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Many journals are published in developing countries. Your chances of having an article accepted by a journal in your country or a neighboring country are much greater than by an international journal published in Europe or North America. For journals published in the latter regions, a vast majority of manuscripts are rejected outright or are accepted only after extensive revision and resubmission. Publication in western journals also involves considerable time delay — up to several years after initial submission. In general, the organization of a journal manuscript is the same as for research reports. Journal manuscripts, however, are shorter and formats are often more flexible. Also, sections treated separately in reports are frequently combined in journal articles. Articles may begin with an "Introduction" or they may start without a heading. This first section, whether with a heading or not, generally includes a review of the literature and the development of the theoretical or other basis for addressing the selected problem or question. "Methods" and "Results" generally are kept as separate sections, but "Discussion" often includes not only the discussion or interpretation of results, but also the conclusions drawn from the findings. Some authors keep the conclusions as a separate section. A summary section is not always used. The article may end with the discussion section or, in place of a summary, there may be a section devoted to directions for future research. For additional guidance and help in preparing a manuscript for submission to a scholarly journal, take a look at the following site: Writing the Empirical Journal Article provides detailed guidance and illustrates the process of writing a journal article If you plan to submit to a specific journal, study articles published in that journal to see how they are organized. Final checking Following is a checklist for reviewing the final draft of a research report or a manuscript for journal submission. Title Short, concise, clear Accurately describes the variables studied, relationships that were investigated or the problem, question, or hypothesis central to the investigation Abstract Brief, clear, describes the problem or question central to the investigation Describes the design used, describes and defines key variables and the ways they were measured, identifies the target population, sampling method and results of sampling Describes the main findings Presents the main conclusions of the study Introduction Presents the problem or question being studied Provides the rationale for selection of the specific problem or question selected for study May indicate the significance of the problem or research question and the unique features of the investigation and its particular strengths and limitations May include the formulation of the theoretical framework used for the study and the derivation of hypotheses |