TIP-TOPics
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L to R: Amy DuVernet, Reanna Poncheri, Tara Behrend, Clara Hess, Jennifer Lindberg, & Jane Vignovic
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Reanna Poncheri, Jane Vignovic, Tara Behrend,
Amy DuVernet, Clara Hess, Jenn Lindberg
With the SIOP submission rush behind us, we turn to a topic that is relevant for everyone—publishing. Publishing can be an intimidating process, but there are ways to make the process easier and increase one’s likelihood of success. This column is a brief introduction to the publication process and is intended to be a guide for unpublished students and students who wish to continue sharpening their publication skills. In this column, we present information that many students have had to learn the hard way. We hope this information will make the publication process less intimidating and will prepare students to utilize many of the skills they are gaining in graduate school.1
1 Thank you to the academicians, practitioners, and peers who provided much of this valuable information.
The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Publishing
Who
Graduate school is the perfect time to start publishing. Graduate students are knowledgeable about the current research literature and are honing writing skills for class assignments. In addition, students are surrounded by individuals who can share insights and information about the publication process (i.e., faculty members) and with whom there is the opportunity to collaborate (i.e., other graduate students). Publishing with faculty members or other students can be a beneficial activity for all involved parties.
Keep in mind that publishing is beneficial for all career paths. Often, publishing is emphasized for those who plan to go into academia but not stressed for those going into practice. However, a recent graduate told us, “Employers were impressed with the publications on my vita. It showed them I had a drive to take on challenges and to see something through to completion.” The lesson here: Publications are a concrete way to demonstrate skills to any type of employer, regardless if someone is pursuing a job as an academician or as a practitioner.
What
In our last column, it was suggested that students should submit class papers to conferences. Similarly, both class papers and conference presentations can be turned into publications. A great plan is to take a completed class paper, reduce its length for a conference submission, and then begin preparing the paper for publication as soon as it is under review for the conference. One student who responded to our MySpace poll indicated that she presents one or two first-author papers at major conferences each year and then submits at least one of these papers for publication. This process provides many opportunities for continual manuscript improvement.
Remember that a multimillion dollar grant is not necessary to conduct publication-worthy research. If you do not have a dataset available to conduct a research study, ask faculty members or other graduate students if archival datasets are available. Small-scale projects can still provide valuable information to the I-O community.
When
The earlier one starts publishing, the earlier one can reap the benefits. It can take years to complete a paper, wait for feedback, and respond to reviewers’ comments and suggestions. If possible, first-year graduate students should take on more junior research roles because it will give them exposure to the publication process. More tenured graduate students may choose to lead their own research projects as they develop their knowledge of a particular content domain and increase their comfort with the publication process.
Where
Determining where to submit a manuscript for publication is perhaps the most important decision to make during the publication process. The academicians and practitioners we consulted suggested that writing should never begin without first identifying a list of potential journal outlets for the work. Read a variety of articles published in the journals being considered as publication outlets to get a feel for the journals. Structure your manuscripts accordingly.
One commonly used strategy for submitting a manuscript is to initially target a long-shot journal (i.e., the most prestigious); however, some topics in I-O psychology are more time sensitive than others (e.g., technology). Be sure to choose a strategy that compliments your topic.
Why
Publishing in graduate school can benefit students in the following ways:
- Enhancing academic and applied careers: As an academician, publications are the key to gaining tenure at many institutions. As a consultant, both current and potential clients will see a strong publication record as evidence of one’s expertise.
- Providing a detailed, public record of one’s work ethic and commitment to scholarly research: A publication can provide much more information about a student than can be gleaned from a course grade.
- Gaining valuable skills, such as working with others, delegating tasks, revising an idea, and responding to constructive criticism.
- Developing opinions: The publication process encourages the development of opinions and expertise in certain content domains (Goddard, 2002).
Clearly, publishing is a beneficial activity for which graduate students are well equipped. Here are some tips for starting the process.
Publishing: A Brief “How-To” Guide
Note that none of these steps should be carried out in isolation. Each step is an integral part of a larger process. Also, this information is just a start. There are sources available with more extensive suggestions about how to be successful at publishing. We hope this article will inspire students to recognize the skills they currently have and will motivate them to seek additional information.
Step 1: Identify and frame the research topic.
Select a research topic that is interesting. Your passion about the topic is critical! Use a research journal to keep track of ideas, research questions, and lines of inquiry to pursue. In addition, always consider where research gaps exist in the field. What new research findings would move the field forward? Remember that even small-scale research can be valuable.
Step 2: Select the appropriate journal(s).
After identifying a topic to research and pursue for publication, begin the important process of selecting a journal for which to submit the manuscript. The decision will largely depend on the content of the manuscript and its intended audience. Does the content of the manuscript align with the journal’s mission and focus? Do you want to reach an I-O academic audience (e.g., Journal of Applied Psychology), a practitioner audience (e.g., Academy of Management Perspectives), or perhaps another population (e.g., military via Military Psychology)? Information about a journal’s mission, focus, and intended audience can be found on the journal’s Web site.
Ask others (i.e., faculty members and other graduate students) for their input on where to submit the manuscript. Also, consider having an informal exchange with the editor or a member of the editorial board of a journal under consideration. These individuals are uniquely positioned to provide input about what manuscripts are a good fit for their journals.
Here are some additional tips for selecting an appropriate journal:
- Learn about journals and how they compare to each other in terms of prestige. See the Zickar and Highhouse (2001) TIP article.
- Investigate the quality of journals using the Web of Science database. The Web of Science database, available at most university libraries, contains a link for “Journal Citation Reports” (JCR). Select “JCR Social Sciences Edition,” and then enter the name of the journal of interest. The resulting table provides valuable information about the journal, including the impact factor, immediacy index, and cited half-life. Click on the help menu to get a full description of these indices.
- Explore where the main articles cited in the manuscript and other articles related to the manuscript’s content domain were published (Chamberlin, 1999).
- Search for recent articles published in each journal to determine the type of work the journal publishes and the writing style of the papers published in the journal (Hewlett, 2002).
- Incorporate the work of an editorial board member’s research when it is relevant to the manuscript.
One final note about selecting a journal: Determining journal prestige is somewhat controversial and the metrics discussed above are not flawless. Different parties have different perspectives on what makes one journal “better” than another, and different metrics matter to different people.
Step 3: Prepare the paper for submission.
After selecting a journal, the next step is to prepare the manuscript for submission. To prepare the manuscript for submission:
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Check the journal’s Web site for submission requirements and evaluation criteria.
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Double check that the appropriate outlet for the work has been selected and written in a manner that is consistent with previous publications in this journal.
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Ensure that the manuscript meets the journal’s formatting requirements. To prepare for blinds reviews, delete any document properties that may identify the manuscript author.
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Ask a faculty member or other graduate student to review the manuscript and provide feedback (Hewlett, 2002). Use this time to take a break from the paper and revisit it with a fresh perspective.
Generally, all journals will require a cover letter accompanying the submission. The cover letter is an important opportunity to market the submission to the editor (Fischer, 2004) and should:
- Highlight the contribution the manuscript will make to science, practice, or both.
- Explain why readers of the journal would benefit from the manuscript and make a case for why it would be a good fit for this journal (Gump, 2004).
- Include contact information, the type of paper being submitted, a statement confirming this work has not been published elsewhere, and an indication if supplemental material (e.g., still video images) will be provided.
- A cover letter can also be used to advise editors about who would or would not be appropriate reviewers based on the content of the manuscript (Hewlett, 2002).
Step 4: Wait for reviewers’ feedback and respond to their comments and suggestions.
After submitting a manuscript, be prepared for the reviews and have a plan for how to proceed. Develop a thick skin. Remember, few people receive an outright acceptance, but a revise and resubmit decision is positive (Hewlett, 2002). If a revise and resubmit decision is received:
- Decide whether or not to pursue the revisions and resubmit the manuscript. Meet with coauthors to determine how to proceed. If revisions will be pursued, create a revision table that includes a cell for each reviewer comment, information about which changes were made and which were not, and an accompanying justification. Be sure to address each reviewer concern or comment, and ask for clarification from the editor whenever necessary.
- Keep in mind that not all reviewers are right 100% of the time. At times their suggestions may stem from not understanding a portion of the manuscript.
- Consider moving on to a second choice journal if the requested revisions are too extensive or are not possible given the constraints of the data.
- Be polite and professional in all written and verbal communication with the reviewers and the journal editor (Taylor, McKay, & Abramowitz, 2006).
If a rejection is received, select another journal and use the reviewers’ comments from the first submission to improve the manuscript (Chamberlin, 1999).
Remember, persistence is the key to successful publishing. We hope this column has helped students to realize they have the tools to succeed in publishing and provided some information to start the process. The TIP-TOPics MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/tiptopics) has additional information, resources, and a discussion forum related to publishing and other topics of interest.
References
Chamberlin, J. (1999). Unpublished? Try your dissertation. Retrieved August 2, 2007 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/dec99/ed1.html.
Fischer, C. C. (2004). Managing your writing for success: Passing the “gate keepers.” B>Quest. Retrieved August 2, 2007 from http://www.westga.edu/~bquest/2004/gatekeepers.htm.
Goddard, P. (2002). Promoting writing among psychology students and faculty: An interview with Dana S. Dunn. Teaching of Psychology, 29, 331–336.
Gump, S. E. (2004). Writing successful cover letters for unsolicited submissions to academic journals. Scholarly Publishing, 34(2), 92–102.
Hewlett, K. (2002). How to publish your journal paper. Monitor on Psychology, 33(8), 50.
Taylor, S., McKay, D., & Abramowitz, J. S. (2006). Publishing without perishing, part I: Suggestions for students and new faculty. The Behavior Therapist, 29, 4–9.
Zickar, M. J., & Highhouse, S. (2001). Measuring prestige of journals in industrial-organizational psychology. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist, 38(4), 29–36.