Article S8.12 Publishing Doctoral Work Seminar Leader: Rakesh Gupta School of Commerce & Law, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, Australia r.gupta[at]cqu.edu.au A balanced approach is necessary in deciding whether and how much to publish while carrying out doctoral work. In general, publishing in course of doctoral work is considered beneficial as long as there is no adverse impact on timely completion of the thesis. Completing the thesis should take priority over publishing. The supervisor has an important role to play here especially when the supervisor’s consent is required for publishing the doctoral work. There can be a number of issues relating to publication of doctoral work, as outlined below. Institutional requirements: Rules governing publication during doctoral work vary among institutions, and it is necessary for a research student to be aware of these rules. Research topic: Some research topics can be more easily published as compared to others. For example, research involving data collection over a period of time gives less opportunity to publish the work at an early stage of the work (this can happen, say, in research on the impact of a drug on a person over several years). Different disciplines (such as arts, science, and social science) require different approaches to publishing (Kamler, 2008). Intellectual property: Some journals require a transfer intellectual property. This can be an issue for some PhD projects, particularly those which are undertaken in collaboration with external partners to whom commitments have been made regarding communication of research results. In this case, the intellectual property constraints imposed by prior publication limits the author’s options for information dissemination to these partners (Robins & Kanowski, 2008). Supervisor’s attitude: Supervisory support to doctoral students is important in achieving publications either during or after their doctoral work. Not all supervisors are supportive of the idea of publishing during doctoral work. Student’s knowledge and skills: For some researcher students, familiarity with the subject matter, analytical ability, and technical writing skills may be less developed, thereby constraining publication success. Co-authorship: Some supervisors insist on co-authorship irrespective of their level of contribution to the article. Norms do vary across disciplines (Kamler, 2008). The researcher and the supervisor must clarify the issue of co-authorship. Advantages of early publication are high visibility, quick feedback, and validation of work done. It also builds confidence and a sense of achievement in the researcher. However a potential disadvantage could be a loss of uniqueness of the work due to its public exposure. The publication process can also demotivate in case the peer-review comments are negative. References Kamler, B. (2008). Rethinking doctoral publication practices: Writing from and beyond the thesis. Studies in Higher Education, 33(3), 283-294. Robins, L., & Kanowski, P. (2008). PhD by publication: A student’s perspective. Journal of Research Practice, 4(2), Article M3. Retrieved February 3, 2011, from http://jrp.icaap.org/index.php/jrp/article/view/136/154 Reported by Satyendra Chandra Pandey, with inputs from Rahul Thakurta; edited by D. P. Dash. [February 3, 2011] Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home | ||
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