Presentation at the Young Academics Programme 2014, University of South Africa

1. Academic publishing: A
minefield or the Garden of Eden?
A researcher and
editor’s perspective
By Paul Prinsloo,
Research Professor in
Open Distance
Learning (ODL) &
Editor: Progressio,
South African Journal
for Open and Distance
Learning Practice
Presentation to the Young
Academics Programme,
Unisa
30 July 2014

2. Kate Bowles –
Life turns to beige…
Kate Bowles – On, on, on
Richard Hall –
On academic labor and performance
Claire Shaw and Lucy Ward
Dark thoughts: why mental illness is
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Lucas_Cranach_the_Elder_-
_The_Garden_of_Eden_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Circle-style-
warning.svg

3. Overview of the presentation
• Some disclaimers
• Understanding the field of being a researcher and
publishing research (1), (2)
• Factors shaping being a researcher and publishing
research
• Some paradoxes, current trends and issues
• What does an editor want…?
• Some dos and some donts
• (In)conclusion

4. Some disclaimers
• I cannot and don’t speak on behalf of all researchers or editors
• I provide some personal thoughts regarding being a
researcher (predominantly in the field of education) and as
Editor of Progressio, South African Journal for Open and
Distance Learning Practice
• All the images used in this presentation have been sourced
from Google labelled for non-commercial reuse. The links are
provided at the end of the presentation
• This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Lic

5. Understanding the field of being a
researcher and publishing research
Image retrieved from
http://www.allstaractivities.com/images/soccer-positions.gif
• Boundaried site
• Players have set/
predetermined
positions
• Rules are
predetermined
• Players have different
skills
• What players can do
is determined by their
position on the
field/rules
• The physical condition
of the field impacts
play

6. The “field” is not a benign, pastoral space, but rather le champ – a battle
field, where players have set positions, predetermined paces, specific rules
which novice players must learn together with basic skills (Thompson,
2012).
“What players can do, and where they can go during the game, depends
on their field position. The actual physical condition of the field (whether it
is wet, dry, well grassed or full of potholes), also has an effect on what
players can do and this how the game is played” (Thompson, 2012, p. 66).
Understanding the field of being a
researcher and publishing research (2)
[(habitus)(capital)] + field = practice/agency
(Maton, 2012, p. 50)

7. My dispositions - how
my past and present
(and my understanding
thereof) shaped and
still shape me
The capital that I
have acquired in the
process (or not)
The field – the
context in which I find
myself in. This is not a
neutral space, but is,
itself, shaped by
various structures,
and agencies of
individuals and
collectivesMy practice/agency and my
understanding thereof…
We are not “pre-programmed automatons acting out the
implications of our upbringings” (Maton, 2012, p. 50).
Constrained agency in research…

8. “…where we are in life in any one moment [is]… the result of
numberless events in the past that shaped our path” (Maton,
2012, p. 51).
Research agency is understanding that the choices we have in
any particular moment and time in a specific context, are shaped
by the positions we have in that particular social field at that
moment in time, and the choices we (can) make…
Complicating matters is the fact that the context we find ourselves
in (at that particular moment in time), has itself been shaped by
and is shaped by other contexts, individuals in an evolving power
play.
Being and doing research…

9. F
I
T
Tenacity Progression Positive experience
THE (SUCCESS OF THE )
RESEARCH PROCESS
Multiple, mutually
constitutive interactions
between researchers,
institutional context and
disciplinary contexts
Curiosity
Scan the
environment
Plan &
formulate
Execute
& collect
Analyse
&
interpret
Write
up
Submit
F
I
T
SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)
BEING AND BECOMING A
RESEARCHERIDENTITY,
ATTRIBUTES, HABITUS
TRANSFORMED RESEARCHER IDENTITY & ATTRIBUTES
Habitus, dispositions, identity, skills
& attributes
Inter & intra-
personal
domains
Modalities:
• Attribution
• Locus of control
• Self-efficacy
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
THE FIELD: DISCIPLINARY
CONTEXT, INSTITUTIONAL
CONTEXT, RESEARCH
REGIMES & CRITERIA
CHANGES IN PROCESSES, VALUES, REGIMES, & CRITERIA
Institutional policy and support
Disciplinary context
Rankings, journal foci, regimes, &
criteria
Regimes
Institutional
Disciplinary
Journal
Modalities:
• Attribution
• Locus of control
• Self-efficacy
SHAPING CONDITIONS: (predictable as well as uncertain)
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
F
I
T
Adapted from: Subotzky, G., & Prinsloo, P. (2011). Turning the tide: a socio-critical model and framework for improving student success in open
distance learning at the University of South Africa. Distance Education, 32(2): 177—19.

10. Factors shaping being a researcher and
publishing research
Macro context
shaping research
•Broader discourses
of publish or perish (or
increasingly publish
and perish)
•The politics and
practices of rankings,
citations
•Discourses on
intellectual property
rights and open
scholarship
Micro context
shaping research
•Changing academic
identities
•Teaching versus
research
•Performance contracts
•Promotion criteria
The role, rewards and
penalties of being a
researcher in a
particular discipline &
contextBeing a researcher
Doing research

11. Some paradoxes, trends and issues
• Who/what qualifies/determines what is regarded as research? The
role of networks, regimes, traditional metrics for measuring impact,
disciplinary context, etc.
• How does research differ between a teaching-intensive institution
and a research-intensive institution?
• How differently do we value, reward, & celebrate research done as
‘lone (but celebrated) hero’ or as collaborative research?
• How do we measure researcher impact? Citations? Different
metrics/Altmetrics/digital identities and footprints – see the work by
Laura Czerniewicz - Academics’ online presence: A four-step guide
to taking control of your visibility. Also see Hitchcock (2014) - Twitter
and blogs are not add-ons to academic research, but a simple
reflection of the passion that underpins it.

12. Being and becoming an
editor…

13. My own context: Some statistics re
Progressio
• A small but only South African journal dedicated to
open, distance and e-learning practice
• Accredited by the South African Department of
Higher Education and Training since 2011
• 2 issues per year (± 28 articles) plus a special issue
• Print run of 500 copies, articles on SABINET after a
period of 3 months
• During 2013 received 100 articles for review,
rejection rate of about 40%
• Required ratio of 51% outside of Unisa:49% Unisa
authors

14. Being an editor: Images and metaphors
http://openclipart.org/image/300p
x/svg_to_png/183011/WANTED
%20POSTER.png
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co
mmons/d/dc/Saint_Peter_the_Aleut.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Pest-Aids-
Projekt.jpg
If your article is accepted
the editor is a…
If your article is rejected
you want the editor …
If you must revise and rework the
article, the editor and reviewers
are ….

15. One morning when I woke up…
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs33/i/2012/056/6/6/were
wolf_by_jinkies36-d1l24xh.jpg
Parker, M. (2004). Becoming manager: Or, the werewolf looks anxiously in the
mirror, checking for unusual facial hair. Management Learning, 35, 45-59.
Very little research on becoming and being an editor… [Freda, M.C., & Nicoll, L.H.
(2011). The Editor’s Handbook: An Online Resource and CE Course. Philadelphia,
PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins]

16. Being an editor: What do editors find difficult?
(e.g., Gladding, 1982 – note the date…)
• Time to be an editor and meet other
professional duties (8-12 hours per week)
• Finding journal space for quality articles
• Managing correspondence
• Meeting publication deadlines
• Sending letters of rejection
• Selecting appropriate reviewers

17. As an editor, what do I look
for…

18. An editor’s wish list…
1. The “fit” with the journal – see the list provided at
http://academicjournalpublishing.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/choosing-right-journal-
no-1-reason-for.html
2. To what extent does the article present an original contribution to the field,
address a gap, contest previous research, break new ground? (Indicate it as
early as possible…)
3. How clear are the objectives/the research problem of the article and the line of
argumentation?
4. How thorough and current is the literature review and to what extent does the
literature review support the objectives of the article and line of argumentation?
5. How appropriate to the inquiry is the research design and methodologies?
6. To what extent does the presented evidence (whether empirical or conceptual)
support the article’s main argument and objectives?
7. How satisfactory does the article in its conclusion/recommendations describe
implications for the field?
8. Technical requirements: language, referencing, etc.

19. Some dos and don’ts
1. Ask for the evaluation criteria/metrics
2. When asked to rework the article, provide an overview of how you
addressed the concerns and issues raised by the reviewers. (Note: You
don’t always have to agree with them, but provide evidence or the rationale
why you don’t)
3. Make sure of the technical requirements and adhere to them. Yes, I know it
is a schlep…
4. When the article comes back, you have probably moved on. Stop
everything else and start immediately… It just gets harder the more you
postpone…
5. If it is rejected, look at the comments and resubmit (somewhere else?).
Illegitimi non carborundum
6. First things first – feed your curiosity, make lists, network, share ideas…
7. What keeps you going? Why do you do this? If you cannot provide the
answer, there possibly, is none…
8. Understand the field (see slides 4-9).

20. (In)conclusion
Image retrieved from http://www.allstaractivities.com/images/soccer-
positions.gif

21. Paul Prinsloo
Research Professor in Open Distance Learning (ODL) & Editor: Progressio,
South African Journal for Open and Distance Learning Practice
College of Economic and Management Sciences
Office number 3-15, Club 1, Hazelwood
P O Box 392
Unisa, 0003, Republic of South Africa
+27 (0) 12 433 4719 (office)
+27 (0) 82 3954 113 (mobile)
Skype: paul.prinsloo59
Personal blog: http://opendistanceteachingandlearning.wordpress.com
Twitter profile: @14prinsp
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

22. References (excluding those referred to with hyperlinks)
Gladding, S.T. (1982). Who becomes a journal editor? A composite picture of APGA
journal editors. The Personnel and Guidance Journal, 219—221.
Maton, K. (2012). Habitus. In Michael Grenfell (Ed.), Pierre Bourdieu. Key concepts.
Durham, UK : Acumen Publishing, pp. 48—64.
Subotzky, G., & Prinsloo, P. (2011). Turning the tide: a socio-critical model and
framework for improving student success in open distance learning at the
University of South Africa. Distance Education, 32(2), 177—19.
Thompson, P. (2012). Field. In Michael Grenfell (Ed.), Pierre Bourdieu. Key concepts.
Durham, UK : Acumen Publishing, pp. 65—82.