Writing a Good Journal Paper

1. Writing a Good Journal Paper Cecilia Wong Professor of Spatial Planning and Director of Centre for Urban Policy Studies The University of Manchester Cecilia.wong@manchester.ac.uk

2. Publish &/or Perish • Dissemination and publication is part of academic life • lots of advice on how to publish: substance/ strategy/ skills / luck • Guide to academic publishing in Geography e.g. www.nuim.ie/nirsa/geo-pub/geo-pub.html • research assessment culture and funding allocation regime

3. Build a publishing strategy • Think about publishing strategically in both short and long terms • Plan ahead and consider alternative avenues you may be taking • Copyright: don’t waste a publication e.g. once publish on the web or in a book chapter, refereed journals will not accept it • Update your plan and strategy from time to time to seize opportunities and to seek advice from senior academics • Carving up your PhD thesis into different potential journal papers - lateral thinking

4. Different publication sources • Books (edited or authored, research or text) • Invited book chapters in edited books • Journals (academicvs professional/popular) • Conference proceedings • Research reports • Newspapers • Popular electronic media

5. Author credits • The norm varies from field to field e.g. name order, group credits and also from country to country • Fairness vs the danger of stepping out of line • Norms about publishing with supervisors vary • Need to discuss openly about credit-sharing with your supervisor(s), talk to his/her other PhD students

6. Seeking academic mentoring • Normally will be your supervisors, research centre directors or project directors • If not, seek out alternatives e.g. adopt a mentor from the senior academics you meet • Find an author that you admire their writing style and use s/he as your model.

7. Academic journal papers: (1) • Select a journal before writing the paper • Reputation – and its limit for your strategy • Citation – varies from field to field • International, refereed journals (double blind review): carries more weight • Relevance to the topic • Recent editions of the journal: the expected content, level of scholarship, format & style, what and who has published recently, and the 'notes for contributors’

8. Academic journal papers: (2) • Title • Abstract and key words • Introduction • Main content: literature review, conceptualisation and framing, methodology, analysis and findings • Conclusion • Acknowledgements • References (footnotes and endnotes) • Supported by tables, figures and maps – copyright and permission

9. Academic journal papers: (3) • Strategise for an international audience • How to frame your arguments so that they are of international interest • Try to contextualise the materials and guide the readers – depends on how footloose is the topic • Put yourself in the reviewer’s shoes • Seek comments and advice from others • Polishing and proof-reading

10. Academic journal papers: (4) • Electronic submission e.g. manuscript central • Follow the instructions carefully (e.g. don’t forget to remove your name) • Review by ‘recognised’ academics in the field – normally between 3-5, hope to have 2 back • Most stringent – double blind review • The role of editors • The role of editorial board • Guest edited issue

11. Academic journal papers: (5) Typical review criteria: • Importance of subject • Originality of approach • Soundness of scholarship • Level of interest and pertinence for the journal’s readership • Quality of article structure • Depth and strength of argument • Clarity of expression • Graphic material appropriate

12. Academic journal papers: (6) • It could be a lengthy reviewing process: range from 3 -14 months • Reviewers’ reports (can be different for the editor and for the author) will be sent to the editor • The editor need to make a decision and then communicate back to you • The dilemma of revisions!

13. Academic journal papers: (7) • How to deal with reviewers’ comments – can be mean, rude and nasty, but many are constructive and helpful! • How to make a cover letter to catalogue what have been revised? (some required track changes) • Don’t argue with referees!? • Be positive and ‘thick skin’ • Be persistent – move down the peck order of journals • Revision makes better papers • Hopefully, accepted for publication, wait for the proofs arrived for final checking • Can take up to 12 to 24 months before in print

14. Academic journal papers: (8) • to strengthen an argument • to bring in new material, ideas and thinking • to better structure the paper • to remove repetition and redundant material • to summarise passages of text into one or two sentences • to delete references and quotations which are not essential to your discussion • to replace lengthy descriptions by tables and charts where possible • to butcher whole sections where these are not central to your argument