11 Reasons Why Research Papers Are Rejected

Boost your chances of getting published in a journal.

Out of every 100 research paper submissions received at The Cell, Nature, and Science, merely 3 make it through the editor’s review and peer review. In other words, rejection rates in these journals can be as high as 97 percent. Even in journals with a less rigorous screening process, acceptance rates rarely exceed 40 percent.

Even though rejection is common in academic publishing, it is demotivating. After years of research and months of writing and formatting the perfect research paper, nobody wants to see their hard work go down in vain.

If you’re wondering why do you get rejected so much or how you can avoid rejection, there’s no need to worry. In this post, we’ve listed a few common reasons why prestigious journals refuse an article. These can be divided into two categories, editorial and technical. Make sure you aren’t making these mistakes while submitting to a journal to maximize your chances of getting accepted.

Editorial Reasons for Research Paper Rejection

The editorial review is the first step of the submission screening process in most peer-reviewed journals. Here, the editorial team reviews submitted articles before they pass them on to the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor. They may reject your research paper if:

1. Your manuscript does not fall within the journal’s aim and scope

Each journal stands for a specific, well-defined mission that is stated on its website. They want articles to add value to their publication and readers. New researchers often overlook this aspect and send their manuscripts to journals without giving much thought.

So, it’s easier to learn about a journal’s aim and scope first before you send a paper. Or better yet, list the journals relevant to the research you want to publish. That way, you’ll find the right journal for your paper.

2. Your research paper is being reviewed by another journal

Journals don’t entertain a paper that is under consideration at another journal. Most journals mention in their submission guidelines that they won’t accept a research paper if it’s under consideration elsewhere.

3. The writing is incomprehensible

Journals want manuscripts written in the simplest way possible so that they are easy to understand. Thus, extensive jargon, poor diction, and bad grammar usually lead publishers to reject papers. Other reasons that make up bad writing include spelling errors and missing essential text elements such as affiliations, lists of authors, tables, and figures. If you struggle to write in English, there are multiple tools that you can use to make your research writing better.

4. Your article doesn’t follow the writing standard of the journal

Each journal has its own set of writing guidelines which include details like referencing style, font, font size, margin, space, etc. Not following the writing standard set by a journal is a big reason behind rejection. So, make sure that you go through the journal guidelines to which you want to submit the article. SciSpace (formerly Typeset) can help you on this front with its auto-formatting feature that formats research papers to any journal’s guidelines in seconds.

Technical Reasons for Research Paper Rejection

Technical mistakes are usually rooted in the way research has been carried out and, unlike editorial reasons, can take time to rectify. Sometimes, they even require the researcher to redo their work from scratch.

It’s best that you stay a few steps ahead of these technical mistakes and avoid getting your paper rejected.

1. Research paper doesn’t add value to the journal

Sometimes the findings of a research paper aren’t appealing to the journals, especially if those findings do not really contribute to any advancement in their field. If this is the case, then it's better for your to choose another journal.

2. Unclear hypothesis

A hypothesis is a statement made by a researcher that lays down what they are trying to accomplish. Then, based on the work, the hypothesis is proven right or wrong. If a research paper fails to make a clear hypothesis or works on a hypothesis that has already been explored and established, journals will not entertain the paper. SciSpace Copilot an AI research assistant, can guide the user toward creating research hypotheses by providing helpful resources and suggestions. Copilot will make it simple for you to analyze vast amounts of existing literature, find research gaps, and identify areas that might need more research. Copilot can do this by explaining the paper and providing simplified explanations to the texts or sections of the paper that need more clarification when you simply highlight them. You might also want to check out our blog on how you can formulate a strong research hypothesis.

3. Lack of supporting evidence

There are times when the data collected during the research is not enough to arrive at the result proposed in the paper. This can happen if the sample size is small or the control is not well-defined. If the obtained data doesn’t support the hypothesis of a research paper, rejection is inevitable.

4. Poor analysis

Statistical analysis of the obtained results is the proverbial last leg when conducting research. However, choosing an appropriate statistical technique to analyze the research results can be difficult. Wrong analysis and using an improper technique make the obtained results questionable.

5. Wrong research methodology

Using an older research methodology, in the presence of newer methods that give more accurate results will lead to rejection. The most likely conclusion drawn will be that the obtained results are flawed, as there are better methods to conduct the research.

6. Inconclusive result

An inconclusive result or a failure to answer the question posed in the hypothesis is considered a big red flag by journals. This, more than any other grounds, is a leading cause for rejecting a paper.

7. Violation of research ethics

Academia follows a strict code of conduct. Taking written consent from the participants (if any) in the research, a declaration that research has been carried out solely by an individual and is not plagiarized, and other similar ethics must be complied with. If a researcher fails to do so, their paper will not only be rejected but also come under scrutiny.

There is a plethora of reasons for rejection which many researchers are unaware of. This makes getting accepted in the first attempt rare. It’s even more difficult for first-timers. Thus, knowing ahead what might get you  rejected can dramatically improve your odds of getting published.

If you are looking for a solution to simplify your research workflows, why not give SciSpace a try? It is a comprehensive and integrated end-to-end research platform that enables scholars to discover, write and publish research papers effortlessly and drive collaboration.

It comes with everything you need: a repository of 270 million research papers from across disciplines with SEO-optimized summaries, public profiles to showcase your experience and expertise, a specifically-built collaborative text editor, 20,000+ journal templates that can be inserted in a click, and so much more.

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