Why Publish?

Whether you are an early career researcher undertaking your PhD, or an academic doing research there are a number of reasons why you might want to publish your research. For early year researchers, writing book reviews and conference papers can build up your expertise and getting an article published in a journal can raise your profile and improve your employment prospects. As an academic doing research, you may want to share your findings, raise the profile of your department, your institution or your own profile. By getting your article published in a journal or that idea for a book published, it can increase the visibility of your work and the possibility of getting more funding, earning more and furthering your career.

What and Where to Publish?

Are you considering writing a:-

• Conference paper - SR032 Conference Papers (Word doc 60k)
• Journal article - SR031 Where to Publish Journal Articles (Word doc 52k)
• Book - SR033 Preparing for Publication: Books (Word doc 57k) 

You may also wish to consider making your work available as Open Access.

Measuring Publication Impact

Measuring publication impact is important as it can help to:

• assess which are the most influential journals- in your field of study
• assess how influential an article is

For researchers it can also help to understand who is citing you and how many times your work is being cited.

Various metrics are used to measure publication impact, including Journal Impact Factors and H-Index. Raising Your Research Impact (Word doc 53k) provides an overview of the metrics used, some issues to consider when using them and where to find them.

Measuring publication impact training- We are happy to arrange information sessions for departments, research groups or individual researchers. Email us: lisliaison@wlv.ac.uk

Open Access

Irrespective of where you choose to publish, you should ensure you comply with the University of Wolverhampton Open Access Publications Policy, making all journal articles and conference papers available on an open access basis by depositing a copy in the University Repository WIRE.

Assessing the quality of publications

The significant increase in open access online publishing has many benefits, but it has also allowed new publishers to enter the market that do not apply sufficient rigour and quality control to the output they publish. Such publishing is sometimes referred to as ‘predatory publishing’ and is characterised by aggressive marketing (especially targeted at early career researchers), the charging of authors for publication (although this may not be apparent up front), quick turn-around to publication and a lack of rigorous peer review (despite sometimes making reassurances to the contrary). There is evidence to suggest that some such emerging publishers are entirely revenue driven at the expense of any true academic credentials.

The growth of legitimate high quality Open Access journals, which may also charge an article processing charge, means researchers need to take additional care when selecting an appropriate journal. As well as ensuring it is a good fit for your article, you should also check that its aim is to grow and share knowledge and not just to make a profit. There is no single criteria which indicates that a publication is reputable, but you can use this Journal Quality Indicator tool to make an informed assessment. Liaison Librarians will also be glad to provide advice.