How To Improve Your Chances Of Getting Published In An Academic Journal

Find The Right Journal

Getting published in a reputable, high-impact academic journal is imperative for an academic job candidate. If you're not published, you simply won't be competitive compared to candidates who have had several published papers.

It is important that you find the right journal for your dissertation. Familiarize yourself with the requirements of each specific journal and prepare your paper accordingly. Make sure you know the scope of the journal, the subject, the structure, and the citation format. The same is true if you are preparing a paper for presentation at a conference.

In Trident's C.O.R.E. Webinar Series webinar, "Publishing in the Academic World," Dr. Qin Sun suggests, "Browse the journal and identify relevant literature from the journal and be sure to cite those articles in your paper to show that you built a connection between your research project and the literature in that specific journal."

Improve Your Paper

If an editor selects your paper for possible publication, a peer review will take place to ensure the quality of the research and that there is no potential plagiarism or other issues related to the research project. Your paper will be reviewed by other scholars (academics, professors, etc.) who have expertise in the topic.

The reviewers not only discuss the value of the paper, and potential flaws or issues, but also provide constructive comments on how the paper can be improved. The author will have an opportunity to refine and improve the paper based on the reviewers' comments.

Dr. Sun recommends reading the comments from all reviewers and focusing on the common comments or issues. She says, "Highlight or classify the common issues mentioned by all reviewers, because those common issues are the major issues the manuscript has and the author should focus more on those issues to refine the paper."

As expectations are very high for publication in major academic journals, it is common to get three or four rounds of reviews before the paper is accepted for publication. It is a time-consuming and tedious process to ensure your dissertation is high-quality, but definitely worth the extra effort in order to get published in a high-ranking journal.

For more information on Trident's C.O.R.E. Webinar Series, or to watch archived webinars, please visit /webinars/