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.
3
GETTING STARTED
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)
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WHY WRITE? – the Good
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)
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WHY WRITE? – the Ugly
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…..
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Ugly developments
post-REF
In some HEIs:
•You could be offered a new Teaching (& Scholarship)
contract
OR
•You could be ‘let go’
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WHY WRITE? – as a
Research Student
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.
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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 THESIS
 Intro. (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
 References
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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%)
=
300 v 5,000 words
= 1,200 v 20,000 words

Description of procedure, sample & any tests used (20%)
= 1,200 v 20,000 words

Statement of results (25%)
= 1,500 v 25,000 words

Discussion (25%)
= 1,500 v 25,000 words

Summary and conclusions (5%)
= 300 v 5,000 words

References

Abstract.
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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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1. Refereeing journal
articles
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.
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(Refereeing continued)
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.
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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 used
 Conclusion 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
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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
Conference Workshop - try out ideas for papers
at 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.
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5. Suggestions
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.
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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 Commandments
1. 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
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.
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And finally……..
Don’t just write for publication,
write for yourself.
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