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Getting published

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Publishing can be a powerful way to amplify the impact of your work. Whether you have an innovative idea, valuable clinical experience, or insights that could shape future practice, writing allows you to educate others, spark debate, and contribute to the wider body of knowledge. It can strengthen your professional development, bring recognition to you or your team, and help drive meaningful change in your field. Even without the “publish or perish” pressure seen in academic settings, sharing your findings is an ethical responsibility - one that ensures your learning benefits others and helps move practice forward.

Before you start: key things to consider

Target audience

  • Understand who you are writing for - peers, academics, trainees, beneficiaries, or influencers
  • Your target audience affects your tone, structure, and choice of publication

Types of articles

  • This will influence how and where you go about publishing your work
  • Research articles report new findings, while shorter pieces like letters share brief or early results
  • Review articles summarise existing evidence in different ways, including scoping, systematic, literature reviews and meta‑analyses
  • Case reports describe an individual patient, group or event, and editorials or opinion pieces provide expert commentary
  • Quality Improvement (QI) reports focus on projects that aim to improve healthcare quality and patient safety.

Peer review process

  • Review the journal’s guidelines so you understand the acceptance, rejection, or revision process
  • Revisions are a constructive part of publishing - respond politely and meet any deadlines
  • You may challenge reviewer comments, but do so carefully and with clear reasoning
  • Consider becoming a reviewer to better understand the process - publishers often offer training

Single or multiple authors

  • Agree on a consistent tone and language
  • Define co‑authorship rules and clearly allocate roles and responsibilities
  • Confirm the authors and their order (usually first‑draft writer = first author; manager/team lead = last)
  • Agree who will manage intellectual property rights to avoid issues later

Copyright

Ethical guidelines

  • Be aware of rules on self‑citation, plagiarism, self‑plagiarism, and reusing previously published material
  • Non‑compliance can lead to blacklisting by journals
  • Guidance is available at COPE

Costs and funding

  • NHS Scotland staff may qualify for publisher discounts - check with your library for details
  • Publication costs follow three common models:
    • Open access only – fee to publish; full text free to all
    • Open access option – fee only if you choose open access
    • Subscription only – readers need a to pay a subscription
  • Open access may be required by funders or chosen to increase visibility
  • It’s not always necessary - NHSScotland already subscribes to many journals via The Knowledge Network

How will your colleagues and peers find your work?

  • Check if the journal is indexed in major databases (e.g., Medline or Sociological Abstracts) or specialist ones like ERIC or AMED
  • Consider full‑text access - do readers need to pay for this? Can you publish open access or provide a local copy?
  • If a subscription is required, does The Knowledge Network provide it?

Impact factors

  • Impact factor reflects how often a journal’s articles are cited
  • Usually listed on the journal’s homepage
  • Can also be checked via Journal Citation Reports or Insights (subscription required)
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Open access publishing

Open access publishing means anyone can read your research online for free. Instead of readers paying to access the work, the authors or their organisation usually pay a fee to publish it. 

Many people see open access as a public good, because research funded by public money should be freely available to everyone. For this reason, many funders require open access publishing as part of their grant conditions. 

However, there is currently no central funding in NHS Scotland to pay these publishing fees. If you want to publish open access, the cost needs to be included in your project budget. 

There are different types of open access, each with different costs and different rights given to the publisher. Authors should make sure they understand all available options and any conditions before agreeing to publish.

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Getting published event recordings:

What is Open Access?

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Health and social care staff in Scotland

NES Knowledge Services work with many publishers to secure access to the subscriptions available via The Knowledge Network. This means health and social care staff in Scotland are sometimes eligible to receive discounts from these publishers. If you would like to know more about any of the options below, contact the Knowledge Services Help Desk.

Karger read and publish

Karger will accept submissions to their journals, for peer review and subsequent publishing of high-quality research, without the need to pay an article processing charge: Karger Open Access

MA Healthcare

MA Healthcare NHS Scotland staff receive 50% off article processing charges for research published in a range of MA Healthcare journals. Researchers submitting to publish with MA Healthcare should make clear that they are employed by NHS Scotland at the time of submission. More information and details of eligible journals in this leaflet: Publish your research as Open Access | MA Healthcare

NIHR Open Research

Authors can submit articles for rapid publication for Open Peer review via The National Institute for Health and Care Research: NIHR Open Research platform

Scottish University Press

If you are affiliated with a University, the Scottish University Press provides a cost-effective route for Scottish higher education institutions to make their work freely available: Scottish University Press

BMJ Case Reports

NHS researchers can submit case reports free of charge with a code provided by NHS Scotland library services. The submitted case reports will not be published as Open Access, unless an additional fee is paid. 

Contact NES Knowledge Services or your local NHS Scotland Library Service

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Getting published event recordings:

Submitting a case report to BMJ

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Predatory publishing

Beware of predatory publishing, which refers to deceptive or unscrupulous practices by certain journals or publishers attempting to exploit the open access model. This typically means charging authors a fee for publishing while providing minimal or no peer review, leading to the dissemination of low-quality or misleading research.

Literature search and referencing

To be confident you have something to add to the body of existing knowledge in the area and to put your ideas in the wider context it is important to be aware of other published work on the topic. You must demonstrate this understanding to readers and you then need to reference previous work appropriately.

If you are new to literature searching, you may find the below resources helpful to get you started:

It is essential to assess the quality of the resources you find in your literature search. Critical appraisal skills help you identify good quality articles to inform your research:

Keeping an accurate list of references is also essential as this helps you keep track of what and where you have read something. This also ensures you are giving proper credit to others for their work and avoid plagiarism or copyright infringement:

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Ask a Librarian

NHS Scotland Librarians are experts in all of these areas - contact your local service to find out how they can support you: Local library services | The Knowledge Network

Writing for publication

Preparing to write

Before drafting, carefully review the journal’s aims, scope, and author guidelines. These determine suitability and prevent automatic rejection. Check the permitted word count, including tables, figures, and references, as limits vary across publications. 

Plan your structure in advance. Many writers find it effective to draft the main body first, then develop the introduction and conclusion once the narrative is clearer.

Structuring the article

Introduction 

The introduction should engage the reader, provide essential background, and clearly state the purpose or aim of the paper. 

Main Body

Present information logically, concisely, and with clear explanations. Describe context and methodology in a way that is easy for readers to follow. Avoid unnecessary detail or digression. 

Conclusion

Offer more than a brief summary. A strong conclusion reinforces the value of your work and highlights its significance or implications.

Editing and refining

Treat drafting and editing as separate stages. Expect to revise repeatedly. 

As you edit:

  • Shift from passive to active voice when it improves clarity
  • Seek feedback from colleagues, mentors, or experienced authors
  • Review similar articles in your target journal to better understand expected style and tone
  • Test readability by temporarily removing citations and reviewing only the core text
  • Read your work aloud to identify awkward phrasing or weak transitions

Final preparation before submission

Abstract

The abstract is often the most-read section. It should concisely summarise the aim, methods, key findings, and importance of the work. Follow the journal’s required structure. 

Keywords

Choose keywords that accurately reflect your topic and help readers find your article. 

Highlights / Impact

Identify what makes your paper distinctive or valuable to the journal’s audience.

Title

Experiment with possible titles until you find one that accurately reflects the paper’s focus and contribution.

Authors and Affiliations

Use correct organisational affiliations, such as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde or the full HSCP name. This ensures appropriate attribution and enables effective tracking of publications.

Resources to support authors
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