Call for Passion: Experts Speak on How to Publish in Journals

More than a few hands were raised when the question “Who is afraid of writing and publishing?” was asked at the start of the July 29, 2022 “Art and Science of Journal Article Writing” webinar, sponsored by the Social Development Research Center.

Addressing a now “captive audience” and ready to dispel such fears, DLSU Philosophy Department associate professor Dr. Hazel Biana shared her experiences in scholarly publishing, from once being a neophyte to now aiming to release 7 to 8 journal articles a year. In her presentation entitled “ARTicles: Some Tips on Research Writing and Publishing,” she revealed that despite numerous paper and conference presentation rejections over the past three years, she currently has pending articles lined up for completion, more experience in co-authorship, more experience with interdisciplinary research projects and grants, and requests to review articles for Q1 journals every week. She relayed important points that aspiring writers should be guided by, including being “in love” with the topic one is writing about (with the option to use free writing apps if needed), disregarding the structure of formats for the time being (which can lead to accidental research discoveries), and identifying one’s “muse” or reason for writing, whether it be another person, a cause, or even competition.

Philippine Humanities Review editor-in-chief and Diliman Review editor Dr. Jayson de Guzman Petras, meanwhile, offered “Practical Advice on Publishing in Journals” by discussing the steps involved in the submission and review of manuscripts, the reasons why manuscripts are not accepted for publication, and what should be considered in ensuring publication in a journal. Takeaways from his talk were the importance of knowing one’s chosen journal according to its area of focus, target readers, type of articles published, process of peer review, and status or reputation in the academic community; asking oneself what are the qualities that make an article easy or difficult to read; and ensuring that grammar and spelling have been checked, requirements fulfilled, and the prescribed style and format followed, prior to submission.

Before concluding the webinar, Dr. Biana and Dr. Petras addressed participants’ questions on what to consider when selecting a journal article reviewer, how to avoid negative reactions to new or unfamiliar approaches used in a study, how to encourage publication in local journals when SCOPUS-indexed or high impact publications are the benchmark, how to set targets in terms of how many publications to achieve in a year, and how to determine if a publisher is predatory.

Over 90 registrants from the University of St. La Salle-Bacolod, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University, Foundation University, Daegu Catholic University, and the Department of Education participated in the webinar via Zoom.

The Social Development Research Center provides technical assistance and research capacity building and training workshops, both online and face-to-face, on various topics in the conduct of research to faculty members of colleges and universities as well as government and non-government organizations in the Philippines. For queries and quotations, interested parties may contact Ms. Ailene Agang at [email protected].