Course Overview

Publications ae vital to securing jobs in academia. They can also be very important in gaining access to highly competitive postgraduate programs. However, very little training at most universities is provided on how to publish. The publishing process is often confusing. This course aims to demystify academic publishing and familiarize students with the ‘publishing game’. Students will gain practical experience in identifying where to try and publish and what types of articles to try and publish. They will also gain an insight into writing for academic journals and newsletters, as well as becoming familiar with submission, review and re-submission processes to journals. The course should interest masters and PhD students writing their thesis, as well as researchers and junior faculty.

Tags: Publishing; Academic Writing; Thesis; Careers; Dissemination; Journals; Academia

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course a successful student will be able to:

• Detail strategies to achieve publication success
• Identify potential avenues of publication in their field
• Outline the diversity of types of publication in their field
• Prepare a publication for submission
• Detail the importance of marketing of publications
• Be able to identify probable predatory publishers & journals

Course Content

• Why publications are important
• Academic Writing
• The Publishing ‘Game’ & how to play it
• The importance of resilience & perseverance in publishing
• Publication Venues
• Publication Types
• The Submission, Review & Re-submission Process
• Spotting publication opportunities
• Bibliographic packages
• Tactics & strategies for publication success
• Maximizing the impact of your publications
• Profiling your publications
• Predatory Publishers & Journals

Instructional Method

A workshop based approach will be used with students engaged in individual, pair and group oriented task based and practical activities.

Required Course Materials

Students will need access to a computer with an internet connection and the following software: word-processing software (e.g. Word, Pages, or similar), spreadsheet software (e.g. Excel, Sheets, or similar), presentation software (e.g. PowerPoint, Keynote, or similar), and web-browsing software (e.g. Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or similar).

Assessment

Students will receive feedback and be evaluated on three written assignments (each worth 25%) and one 5-minute presentation (25%).