RESEARCH STUDENTS AS AUTHORS (©29:5:15) Professor Peter Gilroy (d.p.gilroy@btinternet.com)

RESEARCH STUDENTS AS AUTHORS

(©29:5:15)

Professor Peter Gilroy(d.p.gilroy@btinternet.com)

Advanced Organiser

a) Production issues from the writer’s perspective.

b) Criteria used by referees

c) The Ten Commandments.

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Advanced Organiser

(a)Production issues from the writer’s perspective.

(b) Criteria used by referees

(c) The Ten Commandments.

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GETTING STARTED

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Novice writers...find countless reasons for not getting started. Even when they finally get themselves seated at their desks, they always seem to find diversions: make the coffee, sharpen the pencil, go to the bathroom, thumb through more literature.

Remember that you are never 'ready' to write; writing is something you must make a conscious decision to do and then discipline yourself to follow through.

(Bogdan and Biklen 1982, p.172)

WHY WRITE? – the Good

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Reading maketh a full man...and writing an exact man.(Francis Bacon)

If you want to understand something write about it.

Many suffer from the incurable disease of writing, and it becomes chronic in their sick minds.(Juvenal)

WHY WRITE? – the Ugly

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If you are on a Teaching & Research contract then you are obliged to carry out research and publish your findings.

If you do not then it could be argued that you are in breach of contract so…..

Ugly developments post-REF

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In some HEIs:

•You could be offered a new Teaching (& Scholarship) contract

OR

•You could be ‘let go’

WHY WRITE? – as a Research Student

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1. It will help you clarify your arguments

2. It will help you work up a section of your thesis

3. You will receive feedback from the editor and referees

4. It will encourage you to keep writing

1. It will begin the process of networking.

THE DISCIPLINE OF WRITING

Set deadlines.

Write regularly.

Create a rhythm of work.

Write up a minimum number of words per writing session.

Stop writing at a point where it is easy to resume writing.

Leave time for revisions.

Use the word-processor as a word-processor (for data, for references and for writing).

Publicise your plans.

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COMMON STRUCTURE OF A 100,000 WORD

THESISIntro. (5%?) = 5,000 words

Literature Review (20%?) = 20,000 words

Methodology (10%?) = 10,000 words

Methods (10%?) = 10,000 words

Results (25%?) = 25,000 words

Discussion (25%?) = 25,000 words

Conclusion (5%?) = 5,000 words

References10

COMMON STRUCTURE OF A 6,000 WORD PAPER cf

THESIS WORD COUNT Outline of your paper - Precise statement of the

scope and aims of the paper (5%)

Review of previous work (20%)

Description of procedure, sample & any tests used (20%)

Statement of results (25%)

Discussion (25%)

Summary and conclusions (5%)

References

Abstract.

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= 300 v 5,000 words

= 1,200 v 20,000 words

= 1,200 v 20,000 words

= 1,500 v 25,000 words

= 1,500 v 25,000 words

= 300 v 5,000 words

Advanced Organiser

(a) Production issues from the writer’s perspective.

(b)Criteria used by Referees

(c) The Ten Commandments.

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1. Refereeing journalarticles

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Practice varies depending on the particular journal and editor.

Referees are given rough guidelines on what they are expected to do.

An article is usually filtered by the Editor and then given to two referees who will be familiar with the subject of your paper.

Referees are usually given 4 weeks to comment on articles they receive. If they do not do this then they are usually removed from the referees’ list.

(Refereeing continued)

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Within circa 6 weeks of submitting an article you will be informed as to whether it: a. has been accepted without correction; b. is accepted on condition referees’ comments are responded to; c. is rejected as unsuitable for publication in the journal.

If there is wide disagreement between the two referees then it is the editor's decision which is final.

Referees’ comments are anonymous.

2. Criteria used… Title should reflect the content of the paper.

Clear introduction setting out the argument of the paper.

Structured argument.

Critical but not overly descriptive/contextual ‑ difficult balance (international).

Concepts clearly defined ‑ no ambiguity.

Research based evidence to support the argument or lit. critique.

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... Criteria usedConclusion which draws together the points

made.

Questions which have been raised by the paper.

Bear in mind the international readership.

Relevance to journal.

The most common weaknesses in articles?

X one or more of the above X 16

3. Dealing with Rejection

Do not despair!

We have all been rejected.

Leave it for a while.

Read referees’ comments carefully.

Consult colleagues (in your own department or outside).

Think of alternative journals.

Pull out something from the original and rework.

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4. Issues to consider before getting

started

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Conference Workshop ‑ try out ideas for papersat conferences ‑ e.g. BERA.

JET ‑ short articles which report on research in progress.

Critical friends ‑ let colleagues read your work ‑ in your department or outside.

Special Issues ‑ some journals have occasional Special Issues which focuses on one particular theme. These are publicised at conferences or in journal issues.

5. Suggestions

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As with writing generally, there are different ways of approaching writing a journal article.

There may be something you want to write about – do it then consider the journal,

OR

Research a particular journal that you use a lot and try and link in to the current debates in the journal.

Suggestions (continued)

Reference articles which have appeared in previous journal issues.

It is important to follow the guidelines for presenting the article – these vary from journal to journal.

Offer yourself as a book reviewer.

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Advanced Organiser

(a) Production issues from the writer’s perspective.

(b) Criteria used by referees.

(b) The Ten Commandments.

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The 10 Commandments1. Study back issue of a particular journal you are

interested in.

2. Look for papers which are related to your topic, so your paper could:

confirm something which you’ve read;

extend or take forward a particular argument which has already been made previously;

critique something;

argue that a particular angle or point has not been raised in the literature so far.

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Suggestions continued

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3. Concentrate your research agenda.

4. Generate papers from your thesis, but be ‘international’ and aware of audience.

5. Don’t put all your ideas/eggs into one paper/basket.

6. Publish papers before books.

7. Do not give unpublished papers away – know your I.P. rights.

8. Network and cultivate international co-authors.

9. Be aware of (unofficial) journal rankings.

10. Use your repository.

And finally……..Don’t just write for publication,

write for yourself.

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