Academic writing is a process of several steps from the initial idea to a published article. Conducting them in a proper order and with due diligence can substantially increase the chances of a successful publication with reasonable efforts. Amongst the key factors for success are an awareness for the target topic in literature and the target audience, a structured manuscript preparation including review processes, and the self-confidence of the author in his/her research and conclusions.
This essay considers, in its first part, various aspects of writing and publishing academic articles. The second part of this essay deals with the challenges of successful academic publishing. Considering that a large proportion of submissions to peer-reviewed journals are rejected does not encourage academic writing in the first instance, but proper manuscript preparation can help. After briefly considering why it is important to publish at all, some of the guidelines for manuscript publishing are discussed, considering qualitative and quantitative researches, mixed methods, and non-research texts as well as non-refereed publishing.
Researching, Writing, Reviewing, and Publishing Academic Articles
Heiko Filthuth
Abstract: Academic writing is a process of several steps from the initial idea to a published article. Conducting them in a proper order and with due diligence can substantially increase the chances of a successful publication with reasonable efforts. Amongst the key factors for success are an awareness for the target topic in literature and the target audience, a structured manuscript preparation including review processes, and the self-confidence of the author in his/her research and conclusions.
Many publications cover the topic of academic writing (Barth, 2018; Chuang, 2017; TAA, 2014) and deal with the process that stands behind academic publishing (Lillis and Curry, 2010), which is an important part on the way to (Bailey, 2011) or after (Rocco, Hatcher, & Associates, 2011) the dissertations in many programs and universities. This essay considers, in its first part, various aspects of writing and publishing academic articles.
The second part of this essay deals with the challenges of successful academic publishing. Considering that a large proportion of submissions to peer-reviewed journals are rejected does not encourage academic writing in the first instance, but proper manuscript preparation can help (McKercher et al., 2007). After briefly considering why it is important to publish at all, some of the guidelines for manuscript publishing are discussed, considering qualitative and quantitative researches, mixed methods, and non-research texts as well as non-refereed publishing.
Before completing an academic text, several steps are important to come to a good result in the first place, of which obtaining and addressing feedback are key parts (Zernach & Rumisek, 2005). The final part of this essay thus deals with the role of reviewers and how to consider and implement their comments. It also concludes the process from researching via writing and reviewing to actually publishing academic articles successfully.
Writing and Publishing Academic Articles
Reasons for Academic Writing: According to Rocco et al. (2011), academic writing is mostly done for one or more of the following three reasons: Firstly, it can advance the writer’s career. This advancement can be direct for example when a certain number or frequency of publications is required for a promotion or job. It can also be rather indirect if, for instance, published articles lead to a wider prominence of the writer (Langenberg, 2008) which leads to him/her being invited to participate in conferences, research projects etc. up to him/her becoming recognised as a capacity for a subject he/she publishes on.
Secondly, it can help to clarify or understand issues or results. A researcher and publisher on a subject is unlikely to be able to include all existing knowledge on the topic he covers (Pain, 2016) in a publication into his work. Consequently, other academics engaged in the same area of research may add different aspects, ideas, or even findings. These can help to understand or clarify the initial publication.
Thirdly, it can trigger controversial conversations and contribute to academic knowledge. The conversational aspects of publications, meaning that the authors of articles converse through their publications with one another (Maron and Smith, 2009), can be considered as one important aspect of increasing academic knowledge through the exchange and critical discussion of each other’s ideas and findings. This conversation can also happen prior to publication, for example if writers join to collaborate for an article as it is often the case.
Considerations for Publishing: Articles in peer-reviewed journals are often considered the highest standard of publication (Neave, 2007) since they are blind reviewed by specialists – in contrast to articles in nonrefereed journals which are commonly reviewed by the editor only (Rocco et al., 2011). This does not, however, disqualify nonrefereed journals since they are considered as practitioner literature, often emphasising on the practical implications of academic issues. In the process from the idea to the article, a writer should consider what type of journal he is aiming to publish in and adopt his writing accordingly. Suitable subjects should be selected driven by relevance, writer’s knowledge, and reader’s interest. Manuscripts should be prepared carefully and in accordance with editors’ demands and standards of the target journal. Sufficient time to meet the deadlines should be allowed and writers should be prepared to receive critical response in the review process and potentially rejection.
Learning Scholarly Writing: Scholarly writing is considered crucial to share ideas and findings (Thompson, 2001) and to increase the general knowledge by sharing and critically discussing these. In order to come to a valuable contribution (or to get one’s article published) writers should established structured and organised work patterns (Monippally and Pawar, 2010). Tables, mind maps, and working schedules can substantially help to keep control of the writing process and a potential deadline. Writers are encouraged to reflect how they work and be critical not only to the literature they review but also towards their own work. This can include to accept that no matter how often a text is reviewed it may remain incomplete and keep having room for improvement. The use of networks and conferences, relationships and collaboration groups may encourage and ease first writing projects. Above all, however, is that the academic writer does not link one citation to another but uses his//her own words to phrase his understanding and, automatically at the same time, to give his/her personal stance to the issue he/she is dealing with.
The Importance of Reading: Writing and reading can hardly be separated when it comes to academic publishing (Hermida, 2009), indeed they form in cycle in which new writing can lead to additional reading which can trigger new writing. One important aspect when referring to readings in writing is to consider the quality of the literature (Rocco et al., 2011) both with regards to its source and its suitability for generalisation. Once this is secured, the same applies to the incorporation of these sources in the own writing: Evidence must be convincing (and potentially suitably recent) to support a thesis and be accepted by the reader. The role of the target audience plays again an important part in this context. The writer will need to consider how much evidence is needed and how it is to be presented in order to be accepted by the reader; as a typical example, an article in a popular science magazine my do with less sophisticated and detailed source discussion than an article meant for a peer-reviewed journal of high standing. What both will share is, of course, correct and suitably researched information.
Tensions: The tensions when working on a dissertation or a publishable article are manifold (Rocco et al., 2011): Editor’s deadlines need to be kept, academic writing standards are to be kept in line with the target journal’s standards, and the overall dissertation project needs to be kept in its tight timeline. It is therefore considered of vital importance to evaluate the writer’s individual capabilities, his/her aims and the expected rewards before agreeing to write a publishable article – or to start the journey of a doctoral dissertations. Additional capabilities can be financial aspects or, as in my case, the workload of my professional life.
From Dissertation to Published Article: The challenge to transform a dissertation of up to a couple of hundred pages into an academic article of a few thousand words is obvious (Lantsoght, 2015). The audience is different, writing styles need to change accordingly, possibly entire considerations need to be excluded. One of the ways to deal with this challenge is to split-up a dissertation into a couple of separable subjects suitable for individual publication. This is coinciding with one of two common approaches of doctoral programs, in which one comes from publications which are composed into a dissertation and the other comes from a dissertation and is split into publications. As mentioned earlier in this assignment, writing is predominately for others to read. Thus, turning a dissertation into articles will usually mean to know the readers and the editors demands and expectations and start a new project for each article from the one source – the dissertation.
Successful Academic Publishing
Why it is Important to Publish: To contribute to knowledge, research findings quite logically need to be communicated. Conferences and presentations can be an important step for the researcher to gain feedback and raise discussions as well as awareness for his topic (Johnson & Christensen, 2000). All of this can help him/her to improve and refine his/her work. For the audience, this step is important as it can start making itself familiar with the topic and becoming aware of the researcher’s field of interest and activity (McLean, 2011), possibly to recognise matches with other researchers working on the same subject.
Academic publishing, in a peer-reviewed journals al the highest standard, widens the audience substantially and triggers broad response (Harnard, 1999) which, ultimately, is important for the researcher since it gives him/her an awareness which can forward his academic career: Research funds, personal advance through being known as a capacity in a subject and, last but not least, some of the rare financial benefits, make publishing important (McKercher et al., 2007).
General Guidelines for Manuscript Preparation: Not matter what type of academic text is to be published, a careful preparation and manuscript organisation is key to being accepted by editors, publishers, reviewers and finally the audience (Merriam & Simpson, 1995). Depending on the type of text, some additional guidelines may apply:
Qualitative manuscripts are widely recommended (Rocco & Plakhotnik, 2009) to follow a structured pattern of Introduction, Method, Discussion, and Implications (Cresswell, 1998), each of which covers subcategories such as Research Problem and Framework/Review in the Introduction, the whole array of research methodology in Method, and Practice, Research, and Policy in the Implications.
For quantitative manuscripts, consistency throughout the entire manuscript - but particularly between title, purpose, and problem - a trail of hard evidence, and transparency with regards to the research are considered of vital importance (Newman & Newman, 2011). A clear path from the hypothesis to the measurement and sampling and from the results to the implications, forms, according to the American Educational Research Association (2006), a publishable quantitative research.
Mixed method manuscripts should join the requirements for qualitative and quantitative manuscripts and, due to the higher complexity, will require a particular emphasis on preparation and organisation (Newman et al., 2003) as well as on consistency (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2006). The approach within the manuscript can be parallel, sequential, conversed, or fully integrated (Tashakkori, Brown, & Borghese, 2009), depending on the build-up and the organisation of the text.
Non-research manuscripts, such as theories, conceptual articles, and opinion texts, benefit from preparation and organisation but are more flexible and informal in their writing, although careful referencing is important (McLean, 2011). Writers of such publications should provide reason for their writing (Torraco, 2005), be it observations, experience or others, and the focus should be narrow and clear (Lynham, 2002). When phrasing the own opinion, respect towards a contradicted opinion should be maintained and other authors should not be criticised personally.
Finally, non-refereed manuscripts such as book reviews and editorials should follow the guidelines of the editors and publishers of the publication in question (Hatcher & McDonald, 2011). Whereas editorial should offer an informed and fact-based opinion, books reviews are recommended to bear the view and expectation of the audience of the book in mind (Sambrook, 2008).
The common theme with all kinds of manuscripts remains, however, the same: Manuscript organisation is a key task in academic writing and raises the chances of a successful publication substantially.
Publishing a Dissertation: Whereas for some kinds of dissertations multiple prior publications are mandatory, others merely require a wider publication at all (Walliman & Appleton, 2009). Masters dissertations seldom make it into peer-reviewed journals and even the very best dissertation is not necessarily reviewed and accepted for publishing. The fundament is that a dissertation and a publishable manuscript, although they may follow the same structure, have different audiences and a different scope (Hayward, 2017). Where a dissertation takes (and has) room for a precise pattern of its development over sometimes hundreds of pages, a manuscript is restricted to a very few thousand words. Where the dissertation is read by a very selected audience, some of which may have guided the writer through his/her dissertation process, the audience of an article is certainly wider.
Reviewing and Completing Academic Texts
Important Steps in the Academic Writing Process: Before reviewing and completing an academic text, several steps are important to come to a good result in the first place (Zernach & Rumisek, 2005). A topic needs to be chosen whereby multiple factors should be considered (Leki, 1998): Is it a topic to which the writer can make a valuable contribution, is it definitive enough, not too wide and not too narrow, is there a sufficient audience and, last but not least, is there someone who is likely to publish a text in the particular topic (The University of Melbourne, 2017). The joint consideration of these issues is considered vital since the lack of even a single point might lead to continuous rejection of an otherwise excellent contribution. Once the topic is chosen, the gathering of ideas on the content and the design of the text would be a next step (Bailey, 2015). This might include a literature review as well as a consideration of the type of publishing made so far on the topic to understand what is of interest to potential readers. Depending on the personal situation, it may be advisable to discuss with fellow students/academics if someone else is working on the same topic to either consider a joint contribution (Bartunek, 2007) or choose a different aspect of the topic. Having done all this, planning and organising would become crucial (Imel, 2011): From considering the potential target journals’ guidelines and expectations to choosing ideas and making a schedule, applying structural working methods will be beneficial to writing and completing the text as planned. After that, it is suggested (Zernach & Rumisek, 2005), writing should commence quite straightforward from beginning to end, before the circle of reviewing and completing the text can start.
Writing and Publishing: Three major reasons considered to be behind academic writing and publishing are (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011): To advance the writer’s academic career by a growing reputation and public awareness, to add to academic knowledge or clarify issues under discussion, and to hold controversial conversations (Maron & Smith, 2009) via disputing publications, which can again help to clarify or add to knowledge. With these motivations in mind, writers will seek to published on non-refereed or peer-reviewed journals (Neave, 2007), both of which are considered of equal importance (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011) but have different readerships: The peer-reviewed journals predominately address academic readers whereas the non-refereed publications target a practitioner audience. Both types of journals have in common that for a text to be accepted not only the journal’s target audience’s needs and interests must be met but also strict editor’s guideline and timelines must be kept (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011). Consequently, the process of writing and reviewing is very similar. A thought-through (and kept) structure and timeline are at the organisational centre of each writing project (Monippally & Pawar, 2010), dealing with all the tensions from time and quality, editor’s interests and writer’s motivation, speediness and purpose of publication. And if journal publishing is quite similar it is not to be mixed with dissertation writing in which typically a small and very specialised team of highly qualified and in the field of the topic knowledgeable academics is the target reader and lengths is usually not so much of an issue (Lantsoght, 2015). Academic writing is, in all cases, hardly separable from academic reading (Hermida, 2009) to consider and address existing literature before setting the own opinion as well as to verify and, if necessary, include additional background information if new ideas or findings come up. In the end, academic writing, academic reading (Langer & Flihan, 2000), and academic publishing depend on each other and are three aspects that simply cannot be separated.
Writers as Reviewers According to Donmoyer (2011): Reviewing the own writing is a necessity and quite a normal process in the circle of developing a good academic text (Rocco & Hatcher, 2011), be it a dissertation, an article for a journal or a book review. Donmoyer, in his essay Why Writers Should also be Reviewers (2011), argues that to actually learn reviewing is important on the way of becoming a good writer. He offers five steps for writers to refine their reviewing skills:
Firstly, writers should start reading their own texts in their review phases as if they would read someone else’s words. They should adopt another person’s view to see if their thoughts, ideas and presentations can be followed and understood without the level of in-depth that is only their own. When doing so, they should bear in mind the knowledge profile of their target audience. This type of reading predominately aims to find if the appropriate level of detail has been chosen at all times, recognising that not enough detail may lead to the reader not be able to follow whereas too much detail might end in confusion.
[...]
-
Laden Sie Ihre eigenen Arbeiten hoch! Geld verdienen und iPhone X gewinnen. -
Laden Sie Ihre eigenen Arbeiten hoch! Geld verdienen und iPhone X gewinnen. -
Laden Sie Ihre eigenen Arbeiten hoch! Geld verdienen und iPhone X gewinnen. -
Laden Sie Ihre eigenen Arbeiten hoch! Geld verdienen und iPhone X gewinnen. -
Laden Sie Ihre eigenen Arbeiten hoch! Geld verdienen und iPhone X gewinnen.