1. Publishing in Academic Journals
Procedures & Practices
Nicholas W. Jankowski
Visiting Fellow
Virtual Knowledge Studio for the Humanities and Social Sciences (VKS)
Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Co-editor, New Media & Society
Workshop: Scientific Publishing
CORE Doctoral School of Communication Studies, Finland
University of Tampere
Thursday, 11 November 2010, 9.00-12.00
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 1

2. Overview
• Prelimaries
– Editorial background
– Publishing routes
• Selecting a journal
– considerations
– Measures of Impact
– Resources
• Iowa Guide
• Iowa Online Resources
• Manuscript
– submission
– Processing procedures
– Reviews & correspondence
– Preparing for publication
• In conclusion
– Editorial preferences
– Summary: FAQs
– Micellania
– Journals new media
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 2

3. Preliminaries
• Workshop: informal
– important: interrupt with questions at any time
• Materials
– Article: Daft (1995), “Why I recommended that your manuscript be rejected….”
– Workshop document: Publishing in Academic Journals
– SAGE Journals Online
– Issue New Media & Society
• Agenda (09.00-12.00)
– Presentation: ca. 45 min. (with interruptions)
– Discussion re presentation materials: ca. 15 min.
– Break: ca. 15 min.
– Small group activities: ca. 45 min.
– Plenary reports from small groups: ca. 45 min.
– Wrap-up: ca. 15 min.
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 3

4. Preliminaries: Editorial Background
• book editor
– small publishers: Quintessenz Verlag, Cramwinckel, Libbey
– major communication publishing houses: Hampton, Routledge, SAGE
• journal editor
– Communications: European Journal of Communication Research
– New Media & Society
• book series editor
– Euricom Monographs: Communicative Innovations and Democracy
(Hampton Press)
• guest editor of journal theme issues
– Javnost, EJCR, JCMC, EJC, IP
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 4

5. Preliminaries: Publishing Routes
Dissertation-Related Publications
Ph.D. dissertation (chapter)
Conference paper Other publications
*essays
Journal article * book reviews
* review essays
*research-in-brief
Book chapter
Scholarly monograph
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 5

6. Selecting a Journal: Considerations 1
• language
– minority languages
– national focus
– International orientation
• distribution
– regional
– international
• form of publication
– print only
– online only
– hybrid: online & print
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 6

7. Selecting a Journal: Considerations 2
• reviewing procedure
– double blind, peer review
• abstracting & indexing services
– Social Science Citation Index (SSCI), Web of Science
– others: Web of Knowledge, Communication Abstracts, Social SciSearch
• status of journal
– discipline / peers & colleagues
– department / institution
– Impact Factor, H-index, Publish or Perish
• other issues
– career advancement
– intended audience
– point of entry (close to home)
– academic status: international, ISI ranked, impact factor, English language, peer
reviewed11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 7

8. Selecting a Journal: Measures of Impact 1
• ISI Impact Factor: Definition
– Cites to Articles in current year / Articles published in past 2
years (revision: past 5 years)
• Applications
– Authors: journal status; prestige
– Libraries: journal comparative assessment
– Institutions: staff assessment
– National assessment exercises
• Alternatives
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 8

9. Selecting a Journal: limitations to ISI
• Inclusion in database
• North American bias
• English bias
• ‘blind’ application during assessments
• Fluctuations in factor across time
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 9

10. Selecting a Journal: Impact Alternatives
• Publish or Perish
• Hirsch index (H-index)
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 10

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discontinued

12. 11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 12

13. Manuscript: submission
• initial query
– meeting editor
– letter
– draft of manuscript (ms)
• formal submission
– online / email (no longer via conventional postal service)
– cover letter
– single electronic copy
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 13

14. Manuscript: Processing Procedures 1
• submission, (NM&S)
– internal assessment (1-2 weeks)
– external reviews (3-8 weeks)
• letter to author after review
– ‘reject’, (decline to consider for publication)
– ‘revise & resubmit’ (with external review by same reviewers)
– accept for publication
• revision of ms (max. 12 weeks)
• assessment of revised ms (2-6 weeks)
– internal assessment (2 weeks)
– external assessment (4 weeks)
• letter to author: decision to publish
– request to submit final version
– NM&S ms final checklist
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 14

15. Manuscript: Processing Procedures 2
• ms prepared for ‘banking’
– final check by assistant to editor
– copyright release form
– ms sent to SAGE London
• publication in SAGE OnlineFirst
• ms selected for inclusion in print issue
– special treatment
– order
– publicity
• Time durations: submission to publication
– from submission to decision to publish: 6-12 mo.
– From decision to SAGE OnlineFirst: ca. 6 mo.
– From OnlineFirst to printed issue: ca. 4-6 mo.
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 15

16. Manuscript: Reviews & Correspondence
• Editorial decision options
– accept (with minor revisions)
– revise & resubmit
– reject
• Reacting to reviews
– important: content of cover letter accompanying revised ms
• Revising ms
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 16

17. Manuscript: Preparing for publication
• final check of ms
– by author
– by NM&S editors
• correction of page proofs
– by author
– global check by NM&S editor
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 17

18. Manuscript: NM&S Decision Tree
Internal Assessment Submission
Reject / unsuitable Suitable for review
1st review 2nd review 3rd review
Editor assessment
Rejection R&R mixed assessment / acceptance
Submission to NM&S Co-editors
Rejection R&R Acceptance
Rejection 2nd external review Acceptance
Final internal assessment
Rejection acceptance
Final version ms
Final editor check
Copyright release form
Banking ms Sage
Selection ms issue
Sage copyediting ms
Proof pages
Publication

19. In Conclusion: Editorial Preferences
• likes
– clear organization & presentation
– theoretical models / formulations
– empirical basis for statements
– proposals for further (empirical) study
• dislikes
– informal conversational letters
– incomplete referencing (in-text & bibliographies)
– grammatical errors & non-academic stylistic
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 19

20. In Conclusion: 18 FAQs (unordered)
1 How long does the review process take?
2 How much time may elapse between submission and
publication?
3 What recourse is available when an author doesn’t
agree with the reviewer’s comments?
4 What to do when no word from journal editor (for what
seems like a very long time)?
5 What alternatives are available to speed up publication
process?
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 20

21. FAQs (continued)
6 Can I submit my ms to more than one journal?
7 Does it help to co-author an article with a senior
scholar or mentor?
8 Can I place my published article on my or another
website?
9 Can I submit a translated version of my article to
NM&S that has already been published in a minority
language (e.g., Finnish, Dutch) journal?
10 Who retains copyright of journal articles?
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 21

22. FAQs (continued)
11 Do online journals have the same status as print
journals?
12 Who has the final say: the positive reviewers or the
reserved editor?
13 How are articles selected for a particular issue of
NM&S?
14 What happens when the NM&S editors disagree on
the quality of a ms?
15 Does NM&S have a preference for particular
theoretical perspectives or methodological approaches?
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 22

23. FAQs (continued)
16 How important is the Impact Factor of a journal in
deciding whether to submit?
17 What is the status of NM&S as compared to other
journals concerned with ICTs?
18 Once my article is published, is there anything else I
should do?
Other issues
– Copyright
– Multimedia, dynamic visualizations, color
– Supplementary materials (e.g., data, instruments, analyzes)
– Social media (social networks, blogs, discussion sites)
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 23

24. In Conclusion: Miscellania
• University of Iowa, online communication studies resources
• APA Style
• Chicago Manual of Style
• Ohio State University site on Chicago Manual; on APA Citation Guide
• Purdue Online Writing Lab. Materials related to APA Style
• Kitchin, R., & Fuller, D. (2005). The academic’s guide to publishing. London: Sage Publications. (Google Books version)
• University of Toronto, Books on writing for graduate students
• Capital Community College, Guide to grammar & writing
• Procedures: Review of International Economics
• How to Publish in Top Journals
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 24

25. In Conclusion: New Media / Internet Studies Journals
(small & personal selection)
• New Media & Society
• J. of Computer/Mediated Communication
• Information, Communication & Society
• First Monday
• Convergence
• Policy & Internet
• Intern’l J. of Internet Science
• J. of Information Technology & Politics
• TV & New Media
• Social Science Computer Review
• The Information Society
• New Media & Culture
• M/C Journal
• J. of Public Deliberation
• Information Polity
• International J. of Communication
• Javnost / The Public
• Electronic J. of Communication
• Directories of (online) journals
– New Jour
– Directory of Open Access Journals
– Serials in Cyberspace
11 November 2010 CORE Workshop: Scientific Publishing 25