By Kasey E. Vigil
Publishing in an academic journal is a great way for graduate students to integrate what they are learning across classes, labs, and clinical work alike into a single project. Many students, however, often feel lost or confused by the publication process – especially first-generation graduate students or college students period. However, research shows that graduate students typically learn about the publication process informally or “along the way,” or from their primary advisor (Woodend et al., 2023). While this process of learning along the way might work very well for some students, it can be difficult for others who prefer to learn through a written step-by-step process or who may need a refresher every now and then.
Before You Finish Your Manuscript
Among graduate students in psychology, the publication process typically begins after you have completed data analysis for your study or have identified a paper that you would like to convert into an academic publication. Make sure that you identify at least one mentor through this process who has writing experience as the first author of a published manuscript and has knowledge on your topic and/or population of interest. Their feedback throughout this process can be invaluable. Based on my own writing experiences, I recommend working with both a faculty mentor (typically your academic advisor) and a peer mentor, if possible. Depending on the career stage of your faculty mentor, it may be particularly helpful to receive both feedback and support from another student who recently learned this process and can validate the learning curve behind publishing.
After completing your data analysis and recruiting a willing mentor, consider selecting your journal BEFORE you begin writing. While this may sound counterintuitive, this will save you time in the long-run. By doing this, you will be able to tailor the tone, style, and word count to the journal you choose. Many journals have information pages for authors regarding their publication requirements, make sure you take note of these requirements! However, there are several key considerations to keep in mind when choosing an academic journal. These factors include:
- How well does your prospective manuscript fit with this journal in terms of… a) Topic, b) Sample, c) Field, and d) Methods
- Impact factor
- Decision timeline
- Acceptance rates
- Journal reputation
The advice I have received from several mentors is to select at least two or three journals that would adequately fit the manuscript you are planning to write. Rank order these journals based on the most important factors to you. With this choice in mind, make sure you read over the submission guidelines
Let’s Get to Writing!
Now, it’s time to write your manuscript! If you have co-authors on your project, you will need to provide specific instructions for what role each co-author will play in the writing process and provide a clear, feasible timeline for writing. For instance, if one of your co-authors is engaging in the writing process, provide them with a specific section to write and provide a deadline for receiving their work. If you prefer more structure, you could represent these requests in a co-author contract. Once you have decided who you will recruit as a co-author on your manuscript, you will likely move into several rounds of editing from either your advisor, mentor, or senior co-authors. During these edits, double-check that your manuscript adheres to the journal’s instructions for authors (e.g., tone, word limit, formatting) before finishing the revision process. Submitting a manuscript that does not adhere to these guidelines can result in your paper either not being reviewed or requiring even more revisions before it can be published.
Creating Your Submission Materials
Once your mentors believe that your paper does not need any further revisions, the next step is to prepare your submission. When you create your submission materials, it is extremely important that you pay attention to the submission requirements or guidelines for the journal you have chosen. While many journals require similar documents, such as a cover letter or masked version of your paper (more information below), others may require authors to complete tasks unique to their journal (e.g., completing a publication checklist).
Typically, journals require a cover letter that accompanies your submitted manuscript. A cover letter will typically be addressed to the journal editor, whose name you can find on the journal’s website. It is also typically required that you provide a very brief description of your study and explain how your findings fit within the scopeof the journal. As the first author, you also need to confirm that your paper is not under review or published by another journal AND that your coauthors have reviewed the manuscript you are submitting.
Most journals will require you to submit a masked version of your manuscript, meaning that all authors’ names, institutions, and other identifying information (e.g., grant numbers or preregistration) are removed from the manuscript itself. Some journals may also use the term blinded to describe this type of manuscript. Both the manuscript authors and reviewers are masked from one another to reduce bias in the publication process. Once you have your necessary documents, make sure to follow the journal’s directions for actually submitting your manuscript and supporting documents. Typically, this is done either through uploading your documents to an online portal or through email. Once you have submitted your manuscript, you will receive a confirmation email that contains a unique identification number for your manuscript. If you need to contact the editor about your manuscript at any time, make sure that you include this unique identification number.
Peer Review
Depending on the journal you selected, you can expect to wait anywhere from a few weeks to several months for a decision on your manuscript. This is because all scientific articles, including those in the field of psychology, must go through a process called peer review. Put simply, the quality and validity of a manuscript must be evaluated by one to three experts in that field. For instance, if the manuscript you submitted focuses on the impact of minority stress on depression rates in the LGBTQ+ community, the journal editor will likely seek out at least one reviewer with similar expertise. During this waiting period, reviewers will be assigned to comment on your manuscript, they will provide feedback to the journal editor, and the editor will make a decision regarding whether to publish your manuscript. Based on the editor’s initial review and reviewer comments, you may receive one of three decisions on your manuscript: (1) Reject, (2) Revise, and (3) Accept. Typically, you will receive this decision in your email.
Rejection. A journal editor may decide to reject a manuscript for publication either after peer review, or even before peer review (i.e., desk rejection). There are many reasons why a manuscript might be rejected for publication, related to either the quality or validity of the manuscript. While a manuscript may be rejected due to quality issues, you can always make appropriate adjustments to your manuscript before submitting to a different journal. Alternatively, some authors may receive a rejection if the editor does not believe that their article fits within the scope of the journal. As such, just because you receive a rejection from one journal doesn’t necessarily mean that your manuscript is not worth publishing! If you receive a rejection, carefully go through any feedback you receive with your mentors to consider next steps.
Revise and Resubmit. Many times, authors will be asked to revise and resubmit (i.e., R&R) their manuscript. From my experience with publishing, the majority of manuscripts that are eventually published will go through at least one round of revisions. However, this does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted after revision. If you receive this decision on your manuscript, the editor will indicate that they are willing to reconsider your article for publication after addressing explicit reviewer feedback. If you plan to revise and resubmit your manuscript, I suggest organizing reviewer comments, how (and whether) you addressed their comment, and the location of manuscript changes into a table. Most journals will require explicit responses to each reviewer comment when you resubmit your manuscript. Keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to incorporate all reviewer comments. However, if you do not incorporate certain feedback, make sure that you can provide a rationale based on your research paradigm, method, or other empirical evidence. Once you have adequately addressed all comments, you will then submit your edited materials and responses to reviewers. Keep in mind that you may need to go through several rounds of revision before receiving an acceptance or rejection.
Acceptance. Finally, you may receive the coveted decision of accepted either with no or minor revisions! If you receive this decision, you can rest easy knowing that your manuscript will be published either with no additional work on your end or, more typically, minor adjustments. It is fairly uncommon for a manuscript to be accepted upon the first submission, even for authors who write particularly strong manuscripts. More typically, you can expect an acceptance to come after either one or more rounds of revisions with the peer reviewers.
From Publication to Production
Great work! You have reached the final stages of the publication process, but there are still a few minor tasks you will be asked to complete. Before a manuscript is published, it will need to be copy-edited and formatted to the journal’s style. Most times, you will receive a copy or proof of your article to show you what it should look like when it is officially published. It is important to read over your article to make sure that your original content is retained after copy-editing and to ensure that the paper’s tables and figures are in an appropriate location. Once you have reviewed your article proof, all co-authors will be asked to sign a document that allows for the journal to publish your paper.
Congratulations! You have successfully published your first first-author paper.
Reference
Woodend, J., Syeda, M. M., & Roy, S. (2023). Addressing challenges and finding solutions: navigating the informal curriculum of publication training within higher education. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 48(3), 314–328. https://doi-org.ezproxy.uky.edu/10.1080/0309877X.2024.2327022
[1] Please note that these are not the only parameters to consider, but rather more commonly considered parameters among authors.