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Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles. Plan your success and have confidence regardless of your appointment, your research output will likely be the single largest determinant in the tenure decision set short- and long-term objectives (start with the end in mind)
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Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles • Plan your success and have confidence • regardless of your appointment, your research output will likely be the single largest determinant in the tenure decision • set short- and long-term objectives (start with the end in mind) • recognize everyone has to start somewhere • develop a risk seeking attitude • overcome perfectionist tendencies • reviews are idiosyncratic – stick with it!
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 2) Work in large numbers (manage your pipeline) • typical paper takes 3-5 years to publish, whereas the typical tenure decision is made in 5-7 years • start early, submit often • publish your dissertation! • keep a list of paper ideas • leverage work with undergrad and grad students, but don’t count on it – you are responsible for your own success • deans can count
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 3) Take a portfolio perspective • balance high-risk papers/outlets with low-risk papers/outlets • balance the risk/return trade-off • many departments expect you to have one or more papers that are “AJAE or higher”
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 4) Develop a thick skin • reviews are fair on average • if a journal acceptance rate is 10-20% you can do the math • turn rejected papers around quickly • reviews are very idiosyncratic; don’t waste your time • comments from reviewers on my papers • “this paper reminds me of a large number of Jayson Lusk papers I have read. It seems to be an attempt to re-package some points elsewhere, and make them sound more fundamental and serious than they are” • “this is a conceptual mess” • “the motivation of the paper provides a loose and self-serving review of the literature” • “are you selling soap, or doing science here?” • “this paper is a mess of poor motivation and poor execution” • “the paper . . . is severely hampered by its lack of a true economic question” • “The number of misspelled author names both in the text and in the references is insulting and inexcusable. . . . these names sound like names of well-known marketing academics that none of my PhD students could possibly misspell.” • The following two comments were received on the same paper • “portions of the paper read very poorly” • “I found the paper to be very well written and researched”
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 5) Do your homework • know how to market your paper • read and cite the relevant literature • know how your paper “fits” into the literature • you should be very careful about say things like “this is the first paper to . . .” • what is your contribution? • clearly identify your contribution • make a compelling case for your paper • be careful not to “oversell” • use “good” papers as role models
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles • Judiciously choose co-authors • people you like/respect • individuals with different comparative advantages • don’t let the 3rd or 4th author hold you up
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 7) Allocate and protect time for research • teaching/extension will dominate your time if you let it • responding to emails will dominate your time if you let it • should you spend more time on your research? (nights/weekends?) • prioritize your research • quickly complete revise and resubmits
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 8) Get and use feedback from others • correspond with “stars” in the profession • thoroughly and effectively respond to reviewers • even “bad” reviewers usually have one or two useful comments; • “good” reviewers have many useful comments • ask others to read your papers before you submit to journals • don’t expect high quality feedback from meetings presentations; use meetings to network
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 9) Realize publishing is a dynamic “game” • the editor that rejects one paper is the same editor that might accept your next • it is always disappointing to have a paper rejected – don’t take it out on the editor • that said, you are the only one who will stand up for your academic contributions • implement a policy of waiting a week until responding to editors/reviewers • practice the “Golden Rule” in reviewing
Top 10 Suggestions on Publishing Journal Articles 10) Have fun! • publish with a purpose • some purposes are self-serving • self gratification/ego • Hilmer and Hilmer (AJAE, 2005) show for agricultural economics professors that each additional research article increases salary from 0.5% to 1% • Golden et al. (RAE, 2006) shows that for each publication, an agricultural economics professor salary increases roughly $200/year • Swidler and Goldreyer (JF, 1998) find that, depending on professorial rank, the present value of the first top finance journal article published is between $19,493 and $33,754 • other purposes are loftier