Many scholars write about what a contribution is & how to ensure your paper makes one.
Yet.
The most frequent criticism of journal submissions is that the paper does not contribute.
How is this possible?
That people ...
Who trained to write scholarly papers?
Who have invested years in a project?
Who have take taken the time to write upthe results?
Fail to ensure that their papers contribute to the literature?
Frankly, it's not.
The problem is not that the paper fails to contribute.
The problem is that the authors have failed to convince a reviewer that their work contributes.
So how to address the concern?
First, outline your contribution before you start the project.
Years ago, I was advised to outline my entire paper from start to finish, including contributions, before I start a project.
While I sometimes fail to outline the entire paper, I always jot down bullet points for potential contributions or what motivated me to start a project.
I find this helpful when it is time to decide to "fish or cut bait."
That is, does the project go from an idea to a paper?
The key here is that if you can't see the contribution a priori, it is tough to find them post-hoc.
Second, know your audience.
When you start the discussion, please take a moment to carefully read recently published papers in your target journal.
Carefully dissect how & what contributions are presented.
Pay attention to what is talked about & how.
I have been surprised by how many journal submissions that I handle offer scant contributions to my field (information systems) but play up contributions to referent fields or methods.
Make sure your contributions are relevant to that journal's audience.
Third, stop talking about methods.
Reviewers frequently dismiss claims that ap paper contributes by demonstrating a method.
The response seems to be, "so what?"
Rather than saying the method is a contribution, explain how applying the method sheds new light on the research problem.
I have never seen such an explanation dismissed - across hundreds of manuscripts.
Fourth, know the language of your journal.
Above, I suggest knowing the types of contributions valued by a journal.
However, you also need to know the "love language" of the journal.
Make sure you present the contributions with the titles, word choices, & style of explanation favored by that journal's audience.
In my experience, the "love language" of each discipline is quite different; if you ever want to have fun, contrast the language of #ComputerScience with #GenderStudies.
Finally, pick crucial problems.
It is much easier to offer #contributions if your topic is #relevant to the world.
If you do, you are more likely to earn an opportunity to share your ideas with the world.
Best of luck!
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