Publish Early and Often
Michael B. Hargis, Angela K. Pratt, and David V. Kuttnauer
Wayne State University
As scientists-practitioners, one of the key roles we play as I-O psychologists is developing new knowledge that can help people in organizations work more effectively, efficiently, and hopefully with a higher degree of satisfaction. The only way that the new knowledge can contribute to the existing knowledge base and help peoples lives is through conference presentations, and, more importantly, through publication. Publications also play a significant role in determining the ease with which one will land a job (either academic or applied) upon graduation.
Given the importance of publishing, for both a new academics career prospects and for the advancement of science, we decided to investigate the strategies that may lead to successfully publishing as a graduate student. To that end, we contacted several individuals currently working as I-O psychologists who were prolific as graduate students in an attempt to find out the type of strategies they used to successfully publish as graduate students. Strategies recommended by
Gilad Chen (assistant professor, Georgia Institute of Technology), Lynn McFarland (assistant professor, George Mason University), and
Rob Ployhart (assistant professor, George Mason University) are described below.
1. Learn early about the research and publication process. From the time you begin to develop a research idea to the time it is published could take years (Chen). Due to the slow and arduous nature of the research process, Robert Ployhart suggests the importance of having a sense of time and urgency to help keep projects continuously moving forward. Recognize the importance of setting deadlines for yourselfand make sure to meet them because there are consequences if you dont.
2. Proactively pursue and participate in research. This means actively participate in research projects early on in graduate school. In addition, you should approach faculty to see what there is you can do rather than wait to be invited to work on a project. Also, start developing your own research ideas, and even design and execute your own studies to examine your ideas (Chen).
3. Work with multiple faculty (and other students) who publish frequently. Graduate students need to realize the importance of working with faculty who actively publish. Students are much more likely to publish when working with a professor or other students who have already learned the art of publishing and who are actively publishing their research (Chen).
Beyond simply increasing the likelihood of successfully publishing, working with multiple faculty will also provide the opportunity to learn different skills from each faculty member you work with and also learn different areas of I-O (McFarland).
4. Conduct your own researchon areas you find personally interesting. While it is critical to work with other faculty and students during graduate school, it is also important to spend time developing your own program of research based on your specific interests. Of course, it is okay to ask for faculty guidance, but you should do most of the work and take responsibility for completing the project yourself.
5. Work on multiple research projects. The likelihood of publishing increases, to a point, when working on more than one research project. If one project does not work out well, it is important to have other options. However, the process of working on multiple projects can lead to stretching yourself too thinso be cautious about taking on too many projects (Chen). Lynn McFarland further suggests that students need to ensure that the projects are at different stages of the research process. She suggests that at any given time, students should have at least one study in the data collection stage, one being written up, and one under review. This process will enable students to never wonder what the next project will be. Further, it will lead students to work towards developing a stream or program of research focusing on single areas.
6. Do both lab and field studies. Each type of study has trade-offs in terms of external and internal validity. By conducting both types of studies you can combine studies (lab and field) into a very solid and publishable paper! Obviously, it is exceedingly difficult to obtain access to organizational data, but if you can do it, the rewards could be a publishable paper (McFarland).
7. Get involved in both long-term and short-term projects. Some projects are clearly long-term ones, while others will have quick results. Eventually your involvement in long-term projects may pay off but that might be at the cost of doing other things. Thus, it is fine to commit to long-term projects, but always ensure you are also working on projects that will get done sooner rather than later (McFarland).
8. Spend time working on papers that will lead to publication, rather than only SIOP presentations. One possible way to accomplish this goal is to use SIOP as a motivating force to get the full draft of the paper complete, and when submitting the paper to SIOP, also submit the paper for publication (McFarland). Rob Ployhart further emphasizes the importance of being outcome oriented with research. Recognize the ultimate objective is to advance the state of science, so we all need to publish. This requires us to submit our completed research to journals. It is also important to note that almost every paper can find a home some place (it just might not be in one of the top journals). Never give upeven rejections provide good learning opportunities!
9. Get data where you can find it. For example use existing datasets (either data available from peers, faculty, or even published data) to examine interesting and important questions (Ployhart).
10. Take advantage of class papers. Utilize the papers from your class as first drafts for journal articles or as literature reviews for future projects. The effort put into a class paper cant help your career unless you turn it into a published paper (Ployhart).
Obviously, conducting and publishing meaningful research can be a long and challenging process but one that is necessary if you plan to work as an academic or practitioner. As mentioned previously, the publication and presentation of research findings is the driving force behind the advancement of our field. Furthermore, selection and tenure committees often consider publications in reputable journals as an important indication of research productivity and as a way to gauge merit with respect to tenure decisions. Therefore, it is important to start conducting and publishing research early and continue the publication process throughout ones career. We hope that the above list of strategies used by individuals who were able to successfully publish their research as graduate students and as junior faculty will serve as a useful guide for others.
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