Publish - perish?
Publish - flourish!
Jean-Marc Dewaele
Deptm of Applied Linguistics &
Communication
Structure
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Introduction
Obtaining data, analysing results
Getting feedback
Finding journals
Submitting
Revisions
Establishing networks, attending conferences
Moral and ethical standards
How much is enough?
• Under the academic adage "publish or perish,"
would Galileo receive tenure at the University of
Pisa today? Sure, he was smart-he proved
Copernicus's theory that the earth moves around the
sun. But what about his publishing record? Galileo
took six years to write his treatise, The Dialogue on
the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and
Copernican. Church censorship, peer review, and
the plague caused further delays, and three more
years passed before the book was published-and
not by a university press. And how original was The
Dialogue anyway? Was Galileo simply proving
Copernicus's ideas?
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Donna Euben (2002) Publish or perish: The ever-higher publications hurdle for
tenure. Academe
The importance of publications
• Academic career depends on publication list
• Young PhD graduate: a few publications may
convince potential employer of research
potential (enough to get you shortlisted)
• Something is better than nothing
• Yet, avoid publishing crap
• Strategic plan is useful: publish what, where,
at what pace, with whom?
An immodest note to establish my
“credibility” on the topic
• 1 monograph, 3 edited books, 5 special issues,
116 refereed papers & chapters, 25 nonrefereed papers, 37 book reviews
• Assistant Editor of International Journal of
Bilingualism, Reviews Editor Sociolinguistic
Studies (2006-2010), Editor Birkbeck Studies in
Applied Linguistics (2006- )
• Editorial board member of Intercultural
Pragmatics, EUROSLA Yearbook, International
Journal of Multilingualism, Canadian Modern
Language Review
• 90 papers at conferences, 13 plenary speeches
Membership of Executive
Committees
• President of the European Second Language
Association (2007-2011)
• International Association of Multilingualism
(founding member)
• International Association of Applied Linguistics
(2002-2008), Research Network Convenor of
Multilingualism: Acquisition & use (2005-2011)
• Association of French Language Studies (20002005)
How to get published
• Is the research topic hot?
• Do you belong to a network of people
interested in the topic? => go to conferences,
talk to major researchers in the field, contact
authors if paper if not easily accessible (a little
flattery can help)
• Keep an eye on call for papers of conferences
or special issues or edited books
Conference presentations
• Excellent to get noticed
• Learn to use Powerpoint effectively (keep it
simple)
• Don’t try to cram too much in 20 mins talk, make
sure there is some time left for discussion)
• Be clear, don’t speak too quickly (don’t read
text!!!)
• Try and make the audience laugh
• Welcome all suggestions, acknowledge limitations
of study, refer to future work
• Never pretend to know it all (nobody does)
Create your own network
• If you work on a novel topic: organise
workshops, colloquia at international
conferences
• Have contributors agree on submitting their
papers for special issues in international
refereed journals, or an edited book
• Plant the flag and establish your own little turf
• => one criterion for later promotion is whether
you are recognised as a leading figure in one
(sub)field
Become a “node” in networks
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Become a member of professional organisations
Be present at their annual meetings
Stand for election of executive committees
Accept invitations to become member of editorial
boards of journals (after regular reviewing)
• Accept invitations to become actively involved in the
running of journals and bookseries (but don’t overdo
it)
• Accept invitations to join boards of grant awarding
bodies
What to publish?
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Small research project =>pilot study
MA thesis findings
Critical review of literature on topic
Critical analysis of popular concept
“Discussion forum”
Book reviews for journals in your field =>
good way to get free books and get
noticed!!
Co-authored or single
publications?
• Depends on field
• Co-authoring with experienced
researchers can be great experience
• Combination of specific skills of authors
Finding the right journal: Aim high or low?
Quantity or quality?
• Aim for balance: some quick “low” level: conference
proceedings, web-based journals. Invest time &
energy in at least one/ a few prestigious publication/s
=> “if you can do one, you can do more!”
• Get your best work in the best journals (check them
out: impact factor?)
• Avoid non-refereed journals (unless it’s reviews or
opinion pieces for general public)
• Avoid volumes with low-prestige editors &/or authors,
&/or publishers
• Avoid editors that work slowly (you can’t wait 3-4 yrs
for your first publication to come out)
What to avoid in the paper
• Superficial literature search, Wikipedia-based
• Don’t claim that “very little” research has been done in
an area if you’re not 100% sure! => reviewers may
react negatively
• Sloppiness in presentation of text: respect style sheet,
make sure references are in right format, doublecheck list of references, make sure spelling of
surnames is correct
• Sweeping generalisations
• Claims that cannot be substantiated
• Rhetorical style that does not match that of journal
• Taking a side in a debate & ignoring the counterarguments (remain objective, don’t write a pamplet)
Getting your paper accepted
• Keep it simple (focus on one specific theme):
better to explain one idea in detail than many
superficially!
• Announce that idea in abstract, intro &
conclusion: refer to it in title
• Follow style, structure of papers published in
journal you have in mind
• If more ideas or themes come to mind: split it
off for future publications
Re-writing
• Be prepared to re-write ad nauseam
• Go through several revisions, feedback from
colleagues, supervisors, native speakers (if you
are not), reviewers, editors.
• Follow suggestions from editors
• Welcome useful suggestions but make sure
you remain coherent & consistent
• If you disagree with reviewer’s suggestions:
make a case to the editor
• Be self-critical, but not to the point of paralysis
What to do with rejected
papers?
• Read rejection letter (or first para), take deep
breath, don’t send angry impulsive emails
• Return to it when you’ve calmed down (couple
of days?)
• Take criticism into account, maybe change
angle of the paper, focus on strongest points, if
necessary rework design & analysis
• Submit to another journal
• See it as new project
• Aim for a slightly less prestigious journal
Don’t put all your eggs in the
same basket
• Work on different projects
simultaneously
• If one “fails” it isn’t a total disaster!
• Have studies at different stages of
completion
• Collaborate in other people’ projects
(but don’t end up doing all the work)
Moral standards
• Establish a reputation of a reliable & honest
researcher (always acknowledge your sources)
• Be prepared to give advice to those who seek
advice from you
• Accept to review papers from journals or
chapters in edited volumes
• Stick to deadlines
• Don’t be pretentious, don’t take your work too
seriously
• Be optimistic and friendly with colleagues
Ethical standards
• As a reviewer, make sure your give constructive
criticism together with your honest opinion
• Never be nasty or dogmatic
• If you guessed who reviewed your paper and you
meet that person: don’t start talking about the
paper unless the reviewer starts about it
• Don’t cite or use data of a paper you have been
asked to review
• If you wish to contact the author/s, ask the editor
to pass on the message
Final recommendations
• Research is fun!
• Publish and flourish! (it’s a game really)
• Writing up requires patience & perseverance: it
is worth the effort!
• Nobody is perfect: everybody sweats!
• Be thankful of the reviewer who sends you a 10
page report with criticism & comments: that
person has spent a lot of time and effort on
your work (and it may be a major name, who
might start referring to your work)