How to publish your research project?
Dr Gülcan Garip
As a research supervisor, I ask students about their interest and intentions of publishing their research but this is something students can mention to their supervisors too. I usually have this conversation at the start of our supervisory journey, but the work needed to be undertaken does not happen until after the completion of the research project. This is because, writing for a journal, and writing a research report to meet the learning outcomes of a course or module are vastly different. In the interest of setting expectations, it is also important to remember that just because someone may have an intention to publish, does not mean their report will be published in a peer reviewed journal.
In this blog, I outline the steps for how to transform an undergraduate or postgraduate research report to a manuscipt ready to be submitted for consideration for publication in a peer reviewed journal. Each subject area will have their own requirements for what an excellent research report should involve. For the purposes of this blog, I am assuming readers will have completed an excellent research report and are now considering taking the report to the next level, i.e., submitting for consideration for publication in a peer reviewed journal. It is important to note that this is not the only way to go about publishing but this is one approach that I have used with students I have worked with.
- Establishing a collegiate relationship with your supervisor is important. Your supervisor will work with you as a co-author as you embark on the process of submitting a manuscript for publication. They will be able to assist you in deciding which journal to aim for, and support you with responding to reviewer or editorial comments. Depending on who has made the greater intellectual contibution to the study design, data collection and analysis, and write up, that individual will be the first author. Typically, if you are looking to publish your independent studies research report, you will be first author.
- The next step will be to identify a target journal that you are aiming to publish in. It is important to identify a journal that will be suitable for your manuscript. Take a look at your reference list and identify the top three most frequently referenced journals in your paper. This is usually a good indication that the aims of the study will align with the aims of the target journal. It is a good idea to check in with your supervisor about the suitablity of the journal before undertaking revisions to your paper.
- Once you have identified the target journal you are planning on submitting to, you will need to revise your report to meet the author guidelines of the journal. This may involve restructuring certain parts of the report, cutting down words, or adding in new sections such as a lay summary or 'what was known and what this study adds'.
- Before you submit the manuscript via the journal's manuscript submission system, your supervisor will likely want to review and contribute to the latest version of the report. They will be able to make suggestions and enhancements to ensure that the journal aims are clearly reflected in the paper. Your supervisor will also be able to share examples of cover letters and recommend any reviewers, in case these are required by the journal's manuscript submission system. It is important to remember that your article can be under consideration for review in one journal at a time. You cannot submit to multiple journals for the manuscript to be considered for publication.
- Once you are ready to submit the manuscript, it can take from a few weeks, to a few months before you get a response from the editorial team. There are four potential outcomes. 1) The manuscript is rejected and you can submit to another journal, 2) the manuscript has received minor reviewer comments and you are given a few days or weeks to revise and resubmit, 3) the reviewers have made major comments and require more substanstial changes and you may be given a few months to resubmit, or 4) the article is accepted in its present form.
- Rejections and reviewer requests for further enhancements to the article are by far the most common outcomes following submission of a manuscript for consideration for publication. It is helpful to discuss with your supervisor the best approach to responding to reviewer comments or which journal you may consider next. It is common for authors to submit an article to multiple journals before receiving an acceptance notification.
- Once you receive a letter informing you that your article has been accepted for publication, it may take a few weeks before you can access and share the final version. Remember to also deposit an author owned version of the article to your institutional repository (e.g., at the University of Derby this is called UDORA). Remember to celebrate your achievement.
If you think you have conducted a research study that is timely, worth sharing with others, and contributing to the knowledge base in your subject area, the above steps are intended to help give you a roadmap for starting the publication process. Best of luck on your publication journey.
