Publishing a Paper

[twentysix]

I have an original work of history that I wrote as my "senior thesis." I have presented it at an international conference and it won the student paper award at the conference (A very large interdisciplinary conference, the program was 155 phone book size pages, hopefully it had a lot of competition). Presenting the paper and it winning the award are unrelated, it was accepted on its own merits for presentation before the conference knew it was written by a student. I have been told to submit it to "Xxxx" journal, which is a specific journal focused on a specific geographic region within the USA run by a state historical society. The journal is an academic peer-review type journal, but isn't particularly well known outside of the region. I have been told that the paper is publishable in its current form and that it is a likely "accept" or "accept pending revision."

 

I am wondering if I would benefit more for a PhD application (in about 3 years) if I were able to get it published while I am still an undergrad, or should I wait and submit it in the fall when I am a graduate student (MA), or does it make no difference?

 

Either way I realize that it is entirely possible, probably even likely, that it will be rejected either way despite what I have been told by "seasoned" profs. I just want to see if there is any additional possible benefit that can be milked out of this CV line regarding when I submit the article (again assuming that it is accepted, which it may not be).

 

I look forward to responses from people "in the know."

Edited April 13, 2015 by twentysix

[lewin]

I'm way outside your field but of the opinion that it's best to submit to the best possible journal that you can. You have some time, so what's the harm if it's rejected from a great journal or two in the meantime? Submit to the lesser known journal as a plan B or C.

 

As to your question about being an undergrad or MA student when you submit it, my vote is that it doesn't make a difference. It's impressive to have one's undergrad work published, but when you submit it doesn't seem important.

Edited April 13, 2015 by lewin

[qeta]

I agree with lewin that it doesn't matter when you submit the paper and also that you should work your way down a chain of suitable journals, with the highest ranked first. I wouldn't be so sure that it wouldn't be accepted for publication - you might need to revise it quite a bit, but it seems like you have a good shot.

[fuzzylogician]

It doesn't matter when you submit. What matters is when you did the work. Along with the others, I would recommend aiming as high as possible with this. If you get rejected, you can always then submit to a lower ranked journal. Three years should be a long enough time to go through the review process, even if you need to do it twice. Since it sounds like you are off to an MA program, I would consider whether or not it would be beneficial to have someone from your new school look the paper over and see if there are ways of improving it so it goes in as good a venue as possible. A good publication will help you more than a publication in an obscure journal, even if it means that you spend a few more months polishing the paper or doing some more work on it. 

[twentysix]

Thanks for the advice.

[victorydance]

I think it's a bit unrealistic to expect to publish an undergraduate thesis (despite revisions or whatever) in a top journal. You will be competing with papers that are submitted by professors who have a lot more experience and training. That doesn't mean it's not possible, but just keep that in mind.

 

This paper is primarily going to be for getting admission to Ph.D. programs, it doesn't really matter where you publish it for the most part. Obviously crazy obscure journals aren't as highly regarded as more renowned journals, but at this point a publication is a publication. Even the best grad students don't usually publish their first solo paper in top journals. I think what is more important at this point is to target the right journal that it's a good fit for rather than how known they are. 

[fuzzylogician]

Publication >> No publication

Publication in good journal >> publication in ok journal >> publication in obscure journal 

 

If the paper can be improved so it appears in a better known journal, that's better. We all can't know what the chances of that are or how much work it would take, but it's worth thinking about before submitting the paper as-is to an obscure journal. Obviously, though, having any kind of publication would be great, as opposed to not having any.

[gr1277]

The review/publication process will take long enough that it won't matter if you submit it now or in a few months. If it is accepted, it will be published when you are an MA student. Also, you are going to be very busy once the school year begins in the fall. 

 

I think you should follow the recommendation of your "seasoned" professor and submit to the journal he recommended. The quality of the journal is not your concern right now. The professor understands your paper's topic and its fit in the journal. A peer-reviewed publication would be awesome for your CV. However, you could also consider submitting the paper to the journal for the organization that gave you the award for your paper.