Why is it so important to publish your research?
Being strategic in your publishing will assist you to make the most of your time. Having a publishing strategy from the onset of a project, and developing the strategy throughout your career will ensure that you are effective in your research.
A well-developed strategy will allow you to focus on your research, leaving assessment exercises and benchmarking criteria e.g. ERA, PDPs and citations to "look after themselves". An impressive publishing record will also strengthen grant, job and promotion applications.
At JCU, we recommend you use the three elements described below to frame your strategy: Distinctiveness, Quality and Visibility.
How is your research distinctive - or what can you do to make it distinctive? What strategies can you use to make you and your research stand out within your field so it is noticed by your target audience(s)?
There are two aspects to quality publishing:
The quality of your work published in academic outlets will be assessed by standard academic markers e.g. number of publications and number of citations.
You also need to consider how you will disseminate your research in quality outlets that reach beyond your academic audience. Public sharing of your research findings has a heightened level of importance in our "post-truth" and "fake news" world, with the general public increasingly confused with trying to sort out fact from fiction. To help address this, The Conversation is a great place to publish authoritative, plain language articles about your research - and raise the visibility of your research.
Your audience includes those who are intrinsic to your academic field i.e. your colleagues and those who are external e.g. research users, communities, relevant professions, Government/policy makers and NGOs.
Presenting your research at conferences, participating in research networks and being active in your professional societies will raise the visibility of your research amongst your intrinsic audience.
To raise the visibility of your research to your external audience, use traditional and social media. Multi-media options e.g. videos and apps are particularly effective.
Check out the Researcher Profiles, Identifiers and Social Engagement Library Guide for information that will help you select tools for communicating your research, and get you started in using the tools.
Other tips for raising the visibility of your research are:
The visibility of your research will depend on it being easy to discover and access. Open Access is the best way to find and read about your research, for both your intrinsic and external audiences.
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