Publishing in Journals:
Some Tips
Dr Felix B Tan
Professor and Head
Business Information Systems
Faculty of Business & Law
Auckland U of Technology, New Zealand
Introduction
• Where should I publish?
o Suitability of submission
o Target your journal(s)
• How do I prepare a manuscript for journal
submission?
o Anatomy of a scholarly article
o Key aspects within each section
• General strategies
Where should I publish?
• Suitability of Submission
o Check out mission and scope
o Initial screening
• Target appropriate journals
o
o
o
o
o
What kinds of work does it publish?
Qualitative vs quantitative
Who is publishing there?
Find a familiar name
When ready, ask this person about your article
Anatomy of a Scholarly Article
•Issues and Concepts
•Theory
•Research Design
•Interpretations/Points of
view
•Rhetoric
Why Papers Get Rejected
Issues and Concepts are
unclear
Lacking theory
Improper choice and
application of methods
and techniques
Interpretations biased
and lack believability
Poor rhetorical style and
stance
Preparing a Journal Submission
• Motivation/Contributions
o Not sufficient to state research objectives and
questions
o “Great piece of research, but so what?”
o Need to carefully position your study
• Literature Review
o Theoretical foundation / Research framework
o Synthesize not summarise (Webster & Watson,
2002)
o Theoretical and methodological developments
o Funnelling technique
Preparing a Journal Submission
• Research Questions & Method
o Articulate the research question(s) clearly
o Carefully justify propositions
o State clearly how the method provide the data to
answer questions
o Present details esp. qualitative research
(eg. interview protocol, coding techniques)
o Justify every decision taken
(cite relevant literature to support decision)
o Do not forget to discuss how data is to be analysed
Preparing a Journal Submission
• Discussion/Conclusions
o
o
o
o
Supported by data/findings?
Theoretical reflection?
Implications for practice and research?
Limitations?
General Strategies
• How do you know you are ready?
o Plan a sequence of publications:
• seminar – conference paper – journal article
• General Tips
o Cite research published in targeted journal
o Cite the editors / reviewers work
o Make the job easier for journal editors
Publishing in IS Journals:
Some Strategies & Tips
Dr Felix B Tan
Professor and Head
Business Information Systems
Faculty of Business & Law
Auckland U of Technology, New Zealand