BENGKEL PENULISAN JURNAL AKADEMIK

UNIVERSITI UTARA MALAYSIA28-29 November 2007

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

ACADEMIC WRITING FOR JOURNALS –THE IMPERATIVES

BY 

Prof. Dr. Mohammad Haji AliasFaculty of Economics & Muamalat

Islamic Science University of Malaysia (USIM)

And

Mr. Tang Tuck CheongMonash University Malaysia

• To expose participants to the fundamentals and practical aspects of writing for academic journals

• To share with participants our own experience in writing for academic journals.

OBJECTIVES 

1. Introduction: a. What are the main responsibilities of

an academician? Teaching, research, academic writing, public service.

b. Academic Writing: dissemination of research findings; advocacy; career advancement (publish or perish is practised in well-known universities)

c.Related activities: research; discussion; networking; seminar presentations; and of course, literature reviews.

2. GENERAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES (http://www.ag.iastate.edu/journals/rie/howg.htm)

a. Diversify your research portfolio:

diversify research topics for possible publication; if managed to have a solid hit in one area, continue on it to establish name before moving on to another field.

b. Concentrate on one or two fields: up to two fields of specialisation; two or three focussed areas within each specialisation.

c. Generate one or two papers from your thesis.

3.GENERAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES d. Don’t put two good ideas in one paper:

separate them in 2 papers; editors like short papers (15 pages); get faster response from referees; less chance of errors and being misunderstood.

e. Diversify the journals you approach: Sending all papers to top journals is risky; quantity of publications is also important.

4. GENERAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES f. Write clearly: The main assumptions

and results should be explained clearly; define symbols when first introduced; clearly state the contributions of the paper in the concluding remarks.

g. Scan current journals: e.g. Econlit (for current literature); subscribe to a couple of journals in your area.

MALAYSIAN JOURNALS (examples)

Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia (UKM)Jurnal Pengurusan (UKM)Journal of Business and Society (UNIMAS)Malaysian Journal of Economic Studies (PEM and FEA UM)Kajian Malaysia (USM)Utara Management Review (SP UUM)Malaysian Management Review (UUM)

5. GENERAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES h. Present papers in conferences before

submission: to get feedbacks; meet others working in the same area.

i. Attitude towards rejection: be positive; develop a thick skin and be a good loser.

j. Get to know others working in your

area: Try to contact (by e-mails, phone) and meet them (e.g during seminars); Opportunities through networking.

2. GENERAL PUBLICATION STRATEGIES k. Articles and Books: A journal article is

preferable to a book; journal rankings are sometimes used to evaluate the quality of your research.

l. Collaboration: work with more experienced co-authors initially; with PhD or masters advisors; make prior agreements with co-authors; maintain collaboration.

m. Choosing topics: work on up-to-date topics; references should include recent materials; extend existing literature; write something creative; write on interesting subjects.

3. PREPARATION FOR SUBMISSION a. Final draft: reread the introduction,

conclusion and abstract before submission; clean article from typing errors; do not cite too many of your papers.

b. Present an early version as working papers (to get feedbacks).

c. Acknowledgements to those who have commented on the article.

d. Submission: eliminate any trace of prior rejections; submit your paper to a rising journal; check for related articles in the journal being considered;

SESSION 1: WRITING FOR ACADEMIC JOURNALS - Continued

3. PREPARATION FOR SUBMISSION Know the preferences or biases of

journals; contact the editor after 6 months.

Sharing Practical Hands-On Experience

Brainstorming Sessions

Summary and Conclusion