Centre for Water Management and Reuse Publish from your PhD: Why, How and Where Simon Beecham Professor of Sustainable Water Resources Engineering Head of School of Natural and Built Environments University of South Australia

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Why publish? All researchers, to preserve their integrity, have an obligation to publish the results of their studies (McMurray et al., 2004) Nothing is easier than not to publish. Anyone can be a bad researcher However, consistent publication requires a high level of research excellence Journals and books simply cannot afford to publish nonsense Publication is the way to keep researchers on their toes McMurray,A., Pace, R. & Scott, D.,(2004), Research: a commonsense approach, Victoria, Thomson Social Science Press. Chapter 1, p

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Benefits of publishing Publication is a pathway to showcasing yourself and your research and has the capacity to help you gain personal or commercial competitive advantage –gain may result in recognition or status in the form of becoming an authority in a specific field, and/or –may even be used for promotion Research is improved through peer review –How else could you get two to three highly intelligent world experts to spend two to three days of their time analysing your work and providing constructive feedback?

Centre for Water Management and Reuse When to Publish Once you know enough to have something to say, then you are ready to publish Three qualifications of –authenticity –originality, and –significance

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Where to Publish Journal –Long turn-around time often a gap of two to three years between the completion of a research project and its publication in a journal –Can be archival –More prestigious –Better feedback from reviewers and editor Conference –Immediate feedback –Publication within 6 or 7 months –Slacker reviewing

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Which Journals? Publish in high-ranked journals –Impact factor –ERA (Australian) ranking (A*, A, B or C) See: Publish in the field

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Starting your writing Start early, don’t underestimate how long it takes Have your content set fairly early and start writing under those headings –Use the questions to structure your writing. Think of new headings to go with each idea you feel like writing about. Write under the headings and rearrange them later if necessary Don’t be perfectionist in the early stage, better to get started than get it perfect first time Set a consistent format/template/styles from the start and use the same software throughout group

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Some tips Understand the writing process – Managing time and place – Procrastination is the thief of time Understand your audience Establish a clear structure A picture paints a thousand words

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Tips: Papers in Progress Keep a folder on your computer titled “Papers in Progress” with sub- folders for each paper on which you are working Record your ideas for each paper on a whiteboard Paper Paper Paper Paper 4....

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Objectives of a journal or conference paper Most people will never read your thesis –don’t think about this too much – it can be depressing The best way to tell others about your work is through an international journal or at a professional conference This also provides a good opportunity for feedback Papers are summaries of your work for presentation to a broad audience, not all of whom are experts in your field

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Purpose of a paper Give readers a clear understanding of the research problem and why it was important Describe exactly how data were collected (experimental design and methodology) Present all data completely and precisely Interpret the data and describe how it resolved the research problem (or not) To draw conclusions and make recommendations

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Research highlights The effective porosity was measured and the total porosity was estimated. The total porosity shows a good correlation with the effective porosity. The exponential equation has been examined for porous concrete. A new model using Griffith’s fracture theory was proposed. Proposed model represents a significant improvement over the exponential equation.

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Over to you... How many journal papers do you think you can produce from your research studies? What are the three main reasons why you are not publishing right now? –Reason –Reason –Reason

Centre for Water Management and Reuse Conclusions Publishing in peer-reviewed journals is one of the best ways of ensuring excellence in your doctoral or your masters by thesis studies It brings in anonymous world experts to help you If you publish three to four journal papers in high impact journals, it is a brave external examiner that questions the findings of these peer-reviewed processes It raises your confidence and self-esteem and it trains you well for a productive future research career Simon Beecham Professor of Sustainable Water Resources Engineering Head of School of Natural and Built Environments University of South Australia