Q1. Please introduce your research field and your most recent publication.​

We did research on the development of a platform for the digitalization of nursing textbooks. Until now, the digitization of teaching materials in nursing has been limited to the level of transferring existing textbooks published on paper to a screen. However, recently, as the field of virtual reality began to make an imprint on nursing studies, I began to think, “How nice would it be if there was a nursing textbook that utilizes virtual reality?” It was difficult to find these kinds of textbooks locally and abroad. In addition, until now, textbooks like this focus only on concepts, pathology, physiology, and so on, but by incorporating virtual reality, the process of these textbooks was reversed to develop textbooks based on clinical situations.​

Q2. Do you remember the moment you found out about the publication of your paper, and how did you feel?​

Is it so difficult to see an email with the word “Accepted” in it? Every time I see “Rejected,” I feel frustrated, and my self-esteem takes a hit. I even started to doubt whether I was on the right path. So, when I finally saw an email with the word “Accepted,” I felt not only rewarded but also that my wounded self-esteem was restored in an instant. The day it was published, I was very happy. During that week, I found myself feeling optimistic even in the face of unreasonable requests from people around me. I could easily accept the situation.​ However, every time I get a paper published, I feel as if I’ve given life to a child. Similar to parenting, which starts from the moment a child is born, there is also that heavy feeling of improving as a parent, or, in this case, an author, more and more.​

Q3. How long did it take to get your paper published?​

In the case of our most recent paper published on March 29, 2022, we started preparations for it in August 2021. We made the first submission on October 20 but eventually got rejected. We tried a second time for another challenging journal on January 27, and it got accepted. However, after paying for APC (article processing charges), we needed to wait for the letter of proof. We expected it to be published around the end of April, so it seems that it took about six months from submission to publication. For the writing, that took about two months.​

Translation and editing were requested to Journal Lab on August 25, 2021, and were completed on September 3. Because the paper is about a protocol, the period from writing the manuscript to editing was relatively short. (Author note: However, in the case of an experimental paper, the writing process usually takes about three to six months, excluding the time for research.) Translation, editing, and further revisions then took about two weeks. I think it took about a month for this to be completed.​

After writing the manuscript, some authors would normally think that “this is the end.” With our experience in dealing with other translation companies, there were several translated papers that were translated directly without really understanding the paper, so it was difficult to review them from our end. But with Journal Lab, we were able to receive refined results. Of course, there were some parts that were translated that deviated from our intended message, but when I brought this up to the project manager, she was able to address these immediately.​

However, the process of selecting a journal seems to require more improvement. Since I am the expert who knows my paper best, it was more effective to identify the characteristics of the research on my own and target the sites where several related papers were submitted.​

Journal Lab Tip: “First, we would like to apologize to the professor who felt dissatisfied with our Journal Selection. For this service, we use common metrics such as impact factor, publication frequency, and aims and scope, together with our ‘evidence-based recommendation’ method, to create customized reports so that authors can find the most suitable journal to submit to. This is the service we deliver. It’s something we recommend, most especially to people who are first-time authors or who require much guidance in choosing a journal to publish their paper in. We are constantly innovating our processes, and there have been many changes since the author made this request.”

Q4. What was the most challenging aspect of preparing for an international journal submission?

Is it so difficult to see an email with the word “Accepted” in it? Every time I see “Rejected,” I feel frustrated, and my self-esteem takes a hit. I even started to doubt whether I was on the right path. So, when I finally saw an email with the word “Accepted,” I felt not only rewarded but also that my wounded self-esteem was restored in an instant. The day it was published, I was very happy. During that week, I found myself feeling optimistic even in the face of unreasonable requests from people around me. I could easily accept the situation.​ However, every time I get a paper published, I feel as if I’ve given life to a child. Similar to parenting, which starts from the moment a child is born, there is also that heavy feeling of improving as a parent, or, in this case, an author, more and more.​

Q5. Are there any sites that you've found helpful in preparing for international journal submissions?

When selecting target journals, I use Google Scholar to see which journals have published papers similar to the keywords in my manuscript or Web of Science Group to check the scope and indexing of the journal.

Q6. What are your plans and goals for the future?

Our mission is to develop cutting-edge educational programs integrating various engineering-based disciplines such as the web, virtual reality, platforms, and AI into nursing to produce more advanced patient care and excellent nursing personnel.

Q1. Please introduce your research field and your most recent publication.​

My research focuses on fusing the latest industrial engineering techniques with software to get to the heart of the matter. The Pareto principle of software testing states that 80% of errors come from 20% of sources. If we can identify these 20% sources, we can efficiently improve the quality. Therefore, I analyzed the network structure of the software’s source code modules and the correlation between the frequency of module execution, and identified the 20% core modules. Using this method, we can cost-effectively eliminate errors and improve performance.

Q2. Do you remember the moment you found out about the publication of your paper, and how did you feel?​

It was just a great feeling! Need I say more?

Q3. How long did it take to get your paper published?​

It took about two and a half to three years, and it went smoothly with the help of Journal Lab in revising the manuscript and managing the English editing. Speaking from experience, if you are not translating yourself, you should review and check the translated content again. This is because the translator may sometimes misunderstand the author’s intention, and some parts may be translated differently. Another thing is that there are usually word count or character limits, especially for the abstract, so this requires the author’s attention.

Q4. What was the most challenging aspect of preparing for an international journal submission?

Selecting international journals was the most challenging part. My field of research is to derive the core of software using the latest industrial engineering techniques. Ultimately, it all boils down to software, so I had to submit to software-related SCIE journals. However, there were cases where the reviewers of those journals did not have enough information about the content of the research because it was about the latest industrial engineering techniques. They even rejected us, stating, “If it’s about software, why did you submit a paper that applied techniques from other fields?” Another case is still an ongoing situation where an international journal missed the review stage for 13 months following a mistake on their side. If you are selecting an SCIE journal to submit to, I recommend checking the review period and how long it takes from review to publication. If you are hurrying to publish, you should exclude SCIE journals with a long review period.

Journal Lab Tip: In this case, you can use our Journal Selection service! Using a variety of common metrics such as impact factor, publication frequency, and the journal’s aims and scope, as well as our “evidence-based recommendation” method, we will deliver a customized report to help you find the most suitable journal. Also, if you want to learn more about the different review periods and times for publication for other journals, please get in touch with your PM.

Q5. What are your plans and goals for the future?

I am preparing two SCIE papers—each of which I plan to submit after thoroughly analyzing the relevant SCIE journals. And, of course, the paper will be written in a way that fits these journals.