The "World Social Science Advanced Lecture" (Lecture 68), organized by the Fudan Institute for Advanced Study in Social Sciences (Fudan IAS) and Contemporary China Research Center at Fudan University, was held on Sep 26, 2018, at Fudan University. Shaun Gerard Breslin, Fudan Distinguished Scholar, Fellow of the British Academy of Social Sciences, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick, renowned expert on China, and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Pacific Review, gave a lecture on How to Publish in International Journals — A View from a European Editor. Prof. Sujian Guo, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Fudan IAS, chaired the event.

Prof. Guo first warmly welcomed Prof. Breslin and briefly introduced his academic achievements and contributions, and then presented Prof. Breslin with the appointment letter of “Fudan Distinguished Scholar” issued by Academician Ningsheng Xu, President of Fudan University. Prof. Breslin will be in residence at Fudan IAS for two months as Fudan Distinguished Scholar.

Prof. Breslin's speech was divided into the following parts:

1. Before we start...

Prof. Breslin began by pointing out that his advice would not be 100% guaranteed to get your paper published, because whether your paper would be published or not depended mainly on the opinion of the journal's jury. His experience is mainly from non-US journals, including his experience as an editor, a member of the jury, a reviewer of manuscripts, and an author. He emphasized that most of his comments are obvious as they are drawn from a large number of cases.

2. Do not...

First, do not try duplicate submission. There might be a very few journals that think this is okay, but it is not recommended in most cases. The reason is that when you submit a manuscript to a journal, the editors and review board will spend a lot of effort reviewing it. If you do not end up publishing your paper in this journal, then it also means that you have wasted the time of the editors and jury members. Second, do not submit a paper that has already been published somewhere. The publisher owns the copyright of a paper that has already been published, and if another journal publishes it again, the journal may face copyright issues. Third, do not submit your PhD or Master's thesis directly. Fourth, do not overemphasize the originality of your paper, because it will make the review board think that you have not gone into the depth of what you have researched. Fifth, remember to cite more literature from authoritative journals, as this will enhance the jury's impression of the quality of your manuscript.

3. Do...

First, learn as much as you can about your field of study and cite high-quality papers, but make sure that the papers you cite are closely related to your research. Second, before you submit a manuscript, it is a good idea to research the journal in detail and to get to know some of the reviewers or editors in your field of research, as this will improve the chance of acceptance. Third, listen to other people's opinions and comments on your papers. Fourth, write your introduction section wonderfully enough so that it will inspire the reviewers to read on.

4. Top ten reasons for rejection:

- The manuscript is submitted to a journal that does not match your research direction.

- The manuscript does not meet the requirements of academic papers.

- The manuscript is too long or too short.

- The manuscript does not conform to the norms of journal papers.

- The manuscript contains grammatical errors and the language is not presented in a graceful and concise manner.

- The research makes no contribution or is unoriginal.

- The manuscript is not placed in a relevant theoretical context.

- The theoretical framework is not sufficiently rigorous.

- The overall structure is problematic.

- The manuscript clearly violates academic ethics or lacks objectivity.

5. Special Issues

First, contact the editor of the journal you are submitting to as early as possible. Second, be prepared to discard manuscripts that are not suitable. Third, control the quality of your manuscript before submitting it to the journal.

6. Final Words

Prof. Breslin concluded that it is important to do preliminary work before submitting a manuscript and listen to opinions widely by attending academic conference or in other ways. Please ask your mentor/teachers or journal editors to review your manuscript and correct the unreasonable parts. Please be prepared for repeated revisions and read more relevant literature.

After the lecture, Prof. Guo chaired a Q&A session. The participating students raised many questions regarding this topic and Prof. Breslin answered them in detail. The lecture ended with a round of applause.