博文
如何选择研究热点
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Journal editors want to attract science that is pushing new boundaries and opening up new potential fields of research. Most researchers want to be at the forefront of science to make the next ‘big discovery’, but many aren’t quite sure exactly where to look. Often, by the time they see ‘movement’ in a particular sub-field, usually in the form of a flurry of publications, it is too late to be a part of the action. Thus, it is necessary to anticipate this type of ‘movement’.
Anticipating the next big thing can be very difficult, but clues can usually be picked up by reading the literature and attending international meetings. It is important to stay up to date with the latest literature in your field to stay abreast of developments. Look for results that are described speculatively in the discussion section. Findings that are difficult to explain often represent fertile ground for scientific enquiry, although it is worth remembering that the lab that initially published those findings will have a good head start. Reading letters to the editor can point to controversies in your field, and any work resolving these would be considered appealing to journal editors.
Reading broadly, and not just exclusively reading research in your immediate field, can help you to identify potential “cross-overs” from other fields of research — perhaps a new method has been developed or a new protein–protein interaction discovered that has relevance to your area of research, but is published in a study completely unrelated to your work. Reading top-tier journals like Nature, Science and Cell is one way to remain current with developments in fields other than your own. Key word database searches are a way to identify otherwise unrelated studies with possible cross-over relevance. Key word database searches can also help you to identify the volume and impact of research in a given area. If there has been a large increase in the number of publications on a particular topic in the last year, or a shift towards publications in high impact factor journals, then that is usually a good indicator that a field has become a ‘hot topic’. If there are very few recent publications listed, or almost all of the publications listed are in low impact factor journals, then the topic is not likely to be of wide appeal. Another good indicator of a topic’s ‘hotness’ is the number of citations that articles in a given field receive, something that does not always go hand-in-hand with the journal’s impact factor; however, by the time a trend is recognized using this method, it is likely to be too late to join the rush. Certainly, seeing the same paper cited several times in different papers within a year of its publication is a good indication that the area is attracting considerable interest.
One of the best ways to keep up to date with new developments and to identify ‘fashionable’ areas of research and potential ‘new problems’ is attendance at international meetings. Often this is where preliminary findings are presented, in abstract and poster form, giving you an awareness of new directions in a field before the findings are published. Discussions with other researchers at these meetings can help you to refine your research questions to the most pertinent.
Finally, it is worthwhile remembering that greater interest in a topic means greater competition, and that the labs that have already published work revealing controversies, presenting unexplained findings and opening up new directions, will have a significant head start in the area, perhaps of several months. Think about your particular advantages. Do you have access to specialized equipment that other researchers might not have? Do you have access to samples or other resources that other researchers do not? Do you have existing collaborations that you can leverage to make rapid findings in the new field? If so, you should get to work on refining your research questions, designing your latest study and performing the research; the race is on.
中文译文
期刊编辑都希望看到能拓展现有范围、开创新领域的研究。科研人员也大都希望自己处于领域的前沿，并做出”重大发现”，但很多人并不太清楚当于何处着眼。经常，他们见到某个小领域内的“动向”，通常是一波论文发表高潮，却发现此时再去参与又太晚了。所以，必须要能够提前预测到这种“动向”。
下一个重大发现可能很难预测，不过在文献和国际会议中仍然有迹可寻。因此，有必要经常阅读您所在领域的最新文献以获悉最新动态。找寻那些在“讨论”部分中没能解释透彻的结果，无法解释的结果中常蕴含有科学探索的机会；不过也要记得：首先发表这些结果的实验室占有先机。阅读“读者来信”也能帮你发现本领域内的争议，而任何解决这些争议的工作都是期刊编辑所乐见的。
要博览而不是只阅读你本领域的研究。这有助于你发现和其他研究领域进行“交叉”的机会—比如或许又开发了一种新技术，或者一个无关研究中又发现了一种与你领域有关的新的蛋白相互作用。阅读《自然》、《科学》、《细胞》等顶级期刊是随时了解其他领域进展的一种方法。关键词检索数据库则是发现与不同研究进行交叉机会的方法。通过关键词检索你可以了解某一领域研究的数量和影响力。若某一课题去年的论文发表总数或在高影响因子期刊上的发表数大增，就表明该领域已成为”热点”。反之，若新发论文很少，或基本都在低影响因子期刊，就表明该课题不会广受瞩目。
保持了解最新进展，发现“热门”研究领域及潜在“新问题”最好方法之一就是参加国际会议。国际会议常通过论文摘要和壁报的形式报道初步结果，从而让你在结果发表之前就获知最新动向。和其他与会研究者讨论也有助于提炼出最精准的研究问题。
最后，值得注意的是：课题受的关注越多，竞争也越大。此外，那些报道有争议的观点、提出难以解释的研究结果以及开创研究新方向的实验室往往占据先机，也许领先好几个月。要考虑你自己的独特优势在那里。有无别人没有的专门设备、样品、或资源？能否通过合作在新领域里迅速取得成果？如果有，那么就应着手提炼研究问题，设计研究方案，然后开展工作，开始角逐。
https://m.sciencenet.cn/blog-288924-458341.html
上一篇：理文编辑祝贺美国物理联合会(AIP)北京办公室成立一周年
下一篇：Springer联合理文编辑在中国举办作者培训讲座
Anticipating the next big thing can be very difficult, but clues can usually be picked up by reading the literature and attending international meetings. It is important to stay up to date with the latest literature in your field to stay abreast of developments. Look for results that are described speculatively in the discussion section. Findings that are difficult to explain often represent fertile ground for scientific enquiry, although it is worth remembering that the lab that initially published those findings will have a good head start. Reading letters to the editor can point to controversies in your field, and any work resolving these would be considered appealing to journal editors.
Reading broadly, and not just exclusively reading research in your immediate field, can help you to identify potential “cross-overs” from other fields of research — perhaps a new method has been developed or a new protein–protein interaction discovered that has relevance to your area of research, but is published in a study completely unrelated to your work. Reading top-tier journals like Nature, Science and Cell is one way to remain current with developments in fields other than your own. Key word database searches are a way to identify otherwise unrelated studies with possible cross-over relevance. Key word database searches can also help you to identify the volume and impact of research in a given area. If there has been a large increase in the number of publications on a particular topic in the last year, or a shift towards publications in high impact factor journals, then that is usually a good indicator that a field has become a ‘hot topic’. If there are very few recent publications listed, or almost all of the publications listed are in low impact factor journals, then the topic is not likely to be of wide appeal. Another good indicator of a topic’s ‘hotness’ is the number of citations that articles in a given field receive, something that does not always go hand-in-hand with the journal’s impact factor; however, by the time a trend is recognized using this method, it is likely to be too late to join the rush. Certainly, seeing the same paper cited several times in different papers within a year of its publication is a good indication that the area is attracting considerable interest.
One of the best ways to keep up to date with new developments and to identify ‘fashionable’ areas of research and potential ‘new problems’ is attendance at international meetings. Often this is where preliminary findings are presented, in abstract and poster form, giving you an awareness of new directions in a field before the findings are published. Discussions with other researchers at these meetings can help you to refine your research questions to the most pertinent.
Finally, it is worthwhile remembering that greater interest in a topic means greater competition, and that the labs that have already published work revealing controversies, presenting unexplained findings and opening up new directions, will have a significant head start in the area, perhaps of several months. Think about your particular advantages. Do you have access to specialized equipment that other researchers might not have? Do you have access to samples or other resources that other researchers do not? Do you have existing collaborations that you can leverage to make rapid findings in the new field? If so, you should get to work on refining your research questions, designing your latest study and performing the research; the race is on.
中文译文
期刊编辑都希望看到能拓展现有范围、开创新领域的研究。科研人员也大都希望自己处于领域的前沿，并做出”重大发现”，但很多人并不太清楚当于何处着眼。经常，他们见到某个小领域内的“动向”，通常是一波论文发表高潮，却发现此时再去参与又太晚了。所以，必须要能够提前预测到这种“动向”。
下一个重大发现可能很难预测，不过在文献和国际会议中仍然有迹可寻。因此，有必要经常阅读您所在领域的最新文献以获悉最新动态。找寻那些在“讨论”部分中没能解释透彻的结果，无法解释的结果中常蕴含有科学探索的机会；不过也要记得：首先发表这些结果的实验室占有先机。阅读“读者来信”也能帮你发现本领域内的争议，而任何解决这些争议的工作都是期刊编辑所乐见的。
要博览而不是只阅读你本领域的研究。这有助于你发现和其他研究领域进行“交叉”的机会—比如或许又开发了一种新技术，或者一个无关研究中又发现了一种与你领域有关的新的蛋白相互作用。阅读《自然》、《科学》、《细胞》等顶级期刊是随时了解其他领域进展的一种方法。关键词检索数据库则是发现与不同研究进行交叉机会的方法。通过关键词检索你可以了解某一领域研究的数量和影响力。若某一课题去年的论文发表总数或在高影响因子期刊上的发表数大增，就表明该领域已成为”热点”。反之，若新发论文很少，或基本都在低影响因子期刊，就表明该课题不会广受瞩目。
保持了解最新进展，发现“热门”研究领域及潜在“新问题”最好方法之一就是参加国际会议。国际会议常通过论文摘要和壁报的形式报道初步结果，从而让你在结果发表之前就获知最新动向。和其他与会研究者讨论也有助于提炼出最精准的研究问题。
最后，值得注意的是：课题受的关注越多，竞争也越大。此外，那些报道有争议的观点、提出难以解释的研究结果以及开创研究新方向的实验室往往占据先机，也许领先好几个月。要考虑你自己的独特优势在那里。有无别人没有的专门设备、样品、或资源？能否通过合作在新领域里迅速取得成果？如果有，那么就应着手提炼研究问题，设计研究方案，然后开展工作，开始角逐。
https://m.sciencenet.cn/blog-288924-458341.html
上一篇：理文编辑祝贺美国物理联合会(AIP)北京办公室成立一周年
下一篇：Springer联合理文编辑在中国举办作者培训讲座
