When looking for that first academic post, there’s nothing more impressive on your CV than having journal articles already published, or in press. Being able to publish early in your academic career not only proves that you have what it takes to disseminate your intellectual ideas to a wider audience and can stand up to the rigour of peer-review, but more importantly perhaps, highlights that someone other than your supervisor thought your thesis was worth reading and offered potential insights for your discipline…..even if it was only a journal editor and two anonymous referees! But this can be a daunting prospect. The way in which you go about getting your work published often seems shrouded in mystery, and of course no-one likes to be rejected. As recent PhD researchers who were successful in securing publication whilst still students, we thought it might be helpful if we shared our experiences of writing for publication and remove some of the terror the process might hold.
First, the key thing we would recommend is to disseminate your research findings and theoretical arguments widely. Present at conferences, departmental seminars and PhD gatherings. Doing this will not only force you to think about how you might summarise and organise your thoughts, but will also provide valuable feedback on your ideas from your peers and more experienced colleagues. This will help iron-out any fundamental flaws or gaps in your argument, and will also enable you to gauge how receptive audiences are to what you have to say. Indeed for us, all our journal publications have first been conference papers. Once you have taken the time and effort to prepare a written paper and presentation for a conference, it is worth spending that little extra time working it up into an article for journal submission.
Second, we would also recommend that you use all available networks to get feedback on your paper before your submit it to a journal. Don’t be afraid to email or telephone individuals involved in similar research to yourself, or to chap on the door of colleagues within your department, to ask them for some comments on what you have written. Whilst academic staff are busy people, they may also be flattered to be identified as an ‘authority’ in their field, as well as genuinely interested in current research and therefore happy to provide you with some comments. Other PhD students are also a valuable resource, by way of giving you feedback about how accessible your work is to a wider audience unfamiliar with your research topic. Your supervisor is also a good source of advice and support here, and will be pleased that you are being proactive and trying to publish your work.
Third, think about writing collaborations – either with your supervisors or indeed, other PhD students. Whilst writing with someone more experienced may help guide you through the pitfalls of the publication process, writing with PhD students can also be fun – as we can testify! To do this you need to identify those students in your department who are researching similar topics, or draw on similar theoretical frameworks to yourself. Writing collaboratively not only means you have to write less, but it also gives you someone that you can bounce ideas off.
Fourth, once you’ve written the paper choose your journal carefully. Here it is worth spending some time in the library or on-line researching the different journals in your field and their scope and readership. Thinking about the particular journals that you like to read, or that you often reference in your own work, may help you narrow down you search here. If you are unsure speak to your supervisor about it, or better still email the journal editor and ask them if they would be interested in your paper. Many editors are receptive to such queries from researchers at an early stage in their career. One other thing to note here, is that whilst aiming for the highly ranked publications may look very prestigious on your CV it may take longer to be published than if you submitted to a lower ranked journal which has a quicker turnaround.
Fifth, once you’ve had your comments back from the refereeing process try not to be too disheartened if you don’t get the response you were hoping for. Even the most experienced academic writers rarely get their papers accepted by journals without any revisions needed. Furthermore, although it might not feel like it at first reading, referees are usually adept at providing fresh insights on you paper, especially in terms of potential weaknesses and limitations. It is therefore important when revising to attend to each of the suggestions they make. It is also good practice to accompany your resubmitted paper with a letter to the editor outlining how you have done so. However, if you strongly disagree with the referee’s comments or feel making the suggested changes would fundamentally change the argument of your paper, you should stick to your guns and make your case to the editor.
Writing papers for publication is the culmination of the research process: it allows you to collect and organise your thoughts, and ultimately to share them with others. It may feel intimidating and time-consuming, especially when you may have many demands in your life, but it is an invaluable process in terms of gaining experience and improving your employability. On a more personal level, it also feels great to see your name and work printed in a journal.
Kim McKee & Zhan McIntyre
University of Glasgow
First, the key thing we would recommend is to disseminate your research findings and theoretical arguments widely. Present at conferences, departmental seminars and PhD gatherings. Doing this will not only force you to think about how you might summarise and organise your thoughts, but will also provide valuable feedback on your ideas from your peers and more experienced colleagues. This will help iron-out any fundamental flaws or gaps in your argument, and will also enable you to gauge how receptive audiences are to what you have to say. Indeed for us, all our journal publications have first been conference papers. Once you have taken the time and effort to prepare a written paper and presentation for a conference, it is worth spending that little extra time working it up into an article for journal submission.
Second, we would also recommend that you use all available networks to get feedback on your paper before your submit it to a journal. Don’t be afraid to email or telephone individuals involved in similar research to yourself, or to chap on the door of colleagues within your department, to ask them for some comments on what you have written. Whilst academic staff are busy people, they may also be flattered to be identified as an ‘authority’ in their field, as well as genuinely interested in current research and therefore happy to provide you with some comments. Other PhD students are also a valuable resource, by way of giving you feedback about how accessible your work is to a wider audience unfamiliar with your research topic. Your supervisor is also a good source of advice and support here, and will be pleased that you are being proactive and trying to publish your work.
Third, think about writing collaborations – either with your supervisors or indeed, other PhD students. Whilst writing with someone more experienced may help guide you through the pitfalls of the publication process, writing with PhD students can also be fun – as we can testify! To do this you need to identify those students in your department who are researching similar topics, or draw on similar theoretical frameworks to yourself. Writing collaboratively not only means you have to write less, but it also gives you someone that you can bounce ideas off.
Fourth, once you’ve written the paper choose your journal carefully. Here it is worth spending some time in the library or on-line researching the different journals in your field and their scope and readership. Thinking about the particular journals that you like to read, or that you often reference in your own work, may help you narrow down you search here. If you are unsure speak to your supervisor about it, or better still email the journal editor and ask them if they would be interested in your paper. Many editors are receptive to such queries from researchers at an early stage in their career. One other thing to note here, is that whilst aiming for the highly ranked publications may look very prestigious on your CV it may take longer to be published than if you submitted to a lower ranked journal which has a quicker turnaround.
Fifth, once you’ve had your comments back from the refereeing process try not to be too disheartened if you don’t get the response you were hoping for. Even the most experienced academic writers rarely get their papers accepted by journals without any revisions needed. Furthermore, although it might not feel like it at first reading, referees are usually adept at providing fresh insights on you paper, especially in terms of potential weaknesses and limitations. It is therefore important when revising to attend to each of the suggestions they make. It is also good practice to accompany your resubmitted paper with a letter to the editor outlining how you have done so. However, if you strongly disagree with the referee’s comments or feel making the suggested changes would fundamentally change the argument of your paper, you should stick to your guns and make your case to the editor.
Writing papers for publication is the culmination of the research process: it allows you to collect and organise your thoughts, and ultimately to share them with others. It may feel intimidating and time-consuming, especially when you may have many demands in your life, but it is an invaluable process in terms of gaining experience and improving your employability. On a more personal level, it also feels great to see your name and work printed in a journal.
Kim McKee & Zhan McIntyre
University of Glasgow
