Research: From Ideas to Publication

Togar M. SimatupangSchool of Business and Management

Bandung Institute of TechnologyMonday, 24 June 2013

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BioTogar M. Simatupang

Service• Professor of Management Science (2010-

now)• Head of Master and Doctorate Program in

Management Science (2009-2010)• Assessor of National Accreditation Board

of Indonesia (BAN PT)• Member of Academy of Management USA• Member of Knowledge Management

Society of Indonesia (KMSI)• Reviewer: Business Process Management

Journal, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal

Publication• Management Decision• Total Quality Management• International Journal of Logistics

Management• Business Process Management Journal• Supply Chain Management: An International

Journal• Benchmarking: An International Journal• International Journal of Physical Distribution

& Logistics Management• International Journal of Value Chain

Management• Gadjah Mada International Journal of

Business• International Journal of Logistics Systems and

Management

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Outline• BOK of management• Theory of management science• Ideas• Criteria• Empirical research strategy• Overview of research methods• Category of research• Structure of a manuscript• Structure of scientific article• Publication process• Example• End note

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Performance, Quality, Leadership, Culture, Ethics

Decision Making and Negotiation

People Operations Marketing Finance

Entrepreneurship and Management of Technology

Strategy & Business

Economics

Body of Knowledge of Management

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Theory of Management Science

Prediction

Proposition

Real World

Theory and Model

Abduction Deduction

ActionInductionObservationVerificationProblem FindingModeling

FactsDataProblems

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Ideas

• Real world• Previous research• Sponsor• Government• Supervisor• Past research experience

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Criteria

1. Originality: the researcher2. Contribution: thesis and evidence3. Rigorousness: methodology4. Coherence: linear and consistent5. Presentation: communication

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Empirical Research Strategy

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Academic Publication

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Why publish

• Publications are central to your long term career – Without them, you won’t have one– They are the main criteria for jobs and promotion in

academia– You must have pubs to compete seriously in the academic

job market as a new PhD

• Only published studies count– They are the only real proof of valid research activity

• Grant money and publication are inextricable

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Publishing must be done – early, often, always

• You need to start publishing as early as possible• You need to focus on quality more than quantity• But you need steady productivity, of about 1-2 good

papers a year, starting the day you finish your PhD• Non-refereed publications don’t count for much

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Selecting your journal

• Make a conscious decision and have a strategy• Read the paper/ have a poster at a conference and

ask people• Give people a draft and ask them• Look at people working in your field – where is their

work being published?• Read the “scope” statements of journals carefully,

and recent contents• An invitation to publish in a place doesn’t make it the

right one

Journal Target!“Many papers are rejected simply because they don’t fulfil journal

requirements. They don’t even go into the review process.”

• Read the Author Guidelines – this is the definition of the journal

• Find out where to send your paper (editor, regional editor, subject area editor). Check journal homepages or publisher websites

• Send the outline or abstract and ask if it looks interesting to the Editor

• Confirm how an editor would like a submission – e-mail; hard copy/copies

• Read at least one issue of the journal

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High vs. low status journals• Top-tier journals have high citation rates, visibility,

but equally high rejection rate• About 10% of the papers get 90% of the citations• Current rankings by discipline are available “journal

citation reports” in web of science• Ranking counts, but isn’t everything • Ask yourself: who do I want to associate with

professionally? Who do I want to be reading my work… and what journals do they read?

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Structure of a Manuscript

• Title : summary of contribution• Abstract : summary of problem and solution• Introduction : what is the problem?• Literature review: are other research relevant?

why previous research insufficient?

• Body : what did you do? Details of what, how, and why?

• Results : what is your finding?• Conclusion : why is it important?

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Structure of Scientific Article

Style of IMRD• Introduction• Method• Results• Discussion• Conclusion• Implication

Style of Non-IMRD• Flexible format• Review articles• Argumentative articles

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Publication ProcessResearch Completion

Manuscript Preparation

Submission

Alignment and Peer Review

Decision

Revision

Re-submission

ReviewAcceptance

Publication

Rejection

Rejection

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Steps in scientific journal writing

• Preparation: – Setting the stage– Preparing your paper

• Selecting your journal• Paper submission• Dealing with revision and rejection• The editing process• JAR (copyright issues)

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Dear Editor,

• “I am submitting X to your journal Y”• Point being, cover letter needed• No, you cannot send it to another journal in

case this one rejects it or to save time.

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What will I hear?

• Editor will summarize with response• Peer reviewers comments are usually included• Usually 4 possible outcomes– Accepted without revisions– Accepted contingent on minor revisions– Revise and resubmit (R & R): most often– Go away (usually at least 50%)

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Example: Comments to the Authors (Emerald)

Common Questions:1. Originality: Does the paper contain new and significant information adequate to justify publication?2. Relationship to Literature: Does the paper demonstrate an adequate understanding of the relevant

literature in the field and cite an appropriate range of literature sources? Is any signficant work ignored?3. Methodology: Is the paper's argument built on an appropriate base of theory, concepts, or other ideas?

Has the research or equivalent intellectual work on which the paper is based been well designed? Are the methods employed appropriate?

4. Results: Are results presented clearly and analysed appropriately? Do the conclusions adequately tie together the other elements of the paper?

5. Practicality and/or Research implications: Does the paper identify clearly any implications for practice and/or further research? Are these implications consistent with the findings and conclusions of the paper?

6. Quality of Communication: Does the paper clearly express its case, measured against the technical language of the field and the expected knowledge of the journal's readership? Has attention been paid to the clarity of expression and readability, such as sentence structure, jargon use, acronyms, etc.?

Specific comments:7. Summary of the manuscript8. Analysis (and review) of the manuscript

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Dealing with Criticism and Rejection

Ask why, and listen carefully! • Most editors will give detailed comments (their own or referees’) for a

rejected paper. If not, ask. Take a deep breath, and listen to what is being said.

Try again! • Try to improve the paper, and resubmit somewhere else. Do your

homework, and target your paper as closely as you can

Don’t give up! • At least 50% of papers in business and management don’t get published.

Everybody has been rejected at least once.

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How do you respond the reviewer(s)?

Reviewer Comments:critiques, disagreements,

misunderstanding, etc.

Parallel Response:

Your responses

Reviewer Comments:critiques, disagreements,

misunderstanding, etc.

Serial Response:

Your responses

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Example of response (1)

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Example of response (2)

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Publication

Use "ebsco" as a user name and "dikti" as a

password.

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End Note

• Publication is part of scholar’s responsibility.• A scholar is judged from the results of

publication not from what has been started.• Publication is a process of learning by doing.• The effective way to learn is to learn from the

exemplar.• Keep improving and never surrender.

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Thank You