How to Get a PhD (in science, anyway) - Step 7

Step 7: Publish.
Once you have an interesting set of results, write it up and publish it. Think about the appropriate journal for the paper. Look at where many of your references are published, and consider the novelty of your work. Then, start with your drawn up picture outline and modify it to fit into the journal's format. Fill in the drawn figures with preliminary versions of real figures. Make a real paper outline with an introduction, methods, results, and conclusions. Do you notice any gaps as you go? Any logical gaps? Any control experiments that need to be performed? Any tests of accuracy or precision that need to be performed? Any uncertainties to be quantified? Plan and perform more experiments as needed. Fill in figure captions, the abstract, and other text, including references. Get feedback from your advisor and coauthors. Edit and reedit and reedit. Perfect figures. Carefully keep track of methods, data, and analysis used in the paper. Submit and wait for your response!