Getting Published in Journals: Notes #3

Yesterday I provided some brief notes from Tim Strangleman's talk on 'disseminating your thesis'. Today it's the turn of Prof Rosaleen Duffy from DICE, who spoke about how to choose a journal to which to submit. 

Choosing a Journal

Rosaleen Duffy

With so much pressure on your time, you need to think carefully about what article to write, and where to submit. Ideally, you should focus on a smaller number of higher quality pieces, and try to maximise the potential influence of your work. To do this, give careful consideration about where you place your articles.

·         Does the journal reach ‘your’ audience – i.e. the people who you want to be aware of your work? Target a journal that you know addresses the debate to which you want to contribute. Alternatively, you may need to think laterally, and approach a journal outside your area that might be interested in applying the issues in your field to their own discipline.

·         Is it suited to your material and approach? For example, there is no point submitting a quantitative piece to a journal that deals predominantly in qualitative research.

·         Will it contribute positively to your REF submission?

·         Will it progress your career?

·         What is the journal’s ranking or impact factor?

In addition, you should be careful about accepting offers to contribute or collaborate. With time limited you need to select primarily those opportunities which will raise your profile and advance your career. There is no shame in turning down those that don’t:  collaborators and editors prefer ‘a quick no to a long maybe.’

Slides and full notes from the ECR Network session are available on Research Services SharePoint. Tomorrow we'll look at how articles are selected and reviewed, guided by Prof John Mingers.

The Launch of the ECR Network

This year, as part of the Grants Factory, we are launching an ECR Network. This will give early career researchers the opportunity to meet and discuss issues that are relevant to them, as well as hearing from more senior staff about their experiences. The first two events are as follows:

4 Oct: Planning a Personal Research Strategy (Keynes Seminar Room 4, 2:30 – 4:30pm)

This event will be introduced by the VC, Prof Dame Julia Goodfellow, who will discuss what support there is and should be across the University for ECRs. This is an opportunity to talk about your experiences, and think about what would help in the development of your career.

This will be followed by an informal talk by Prof Darren Griffin (Biosciences) and Jenny Billings (Centre for Health Services Studies) about developing a personal research strategy. They will cover issues around strategically planning and developing your research, balancing idealism with realism, and how to cope with the unexpected.

  

17 Oct: Getting Published in Journals (Senate Chamber, 9:30 – 11:30am)

Organised by KLS but open to all, this event will look at how to improve the chances of getting your articles selected for publication in journals. A panel of academics with extensive publishing experience will cover issues including:

·         How articles are selected for publication

·         Choosing a journal

·         Disseminating a thesis

·         How to improve the chances of your article being read

·          How to deal with referee comments

The panel will be chaired by Prof Sally Sheldon (KLS), and consists of Prof Rosaleen Duffy (Anthropology), Prof John Mingers (KBS), Prof Tim Strangleman (SSPSSR), and Prof Jon Williamson (SECL). 

These events aimed at ECRs, including Research Associates and Assistants (RAs), but are open to all academic staff. The events are free and refreshments will be provided.  Do let me know if you intend to come along so that I can get an idea of numbers.