Publishing and career development: how to

get publishedColin BlackmanCamford Associates

Editor, info

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DIRSI International Workshop

Research and Public Policy Impact on Telecommunications in Latin America

Santiago, Chile, 16 May 2012

Agenda for this sessionWhat is publishing?

Building your “personal brand”

Where to publish

The journal review process

How to guarantee your paper is published

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Colin Blackman: a portfolio career?

Interdisciplinary first degree – science and social science, science & technology policy

PhD in food and agricultural policy

Publishing career in policy journals

Consulting career with SQW and then independent

Started Camford Publishing company

Now combining editorial and consulting activities

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What is publishing?

“to make public”

In other words, it’s about marketing

Publishing as part of marketing and communications strategy

Your personal brand

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What is your personal brand?

“Your reputation as a worker combined with a promise of your potential and impact on future employers”

Your brand, or who you are, communicates value to potential (or current) employers in ways that make you stand out from the crowd

Academic reputation is important

Importance for career development in the wider world of work

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Building your personal brand

An online presenceInstitution web pageSocial networking sitesBlogging, website

Get involvedBuild relationships with other

institutionsOrganize a workshop or conference or helpSupport a journal – review books, book

review editor, write conference reports, offer to referee

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But be careful!

•The persistent electronic footprint

•Employers will Google you

•You are accountable for your actions

•Treat it like a postcard

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Does publishing still matter?

Still necessary to publish in reputable places for:Career developmentOpening up new opportunitiesLearningKudosetc

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Where to publish?Identifying and targeting journals

Your research, colleagues, databases Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge

Understand how different journals define quality Practical applications Originality Clarity and readability Methodology Contribution to the field Mix of features International appeal

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Exercise: describe your research

1.Find a partner

2.Imagine you are writing a paper based on your current research or interest

3.Write down the answer to 2 questions:1. What is this paper about?

2. Why does it matter?

4.Read what your partner has written

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The journal review process

Submitting a paper

What is the editor looking for?

The role of the referee/reviewer

The editor’s decision

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Testing your paperAsk a colleague or friend to assess it:

1. Purpose: is it clearly stated on the first page?

2. Key points: logically flowing from point to point with signposting, such as subheadings, introductions and conclusions to sections?

3. Implications: clearly specified, with special attention to who the implications are for and what readers can do next?

4. Readability: jargon-free, familiar words, reasonably short sentences, easy to follow theme?

5. Appeal: Would they go back and read it more thoroughly?

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What is the editor looking for?

The editor does a first filtering on relevance and quality

Does the paper fall within the editorial scope of the journal?

Does it pass a basic test of quality and originalityIs it readable?Evidence that the author knows the relevant

literature?Any signs of plagiarism?

Is it worth sending to a reviewer/referee

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Consider the editorSome things that irritate editors:

Receiving an article which is not in tune with the editorial aims of the journal

Receiving an article when the authors have clearly not read the notes for authors

Articles that don’t cite relevant literature from their journal

Not hearing back from authors when revisions are requested

Finding out, after the article has gone through the review process, that it has been accepted elsewhere. The author ignored the clear instruction not to submit the paper to more than one journal at a time

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Some articles outside info’s scope

A Value-Based Approach on Willingness to Pay: The Case of An Online Audiovisual Heritage Service

RESEARCH PRODUCTIVITY MODELLING ON INDIAN GENOME RESEARCH

Implementation of BTOP Funding for Public Computing Centers: Perspectives from principal-agent theory

Use of quality information for decision-making among livestock farmers: Role of Information and Communication Technology

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The refereeing process

Choosing reviewers

One, two or three referees?

“Double-blind” refereeing

Questions for the referee

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Questions for referees1.Originality

2.Relationship to literature

3.Methodology

4.Results

5.Implications for research, practice and/or society

6.Quality of Communication

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What do referees criticize? Research question unimportant

Findings lack significance

Poorly written

Conclusion not justified

Inappropriate methodology

Errors in logic or analysis of data

Unoriginal

Boring

Good but not right for this journal

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The editor’s decisionOptions for the editor:

Accept the paper as it stands Ask for minor revision Ask for major revision Ask the authors to resubmit Reject the paper

Author’s response Agree – revise accordingly and/or explain why

not Disagree – if misreading, redraft; if reject

criticism provide reasons

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Summary: how to guarantee publication

The main criteria: Target the right journal Understand what the journal wants in terms of

quality Answering the “so what” questions: “What is

this paper about?” and “Why does it matter?”

Read the notes for authors

Structure your paper clearly

Consider your audience

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Thank you

colin.blackman@camfordassociates.com

www.camfordassociates.com