Publications

Lecturer jobs require a publication record but I don't have a publication record, yet alone such a record in A* and B* rated journals. How do I get a publication record when I no longer am a research student and don't have a research job?

For the time being, I'm pootling around having fun as a user experience developer on a new OU network for learning, SocialLearn. Sadly, this is not a research associate position and doesn't officially provide the experience or skills that a lecturer needs.

I could:

1. make a participant study of relationships between users and contractors who are developing the web site. That builds on the business research I've done for my PhD
   
2. research the user experience - that builds on research studies in a different field

Writing for a journal

A fellow post-grad blogger has written a useful collection of advice on writing for a journal. See

http://anesaresearch.wordpress.com/2009/11/19/writing-for-a-journal-publication/

OUBS research week - publishing

Dave Wilson talked to us about writing and publishing in international academic journals, both in a general context, and from a PhD.

The first depressing thing he said was that publishing in highly ranked journals improved the perceived quality of a business school, which gave rise to pressure to publish in top journals, which would want high quality business schools to write for them. It sounds cyclical - at least that's how I sketched it. He referred to Barley (2006) who wrote about "transgressive papers" (slightly misquoted) that get normalised by a process that stifles innovation. Citation clubs exist to boost their own publication rates (Cynic). The lesson is that you should cite.

Advice:

• submit to special issues
• write with others to demonstrate you can work in a team
• write for A and B rated journals
• have a theoretical or methodological or empirical core message
• address the "so what?" question "This work is important because .."
• be able to describe your PhD in 4-5 sentences
• match the subject to the journal
• don't try to rush it! (this was so depressing because you may not publish till four years after your PhD)
• use your conclusion of your first draft as an introduction to your second draft
• if you get a "revise and resubmit" response, that's a reason for champagne-opening!

The greatest buzz is when you get cited!

Getting your work published

Professor Hetherington advised the PG Social Science students on getting work published.

Think:

1. visibility
2. gateheepers
3. small conferences

What have been the big issues that people are writing about? Those are the areas where you should be writing if you want to get published.

Action

• Choose three journals that you read on a regular basis and get a feel for them.
• Volunteer to review a book on a particular subject. Find the reviews editor of that journal and ask if you can review in that area. Look at the London or NY review of books. Can referees like your supervisors put you forward?
• Give papers at conferences to make yourself known, ie. visible.
• Continually speak to your superviors.
• Pick your external examiner who'll open doors for you.
• Publish. The RAE counts research monographs and journal articles - reviews are padding. Measures are how often you get cited. Write on a topic or in a textbook that sells to undergraduates. A book chapter is useful - through a small conference (40-50 people) on a tight theme.