1. Dr John Corbett USP-CAPES International Fellow
Topics in research
Dr John Corbett
USP-CAPES International Fellow

2. Understanding academic publishing
What do lecturers have to do to get promoted?
Journals, articles or books?
How do I get published?
Where should I get published?
Should I be an editor?
The process of getting published in a scholarly journal/finding a reputable book publisher.

3. Typical university promotion guidelines
Publications (e.g. by categories such as refereed authored books, refereed edited books, refereed book articles, refereed journal and articles, refereed conference proceedings, working papers, un-refereed items and creative works);
Please take note of the following when stating the publications:
- For books or book articles, please indicate the names of publishers and whether they are blindly refereed;
- For each co-authored publication, please indicate the applicant’s percentage of contribution;
- For publications, please provide the journal grade, citation indices, and / or impact factor information, if available.

5. Build up your academic profile

6. What is the h-index?
The author h-index measures a researcher’s impact based on the number of citations to their work. Citation counts do not necessarily reflect research impact in the Humanities. The h-index is the number of papers (N) with at least N citations each. For example, an author with an h-index of 9 has at least nine published papers, each of which has been cited at least nine times. Two key factors may impact on your h-index: 1. The journals indexed by the database - journals not indexed by the database will not be included in the h- index; no database indexes every journal. 2. The name you publish under - search every variation of your name used on your publications. The h-index is not widely used outside the Sciences. --University of Otago Library website:

7. Where should I get published?

8. Assessing journal quality

9. Editing a journal 4 issues a year, usually Submissions sent to you
Read the abstract and skim the article
Reject, or send the article to 2 blind reviewers
Wait for their reviews. Then make a decision.
Send the reviews to the author: accept/reject
Wait for revisions if accepted with major or minor revisions
Publish
Start again.

10. Typical questions to article reviewers
Explain in detail how the article does or does not provide sufficient background information and literature review regarding its topic. Include in your assessment thoughts and recommendations as to how the author(s) can augment this area of the manuscript.
List and describe in detail any topic(s) or information related to the discussion in the article which appears to be missing. Please provide suggestions as to what topic(s) or information the author(s) can add to ensure that the scope of the article’s contents is complete.
Please supply a detailed discussion as to whether or not the information in this article clearly illustrates the issues, problems, and trends related to the theme of this journal. Please offer your constructive and analytical assessment and list suggestions for improvement and/or enhancement.
Please provide your opinion as to whether or not the issues, problems, and trends described in this article are given appropriate emphasis. Supply specific recommendations as to how the author(s) can improve in this area.
Give an explanation of any serious over-emphasis or under-emphasis of any issues/problems in the article. Please provide critical and constructive assessment by offering suggestions as to how the article can be improved and enhanced in this area.

11. Typical questions to article reviewers
In your opinion, what are the weaknesses of this article? Please describe how these specific weaknesses contribute to the ineffective aspects of this article. We ask that you carefully list specific suggestions for improvement and/or enhancement.
In your opinion, what are the strengths of this article? Please describe how these specific strengths contribute to the value and quality aspects of this article and how said strengths can be utilized to make the weak areas of the article more effective.
Please describe whether or not this article is properly directed to the proposed target audience of the journal to which it was submitted.
Please describe your thoughts on the effectiveness of the organization of the article. How can the “flow” of this article be improved? Please be specific.
Please provide your opinion as to whether or not the references used in this article are sufficient, appropriate, and up-to-date. If not, please suggest the relevant references you feel are necessary for the author(s) to include.

12. Take home messages
Academic publishing in the Arts and Social Sciences has swung towards articles.
There is pressure to publish in high quality indexed journals.
You need to become familiar with the style and conventions and demands.
The treadmill never stops!