Why publish?

Publish promptly. When you do something good, write about it and get it out there. (Agre 2005, p 16)

Where did the phrase publish or perish come from? Select the question mark image for the answer.

Activity – reasons to publish

Look at the list of possible reasons why you might publish. Number them in order of their importance to you.

make a public contribution to and advance your field of knowledge
advance critical thinking about issues in your field
become known as an authority in your field
be peer reviewed (or refereed) – get your ideas and results in circulation amongst your peers thereby establishing your credibility and improving your research
expose your work to scrutiny in the public sphere by those who may be outside the academy
achieve academic status through building your CV or vita. Your publications will help your work to become known and advance your career
secure a trip to a conference. Many papers start life as conference presentations, but published papers can result in the author being invited to conferences
secure copyright on a new idea
disseminate research results. Publishing is a means of documenting the progression of knowledge within your discipline
fulfil your responsibilities as an academic
assist your university faculty or organisation to attract research income to support further research and research development within it
inform the teaching and research of your colleagues
make your bids for research grants more credible and thus improve your chances of getting further points
fulfill the terms and conditions of your research grants
Information in this table courtesy of Kenway, Gough and Hughes 1998, pp 9-10

To consider:

  • What are your choices influenced by?
  • Can you see some reasons being important in the future rather than now?
  • Do you have a comment or question? Contribute to the discussion forum for this workshop. Note that in regards to your own research project, your supervisor/s is your first contact.

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Last modified: Tuesday, 15 March 2016, 10:50 AM