TIPS FOR PUBLISHING IN SCHOLARLY JOURNALS.

1.   PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS

         i.            Consider the purpose, audience after a deliberation on why you wish to publish.

       ii.            The ultimate reason should be to add value to the body of knowledge.

     iii.            Determine the scope of your manuscript and write only when you have accumulated sufficient data.

     iv.            Connect your research to the field.

       v.            Decide whether to co-author your manuscript or not.

     vi.            Decide on the target journal and consider those with:

a.       Wide circulation

b.       Low acceptance rate

c.       Well known editors

d.       Long citation

e.       High journal impact factor

f.        High Visibility

2.   WRITING THE MANUSCRIPT

         i.            Inform the audience on what you set out to do by stating the topic, problem which will be addressed, and the relevance of the questions.

       ii.            Discuss what you did, the literature review and the methods employed. The research should be aligned with the theoretical framework, purpose of the research and the research questions. However do not over state your methodology.

     iii.            State the findings by describing the results by providing analysis that supports the conclusions you wish to draw and ensure it flows logically.

     iv.            Discuss the findings and relate them to broader issues drawing implications from findings and keep it consistent to the purpose of the manuscript.

       v.            Include conclusions so as to strengthen your article and mention any possible limitations, and explore directions for future research.

3.   SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT

         i.            Always follow submission guidelines

       ii.            After the review process when your manuscript is not rejected, make corrections and resubmit

4.   THINGS TO NOTE

         i.            Always state your abstract well as it is the basis for editors to make an initial judgment. 

       ii.            Ensure your manuscript has a title, abstract, key words, introduction, methodology, data analysis, discussions, and conclusions. (Depends on journals)

     iii.            Send your manuscript to only one journal at a time to avoid ethical violations.

     iv.            The writing, citation and referencing styles depend on different journal preferences, so it is good to follow the journal required style.

       v.            Before submitting, check for spellings, spacing, font size, citations, references and alignments and adjust accordingly.

     vi.            It is always good to use peers in your subject discipline to proof read and help with identifying errors as it important to create a good impression.

   vii.            Double and triple check for errors. 

 viii.            Remember to create a first good impression. 

     ix.            When your manuscript is rejected first time, don’t give up, another journal will accept your article, but do your best.

       x.            Every article needs an Argument either in the introduction or abstract. 

REFERENCE

Klingner, J. K, Scanlon, D and Pressley, M (2015). How to Publish in Scholarly Journals. The Educational Researcher: Vol. 34, No. 8 (Nov., 2005), pp. 14-20.  American Educational Research Association. Accessed from http://edr.sagepub.com/content/34/8/14.full.pdf+html

"PUBLISH OR PERISH"                      " WRITE OR BE WRITTEN OFF"