A Commitment to Research Integrity

My aim here is to share my personal experience of submitting and publishing research papers in academic journals. I hope it may be useful for those who are just starting this path and want to work honestly and in line with publication ethics. Most researchers around the world, especially Iranian researchers, know that many different and unexpected things can happen along the way. Personally, I would rather have a modest research record that I earned honestly through my own effort than gain academic credit through illegal, unethical, or unprofessional means.

My Early Challenges and a Hard Lesson Learned

I have always been interested in research. When I was working on my master’s thesis, I knew very little and struggled a great deal to complete it. Yet after finishing that project, I became genuinely interested in research. Since I had no professor or mentor to guide me, I entered the world of conference papers on my own. Later, during my PhD, after completing my dissertation—which reflected two years of my own hard work—I faced a university graduation requirement that required us to have at least two national peer-reviewed journal articles in order to graduate. On my supervisor’s suggestion, I entrusted one of my papers to someone who later turned out to be an opportunist and a fraud, claiming he could secure acceptance through intermediaries within one month. Not only did the paper fail to get accepted and was rejected, but he also refused to return the money I had paid. I eventually recovered it only after two years of legal follow-up.

Taking Control of My Research Journey

I mention this because that unpleasant experience, combined with my earlier interest in research, pushed me to make a serious decision: I would enter the world of academic publishing on my own and raise my research skills to a higher level. So I spent several months searching, reading, and trying to understand how this whole system really worked. What exactly is the process behind publishing academic papers? Could I do it myself? Did I need special conditions or connections? Would I have to pay huge amounts of money?

Persistence Pays Off: From Rejection to Acceptance

I had many questions. Some days I spent up to 14 hours reading, searching, and investigating. Eventually, I reached the point where I decided to write my first paper at the standard of a peer-reviewed research journal. I did so and submitted it to a journal. After 20 days, it was rejected, with no explanation at all. Still, the important thing was that I was not discouraged. In fact, I had expected rejection. What confused me was not the rejection itself, but the lack of any explanation. So I submitted the paper to another journal. That one rejected it after 7 days as well, but this time they identified several weaknesses in the manuscript. I addressed those issues and submitted the revised paper to a third journal. After 40 days, two reviewers provided comments and requested revisions. I made those changes, and then the editor asked for a few additional minor revisions. After addressing those too, the paper was finally accepted and published.

The True Cost of Publishing vs. Predatory Practices

The total cost was only 200,000 Tomans—about 3 US dollars in the year 1403(2024-2025). At the same time, fraudulent and exploitative individuals were charging around 35,000,000 Tomans—about 440 US dollars—for “guaranteed” acceptance in journals.

Translating My Dissertation into Publications

In the end, my first paper was accepted, and I was able to successfully pass the first stage of my PhD defense process. At the same time, I had already written and submitted my second paper to another reputable journal. While making minor revisions to my dissertation for the final defense, I realized that my dissertation had the potential to generate at least eight strong journal articles. I discussed this with several experienced professors, and they agreed that it was possible. So I wrote my third, fourth, fifth, and sixth papers as well. I submitted each of them to different journals, and ultimately all of them were accepted after I completed the required reviewer revisions. I defended my dissertation with the top grade of 20 and graduated successfully.

Embracing Rejection as Part of the Process

But the story did not end there. By then, I had learned how to write a solid academic paper, how to conduct research properly, and I had become even more interested in research. From that point on, whenever a new idea came to mind, I followed it. I was even prepared for every journal in the world to reject my work, because I had become deeply committed to this interest. I had also learned that rejection is not always a sign of weak research. Sometimes a paper is rejected because it does not fit a journal’s scope, priorities, thematic focus, or editorial requirements.

Stepping Into the International Arena

After completing around 30 credible research papers in Iran, I decided in 1404, in the midst of wartime conditions, to take my research to a higher level and begin submitting my work to reputable international journals. My first international paper was submitted to a newly established indexed journal and was accepted after two rounds of revisions.

Navigating High-Tier International Publishing

My second international paper was submitted to one of the world’s most well-known journals, PLOS ONE. After review by three reviewers and several rounds of revisions—many of which were somewhat subjective, partly because my study was qualitative—the paper was accepted. However, because I am unable to pay the 2,300-dollar publication fee, and because the journal did not grant a waiver, I may eventually have to withdraw it. As I write this, the process has taken eight months to reach this point. Even so, I am happy, not upset. Even if the paper is ultimately withdrawn or rejected, I have still learned another important lesson from this stage of the journey.

Understanding Publishing Models: Open Access vs. Subscription

At first, I did not realize that international journals generally follow two main publishing models. The first is open access, where the author pays publication-related costs such as review, editing, publishing, indexing, and archiving, so that readers can access the article freely. This model has an important advantage: the paper is usually seen, clicked, read, and used by more people, which can increase its visibility and citation potential. The second model is non-open access, where the author usually does not pay those publication charges, but readers must pay to access the full text or obtain it through a subscription.

Strategic Planning for Future Submissions

In that case, I can choose to submit my work to journals in the second category, or, if I find journals in my field that are diamond open access, I can submit there as well. In that model, publication is free for both authors and readers.

Looking Ahead: Sharing My Research Portfolio

So, in the fields of physical education and sport, technology, curriculum, and the history of physical education and sport, I plan to briefly write about the papers I have published in different journals and the submission processes I have gone through. At present, I have two intentions in doing this.

My Motivations for Sharing

First, I want to always remember that I started from absolute zero, and remind myself that only the first step is truly difficult—mainly because at the beginning I did not even know what the process looked like. More importantly, if one day I reach the level I dream of in research, I do not want to become arrogant.

Second, I hope that others who are now taking their own first steps may find something useful in these experiences and learn to stand on their own feet.

My Experiences in Journales:

1. Knowledge Management is Sport
2.