Notes on the presentation by Dr. Eleonora Belfore, Associate Professor at the Centre for Cultural Policy Studies at the University of Warwick, UK:

Young Cultural Policy Researchers Forum, 11-12 October 2011, Helsinki, Finland

Why do you need to publish your research work?

There are several important reasons: to get a strategic advantage on the job market; to receive “a seal” of approval from the academic community (especially if you publish in peer-review journals), to receive valuable feedback from your colleagues, and also – for personal satisfactions and feeling of achievement in your professional career.

Traditional forms of publishing

Book reviews

Book reviews are usually 800-15090 words. This is probably the easiest publication type to acquire. It brings your name and your professional expertise up. What you should do is contacting the Book reviews editor with a suggestion to review a recently published book.  When writing the review, look at answering questions, such as: What kind of issues does this book explore? What are the main arguments of the author to elaborate a theoretical model? What kind of evidences he/she brings to back up gis viewpoint? What are the research conclusions as well as follow up questions.

Article in an academic journal

To secure the quality of the publication, academic articles ask for a peer review of the article by prominent scholars and professors. Which journal to publish? The answer depends on the following factors:

 Impact factors
 Reputation
 Focus (which field, discipline)
 Geographic focus
 Which journals publish other articles which you find relebant

Peer review process

Peer review process is the best to improve your work. Don’t get disencouraged if your paper is rejected. The fact is that  50-60% of the submitted articles at the International Journal of Cultural Policy are  rejected. Learn to deal with disappointment of rejection – this is an important step in the process of navigating the shift to professional researcher’s career.

• Make sure that you are familiar with what has been published in your chosen area of studies and debates.
• Read carefully the scope of the journal, the aims, and look at the previously published articles.
• Stick to the word limits and other requirements when you present a paper.
• When submitting to an international journal: bear in mind that you need to provide more information and analysis on the localities: case studies, etc.
• Ask yourself the question: what is original in my work? What do I add to the current studies in the field?
• Mind the language proficiency: submitting in a good English or another language in which the journal is published, is very important.

Book chapter

Usually, you write a book chapter because you are invited to do so. This is why self-promotion is crucial. If you submit without being invited, mind that this submission is often shorter than an article. There is also a peer review taking place, but the chances for publication are much higher than an article in an academic journal.  The elapse between your submission and the final publication can be very long-so, be patient.

Monograph/edited volumes/book

It is crucial to get a feel how the academic publishing business works. You have to submit a strong book proposal which has to be both academically sound and original, and at the same time-having a well defined potential targeted market. It would be good if you can convince your publisher that you can also help with marketing the monograph. The proposal – the whole book, or a selected chapter, is usually peer-reviewed.

Your book or monograph should prove that it is different from what already exists, but not too different that there is no market for it. Who will buy the book? Can it be used for teaching? If yes, at what university level?  Establishing a personal contact with the editor is recommended. Mind a minimum of 4 months (if not more) between the final submission of the book and the offer for a contract.

Publishing your PhD thesis as a monograph

• Prepare yourself to make substantial changes to your thesis if you decide to transform it in a for of a book.
• Make it clear that your book is based on a PhD research, but is a separate project.
• Work on couple of sample chapters to submit. Some publishers would ask you to have the manuscript ready at the time of the submission.
• Don’t send the manuscript to more than one publisher at a time, unless you have confirmed with the respective publishers that this is ok.

Edited volume

The proposal to an edited volume is similar to one for a monograph. Give yourself time to meet the deadlines. If you receive a refusal, try to make a proposal for a special issue of the journal.

Non-academic publications

There is no peer review in these cases and the whole procedure is much faster.  These type of publications demonstrate author’s willingness to engage with the sector at large, beyond the academic community. The types of publications are:

• Online publication in a “resources” collection of a website, or a virtual library. Many of them are in a downloadable format.
• Blog and social media – this is a good way to publish a work in progress and to seek feedback from readers. They help a lot for increasing of your personal visibility not only among academic circles but beyond.
• Personal website.

Useful links to get your research published: 

• How to Get Research Articles Published in Professional Journals: http://www.aect.org/intranet/publications/research/4.html
• Getting your research published - http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=562964&;publicationSubCategoryId=75
• The steps to getting your research published:
• http://www.koonec.com/k-blog/2010/04/08/the-steps-to-getting-your-research-published/
• Tips on getting your research published:
• http://blogs.library.ucsf.edu/inplainsight/2011/10/07/tips-on-how-to-get-your-research-published/