Publishing Papers

[ramprasad]

Hi all, I don't know if this will concern everyone but here's my question -- How many papers (on average) do you guys expect to publish by the time you earn your PhD? I mean considering that we'll be busy taking classes, working as TA/RA, preparing for the qualifying exams and then working on the dissertation, when does one find time to publish papers.

I understand that people generally try to get two papers published out of their dissertation work. So is two the norm, or is it more than that.

Of course, more is always best. But what is expected?

[DarlinClementine]

I'm in a biology program and talking to a couple PIs, they seemed to think that at least two first author papers was good. One even said 3 would probably be good.

[jthh]

My advisor has told me she expects/wants me to publish two papers before I graduate. (I'm in applied linguistics/ESL.)

A good way to get the ball rolling is to do a book review first. Reviews don't "count," but I think it's a good way to learn something about the publishing process. I found it surprisingly easy to be assigned a book review by a well-respected journal in my field with just a short email request. Of course, I haven't written it yet...

[vitaminquartet]

Questions like this likely have discipline specific answers. Frankly in some fields (e.g. sciences and law ) I think its relatively easy to get things published and in others it is extremely difficult to get publications in respectable journals (e.g. philosophy ).

[ktel]

My current advisor is insane. He has 23 publications so far and got his PhD in 2008, MS in 1999. From what I can tell he had 15 publications from his Master's and was first author on 9 of them. He has 8 from his PhD, first author on 7 of them.

[Eigen]

For my field, we're "expected" to have around 1 first author publication per year, although it's usually none early on, and more than one per year towards the end.

I got started off (as someone a few years ago mentioned upthread) with a major review article- my PI had been asked to write a chapter for a book, reviewing a pretty broad subfield, and he passed it off onto me. It really got me into the literature, and helped me familiarize myself with most of the major players in my field, and their recent research. It also gave me a good bit of writing practice (it was a 60 page review).

As Ktel mentioned, though, it's very field dependent- and even subfield dependent. Some areas of Chemistry, 1 publication from your PhD is good... Some, you need closer to 10 to be really competitive. It depends on the pace of your research, and how much you need done (data, etc) to have something worthy of a publication.

[IRdreams]

It can also be program and methods specific within the same subfield. Within International Relations, scholars who rely upon available datasets are expected to have more pubs on average than a scholar who does primarily qualitative work as the later often takes significantly longer. If your program is known for a particular methodological approach to your sub-discipline, this could me that the expectations from highering committees about YourFabU here are likely shaped by their priors about the type of generally produced at your department.

[rising_star]

It will be a miracle if I have two publications by the time I finish. I'm in the social sciences and don't have an existing dataset to draw on so things take longer. I'll likely end up with 3-4 articles based on my dissertation. My hope is that one will be published and one in press by the time I go on the job market. That said, if it looks like I'll need more pubs, I have a side project that I could do that could more quickly lead to a publication.

[neuropsych76]

I'm in the sciences (cognitive neuroscience) and I think it's expected that I get around 2 or 3. I thought this was kind of low but the papers that are expected are first author top tier journal articles.

But yeah, like others said, it all depends on the field.

[runonsentence]

Though co-authorship is becoming more common, most publications in the humanities are single-authored, so it takes a lot of time to work to publication.

I've heard, for my field, that 2-3 published articles that create a trajectory that speaks to your research interests would be ideal when going on the job market. (This means that perhaps one would have more publications, but some of them—especially early ones—might not accurately speak to the kind of work one is doing on the dissertation and hope to do as a faculty membe.)

[Eigen]

I think the other thing that is field dependent is how many articles your dissertation encompasses- in my field, you don't put anything in your dissertation unless it's already been published, while in some of the social sciences/humanities, it seems like people get articles out of their dissertation after they write up.

[UnlikelyGrad]

In my department you need 3 at a minimum. One must have actually been published, two can be "in press" (i.e. in the revision phase)...

But really, it is sub-field dependent. We environmental types really can't expect more than 3 in a 4-5-year period--because most of our research is field-work dependent, and there are good odds that at least one of your field sessions (if not more) will be a colossal waste of time. But a theoretical chem student who defended recently had 9 papers under his belt!!

[SNPCracklePop]

Like the earlier folks have stated, depends on field and subfield. PIs have different expectations too (I can think of one who strictly wants at least two first author papers in high-impact journals and his students leave around the seven-year mark). Personally, I'm expecting 1-2 first author papers, not including reviews.

[Arcadian]

I expect to have in the range of 3-6 publications by the time I finish the program. However, several of these will be third/fourth/fifth author. (I have a couple of those in progress now.) If you mean only first-author publications, I expect two at the most...maybe even just one. But I really don't know.

[t_ruth]

I'm hoping to have 3-5 first author publications. I just got my 1st R&R from a top journal today!

In my field it runs the gamut. I think, like someone else said, it is about having a body of work with a good focus. I've seen people get great jobs with only 1 first author pubs (and a few non-first-author), and seen other people with 8+ first author pubs. The norm seems to be between 1 and 3.

[murkyama]

Congratulations, t_ruth on the R&R. That is exciting news.

I just got my feet wet with publishing a book review. I am now onto five other projects that will all go into submissions. One is co-authored, and the other four are single authored. I expect to have 3-4 publications before I earn my PhD to demonstrate to hiring committees that I am serious about publishing.

[Behavioral]

For my field, 1-2 first-authored papers at the A+ level journals is expected for a decent job. 3-5 pubs at A+ journals (or 2-3 really well-cited/high-impact pubs) will put you near the 'star' level in the job market.

[t_ruth]

Thanks murkyama! I'm excited and the R&R is actually pretty doable. It's a massive project w/10+ authors on it though, so I'm not sure if it will have as much impact as a few smaller solo authored or co-authored pieces.

[anthrogirl86]

This is a great thread! You guys are really lighting a fire under my a** to finish writing my publication (from my thesis) up and hopefully get it in press by this fall before I start my PhD program!

[Dal PhDer]

As others have said, I think it depends on your field and the structure of your program.

My advisor has told all of his students that he expects 1 publication a year (first, second, or third author).

I know a lot of people find it difficult during their first year to get papers published. I have heard some great advice on getting publications.

1) During your course work...try writing papers that you will submit for publication. You would be surprised at how a bit of extra work during your course can get you a publication. It doesn't have to be a research article, it could be a commentary even. But it is worth keeping it in the back of your mind when you are doing your courses.

2) Always have a side project. This can be really difficult if you are balancing TA work, RA work and course/dissertation work. I found it difficult, and I even let it slow me down a little. But asking your advisor or a committee member (depending on your discipline) if they have a dataset they are looking to get a publication or two from, is often a great way to get quick work out. A lot of faculty have data that they haven't gotten around to working with. Also, you would be surprised at the free datasets out there that you can do some quick analyses on and get a publication.

3) Submit to conferences that do published abstracts. This is a great way to beef up the CV, and while they're not as great as papers, they do count.

4) If you can make your comprehensive projects publishable papers- that's great! It's two birds with one stone!

5) Make your dissertation paper based....I think that's the most realistic thing to do.

I have to admit, even though this advice seems easy, it is so difficult to get papers out there. It's really hard to balance all the work and still be successful publishing- especially if you're doing it in conjunction with a professor/advisor. It can take a lot of time. I have had a paper on my advisor's desk just sitting there for the past 6 months waiting for him to give the okay. I honestly think that if you're not in a lab that is a papermill, then it's super difficult for students. It's almost a ridiculous feat to accomplish during your first year.

[aberrant]

In structural biology, I think 1 paper will be just fine (of course it's a plus if you have more). problem is that it takes a lot time (months to years) to develope a protocol, gain data, process data, and ultimately solve a marcomolecule structure/3D modeling regardless which approach you use. So, like most of the above, it mostly depends on your field.

[vitaminquartet]

As Ktel mentioned, though, it's very field dependent- and even subfield dependent.

lol I am pretty sure I was the one who made that point actually while Ktel made a completely different comment .

[vitaminquartet]

I published 4 single authored law review articles and two minor academic publications prior to beginning my PhD (next year)...however I am 1. manic 2. in law which is an easier field to get published in then probably any other.

[SgtExposition]

Also, for those of you in Humanities/Social Science: see if the journal publishes a list of books it wants reviewed but can't find a reviewer for. I know of a couple journals that do this, and you'll get a free book (and review) out of the process.

However, one of those journals also won't take on any reviewers who don't have their Ph.D. in hand already, so check on that as well.

[vitaminquartet]

I have heard in lots of places that book review writing is 1. good to do for phd students 2. doesn't 'count' for anything 3. but teaches you about publishing!

I am not sure how to reconcile these bits of advice. Writing a book review and having it published is totally different than writing an article or even a response paper and having it published, so I don't see how the former informs the later - and since only the later counts - I don't know why anyone should spend time writing book reviews (unless it is purely for personal enjoyment or because they want to promote or undermine some book - but not for self-development or career reasons).