At lab meeting today we discussed how to take your regional study and frame it for the global literature. This framing is essential for engaging international audiences and navigating editors and reviewers when publishing in international journals.
Thanks to the Seascapemodels and Conservation Action Team labs at Utas and Griffith Uni for their contributions.
1. Consider your audience
If you’re targeting an international journal, your readers will be international scientists. They will be less interested in hearing about the specific organisms in your part of the ocean and more interested in understanding what your results mean for their own research contexts. Frame your findings in terms of broader ecological patterns, processes, or principles that transcend geographic boundaries.
2. Establish global context through strategic citations
Cite global studies and literature from multiple regions, not just your local area. Global studies are often well-cited because they provide the comparative framework that regional studies need. When citing studies from other regions, be strategic about which ones you include:
Position your region within this broader context by explicitly comparing and contrasting your findings with patterns observed elsewhere. For example: “While coral bleaching in the Caribbean typically occurs at 29°C, our Pacific sites showed bleaching at 31°C, suggesting regional adaptation to higher baseline temperatures.” This demonstrates that you understand the global state of knowledge and can articulate where your work fits.
3. Connect to established theories and frameworks
Relate your case-study to general ecological theories or established analytical frameworks. For example, your work could be an application of the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-State-Impact-Response) framework to your region, or a test of the recruitment limitation hypothesis in a new system. This approach transforms your regional study from a descriptive account into a contribution to broader scientific understanding.
4. Demonstrate novelty without claiming “firsts”
State your contributions by explaining why your approach or findings matter, rather than simply claiming precedence. Avoid phrases like “this is the first time.” Instead, draw parallels to successful applications in other fields or regions. For example, rather than “This is the first time we’ve used machine learning for fisheries,” try “Machine learning has proven highly effective for predictions in agriculture and could provide similar benefits for fisheries management.”
5. Highlight unique perspectives and unexpected findings
Show how your case-study reveals new patterns or challenges existing assumptions compared to other regional studies. Focus on findings that offer fresh insights into well-studied processes. For example: “While marine heatwaves are known to cause widespread mortality, our study reveals that toxic plankton blooms can flourish during these events, creating compound ecological impacts.”
6. Present methodological innovations
Frame your work as developing or refining methodological approaches, with your regional study serving as a proof-of-concept. This strategy is particularly powerful when you’ve adapted techniques from other disciplines or combined existing methods in novel ways. Emphasize how the method could be applied in other regions or systems, making your local study a stepping stone to broader applications.
7. Demonstrate real-world applications
When conducting applied research, explicitly show how your science has been used for conservation or management decisions. One excellent example is Rick Hamilton’s turtle tracking paper. While countless studies track turtles, Hamilton got his work published in an international conservation journal by demonstrating how the tracking data directly informed conservation actions. He also capitalized on a review highlighting that most tracking studies fail to influence conservation practice, establishing his work’s unique value.
8. Connect to global goals and initiatives
Link your research to internationally recognized objectives and frameworks. This connection is increasingly common and effective. For example: “SDG 14.4 aims to make fisheries sustainable by 2020. Achieving this goal requires better models of climate impacts on fish populations—precisely what our study provides.” Other relevant frameworks include the Convention on Biological Diversity targets, national biodiversity strategies, and organizational goals like those of the Global Mangrove Alliance. These connections help editors and reviewers understand your work’s broader significance.
Designed by Chris Brown. Source on Github