Supporting staff to publish your research WIT February 2012

1. Supporting staff to publish your researchWIT February 2012 Professor Sally Brown Emeritus Professor, Leeds Metropolitan University Adjunct Professor, University of the Sunshine Coast and James Cook University Visiting Professor University of Plymouth Rev. 2

2. This session will include activities related to: • Consider your reasons for wanting to get published; • Discuss the variety of outlets for publication; • Explore some techniques for getting down to writing and publishing.

3. Tasks 1 and 2 • Write in 50 words, why you want to get published. • Write 200 words for the University writing-leave sub-committee (which doesn’t exist) explaining: • what you plan to write about, • on what it is based, • where you plan to publish it, • what are likely to be the effects for you and the University, when it is published.

4. Tasks 3 and Four • Write 50 words for the internal newsletter outlining what you are writing about, and describing with a sense of fun, the problems you are experiencing. (5 mins) • Write 30 words for a friend living outside the UK whose first language is not English, and who is not an academic, explaining what you are writing, and why. (5 mins)

5. Processes involved • writing to time • writing to length • drafting and re-drafting • using the same material in different ways • planning and structuring • brainstorming, mindmapping

6. Processes involved • thinking as you go (I don’t know what I think until I’ve written it); • thinking fast; • thinking about audience…

7. Your reasons for getting published • Why do you want to get published? What’s in it for you? • Please note your main reasons, discussing them with someone nearby if possible.

8. Motives for publishing (1) • Disseminating the outcomes of your research. • Accumulating evidence for your professional portfolio. • Making a contribution to your department’s research profile, particularly in the light of the Research Assessment Exercise. D Royce Sadler: ‘Up the Publications Road’ HERDSA

9. Motives for publishing (2) • Making a contribution to the academic community. • Improving your own national profile and standing in the academic or professional community. • Making some money. D Royce Sadler: ‘Up the Publications Road’ HERDSA

10. Motives for publishing (3) • identifying yourself within a domain of research or scholarship and facilitating contact with other professionals working in the same area. • because writing requires a very disciplined approach, it can help to facilitate your thinking and clarify your logic. D Royce Sadler: ‘Up the Publications Road’ HERDSA

11. Motives for publishing (4) • Publications make you more credible to your students. They see you as a person who has something scholarly to offer. • publication can provide an immense amount of personal satisfaction. D Royce Sadler: ‘Up the Publications Road’ HERDSA

12. Other reasons • opening doors, getting a background. • to get a broader career, maybe a lighter teaching load! • to renew a temporary contract. • to get free books for reviewing them!

13. Outlets for publications: a hierarchy • journals: international refereed • lesser, UK unrefereed • books scholarly monograph, co-written, edited, co-edited • conference proceedings - refereed • book reviews • conference papers - depends on type • project reports • poster sessions • magazines • textbooks, newspapers • Internet • distance learning materials

14. What are the points that make a manuscript immediately appealing to you? Ten most important points chosen by editors: • Professional appearance: how it looks. • New/novel treatment of the subject • Very thorough. • Author guidelines followed. • Good writing clarity and style. Noble: Studies in Higher Education 13 1 1989 Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say

15. What are the points that make a manuscript immediately appealing to you? Ten most important points chosen by editors: • Relevance of subject. • Title of manuscript. • High-quality abstract. • Seminal piece of work/research. • A controversial subject. Noble: Studies in Higher Education 13 1 1989 Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say

16. Ten most common reasons for immediately rejecting a manuscript... • Author guidelines not followed. • Not thorough. • Bad writing: clarity and style. • Subject of no interest to readers. • Poor statistics, tables, figures. Noble: Studies in Higher Education 13 1 1989 Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say

17. Ten most common reasons for immediately rejecting a manuscript... • Old subject / manuscript. • Unprofessional appearance. • Title of manuscript. • Too simple - ‘reporting’. • Written at the wrong level. Noble: Studies in Higher Education 13 1 1989 Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say

18. Most common advice given by editors when rejecting... • Write clearly, logically and sequentially. • Study and follow the author guidelines. • Have the manuscript critiqued before submission. • Think what readers want to know, not what you want to say. • Be a stickler for detail. Noble: Studies in Higher Education 13 1 1989 Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say

19. Most common problems editors experience with manuscripts received... • slight, trivial or low-quality work/research. • inappropriate subject for journal. • poor quality of writing. • failure to follow author guidelines. • presentation/appearance/format.

20. Referees and reviewers look for the following in manuscripts: • Clarity, coherence, well-written. • Thoroughness. • Research method. • Appropriateness to the journal. • A unique contribution. • Advancement of knowledge. • Importance of subject • Generalisability and validity of results. • Timeliness.

21. Writing in journals: some suggestions... • Never publish in a vacuum: know where you are aiming to publish your work by carefully reviewing the available outlets in your field. • Every journal has its own particular strengths and preferences, Consider whether your work should best be published in a major academic journal, or perhaps some emerging, less prestigious journal.

22. Writing in journals: some suggestions... • Some material has a more practical than academic bias. You may consider a practitioners’ journal to be the appropriate vehicle for a particular piece rather than a strictly academic journal. • Assess carefully whether you can match up to the demands of a target journal.

23. Writing in journals: some suggestions... • Assess what may be attractive to the editor of a journal in the light of recent trends in the publication. Some topics move rapidly in and out of fashion. • It may be that your work has a particular specialist audience, and that it is best placed in a specialist journal.

24. The ‘ten damn fool questions’ method of getting started... • What am I doing? • Why am I doing it? • What has been done in the past? • What were the effects? • Why was this unsatisfactory? • What have I tried that worked? • What didn’t work so well? • What have I learned from my success and failures? • What can I deduce from what I have done? • What do I plan to do next?

25. Useful refernces Black, D. Brown, S. and Race, P.(1998) 500 Tips for Getting Published Kogan Page London Day A (2008) How to Get Research Published in Journals Gower, London Noble: Studies in Higher Education Publish or Perish: - what 23 Journal Editors have to say Studies in Higher Education, Volume 14, Issue 1 1989 , pages 97 - 102 Routledge Sadler R (1984, but multiple subsequent reprints) Up the Publication Road HERDSA Green Guide No 2