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Academic writing and and publishing

  1. Academic writing and publishing Presented By: GhulamFarid PhD Scholar- Information Management
  2. About the Author- James Hartley • James Hartley is Research Professor at the School of Psychology, The University of Keela, UK • Best Psychologist in UK • President of British Psychology Society • Expertise & Skills • Writing, Academic Writing • Creative Thinking, Design Thinking • Information Graphic, Visual Information • Behavioral Sciences, Cognitive Psychology • Publications- 283 • Citations- 4,339
  3. Sections in the Book Section 1 Introduction Section 2 The academic article Section 3 Other categories Section 4 Other aspect of academic writing
  4. Section 1- Introduction- Why write and publish • To share your practice with others • To increase the impact/visibility of your work • To disseminate your research findings • To explore topics of interest • To add to the existing body of knowledge and create new knowledge • To gain recognition • To enhance your curriculum vitae • To promote your institution • To express yourself in a creative • Personal satisfaction
  5. Reasons for writing/ Why do you write? I can’t do normal work like other people I write to be alone I am angry at all of you I like to be read I love sitting in a room all day writing I hope to understand why I am so very, very angry at all of you I can only participate in real life by changing I have begun a novel, a page, I want to finish it I want others/ all of you I write not to tell a story, but to compose a story I love the smell of paper I have a childish belief in the immortality of libraries and in the ways my books sit on the shelf I believe in literature I am afraid of being forgotten It is a habit, a passion
  6. Different Types of Publications • Newsletter • Professional magazine • Popular Magazine • Academic (peer- reviewed) Journal • Hybrid Journal • Poster • Book Review • Book Chapter • Book (single author) • Book (edited collection) • Other opportunities – conference presentation, radio broadcast, television, social media
  7. Section 2- The academic article oTitles that announce the general subject oTitles that specify a specific theme oTitles that indicate the controlling question oTitles that just state the findings oTitles that indicate that the answer to a question will be revealed oTitles that announce the thesis oTitles that emphasise the methodology oTitles that suggest guidelines oTitles that attract by using literary
  8. Title • Motivate reader’s interest • Working title/final title • Final title should summarise the main idea of the manuscript • Attract and inform the reader • Be accurate • Be fully clarifying when standing alone • Facilitate indexing and retrieval (avoid using abbreviations) • Suggested length no more than 12 words
  9. Author’s Contribution • Conception and design of the study • Collection of the raw data • Statistical expertise/advice • Analysis and interpretation of the data • Drafting of the article • Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content • Administrative, technical and logistical support • Final approval of the article.
  10. Author’s Name & Institutional Affiliation • Use the same method throughout your career • Forget all titles and degrees (e.g. Dr., PhD) • Where is more than one author, names should appear in the order of their contributions • Institutional affiliation should appear under the author’sname • Provide an e-mail address for correspondence
  11. Structured Abstracts • Limited more information • Easier to read • Easier to search • Generally only required with a peer- reviewed article • Two types –informative and structured • Details essence (not the same as introduction)
  12. Cont.…. • Compare the abstract with an outline of the manuscript’s headings to verify its accuracy • Use clear and concise language • Use verbs rather than their noun equivalent (investigates rather than investigation) • Use active rather than passive verbs • Begin the abstract with the most important points • Length determined by journal–typically range from 150 to 250 words
  13. Key Words • Use simple, specific noun articles • Avoid terms that are too common • Do not repeat key words from the title • Avoid unnecessary prepositions • Avoid abbreviations • Spell out Greek letters and avoid mathematical symbols • Include only the names of people (profession) • The way your article will be retrieved by databases/search engines etc
  14. Introductions • Introduces the practical content of the paper/the research question/the problem • Tells why this issue/problem is important • Sets the scene • States the purpose • States the scope • States how issue is addressed/Describes the research strategy • Explains how this work relates to previous work in this area • Usually starts from the general and progresses to the specific
  15. Literature review • Tells what others have found on the topic • Provides a context • Understanding about knowledge • Author is familiar with thinking on a topic • Understands where their work fits • Highly selective and specific • Link your findings and conclusions back to the literature review
  16. Methods • Describes how the study will be • Different types of studies have different methodologies • Subsections where relevant e.g. • Participant characteristics, • sampling procedures, • research design
  17. Results • Summary of collected data • Analysis of data • Findings • Interpreted • Relating them about hypotheses and methods • Where required e.g. statistics, tables, charts, maps, or quotes
  18. Discussions • Move 1: Examine, interpret and qualify results • Move 2: Evaluate how the results fit in with the previous findings – do they deny, qualify, agree or go beyond them? • Move 3: List potential limitations to the study • Move 4: Offer an interpretation/explanation • Move 5: State the implications and recommend further research
  19. References & Footnotes References • Follow journal guidelines • Complete • Accurate Footnotes Provide additional content
  20. Drafting and Redrafting • All writing is rewriting • Draft and redraft • Number, date and save drafts • Refer back to your abstract • Ask a critical colleague to read • Revise title, abstract & article • Check references against journal guidelines • Spell check • Date and File preprint (pre-refereeing) • Let go
  21. Submission • Professional Journal – editor • Academic Journal – peer-review • Usually double blind peer review – Accept as is – Accept with revisions – Revise and resubmit – Reject
  22. Responding to referees • Referee 1: Accept • Referee 2: Accept with revision. This paper addresses an interesting and important topic . . . Despite this . . the results are somewhat of a mixed bag overall. Accordingly I would recommend the following revisions before it is considered for publication. • Referee 3: Reject. [. . .] This paper conflates (this technical task) with some non-technical terms, some common-sense beliefs about reading and writing that there is no strong evidence for, normative expectations of what texts should be and moralistic stances towards textual patterns.
  23. Why editors reject manuscripts • Author guidelines not followed • Not in-depth (little substance) • Bad writing (lack of clarity) • Subject of little/no interest to readers • Poor statistics, tables, figures • Subject or data out of date • Unprofessional appearance • Title • Too simple – reporting • Written at the wrong level
  24. Section 3- Other Categories- Books • Different Types of the books • The popular science book • The edited collection of previously published papers by the same author • The edited collection of previously published papers written by different authors • The edited collection of original chapters written by several different authors • The conference collection • The handbook • The individually authored textbook
  25. Theses • A thesis is much like a graduate student: It has a limited purpose and a small audience; it is often insecure and defensive, justifying itself with extreme documentation; it is too narrowly focussed; and it has not yet developed a style of its own. (Luey, 2002, p. 34)
  26. Different kinds of thesis • Traditional (simple) • Introduction • literature review • materials and methods • Results • discussion and conclusions • the IMRAD
  27. Traditional (complex) • introduction; • background to the study • literature review; • Background theory and methods (optional); • study 1 – IMRAD; • study 2 – IMRAD, • study 3 etc.; • general discussion and conclusions.
  28. Strategies for the beginning thesis writer • Try to be well organised • Examine two or three theses in your discipline/area • Write from the beginning • Make and keep clearly categorized (back up data) • Discuss what you are doing it/ with fellow students all the time • Think of how you might publish each chapter • Appropriate procedures for presenting text- Reference • Read the requirements of your institution • Submit regular drafts of subsections of your thesis to your supervisor • Make sure your supervisor eventually sees the thesis as a whole
  29. Conference papers • “The essential launching pad for nearly all scholarly careers” (Gould, 1995, p. 37) • Power Point • computer-based slides are most common • appreciate the clarity • seven words per line, and seven lines per slide (7*7 rule) some (5*5)
  30. Posters • 4 feet (120 cm) • 2.5 (75 cm)
  31. Section 4- Other aspects of academic writing • Finding, keeping and disseminating information • It is accessible twenty-four hours a day • You do not have to visit a library • To find information relatively quickly and conveniently • You can choose between saving, printing or reading the information from the computer screen • Sources on the Internet are often more up to date than sources in paper format
  32. Choosing where to publish • Author decide where to published their article • 20,000–25,000 peer-reviewed academic journals • In UK and USA- Mostly online journals • Most authors preferred they published their work in peer reviewed
  33. Some typical criticisms of impact factors • Does not necessarily reflect the quality of all of the articles • No correction is made for self-citations • Review articles are heavily referenced • Books are not included in calculating impact factors • Impact factors vary in different disciplines • Small research areas tend to lack journals with high impact factors • High-quality research in non-English journals is rarely cited.
  34. Open-access journal • Author puts findings/paper online for free • Author pays to publish online in an open-access journal • Author’s institution pays for the author to publish online in an open access journal • Research funding agencies pay for publication of the research findings • Online in an open-access journal
  35. Delays in the publishing process
  36. WRITER’S BLOCK- Factors in writer’s block • Delay • Fear of failure • Criticism • Neatness • Time pressure • Personality factors and mood disorders
  37. Writers should • Make writing a daily activity • Write while fresh • Write in small, regular amounts, and avoid ‘binge sessions • Schedule writing tasks in small sizes • Share their writing with supportive, productive friends
  38. Practical suggestions • Make time to write • Do not aim for perfection on the first draft • Start by reading what you have produced • Make a note of the structure of the text • Do not stop writing at the end of a section • Do not stop to correct and revise • Reward yourself
  39. Writing best practices • Writing about what interests you • Making time to write • Organizing and providing structure • Sharing with others • Asking feedback • Testing surveys • Using statistics • Meeting your deadlines • Writing with a co-author
  40. Writing best practices • Revise, revise, revise • Should be able to answer the questions • What am I trying to say? • If someone new to my fields • Read this, will they understand it?
  41. Moving on with your writing • Write • Describe, reflect and evaluate • Talk/Network • Notebook • Data • Collaborate • Be strategic – Have a plan • Look for links/connections in what you do • Cite key people • Set realistic goals • Give and look for peer support • Consider everything you do as potential material for a presentation/paper • Set up a writing circle • Develop a culture of celebration around publication/presentation
  42. Common Writing Mistakes • No defined purpose • Waiting too long to identify the purpose • Too much detail; lack of focus • Lack of structure • Local story with no global context • Why is this important? • Wrong opinion • Inaccuracies
  43. Cont.… • Making the reader work • Failure to follow journal guidelines • Submitting an unfinished manuscript • Changing person throughout the paper (I, you, they) • Inconsistent use of tense (past and present) • Inconsistent mood (both casual and formal
  44. Guidelines for academic writing The author may not be expert • Use the first rather than the third person • Use short, simple words • Use active tenses • Sequencing in sentences • Place sequences in order • Avoid negatives • Avoid abbreviations • Avoid overloading the text with references • Contrast sentence lengths
  45. Guidelines for academic writing • Use short paragraphs • Use numbers or bullets • Settings for lists • Use subheadings • Print out and revise • Read the text clearly • Ask other people to read your drafts • Read and listen to other authors • Revise continuously . . .
  46. Writing Activity- Plan • Writing goal Topic and purpose List of ideas to cover • Writing approach Mood – formal or informal Research method Publications to target • Resources required People to consult or interview Tools Time Research and investigation • List of tasks to do • Tentative time line and schedule for project milestones
  47. So, do you want to write an article, thesis or book?
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