Source: Alamy

Piling up: pressure to publish rises

The daunting challenge of getting that first academic paper published weighs on new researchers like an albatross around the neck, especially given the ¡°publish or perish¡± environment.

¡°There¡¯s pressure to have that [academic] record,¡± said Ian McNay, emeritus professor of higher education and management at the University of Greenwich. ¡°In modern universities, there are a number of vice-chancellors who want [their institutions] to become pale imitations of Russell Group universities. And so research and publication is what their academics have to do.¡±

Among his tips for getting published, Professor McNay ¨C who ran a Society for Research into Higher Education workshop on the topic earlier in the summer ¨C said a major challenge was ¡°finding the time and getting the funding¡± to do research.

¡°An awful lot¡± of academics are in a situation where ¡°timetables simply don¡¯t allow them time to get a good plan and a project, do the fieldwork and have reflective time to write,¡± he said. ¡°You need to prepare the ground. Go to the conferences, even if you¡¯re not presenting. The alternative [to presenting] is to get in touch with editors, [who are] always looking for book reviewers and reviewers of articles.

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¡°If you¡¯re willing to do that, you can get known to a couple of editors. Then, if your name is on an article that is submitted, you are likely to get read thoroughly.¡±

Of the many reasons why papers get rejected, he said a common one was ¡°you sent it to the wrong journal¡±. ¡°Find one that fits,¡± he advised.

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Moreover, if you are adapting a PhD thesis for publication, he added, readers will be less interested in your background material, literature search and methodology. ¡°They want to know basic details to establish the validity and viability of your method,¡± he explained.

And to attract interest, you have to ¡°get your abstract right¡±, he said. ¡°Most abstracts ¨C and I edited research for 17 years ¨C are bad. Go for originality, but don¡¯t over-claim. You¡¯ve got 300 words to sell this so that people want to find out more.¡±

However, he urged researchers to not be timid with journal editors. ¡°When people make recommendations [about your paper], respond to them, be polite, but don¡¯t necessarily accept them,¡± he said. ¡°If you¡¯ve done a PhD, you¡¯re the expert. You can be assertive in saying: ¡®I can see where you¡¯re coming from, but¡­¡¯ That establishes your credibility as someone who is able to engage in debate at that level.¡±

If you do get rejected, he said, ¡°be disappointed but don¡¯t be downcast¡±. He believes that a 25 per cent acceptance rate is typical. ¡°Get a good mentor and possibly go for joint-authorship in the first place,¡± he suggested as a way to counter disappointment.

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john.elmes@tesglobal.com