A Basic Guide to Journal and Conference Publications

  


   ●   What is a Ph.D.?

●   My Ph.D. - what's it all about?

●   My Ph.D. Viva Voce (Exam) ●   Journal and Conference Papers ●   Ph.D. Game


  

Journal Publications

 

A question often asked by current and prospective PhD candidates is how do they go about publishing a conference or journal paper.   It is normal to be asked or required to publish one or two papers based upon a candidate's doctoral work and this is the normal number of papers that a PhD candidate produces.

 

Some produce more, either so the data sees the light of day (even in the days of electronic repositories, PhD theses or dissertations may not gain a great deal of coverage) or to generate a research profile to advance a research or academic career.   Some do not manage to produce any papers, possibly because an industrial or academic partner has slapped a time limited confidentiality clause on the work (i.e. an embargo).

 

The process of publishing a paper to journal is normally free.   The only payment is for colour reproduction of graphics or images in the paper form of the journal and this is completely optional.   Almost all authors chose to submit graphics and images as greyscale or black and white, to avoid this and format they graphics and images accordingly.

 

A typical paper follows a structure a little like a mini-thesis or dissertation:

 

1.       A relevant title;

 

2.       A brief list of contributing authors and affiliations - the 'First Author' (main contributor) is named first, followed by other direct contributors in order of decreasing significance;

 

3.       A brief abstract outlining the aims of the paper - some people may opt instead to give a brief summary of the results;

 

4.       An introduction to the work in the paper, using a short review relevant literature to identify the reasons for the work (i.e. gaps in literature or new findings) ;

 

5.       Research or experimental methodology;

 

6.       Presentation of results;

 

7.       Discussion of results and findings of the work, plus where this fits in with or adds to current literature;

 

8.       Conclusions, namely a very brief resume of the main points and findings.

 

9.       Acknowledgement to people or organisations that gave support to the work, either practical or financial - any people listed will probably not have directly contributed; and

 

10.   References or Bibliography of literature referred to in the paper.

 

Submission can be done by:

 

1.       Paper copy and / or CD-ROM, posted to the target journal's editor.  

 

2.       Electronic upload via the journal page on the publisher website (the normal method).

 

The person who submits the paper and makes themselves available for contact during the submission process is referred to the 'Corresponding Author', who may be the 'First Author' or any of the other authors listed.

 

Submission follows the following steps:

 

1.       The paper is submitted, along with typically a covering letter, an abstract, a statement of originality, very brief research highlights, suggested reviewers, the paper itself and optionally, high resolution versions of figures, diagrams and tables.

 

2.       The paper's editor contacts potential reviewers, either those suggested by the corresponding author or other potential reviewers of the editor's own choice.   The reviewers will be experts in the general subject area the paper covers.

 

3.       At least two such experts will review the paper and will return one of a number of verdicts on the paper to the editor who will forward these to the corresponding author.   These verdicts will typically be:

 

                                 i.            Accept without revision (rare);

 

                               ii.            Accept with minor revision;

 

                              iii.            Accept but only after major revisions;

 

                             iv.            Reject - reasons may include paper is not of required standard, not original enough or is a (near-)replicate of one submitted to another journal.

 

4.       The expert review is similar to the examination of a thesis / dissertation prior to viva, in that the strengths, merits, originality and weaknesses of the paper are assessed.   Fortunately, there is no viva to face!!!

 

5.       The reviewers may include a list of recommended changes before the editor should accept the paper for publication.   How much information is provided may vary depending upon the reviewer.   I have tended to be a hard-line reviewer in my subject area, but balance this by providing as much helpful information for the author's use as possible.

 

6.       Sometimes there are comments from a third reviewer, this typically happening either if the first two reviewers return a critical verdict (i.e. 'accept with major revisions' or 'reject') or if opinion is sought because the paper's content requires expert opinion form someone else in a different field.

 

7.       If the paper requires revision, the authors are given a deadline to complete these.   This may typically be a month, after which the paper will need to be resubmitted and reviewed from the beginning all over again.   If revisions cannot be completed within the specified timeframe, the corresponding author should contact the editor to say so, stating reasons why.

 

8.       Once any revisions are made, the corresponding author resubmits the paper with the same documentation as with the original submission.   However, the cover letter on this occasions should address each of the revision requests made by the reviewers, stating briefly what actions have been taken.   If the revisions have been done slightly differently to the wishes of the reviewers or have not been done, the covering letter should state clearly why.   Reasons for differences may include requested revisions being beyond the scope of the current work, a reviewer misunderstanding an aspect of the paper or work not being technically possible with the current set-up or experimental design.

 

9.       If a revision is not carried out or carried out differently, this may not necessarily mean the paper is rejected provided the reason stated in the covering letter is a compelling or reasonable one.

 

10.   The editor of the paper then decides whether or not to accept the paper or request further revision.   The editor may consult or ask the reviewers for further comments on the paper (though this is normally rare).

 

11.   Once a paper is accepted, the paper is then in the form of an uncorrected proof that may or may not appear on the Journal's website.  

 

That's the hard bit done and the submitted paper is in the journal.   However, there are still a few administrative steps to complete.

 

12.   This uncorrected proof is then sent for copy editing to put into a format suitable for publication.   Part of this process will be to check for grammatical errors or ensure the quality of included images or graphics are of journal standard.   If images or graphics are not of the required standard, then the corresponding author is contacted normally via e-mail (or letter if there is no e-mail contact) to provide better versions.

 

13.   The journal will contact the corresponding author one further time, supplying a corrected proof of the paper for the authors to check.   At this stage, any queries the journal has about content are made and the authors may be asked to approve any changes where there are doubts.   The authors will also be asked to sign a copyright transfer form to give the journal copyright over the paper itself (but not the content).

 

14.   At this stage, the authors will be given the chance to have any graphics or images produced in colour.   If the authors opt to do this, they will be asked to pay a sum to the journal for colour publication.   This is completely optional and the only thing the authors will ever be asked to pay for.

 

15.   Once the authors approve any changes, the process of preparing the paper for journal is complete and the authors take no more part in the publication process.   The corrected proof will appear on the journal website - issue number and date may be added later to produce a final version when it is actually printed.   The paper is allotted to an issue of the journal and forwarded for printing in the paper version of that issue.



   ●   What is a Ph.D.?

●   My Ph.D. - what's it all about?

●   My Ph.D. Viva Voce (Exam) ●   Journal and Conference Papers ●   Ph.D. Game

 

Conference Publications

 

A similar routine is followed for a conference publication as with a journal publication, with the paper normally formatted the same way.   However, the submission process is a little less complicated.   It is advised that conference guidelines are consulted before submitting a paper to it as the procedure to be followed can vary from conference to conference and I can only relate to what I have encountered.

 

Unlike journal papers, there can be a sizeable fee to attend and submit a paper at a conference, though most people attending will be able to claim the money paid back from their employer or University once they have attended.

 

The procedure followed will be similar to the below:

 

1.       A call for papers is made by the conference organisers, in the form of a flyer usually via e-mail, internet web page or leaflets sometimes at preceding conferences.

 

2.       An abstract might be submitted first in paper format, CD-ROM, e-mail or file upload.   This stage might be skipped for some conferences.

 

3.       The paper is submitted with a covering letter in paper format, CD-ROM, e-mail or file upload.   The latter two methods are normally used.

 

4.       The paper is reviewed by the conference organisers or by selected referees.   Based on this, the paper may be accepted or rejected.   I have not come across a request for revision myself in the conferences I've attended, though this might happen depending upon the conference.

 

5.       If accepted, the title, author's names, institutional affiliations and sometime the abstract may be included in a conference proceedings brochure.

 

6.       The authors will be expected to make an oral presentation of the paper at conference.   Slides or some form of electronic presentation thus need to be prepared for this.

 

7.       The paper is included with the full conference proceedings. This can take the form of a book, a special edition of a journal or even just a CD-ROM or DVD containing electronic documents.   This may be provided free for conference delegates (as they have already paid the attendance or paper presentation fee), with non-attendees having to pay a sizeable fee.

 

With some smaller conferences and invited talks, it may be that no paper is required and only a presentation is given.

 

Additionally, if a poster presentation is being made then normally only an abstract will be asked for.   Posters are a way of especially more junior researchers publicising their work who for whatever reason are not able or ready to present.   Alternatively, they may have had their paper rejected for formal / oral presentation and instead have managed to secure a poster slot.   I have not seen papers associated with poster presentations included with the main conference proceedings.

 

Note that conference oral presentation slots are limited, so don't assume your paper will be accepted as there's a lot of competition out there.

  

Many regards,

  

Ian, alias 'Mackem_Beefy' (Ian A. Inman)



   ●   What is a Ph.D.?

●   My Ph.D. - what's it all about?

●   My Ph.D. Viva Voce (Exam) ●   Journal and Conference Papers ●   Ph.D. Game