Writing for and Publishing in High Impact Journals

Topic: Writing for and Publishing in High Impact Journals

Type: Capacity Building Workshop

Speaker: Dr. Venkat Iyer

Key takeaways

The Centre for East Asian Studies (CEAS) Department of International Studies, Political Science and History, in collaboration with the Centre of Research, hosted a workshop for doctoral scholars, titled ‘Writing for and Publishing in High Impact Journals’ by Dr. Venkat Iyer, Editor of the Round Table: Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, on 15 May 2024. The workshop aimed to provide valuable insights into the process of publishing research articles in esteemed academic journals, mainly focusing on the importance of high-impact publications, the prerequisites for publication, and effective strategies for successful submission.

Before delivering his speech, Dr. Venkat Iyer briefed the audience on the nuanced relationship between "High Impact" and "High Quality" journals. He noted that they are only sometimes perfectly correlated. He elaborated that a "High-impact journal" is characterized by its extensive readership. Subsequently, he offered valuable guidelines for writing in high-impact journals, emphasizing the significance of employing clear, straightforward language and compelling storytelling in presenting their research. Furthermore, he underscored the importance of robust research methodologies and strong arguments in academic articles, encouraging researchers to present challenging ideas and solve identified problems. Dr. Venkat Iyer also highlighted the significance of well-crafted abstracts, which serve as the initial point of attraction for journal editors, and emphasized the importance of developing a clear thesis statement to guide the argument within the article. Additionally, he outlined the benefits of publishing in high-impact journals, including increased visibility, opportunities for collaboration, academic progression, and access to grants and prestigious conferences.

He later underscored the advantages of publishing in high-impact journals. Firstly, such publications offer researchers the opportunity to secure prestigious grants for book publication and field research. This enhances their academic credentials and provides resources for further scholarly endeavors. Secondly, publishing in high-impact journals can significantly contribute to academic advancement, fostering promotion opportunities and recognition within the scholarly community. Lastly, it facilitates collaboration with leading global researchers in their respective fields, enriching the research landscape with diverse perspectives and expertise.

Dr Venkat Iyer mentioned that to publish in high-impact journals, a proposed article must address a significant and relevant problem rather than merely describing an event. The discussion should be robust, incorporating solid facts to argue points effectively. Writing should tell a compelling story to attract both the editor and readers. Emphasis should be placed on including key points and arguments. Ad ditionally, a well-crafted abstract requires skill and attention to summarize the article and capture interest effectively. Developing this abstract is a skill that necessitates careful labor and focus.

Dr. Iyer emphasized three critical considerations before embarking on research. First, ensuring that the research contributes novel insights to the field is essential. Second, researchers should consider the potential impact of their work on other scholars within the same or related disciplines. Third, when identifying a problem within the research paper, it is imperative to propose a reasonable solution to that problem.

As the workshop concluded, Dr. Iyer outlined the essential structure of a research article suitable for publication in high-impact journals. He emphasized the importance of crafting a compelling title, which can be created before or after writing the paper. Titles should be attractive and are often revised by the editor. Dr. Iyer stressed the significance of keywords for the journal's search engine optimization (SEO). The body of the article and the conclusions must be drafted with specificity and clarity. Acknowledgments, such as recognizing senior colleagues' assistance or grant providers' support, should be used judiciously. Dr. Iyer concluded the session by addressing how to cope with rejections, offering valuable insights into the publication process and enhancing the participants' understanding of academic publishing.

Q & A session

During the workshop, students posed several insightful questions to Dr. Venkat Iyer to enhance their understanding and gain clarity on the topics discussed. A few of these questions and Dr. Iyer's response are highlighted below.

Q. Why is there less collaboration in social sciences when compared to the sciences in writing for journals and research papers?

1. The speaker observes that it could be due to the practicality of the sciences, which deals with observable and testable objects, and the nature of the sciences. 

Q. The supervisor also contributes significantly to the research conducted by the scholar, providing direction and valuable inputs to their research. How is it justifiable to exclude them from receiving credit by not including their name on the research paper?

1. Speaker believes that such supervisors are not doing enough to gain such a credit. According to him, it is ethically not correct to claim credit for something they have not written. But suppose they write an article with their student, that is different from guiding the student.

Q. This question is regarding publication, whether should it come from personal motivation or out of compulsion? To give a little context, in Christ University, in order to complete your PhD thesis , you need to have done a certain amount of scholarly publications.

1. The speaker very ligh-heartedly told the questioner that if he doesnt have the motivation to write for a journal then he should’nt enroll for a PhD in the first place. It is an integral part of your enterprise. If need be, you must actually be enterprising enough or motivated enough to write more than the set amount of academic publications outlined by your institution.

Q. What to do after a rejection of an article ? Is there any way to get it published anywhere else?

1. The speaker brought to the attention of the questioner and the audience that when their article is rejected, they need to grasp and understand the specific reason for it. He then quoted an anecdote where a student from JNU had been polite while asking for a chance for explaining his side of problems to the speaker while accepting the rejection graciously allowed the speaker to sympathise and grant the student an another chance to rectify his specific mistake and make huge efforts in appealing to the Journal in which he sought to publish. Due to his tenacity and humbleness, he was successfully able to publish in the journal. Like that, each and every scholar who faced such rejection must try to find the why behind it and seek to rectify it.

Q. Will an author ever be payed for any of their published journal ?

1. The speaker emphatically states for journal articles, it is the most unlikliest thing to occur and no, they wouldn’t be payed. In fact, something quite contradictory occurs where an author can choose to publish OpenAccess by paying the publisher a certain amount, for example 2500 pound , to get it published and accessed by all. It is quite a sad phenomena ,especially for scholars from developing countries since it is not feasible for these scholars to spend so much on publishing open access journals.