Advice on publishing and presenting

[pi515]

Hey everyone, I've noticed that many of you have already published and/or presented papers at conferences. Since this application round isn't going so well for me, I thought it'd be wise for me to focus on strengthening my application in the coming year. And so I'd greatly appreciate any advice on publishing and/or presenting. For example, how did you decide which journals to submit your paper to? What kind of paper was it (research-based, book review, etc)? How likely it is for non-doctoral students to have their papers accepted? Similarly, with presenting at conferences: are there some conferences that you'd particularly recommend? Any tips for successful submissions? As a side note, since I'm out of school right now, do you have to be affiliated with a university or a research institution in order to submit papers for publication/presentation (in academic journals/conferences)? Thank you in advance for any tips and advice!

[HopefulSocPhD]

I am very curious about this as well. I feel as if publications and conference presentations are things I can strengthen for next year as well. I'm especially curious about publishing and presenting when NOT affiliated with an university. I am a high school teacher (too?) and have been out of school for almost three years now. Wow, time flies. 

4 hours ago, pi515 said:

How likely it is for non-doctoral students to have their papers accepted? Similarly, with presenting at conferences: are there some conferences that you'd particularly recommend? Any tips for successful submissions? As a side note, since I'm out of school right now, do you have to be affiliated with a university or a research institution in order to submit papers for publication/presentation (in academic journals/conferences)? Thank you in advance for any tips and advice!

 

Edited February 10, 2016 by HopefulSocPhD

[any5]

I sent an unsolicited submission to an int'l academic conference, attended and ended up winning best paper award! Really only steps 1 and 3,4 are interesting.

Step 1.: write a paper that has original research & insight, not just a lit. review

Step 2.: format the paper to look like a real paper, use proper citation & footnote, labeling etc.

Step 3.: google "call for papers" + <your topic(s)>

Step 4.: once you find a call for papers you can usually submit your manuscript (without any author names) via an online intake system such as easychair

Step 5.: You will be notified if the reviewers accept or reject your paper. if they accept you will likely need to make some revisions based on comments

Step 6.: Pay your own way to the conference.  I used my vacation money to go there. Sucks. Whatever.

Step 7.: Network with people. Get drinks with folks in the evenings, sit at different tables for different meals and meet different people. They may assume you are an academic, but if they asked, I just said no, I am not but I am planning to apply to PhD programs next year.

Step 8.: Slap it on your CV

Step 9.: Rinse & Repeat

[HopefulSocPhD]

4 minutes ago, any5 said:

I sent an unsolicited submission to an int'l academic conference, attended and ended up winning best paper award! Really only steps 1 and 3,4 are interesting.

Step 1.: write a paper that has original research & insight, not just a lit. review

Step 2.: format the paper to look like a real paper, use proper citation & footnote, labeling etc.

Step 3.: google "call for papers" + <your topic(s)>

Step 4.: once you find a call for papers you can usually submit your manuscript (without any author names) via an online intake system such as easychair

Step 5.: You will be notified if the reviewers accept or reject your paper. if they accept you will likely need to make some revisions based on comments

Step 6.: Pay your own way to the conference.  I used my vacation money to go there. Sucks. Whatever.

Step 7.: Network with people. Get drinks with folks in the evenings, sit at different tables for different meals and meet different people. They may assume you are an academic, but if they asked, I just said no, I am not but I am planning to apply to PhD programs next year.

Step 8.: Slap it on your CV

Step 9.: Rinse & Repeat

Wow, Thanks! That is really quite helpful. I spent a lot of time this fall working on a writing sample for my apps this year and I feel with some more tweaking, I might be able to try your method for publishing and see what happens.   Seriously, thank you for taking the time to write it out.

 

[pi515]

Thank you so much @any5! This helps a ton! And best of luck with the publishing process @HopefulSocPhD 

 

[any5]

I'd also mention when you google calls for papers, also include the year --- because you'll get results that have passed their deadline. So for example:

Google: "call for papers" "demography in africa" 2016

yields like 10 results. and I just made that up off the top of my head.

[rising_star]

Book reviews don't really count for much. You want to publish original research in the best journal you can get it into. Pay attention to the time between submission and acceptance, which is available on the websites of many articles. You don't want to submit to a journal which has an 18 month turnaround for publication if you're trying to have something to put on your CV for the next admissions cycle.

[pi515]

Thank you for the additional tips @any5 and @rising_star, both very helpful!

[qeta]

This is such a useful thread! I am in an MA program where my research fit is terrible, so I had to learn how to publish my best undergrad work (closer to what I'd like to do) on my own. First, I started noting down journals that appeared on professors' and PhD candidates' CVs. Then I went through journal wikis to narrow down the list of journals. The wikis told me how long the turnaround time was and how helpful the editors/reviewers were (as a novice, I needed a tiny bit of hand-holding) at specific journals. Then I ranked the journals by their, ahem, rankings and sent the manuscripts to the highest-ranked one on the list.

A lot of the above advice I had gleaned or had been given on Gradcafe, so now that I have *some* experience of my own, thought I'd pay it forward.

Edited February 10, 2016 by qeta

[pi515]

Thank you for paying it forward @qeta! Great advice, thank you!

[goofylemon]

Well. I'll second what @rising_star said. This is particularly important if your area is in econ soc. Some econ journals took almost 2 years to reply (WTH). If, ever, you did not get any feedback from the journal by the time you apply. It is better to put the following lines in your CV.

         MANUSCRIPTS IN REVIEW

     Joe Doe   TITLE, In Review.  (You can choose to disclose your submitted journal, but it is likely unprofessional).

Better yet, if you get a Revise & Resubmit (R&R), it is really 99% done (most of the times) for sociology journals. In many of the journals I know, if you don't really screw up your revision, you can eventually get your manuscript published! This is a sign of success for your manuscript. In this case, you can certainly reveal the journal name, especially if it is a well-reputed one. 

[pi515]

Great tips @goofylemon - thank you!