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AAEA Graduate Student Section Guidelines on Writing and Submitting a Journal Article. Experiences and Advice on Choosing and Preparing a Publishable Topic. July 24, 2006 Jean Kinsey Professor, Dept. of Applied Economics Co-Director, The Food Industry Center University of Minnesota.
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AAEA Graduate Student Section Guidelines on Writing and Submitting a Journal Article Experiences and Advice on Choosing and Preparing a Publishable Topic July 24, 2006 Jean Kinsey Professor, Dept. of Applied Economics Co-Director, The Food Industry Center University of Minnesota
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Motivation - Choose a topic about which you are really curious. • See if any of your colleagues care. • Gather all the information about the issue that you can. • Design a thorough research approach -ask all the questions.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Execute the research and analysis thoroughly. *Compare to other data/studies. * Triangulate the information. * What do the numbers mean? * One more twist in a model is not enough! * What is the STORY? • Objective of publication: Diffusion of knowledge.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Decide why you are writing - to build your professional reputation or to inform a wider audience? • For professional colleagues? • For educated lay people/general public? • For policy makers and influential leaders in society?
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Write up the results systematically. • Have two other people read it and tell you what they think you said. -What did they not understand? • Rewrite until you make the points clearly.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • (Rewrite – edit – rewrite – edit)2 • After selecting the journal, put the manuscript in their format. • Knowwhen to quite and submit!
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic Selecting the right journal? • Prestige? (Promotion/tenure) • Right audience? • Right journal for your topic?
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • 1179 economics journals (EconLit Index) • Related topic journals i.e. Food distribution Logistics and Management Consumer behavior/affairs Science/Nature Environmental Policy/political economy • Popular Press – current issues welcome
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Journal Prestige- does it count? YES but…..numbers count too! • How is journal quality measured? • Impact Factor - # times an article from the past 2 yr. in the journal has been cited in J. Citation Report.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Top 10 Journals – 2005 - JCR • QJE, JEL, JEGeog, J Health Econ, J Econ Persp., Econometrica, J Econ Growth, J Fian. Econ., J Polit. Econ., Brookings Paper Eco Ac., • AJAE: 49th on impact • Ranking stable 1980-2000 except QJE and Econometrica improved.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Receiving reviewers comments • Stare at the envelop or email for a week – then open. • Read carefully – put away for a week – read again very, very carefully. If not outright rejected…… • Don’t wait! Respond as suggested, one point at a time! • Thank reviewers for their help.
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • Responding to reviewers comments • If rejected: run, don’t walk to another journal. • Revise as suggested by the first reviewers if it makes sense for the next journal. • Remember: a misinterpreted sentence is the fault of the writer, not the reader!
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic • General Advice: • Keep the pipeline full. • Select topics that are timely. • Water issues are coming to the fore. • Consumer behavior models are hot. • Energy production and conservation is hot. • Healthy food, healthy people are a concern. • Use joint authorship whenever you can. • Write every day!
Experiences and Advice on Choosingand Preparing a Publishable Topic References: http://www.econlit.org/journal_list.html http://jcr1.isiknowledge.com/JCR/JCR?RQ=LIST_Marked Barrett, C.B., A. Olia and D Von Bailey. 2000. “Subdiscipline-specific journal rankings” whither Applied Economics,” Applied Economics, 32, pp. 239-252. Liner G.H. and M. Amin. 2004. “Methods of Ranking Economics Journals,” Atlantic Economic Journal, 32, pp 140-149. P.C.C.Vieira. 2006. “Statistical variability of top ranking economics journals impact,” Applied Economics Letters,11, pp. 945-948