos one still has standards. It's a real journal, though much easier to publish in than others, it still has criteria that you have to meet in order to be accepted. They do look at the quality of your research, and not that it just meets editorial requirements.

See this for more detail:
http://www.plosone.org/static/information

Ok thanak you. so you know what is a very easy journal to publish in? Thank you again

 

[ridethecliche]

Do your own research on where to submit it...

Realistically, you shoulda ask your PI where it should be submitted.

 

[mcloaf]

Do your own research on where to submit it...

Realistically, you shoulda ask your PI where it should be submitted.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but it doesn't sound like he has a PI ("I can get some professors to review it"). It sounds like he emailed a survey to some people and expects that journals will be interested in publishing a random survey conducted by one undergrad.

 

[Amba]

(1) PLoS ONE is a fine journal. I've published some quality work there, as have other colleagues of mine. It might have a different mission than other journals, but it is still fully peer-reviewed.

(2) Do you need an IRB for this survey of yours? I'm gonna assume you don't have one.

(3) You should have a PI that you're conducting research under.

 

[ridethecliche]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting, but it doesn't sound like he has a PI ("I can get some professors to review it"). It sounds like he emailed a survey to some people and expects that journals will be interested in publishing a random survey conducted by one undergrad.

That's pretty much my point. OP has no idea what they're doing as usual...

I'm also convinced that the account is a sock since i remember a now banned member that had the same question.

 

[minor.groove]

OP if you just want to be published there are plenty of "peer reviewed" journals based in random countries that for a couple grand will put anything you send them out there. No one will ever see or read your article though and I suspect you could find something better to do with your money. Otherwise why dont you look into joining a research lab (in whatever field interests you) and gaining some legitimate exprience?

 

[hoihaie]

Ok thanak you. so you know what is a very easy journal to publish in? Thank you again

There is none.

If you do find one that will take yours without actual legitimate scientific peer review, you will be laughed at, and looked down upon by anyone that sees you including a publication like that in your cv.

Google the "chicken chicken chicken" academic paper and you'll see.

 

[breakintheroof]

Ok thanak you. so you know what is a very easy journal to publish in? Thank you again

I am a little disappointed that you started this thread yesterday instead of today, date-wise, but we'll go with it.

OP, if your project needs to get accepted somewhere, here is a list of 157 that probably will take it! They accepted a hoax paper with huge methodological flaws. Unfortunately PLOS ONE rejected it. They were actually particularly meticulous, which I can vouch for as a professor of mine who published there went through similar scrutiny (for a real paper):

For example, the flagship journal of the Public Library of Science, PLOS ONE, was the only journal that called attention to the paper's potential ethical problems, such as its lack of documentation about the treatment of animals used to generate cells for the experiment. The journal meticulously checked with the fictional authors that this and other prerequisites of a proper scientific study were met before sending it out for review. PLOS ONE rejected the paper 2 weeks later on the basis of its scientific quality.

 

[boxer0011]

There is none.

If you do find one that will take yours without actual legitimate scientific peer review, you will be laughed at, and looked down upon by anyone that sees you including a publication like that in your cv.

Google the "chicken chicken chicken" academic paper and you'll see.

I am doing it by myself, not in a lab or anything. PLOS also requires publication fees. I will see if I could get a waver though. I published an abstract in Blood online some years ago, I want to get another one published.

 

[mimelim]

PLOS ONE is a peer reviewed journal. It doesn't exactly have the 'umph' that others do, simply because people in particular disciplines know the journals within their field and don't really look much outside of that. That having been said...

Things should be done properly, even if they are basic projects.

#1 Even if it is a survey, did you obtain releases/IRB approval? Is it going to matter? Probably not. Can it rub people the wrong way if things aren't done properly and something like that, can really sink an application. You do not want to be answering questions about whether what you did was above board (even if it actually was) in interviews.

#2 The purpose of research in preparation for medical school is to learn basic research methodology and some basic skills. A secondary benefit is research productivity in the form of publications and presentations. Doing sub-par work on your own is counter productive. The reason for having a PI is to have a mentor who can teach you how to go about doing research.

#3 There are no shortcuts to this. If you do high quality research an publish it on something like PLOS ONE, it will be seen as an asset to your application. If it is something that clearly was thrown together for the sake of an application, it will come through. It happens every year and it is a waste of time.

#4 If I read an application and I see that an undergrad is a sole author of something, unless it is a novel, it is going to stick out and in my limited personal experience it has ended up demonstrating either poor judgement or someone trying to up sell something that they really shouldn't be. I can see how it would be a positive, but statistically, I'd guess that overall it is not.

 

[Goro]

OK, I have ask...what did boxer do to get nailed by the banhammer???

 

[Australopithekus]

There is none.

That's....not entirely true. There are plenty of scam journals out there. I'd personally like to start one called 'Nature and Science', and use it to publish a few papers.

 

[hellanutella]

That's....not entirely true. There are plenty of scam journals out there. I'd personally like to start one called 'Nature and Science', and use it to publish a few papers.

My coworkers were joking about someone they know who published in the open-access journal Silence, which sounds a lot like "Science" if you mumble a bit. Don't think it's a scam journal, though.