ME-621 Writing and Publishing Academic Research

The course is connected to the following study programs

• School of Business and Law, PhD programme

Teaching language

English

Prerequisites

PhD holders and PhD candidates. Applicants with relevant scientific background can be considered if the resources are available.

Recommended prerequisites

Before taking this course students should have good knowledge in research methods and should have good writing skills in English. For the first class participants should bring a researchable idea that during the course can become a full research paper ready for journal submission.

Course contents

The course aims at:

• Introducing researchers to the process of publishing academic research

• Improving participants academic writing skills as well as presentation skills

• Engaging participants in writing up a complete research paper

• Engaging participants in giving, receiving and responding to critique

• Engaging participant in submitting a paper to a decent journal or a recognized international research conference

 Topics:

• The course is first and foremost a learning by doing course where participants are engaged in writing up an original research paper. In addition the following topics will be covered:

• International quality publications, the modern way to an academic career

• The jungle of journals, how to select a good outlet for your research

• Visibility of research, the need for pre- and post- publication strategies

• Publication ethics and plagiarism

• Identifying your competitive advantage in research teams

• From a research idea to a researchable idea

• The publication process and the peer review system

• Establishing a research pipeline

• Refereeing papers and responding to referees reports

• When and how to plan for co-authorship

• Ideas to consider before deciding between Journals, special issues, book chapters and books

• Defining the story of a paper

• The structure of academic articles

• Complying with journal guidelines

Guest professors may be invited and include additional topics in their lectures.

Learning outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course the student will be able to:

• Understand the process of writing academic papers

• Appreciate the academic peer review system

• Understand what is required to get published in reputed international journals

• Select journal outlets for his/her research papers

• Submit and get accepted a research paper in a decent journal or a recognized international research conference

Examination requirements

Students are required to prepare and present research idea, working paper, conference paper, referee report and response letter to referee report as indicated in the course outline.

Teaching methods

The course will consist of three modules covered over a period of around 4-8 months. For the first module (1-2 days) participants should bring a research idea that during the module should be developed into a researchable idea including a research model. For the second module (1-2 days) participants should bring a first draft of a research paper and a powerpoint presentation of this. Between modules two and three the papers should undergo an internal peer review process where participants will referee each others papers. The third module (1-2 days) will be organized as a research conference where the participants should bring their papers, response letters to reviewers and powerpoint presentations. After finishing the course and considering comments received, the participants should have a research paper ready to be submitted to a journal or to a conference.

Student workload (135 hours):
Lectures/seminars: 30 hours
Reading articles and preparing for sessions: 15 hours
Preparing reports (review reports and response to reviewers): 10 hours
Writing up a research paper and journal/conference submission(s): 80 hours

Assessment methods and criteria

Research paper (pass/fail)
If not otherwise agreed the paper will not be accepted until the candidate has submitted and got accepted the paper to a competitive international conference or journal of good standard. Several attempts in several journals are often required.