Writing for emerald journals

Editor's Notes

• #2: I will be handing out memory sticks at the end of the presentation (show memory sticks) which contain a copy of this presentation so there is no need to take too many notes.
• #3: Aims of the session If there are any questions we cannot answer today, we will get the information to you as soon as possible after the session.
• #4: Aims of the session If there are any questions we cannot answer today, we will get the information to you as soon as possible after the session.
• #7: Emerald Group Publishing - background Founded by academics, for academics. Moved into book publishing in 2007.
• #9: Emerald’s publishing philosophy Want to make the world better managed. Not exclusively ‘academic’ in focus but have always stressed the importance of research with practical application. Committed to improving author, reader and customer experience. That’s why I’m here today.
• #10: Research you can use Always a good place to start before you start writing is to ask why are you writing, what impact will it have? Why am I doing research? What is it for? The Emerald definition of research that has an impact: research that affects at least one of these areas: Knowledge : Research that makes a contribution to the body of knowledge, generates further research. Teaching & learning : e.g. curricula changes. Practice : business leaders, managers, practitioners, consultants in the public and private sector. Public policy : civil servants, politicians, charities draw on academic research to shape their policies. Economy : research that contributes to organization-level or macro-level wealth creation and business advancement. Society & environment : research that challenges cultural norms, accepted ways of thinking. Impact on how people live their lives e.g. environment, social responsibility. Highlight the impact in your abstract and paper.
• #11: ALA = American Library Assoc ALIA = Australian Library and Information Association Publishing leading library schools: Humbolt, Illinois Urbana Champaign, UCL and Sheffield to name a few. Emerald ALA sponsorships are of: -Two business librarianship research projects per annum -An annual award to honor someone who has made major contributions to library technology and had a major influence on the (US) library community. -An award for the information literacy publication of the year -The all-committee meeting of the RUSA Reference Services section at the ALA Annual conference -The Chinese-American Librarians Association annual conference.
• #12: Emerald announces first open access articles through special partnership with IFLA United Kingdom, November 2010 - Emerald Group Publishing Limited is delighted to unveil the first articles in open access as part of its ‘special partnership’ with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). Available from November 1, 2010, the fourteen articles are published in four different Emerald journals: Interlending & Document Supply , Library Hi Tech News , Performance Measurement and Metrics , and Program . Emerald Group Publishing Limited, the world's leading publisher of management and library research, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), are delighted to announce that they have formalised their relationship by signing a partnership agreement. The ‘special partnership' was first announced at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in Milan, August 2009, as well as at the evening Regional Activities social event at the same conference. This was cemented with the signing of a formal agreement between the two organisations, which will provide the IFLA community with substantially more publishing opportunities. The opportunity to be published by Emerald will be available, not only for research produced by the various IFLA Sections, but for papers presented at the general IFLA Congress and satellite events. Emerald articles arising as a result of IFLA activities will be made available in open access, nine months after publication with Emerald. Rebecca Marsh, Editorial Director at Emerald, comments, "Emerald journals are currently available in more than 3,000 institutions around the world, providing an excellent opportunity for authors to disseminate their work in many of the world's top research institutions. Having worked with IFLA for a number of years, the activities that have developed are varied and altogether show the broad and serious interest of Emerald in IFLA's work. We look forward to developing this relationship further." The good relationship between Emerald and IFLA started during the IFLA/UAP Office at the British Library Document Supply Centre in the 1970s, and Emerald has been an IFLA Gold Corporate Partner since 1998. During this period of more than a decade, Emerald has strengthened its involvement in IFLA's activities, which culminated in the continuing sponsorship of the IFLA International Marketing Award run by IFLA's Management and Marketing Section, as well as Emerald's continuing support of IFLA library initiatives and activities in Africa. For more information about Emerald's partnership with IFLA, contact Eileen Breen, Publisher, at [email_address] --- About IFLA The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) is the leading body representing the interests of library and information services and their users. It is the global voice of the library and information profession.
• #13: World Library and Information Congress: 75th IFLA General Conference and Assembly "Libraries create futures: Building on cultural heritage" 23-27 August 2009, Milan, Italy Programme and Proceedings
• #14: It was originally established as the Association for Special Libraries and Information Bureaux in London, in September 1924.
• #16: Number or names of authors: no shortage of people who can help you
• #18: IJEM Scope: Scope includes: innovation in educational management across the spectrum, the development of educational delivery mechanisms, and the creation of an environment in which the management of resources provides the most efficient outputs achievable on an international basis to allow the sharing of new initiatives
• #20: Editorial supply chain and journal management structure: journals To demystify the publishing process: what happens to your paper after submission, so you know who to ask if there is a problem. Remember at all points in the chain there is a human being involved and you need to manage the people as much (if not more than) the manuscript itself (yes, even reviewers are human beings, although it doesn't always seem like it when reading their comments :-))
• #21: Ideas: where to start Since you are here today, you are probably aware of the importance of getting published e.g. for your future academic career and to attract research funding, a higher salary. Getting published is an investment in your academic career. But where do you start? Is anyone working on a doctoral or masters thesis? Can get 2-3 papers out of a good PhD. MBAs can often lead to great papers because they are heavily based in the world of work, involve case studies: things people can learn from. Can be turned into a fantastic paper. Conference presentations often make very good papers, get feedback from your peers. You are doing all this work anyways so we want to help you to get papers out of it. No clear solution: Just because you don’t have the answer does not mean you cannot write about it or draw attention to the question, may lead to new research.
• #22: What should YOU be looking for We know what reviewers are looking for but what should you be looking for? Is there anyone here who has not heard of Thomson Reuters ISI? It’s a journal ranking system devised to measure the quality of journals based on citations. It is not the only system but it’s an important one; influences how university funding is allocated. Emerald work with ISI and acknowledge their importance and many of our journals are ISI-ranked. However, there are other ways of ranking journals. Can’t tell you where to publish but can tell you what to consider. Depends on where you want to work, some universities want you to publish in specific journals, in ISI ranked journals, may want you to publish one article in a top ranked journal or 5 in any journal. Be political and strategic about where to submit your article.
• #23: Target! Be realistic – you probably won’t get published in a top journal straight away Cover letter: Mention your research area and track record; the main findings of your research; the significance of your research.
• #24: Author guidelines Can be found on the journal website or in a hardcopy of the journal.
• #25: Co-authorship as a possibility Co-authorship is often a good opportunity for first-time authors. Adds value and weight to the paper, can draw on a variety of strengths, cross-disciplinary. Three caveats: 1) People have different writing styles and may even contradict each other: make sure the paper reads as a whole and as one voice, there are no conflicting statements of duplications. 2) Do not have to share the work evenly. Instead, play to your individual strengths: one author might be better at data analysis, one a better writer. Let the statistician do the stats! 3) Agree and clarify order of appearance of authors. Very important since this cannot be changed after publication. Decide on who should be the corresponding author: should be the person quickest to reply to emails. There is always something that needs clarifying e.g. missing reference, copyright etc. If it takes three weeks for you to reply, the publication of your paper will be delayed. The quicker the publisher receives a reply, the quicker you paper will get published.
• #26: What makes a good paper? What are editors and reviewers looking for? Perhaps the most important slide. If you go by the 80-20 rule, you will forget about 80% of what I tell you today. Try to keep this slide in the 20% bracket. Many of these 10 points can make or break your chances of having your paper accepted. Reviewers will use a checklist of criteria based on these factors and will tick off whether your paper meets these factors and indicate where there are problems. 1) Your paper should have something new to say, take the body of knowledge somewhere new. Top thing reviewers look for! 2) It should refer to and relate to other recent research ; demonstrate you know the stand of existing research and that your work builds on it. 3) The methodology should be clear so that conclusions can be assessed and validated. This is the method I used and these are the conclusions I can reasonable expect to see; don’t try to change the world from a study of 20 people. 4) The paper has to communicate well – clear structure, sensible headings, avoid undue repetition, short, concrete sentences, easy to read etc. Say what you are going to say, say it, say what you have said. Introduction, research methodology, results, conclusion and discussion. 5) Build up your case logically. 6) Emphasise the “so what” factors i.e. the importance / impact of your findings, implications for future research. 7) References should be complete, accurate, recent and relevant. 8) Internationality does NOT mean writing only about international issues. It means readers might want to use your methodology for conducting research on e.g. HR in the UK to examine issues in their own region. 9) Be absolutely sure your paper meets the journal’s editorial scope and objectives. Get lots of papers from people who don’t do this, one of the main reasons why papers are rejected. Get access to a copy of the journal beforehand, make sure your paper meets the requirements. Don’t just look at the title Supply Chain Management and think oh my article is on supply chain management I’ll send it there. Read the scope and a copy of the journal. You might have a fantastic case study but SCM doesn’t take case studies. Not everyone will have the time to reply and explain the correct process. 10) Don’t underestimate the importance of title, abstract and keywords. More on this later. More information on the memory stick: Slide on common feedback from reviewers
• #27: Emerald has introduced structured abstracts The abstract sells your article to the editor or reader. Emerald: Have introduced structured abstracts. To help you think about the right things when writing your paper. To sell your paper. Editors: Busy, do not want to read an entire article when deciding if it is suitable for their journal. Online: T he abstract is often all a reader will see until they pay for the article. Unlikely to go further if the abstract doesn’t tell them clearly what the paper is about. But a good abstract will make them want to read the full-text article. M ake sure that you are clear, honest, concise and have covered all the major points. No more than 250 words using these six sub-headings. (1) Purpose – aims of the research? Why write the paper? (2) Design – or methodology or approach (3) Findings – what were the main results? (4) Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – where should the research go after this or what needs to change in the method (5) Practical implications (if applicable) – of what value is this in practice? Do the “so what?” test. (6) Social implications (if applicable) – Impact on society/policy (new 2009) (7) Originality/value – this is critical. How does your research add to the body of knowledge? What is its value in this context? Purpose, design, findings and originality/value are compulsory. Forces you to focus on the key issues that matter. Delete headings and you have a fantastic abstract that can be used any where
• #29: Your own peer review We are always TOO close to our own work to see its failings. Our sub-editors and proof-readers NEVER receive a perfect paper. You will look at your paper over and over again but you will miss errors. Yet the guy at the next desk will spot it straight away. Check your figures – do they add up, include a note if you have rounded them up. Read and re-read your paper for typos. A lot of proofreading is done by people who are not subject specialists; won’t necessarily spot any errors. At a minimum run your paper through a computer spell-checker but don’t rely on it. E.g. we published this as the affiliation of one of our book reviewers; he used spell check and so did we!
• #31: As the author, you need to ensure that you get permission to use content you have not created before submitting your manuscript This includes e.g. tables, figures, illustrations, photographs and more Supply written confirmation from the copyright holder when submitting your manuscript Failing to do so exposes you to potential legal risks If you have any doubts whether or to clear permission or not, do so! Better safe than sorry Copyright holders who do not mind their work being reused will only be too happy to grant permission and will appreciate being asked If permission cannot be cleared, we cannot republish that specific content You probably would not appreciate your work being reused without your knowledge or permission
• #32: How to increase electronic dissemination Electronic use: Increasingly where your usage and citations come from; most things are read online. How to increase the chances of your paper being found / read / cited more widely / have more impact. The better the title and the abstract, the greater the chance of your article being read online. Remember your own “Google behaviour”. Use a short but descriptive titles, make sure people will understand what the paper is about. Don’t try to be too clever e.g. if it’s about marketing strategy and prioritizing, don’t call it ‘Putting the cart before the horse’ as no-one will find it except some bewildered agricultural student. 2) Choose 5-6 broad but relevant keywords that accurately describe your paper. Don’t make up new terms. Increases the chance of your paper being found by users searching the database. Also: Complete and correct references. The electronic environment has made it easier to both commit and detect plagiarism so very important to make correct attributions.
• #34: This slide helps to show what exactly happens to the paper following submission. It helps to explain why it can take 3-3.5 months before an author gets feedback from first review!
• #35: Revising A request for revision really is good news. You are now in the publishing cycle. Editors and reviewers will not request a revision unless they genuinely think your paper is right for the journal. Remember that nearly every published paper is revised at least once, even those by the most distinguished academics. Incorporating feedback and improving quality is after all what the peer review process is all about. Remember the comments are not personal, particularly not in blind peer-reviewed journals. If your paper is rejected Most importantly – keep at it !! At least 50 per cent of papers in business and management do not get published and everybody has been rejected once. It is hard, but try not to take it personally or be so discouraged that you don’t try again. Keep trying. The reviewer or editor comments should give you the information you need to strengthen the weak areas of the paper. Ask for reasons if they are not immediately forthcoming. There are hundreds of other journals out there – you can always re-submit to another journal. Read the Author Guidelines and adjust your paper accordingly.
• #36: Process of acceptance for a journal – just one example This slide shows the acceptance rates of just one of our journals. Approximately 30 per cent of papers received by the editor are published. I think the saddest figure there is the 16% withdrawn by the authors. It’s very likely those papers would have been published if the authors had persevered with the revisions. Very, very few are rejected at the final hurdle. Accept that a second or third revision may be needed; still much better than a rejection.
• #37: How to revise your paper Acknowledge the editor and set a revision deadline If you are unsure about any of the comments, seek clarification. If you disagree with them, say so and give good reasons explaining why you do not think a change is necessary. But try not to take a defensive position, treat comments objectively. Covering letter explaining clearly what revisions were requested and how you addressed each point, ideally providing specific page numbers. Makes life a lot easier for the editor.
• #38: If publishing a journal article is not enough for you, maybe if you have written or are about to complete a PhD thesis, then you might be thinking about writing a book. The following slides will give you some further ideas about the book publishing process. Bear in mind that a lot of the information given in the previous slides also applies to book publishing e.g. in relation to plagiarism, copyright or co-authorship. But here is some additional information specifically referring to books.
• #40: A book proposal form can be found on the memory stick.
• #44: For both books and journals: How to promote your work Emerald encourages authors to spell out the practical implications of their work. Should be of interest to a great many kinds of people – managers, policy makers, the media, key influencers able to act on the implications of your research. It can also greatly increase your profile and that of your work and lead to attracting collaborators and funding or new opportunities for you e.g. in consulting or the media. 1. Use your network to spread the word about your latest research. Books: Ask colleagues to review your work e.g. on Amazon. 2. Issue your own press releases either yourself or via your institution / department. 3. Join the debate. Engage with peers in your subject area; participate in online discussion forums, listservs, etc. 4. Inform any professional bodies of which you are a member; contact their press or media relations department. 5. Contact the authors in your reference list. Tell them that you have referred to their work - they may want to read (and cite!) your article. 6. Build your own brand image e.g. via your own website. List and link to your publications. Use an Emerald Literati Network logo. Include a press release section. Link to the article in your email signature. 8. Call a meeting – discuss your findings with the people best placed to promote your work. 9. Hone your media skills e.g. by attending a workshop. Successful promotion and media handling will attract a lot of attention to yourself and possibly your colleagues; make sure that you are well prepared! 10. Ask the publisher to provide you with book or journal leaflets which you can take to conferences and events or display on your office door.
• #45: If publishing a journal article is not enough for you, maybe if you have written or are about to complete a PhD thesis, then you might be thinking about writing a book. The following slides will give you some further ideas about the book publishing process. Bear in mind that a lot of the information given in the previous slides also applies to book publishing e.g. in relation to plagiarism, copyright or co-authorship. But here is some additional information specifically referring to books.
• #46: Beyond authorship Various benefits as well as enhancing your status, allowing you to keep up to date with key developments in your discipline. Opportunity to build a network of peers around the globe.
• #47: Emerald supporting authors Benefits of publishing with Emerald: We genuinely value and support authors EarlyCite: Online pre-publication access to articles means people will read (and cite!) your work earlier. - Online Scholar One submission process. - Complimentary journal issue and five reprints of your article upon publication. - Liberal copyright policy. We do not restrict or remove your right to use your own work. Emerald Literati Network, over 80,000 authors. We donate much of our copyright revenue to the research community through Research Fund Awards and Doctoral Research Awards aimed at helping young researchers at the beginning of their academic careers.
• #49: Aims of the session If there are any questions we cannot answer today, we will get the information to you as soon as possible after the session.
• #50: Talk to us, use us! Use Emerald resources, give us feedback using the online form (link on the memory stick), talk to us. Tell us how we can help you and, above all, write for us!