Doctoral Study and Getting Published

Richard and I are very happy to announce that we have finally submitted a manuscript of our latest edited collection, Doctoral Study and Getting Published: Narratives of Early Career Research, to Emerald for publication.

The book, which will be part of the Surviving and Thriving in Academia series, brings together theoretical contributions and narratives about how early career researchers in the Lantern community, have engaged with publishing during, after and as part of their PhD studies. Through these narratives, and using ecological theory as a theoretical lens, we try to show how Early Career Researchers (ECRs) grow into academic and professional roles, in a process of ‘academic becoming’.

We are incredibly grateful to all the friends and colleagues in Lantern who shared their stories and thoughts with us, sometimes exposing vulnerable aspects of their academic becoming or sharing emotionally intense experiences. We strongly believe all the storied experiences will resonate strongly with the intended readers of the book, doctoral students and ECRs, and that they will all benefit from engaging with the contributions in the book.

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Overview of the volume

The book is divided into five substantive parts, dealing with different aspects of academic becoming, such as (a) finding or constructing a researcher identity, (b) the writing experience, (c) working with co-authors and peers, (d) becoming part of an academic community, and (e) engaging with reviewers and publishers. These are framed by two introductory chapters, which present the book and discuss the challenges ECRs face in publishing, and a commentary that brings together the salient themes of the book.

Introductory chapters

Doctoral study and getting published: Narrative and ecological perspectives

Richard Fay and I (Achilleas Kostoulas) begin the volume by presenting the two theoretical frames that hold together the volume: narrative adn ecological theory. The chapter also includes introductions to us, as editors, and to the Lantern community, who provide the voices that are heard in the volume.

Local and global challenges for early career publishing

In Chapter 2, Jane Andrews presents an bibliographical overview of the ECR publishing landscape. This comprehensive and up-to-date review outlines the external pressures to publish and the challenges ECRs face while publishing, as well as good practices that can support their endeavours.

Part A: Finding or constructing a researcher identity

The interacting selves in early career publishing and beyond: The search for a researcher identity

In the first narrative of the volume, Magdalena De Stefani talks about how her PhD and post-PhD work made her realise how her professional and academic identities were entangled. She also narrates how she eventually learnt to build on this hybrid identity while working with teachers in her professional setting and publishing in (and with) the academic community.

Where are you from?

Chapter 4, by Eljee Javier, also addresses the question of developing and academic identity. Eljee’s story focuses on questions of ethnicity, racism and normative expectations associated with being a native speaker of English. She narrates how these questions, framed by (what was then) the nascent field of raciolinguistics, drove her PhD and eventually became an important theme in her professional identity as an academic.

Part B: The experience of writing

‘On being published’: a reflection on trajectories of (published) texts and researcher imaginaries

Jessica Bradley introduces the second part of the volume, by writing about how writing (including semi-private writing for her blog) helped her develop what she describes as a ‘writerly identity’. Using extracts from her blog, she provides a window inside the mind of a developing academic, for whom private feelings and public expectations interweave with each other.

A garden of forking PhD paths

In Chapter 6, Edd Aspbury-Miyanishi walks us through his PhD by publication. His narrative shows how he dealt with complications arising from the pandemic, and how his writing agenda evolved as he worked his way through the PhD, eventually becoming something very different from what he had originally envisaged.

Publish, not perish: Developing a purposeful approach to doctoral publications

Part B of the volume concludes with a thoughtful piece, by Magdalena Rostron, who extracts, from her extensive experience as an academic tutor, guidelines that can help ECRs manage the challenges of publishing.

Part C: Engaging with co-authors and critical peers

Writing and publishing collaboratively: A safe scaffold for an ECR

In the first of the three narratives that make up Part C, Siti M. Fitriyah tells the story of how she published her first collaboratively written article during her PhD studies. This story showcases how she engaged with the dynamics of working with more senior academics, from her perspective as a ‘newcomer’ to the university.

The benefits of ‘being shaped’ as an early career researcher

In Chapter 7, by Dylan Williams, we follow the story of a series of publications that began before Dylan’s doctoral studies. In his narrative, Dylan recounts how his academic identity and publishing was influenced over time by people such as his supervisor and examiners.

My successful and less successful publication experiences

Finally, Khwan Tantiniranat‘s chapter provides readers with an account of how she experienced the unavoidable ups and downs of academic publishing, and how her acedemic network helped her as she made her way into academia.

Part D: Building or joining an academic community

Developing researcherhood and professional belongingness through publication

Min Huang introduces Part D, which looks into academic becoming from a more socially oriented perspective. In her chapter, Min narrates how her academic publications emerged from the affordances that were present within her academic community, and how this developing researcherhood is inextricable from her sense of belonging.

Building your ‘LOOP’ in navigating an academic community

In the second narrative of Part B, Rui He problematises the invisible rules and expectations of academic communities, and tells the story of how she developed a healthy balance between personal and professional life. The chapter also includes a presentation of the ‘LOOP’ heurestic, which she developed to help her decide which publication profiles are closer to her priorities, and avoid becoming overwhelmed.

How practice shapes research and a sense of community in the field of English for Academic Purposes

In Chapter 13, Paul Breen shares insights from the development of a Community of Practice in his workplace. His narrative is intertwined with thoughtful reflections on the role of English for Academic Purposes in academia, expectations from academics, and ways to challenge systemic injustices in the publishing ecosystem.

Part E: Engaging with publishers

Dilemmas and challenges in publication and revision of research articles as an early career researcher

Chapter 14, by Duygu Candarli, raises a number of questions that ECRs face as they publish their research (e.g., should one focus on writing a research monograph or publish more articles?) and discusses the emotional aspects of engaging with reviewer feedback.

Seeking constructive rejections: A reflection on my publication strategies during the PhD

Taking a different tack to engaging with reviewer feedback, Felix Kwihangana tells the story of how he set himself ambitious goals regarding his publication outlets, in a deliberate attempt to learn more from the reviewer’s comments. In his chapter, he explains how this strategy helped him manage the effects of the ‘publish or perish’ culture.

It is not easy to learn about your academic self through the eyes of reviewers

In Chapter 16, Mira Bekar uses a Labovian theoretical lens to walk readers through the ‘complicating actions’ in the publishing trajectory caused when there is a mismatch between how authors perceive their papers and how these are perceived by reviewers. Using multiple examples of frustrating interactions, Mira shares the lessons she learnt from the process.

It’s not about me

The last narrative in the collection is authored by Paul V. Smith, who describes the experience of publishing about a controversial topic. Like Mira in the previous chapter, Paul discusses the misalignment between the authorial and reviewer readings of the text, and talks about how the dynamics of co-authorship shaped the experience.

Concluding Comments

The volume concludes with a second contribution by Mira Bekar, where the fifteen preceding narratives are synthesised through an ecological lens, and salient themes, such as self doubt, survival strategies and adaptation are teased out.

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An afterword

Richard and I have known each other for more than twenty years now. And yet, in all this time, this is the first publication we have ever done together. I think that this is because, in the years following my PhD, I focused more on instrumental publishing, i.e., the kinds of publications that more closely aligned with the agendas of the university departments where I worked or wanted to work, while Richard engaged with the kinds of publications that are more meaningfully connected to things that matter. Editing this book is one step in that direction for me as well.