"Why We Say No! A Look Through the Editor's Eye"

Area of Science:

• Medical and Dental Research
• Scientific Publishing

Background:

• Effective reporting of research is crucial for scientific advancement.
• Poor drafting skills contribute to the underreporting of significant findings.
• Analysis of manuscript rejection reasons is needed to improve submission quality.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and analyze the reasons for medical and dental manuscript rejection in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR).

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 902 medical and dental articles submitted to JCDR between August 1, 2014, and the study's end point.
• Categorization and analysis of rejection reasons for submitted manuscripts.

Main Results:

• Over half (57.3%) of the 902 analyzed manuscripts were rejected.
• The primary reasons for rejection included commonality of topic (44.6%), non-compliance by authors (17.8%), and methodological issues (17.3%).
• Other significant factors were plagiarism (11.1%) and prior publication of the same topic (7.66%).

Conclusions:

• Manuscript rejection can be minimized through careful topic selection and proactive communication with journal editorial teams.
• Addressing common rejection factors like topic novelty and adherence to guidelines can improve publication success rates.