Student as Producer: Publication and Dissemination of Undergraduate Research

1. Student as Producer: Publication and Dissemination of Undergraduate Research Caroline Gibson, Managing Editor, University of Warwick

2. Reinvention: A Journal of Undergraduate Research • Part of the Reinvention Centre • Launched in September 2007 • Publishes undergraduate work – Student as Producer • Peer-reviewed • Multi-disciplinary and open to all • Collaborative • Subject Editors and International Advisory Board

3. Reinvention: A Journal of Undergraduate Research • Launch issue published in September 07, Volume 1 Issue 1 & 2 published in April and October 08. • To date over 72,000 hits on the website with over 11,000 distinct visitors since launch. • Huge interest from others wanting to do the same. • Absolute need and demand for such a publication from undergraduate students. • Natural outlet for research work undertaken through the Reinvention Centre and beyond.

4. The Journal • Reinvention offers a supportive environment for first time or more experienced authors • Peer review feedback is comprehensive and constructive • The journal enables students to disseminate their research findings to a wide audience • We hope to showcase the best of each subject’s undergraduate research

5. Training • Training now provided on writing for publication and peer review. • 130 students signed up in 10 days! • Aim is to increase confidence and experience of undergraduates. • Strong feedback so far and more sessions scheduled.

6. Some challenges to publishing undergraduate research • Students aren’t used to writing for publication • Is undergraduate research taken seriously? “I don’t mean to appear negative but is there really any point to a journal that is just for undergraduates?” • Will peer reviewers ‘go easy’ on students and what standards should we expect? In rejecting a manuscript, one peer reviewer wrote that ‘this paper is not publishable, even in an undergraduate journal”

7. Some challenges to publishing undergraduate research • Shouldn't students seek to publish in "real" research journals? ‘I am probably missing a trick here, but why would I suggest to my students that they publish their physics research in your journal rather than the existing and well-recognised professional literature?’ • Can a journal be sustained with rapid student turnover? • Who are the peers in peer review? ‘Not being an undergraduate, I am in no position to write peer reviews of undergraduate manuscripts’.

8. The Upside! • ‘I had promised myself I was not going to do any more reviews this year…however, I really respect what you are doing, so if you'd like to send me the paper I will be happy to review it’ • ‘Best wishes - and congratulations on this initiative, it's really something that I was hoping might exist one day! ‘ • ‘This is such a good initiative and we had been talking/ wondering about similar ideas - but not yet got as far even as a clear idea of what we might do, so this is also timely’ • ‘I am just emailing to applaud your journal for undergraduate research. I have just read the latest issue and I must say it is impressive!’ • ’I am writing to congratulate you and your colleagues on this exciting initiative. In my own undergraduate days I only discovered journals just before graduating at bachelor’s level, and resenting the way these rich storehouses of knowledge were kept from me in my earlier undergraduate years.’

9. The Author Experience • Writing for publication is different than writing essays or reports: ‘It made me engage with the topic in far greater depth than is usual with undergraduate study; the extra motivation existed because of the promise of a tangible end product, and a sense of actively creating something, rather than the usual undergraduate activities of writing essays simply to ‘make a grade’ ‘The feedback was brilliant, it was far more detailed than I had experienced with assessed/ class work and I had not predict such a detailed response. To date it has been the single most helpful process with regards to my writing skills.’ • Students are gaining different skills: ‘It is useful in developing confidence in students, enhancing academic writing and the ability to take on board constructive criticism’

10. The Author Experience • Having work published increases confidence: ‘…even if the work produced is not cited by professional academics, its real value lies in the confidence and inspiration it can give to undergraduates’ ‘Ultimately the experience has given me a greater level of confidence in my abilities and helped me to realise that even as a student I might still have something important to contribute the production of knowledge’ • Students become producers: ‘It was nice to know that some of the undergraduate students at Warwick were using my article in the masculinities module in the week where they learn about gender and work’

11. What now? • Journal continues to grow • Priority is sustainability • Encourage more submissions from the ‘quieter’ disciplines • More training for undergraduates • Research the student experience • Research academic attitudes to undergraduate research and publishing

12. www.warwick.ac.uk/go/reinventionjournal