Publish or Perish?

[runonsentence]

On the teaching requirement bit: Our program is lower ranked, at what would be considered a private SLAC, with high research aspirations- definitely not R1.

When I asked about recent faculty hires in our department, they said that they didn't even ask about teaching experience of the applicants, that it wasn't a deciding factor at all.

Just something to think about.

Yes, you're right — it's more about the institutional (or even department) culture than the Carnegie research designation. I suppose that the two can often go hand-in-hand, though.

[eco_env]

One more question. When you guys say resubmit - you mean to a different journal, right? You never submit an atricle to the same journal, if rejected?

Depends. If they outright reject the paper, you can't resubmit it to the same journal, but if they tell you to revise and resubmit, you can resubmit it, if you think you can make the changes they ask for, or convince them that they are not needed.

[Strangefox]

One other thing about R+R that my DGS said: apparently not all R+Rs are created equal. When you get your memo from the editor explaining the R+R, you should carefully read it for the tone. If it looks like they are strongly encouraging you to revise and resubmit (they may even use "We at the Journal of _________ strongly encourage you to resubmit..") than you like have something like a 75% chance of it being accepted if you make the necessary changes. If however, the memo merely mentions that resubmitting is a possibility I've been told that this more like a 25% chance acceptance if you make the changes.

Also, I've seen research though I don't feel like going citation hunting that notes that while top journals have an acceptance rate of 10-20% the actual rate for acceptance of scholars in different stages of their academic careers is obviously very different. One of the ones I read noted that in my field that Senior faculty were successful 75% in publishing an article, Juniors something around 50 and grad students were substantially lower (10-25%). This finding shouldn't be surprising as hopefully we learn something about playing the game as we move up the career ladder, but it is probably helpful to remember when you get your first reject. It's not you; it just that grad students get this result much more often as we're all learning. Sometimes I find reminding myself that rejection is the modal response useful. I also remember reading a great article on how to deal with rejection in PS which is a journal APSA puts out on giving advice to polisci peeps.

http://www.political...g%20Failure.pdf

Very interesting, thank you!!

[runonsentence]

To piggyback off of IRdreams, I've seen a number of interesting presentations on the state of publishing in my field at recent conferences. One thing that might be helpful to remember as well for grads is that these acceptance rates we're seeing aren't always a measure of the quality of the manuscripts submitted, but also of the small number of pages a print journal has with which to publish. (And as a former production editor for a journal press, I can confirm that page budgets were always a huge issue.) That is, many journals would love to publish more papers that they deem acceptable for publication, but can't due to budget constraints.

I mention this for two reasons: one is so that aspiring grads feel a bit better about rejection notices, hah. The other, because I know that in my field at least, open-access electronic journals are gaining more traction. They, unfortunately, can still look less prominent to a tenure review committee, and possibly even a hiring committee. But it's something to think about, when writing for a publication venue. (And one should always target their manuscript for a specific venue!)

[Strangefox]

But it's something to think about, when writing for a publication venue. (And one should always target their manuscript for a specific venue!)

You mean, writing a paper with a specific journal in mind? So how does this "targeting" work? You mean, I can't simply do a research, write a paper and THEN look for suitable journals?

[Eigen]

I think you're a bit off on your process, Strangefox:

I'd suggest it like this- Do the research, do the analysis... Then pick a journal, then write the paper. You need to have a journal in mind when you write, since most look for slightly different styles in the writing, manuscript, order of sections, etc.

It also helps to target your writing to the "most likely" audience of that journal, which can help it get accepted. The research is the same, it's just about how you organize it and spin it.

[Strangefox]

I think you're a bit off on your process, Strangefox:

I'd suggest it like this- Do the research, do the analysis... Then pick a journal, then write the paper. You need to have a journal in mind when you write, since most look for slightly different styles in the writing, manuscript, order of sections, etc.

It also helps to target your writing to the "most likely" audience of that journal, which can help it get accepted. The research is the same, it's just about how you organize it and spin it.

Thank you!

I was just thinking that may be it would be easier (for me at least, or may be at this stage, may be I will evolve) to write an article first and then to gear it towards a certain journal. I'd prefer to have an paper ready in case there is a conference I'll want to take it to. And if I choose to try to publish it in a journal - I can always rearrange my article, tweak it for a certain venue. Like you wrote - the research stays the same.

Edited July 27, 2011 by Strangefox

[rising_star]

Sure, the research stays the same. But often journals will want you to focus your article in a particular way that most fits that journals focus, which can involve rewriting the literature review and introduction, tailoring the methods and discussion to a particular audience, and making sure that you have plenty of references to other articles published in that journal in your reference list. Making all of those changes can be a lot of work, which is why it's often suggested that you have a journal in mind when you're writing.

[Strangefox]

Sure, the research stays the same. But often journals will want you to focus your article in a particular way that most fits that journals focus, which can involve rewriting the literature review and introduction, tailoring the methods and discussion to a particular audience, and making sure that you have plenty of references to other articles published in that journal in your reference list. Making all of those changes can be a lot of work, which is why it's often suggested that you have a journal in mind when you're writing.

Oh, I did not know all that... I am glad this issue has come up!

[PhDMan]

there is no such thing as "publish or perish" for a grad student. you are in the mentoring stage and your supervisor will guide through and eventually get you to publish and/or present at least once in order to fulfil program requirements

however, you should have the incentive to publish and you will actually feel a sense of pride and accomplishment after your first publication. this will boost your confidence and encourage you to continue your studies.