Publish Your Doctoral Research

by Janet Salmons, Phd, Research Community Manager for SAGE Methodspace. Dr. Salmons is the author of numerous SAGE books, as well as Publishing from your Doctoral Research: Create and Use a Publication Strategy with Dr. Helen Kara.

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A webinar with Janet Salmons and three journal editors, Dr. Meng-Chuan Lai, Charles H. Sides, and Xiao-Jun Zhang.

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Moving from Student Work to Career-Building Publications

You have many options for disseminating your research. In today’s multifaceted digital world it is important to consider which options will open doors to your desired academic or professional career, and how they fit together in a holistic publication strategy. For example, if you are aiming for an academic position where scholarly articles are the top priority, informal writings, podcasts or videos are still beneficial. If you want to publish a book, the time spent building an online presence will make a difference. When the book or article is published, you have an interested audience who will welcome this more substantial discussion of your research.

Sharing insights informally allows you to build your network and establish credibility as a knowledgeable expert. You might find others of like mind, discover your niche, your tribe, and perhaps meet potential co-authors or collaborative partners. A blog post in and of itself might seem insignificant but contributors to Methodspace, for example, are introduced to interested readers from across disciplines and around the globe who might not otherwise have encountered their work.

The map below illustrates some of the options, along with roles you need to take or accomplish with the help of a collaborative partner or specialist. Knowing your own abilities and limitations can help you avoid time-wasting frustration! For example, you might lack the technical skills needed for data visualization or the artistic skills needed to create figures or illustrations. Or, you might know how to create a podcast or blog post but would benefit by partnering with someone who has an established channel and audience.

Use What You Have!

In the process of developing the final thesis or dissertation you produce a lot of writing as doctoral student. You undoubtedly have a hard drive full of research memos, notes, earlier versions, academic papers or reports, professional or creative writings, and presentations. Now what? It is not likely you will publish the thesis, dissertation or other pieces as is, in their entirety. Some amount of polishing will be needed to position the writing for an audience beyond your supervisor and institutional reviewers.

Instead, look at ways to use your best work. Can you extract a great problem description for a blog post or newsletter? Condense a lengthy section into a concise book chapter? Expand on idea to build a book-length text? Adapt your research for a different purpose, discipline, or context and discuss ideas in a podcast? Can you apply the recommendations from the study into a practical guide or handbook? When you take these possibilities into consideration, you will find new ways to utilize your doctoral work, thesis or dissertation.

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More Methodspace posts about Academic Writing