Academic Writing Martie Thompson

1. Academic Writing Martie Thompson

2. You must have something to write about • Pick a research topic or area of inquiry that interests you • You’ll be spending lots of time on this topic so make sure it is something intriguing TO YOU • Don’t wait too long after your study is completed before you write and submit the paper • Work that is not published will not have a substantial impact • Find collaborators who complement your skill set • If you love doing your own data analyses, look for a collaborator who can offer topical expertise, for example

3. Know your audience • Identify the most likely journal to which you plan to submit. • To do this, you’ll need to do some homework: • Know the journal’s mission • Be familiar with what types of work they publish • Check your references and see what journals you cite; these would be likely candidates to consider

4. Pay attention to journal impact factorshttp://jcr.incites.thomsonreuters.com/JCRLandingPageAction.actionIdentify first, second, and third tier journal outlets; start with first tier

5. Know your audience • Journals vary in style and submission requirements • AMA or APA style • Impacts how references are cited • Headers may vary • Style may vary: Medical and public health journals typically have shorter introductions than psychology or sociology journals • Follow the author submission guidelines-e.g., page length, abstract word count, required elements • Review other articles published in the journal as a guide

6. Write!!! • Make yourself sit down and write • Don’t worry about not getting it perfect; just start getting your thoughts down • Starting with bulleted outline is useful, especially if you are new to writing APA style papers

7. Sections of paper (APA) • Abstract • Introduction • Method • Results • Discussion • References • Tables and figures Tip: Start with Method and Results first; these sections are most prescriptive in terms of what needs to go in them

8. Method Very prescriptive in content and structure: • Sample and sampling procedures: Describe participants in your study (sample size, characteristics) and how they were selected • Design and procedures. What was your study design? How were data collected? • Materials/measures: Describe your measures: give sources of scales, # items, response formats, psychometrics from your sample, sample item(s) • Data analytic strategy: Explain how you analyzed data

9. Results • Start with descriptive findings and move to inferential findings (e.g., regressions, ANOVA) • Objectively present your findings in order of your research questions. Tie back to your study purpose • Use tables when possible. Highlight in text what tables show but do not provide same statistics in tables and text

10. Introduction tips • Make sure Introduction section is relevant to your paper; do not review literature review that is not specific to the topic under study • Be certain that you are citing studies relevant to your topic • One of the reviewers may have done work in the area and not citing their work would be a faux pas • Be sure you cite recent papers and ideally primary work • Find your niche; what are you adding to the literature base that is not yet known?

11. Introduction Flow Must make compelling case for significance of your study and ways it will advance field and offer new information • Why is your topic of inquiry important? Rationale for investigating this topic? • Situate your study: Discuss relevant extant research and summarize current understanding of the problem. • What is known now and what is not known? How will your study fill this gap and advance knowledge base? • End this section with a statement of the purpose of your paper and if applicable, provide hypotheses.

12. Discussion • Summarize findings • Place your findings in context of extant literature- how do your findings support or not support prior work? • Limitations and strengths of your study • Limitations lead in nicely to suggestions for future research • What are the implications of your findings? Impact on the field is important

13. Abstract • Write it last; Summary of major aspects of entire paper • Needs to clearly and succinctly convey study’s purpose and provide an accurate depiction of key findings • Must include the following: • What was your research question(s)? fromIntroduction) • What was your sample andmethodology?(from Method) • What were the major findings?(from Results) • What did you find and what are conclusions and implications? (from Discussion)

14. Peer review process • Reviewer’s identity not known to authors so that reviewers can provide honest reviews • Reviewed manuscript is typically confidential but not always • Reviewers’ responsibilities: recommendation (rejection, R & R, accept ) and written critique • Editors examine reviews and make decision • Decision goes to author, with comments from reviewers • Reviewer thanked, informed of decision, & given copies of comments sent to author APA guide for new authors on preparing manuscripts

15. APA Publication and Communication Board To merit publication- • A manuscript cannot have been published in another journal • A manuscript must be accurate, and conclusions must follow from data • A manuscript must be more than free of major fault; it must make an important contribution to literature • A manuscript must be appropriate for journal to which it is submitted

16. Common problems • Inadequate review of literature • Introduction not clearly articulated and tied to research questions • Ambiguous research questions • Inadequately described sample • Insufficient methodology • Lack of detail for measures used to assess constructs

17. Common problems • Inappropriate data analytic technique • Unclear statistical procedures • Poor discussion – does not address common elements of a discussion section • Conclusions go beyond data • Poor writing style • Excessive length • Lack of contribution to the field • Poor fit to journal

18. Don’t give up!!! • Tenacity is key • If your paper is rejected, don’t give up. Take the advantage of getting free advice from peer reviewers and make changes as appropriate and then SUBMIT somewhere else • There are many journals out there, so there will be an outlet for your work!

19. APA Style • Official formatting style for papers, comps, dissertation. • Please purchase a copy! • $18 new on amazon

20. APA Style Manual Covers… • Structure of the manuscript • Writing clearly and concisely • Manuscript formatting • Headings • Citing references in the text • The reference list • The importance of crediting sources • The publication process

21. A Few Notes About Crediting Sources • “Whether paraphrasing, quoting an author directly, or describing an idea that influenced your work, you must credit the source. To avoid charges of plagiarism, take careful notes as you research…” (APA, 2010, p. 170). • Document all facts and figures that aren’t common knowledge (APA, 2010). • Citation of an article implies you have personally read the cited work (APA, 2010).

22. Resources at apastyle.orgIncludes Tutorial

23. Another Online Resource: Purdue Online Write Lab (OWL)

24. Online Bibliography Manager Availablelibguides.clemson.edu/refworks