Workshop with editors of major journals looks closely at scholarly publishing

April 29, 2009

A full-day workshop, held on April 17, provided insight into the art of publishing, with presentations and discussions aimed particularly at advanced graduate students and junior faculty. 

"Many scholars have learned the subtleties of publishing in academic journal through the costly process of trial and error," said Professor Hashem Dezhbakhsh (right), chair of Economics.  "But that need not be the case: junior faculty and academia-bound graduate students can learn invaluable lessons from the experiences and insights of editors who are in charge of the publication process."

To provide such information, the Department of Economics, brought together editors from several highly respected journals across the social sciences -- including the Journal of Politics, the American Sociological Review, and the American Economic Review.  (A full list of speakers and journals is on the workshop's website.)  

The day included presentations, on topics ranging from personal reflections about publishing to discussions of editorial policies and processes, and roundtable discussions, on the processes of writing and editing.  For example, Professor Sam Kortum (left), from The University of Chicago and editor of the Journal of Political Economy, delivered a presentation on "Publishing Economics and the Economics of Technical Change" and participated in a roundtable discussion on "Writing, Journal Selection, and Revision."

"As an advanced graduate student this workshop was very enlightening," said Sermin Gungor, a PhD candidate in Economics.  "Before the workshop the process of publishing was a black box for me. I learned invaluable information about how papers are evaluated that I hope will save me from many common mistakes.  The editors also reflected on how a young scholar like myself should proceed to achieve a successful career."

Professor Hugo Mialon (right), who organized the event, especially valued the "behind the scenes" insights from the presentations and discussions.  "For example, Ron Rogowski, the editor of the American Political Science Review, revealed what improves the chances of success for a submission to his journal, and Randy Hodson, editor of the American Sociological Review, warned against the natural tendency to view referees as the enemy, explaining that taking the time to think and respond to their comments almost always pays off."

The editors "discussed all aspects of publishing one’s research, from conceiving an idea, targeting an audience, editing manuscript, and selecting a publication outlet, to posting electronic papers and revising them for journals," according to Professor Maria Arbatskaya (left), Director of Graduate Studies in Economics.

The workshop was well attended both in person and on line: a live webcast of the entire event generated questions for the presenters emailed from across the globe -- or at least from Stanford University in California to universities in Turkey and Israel.

"It was an excellent workshop," said Professor Dezhbakhsh.  "It is our aspiration that it will be the beginning of a multidisciplinary dialogue about scholarship and all its manifestations and dimensions.  We expect the next workshop to be on the 'Pains and Joys of Interdisciplinary Scholarship.'"