Researchers celebrate academic writing success after 12 Weeks to Publication program

More than a dozen papers were submitted to Q1 journals by participants of the Faculty of Health’s 12 Weeks to publication pilot program which ran from February to June this year. The program, led by Dr Nikki Percival, was open to higher degree research students and early career researchers to gain an understanding of the publication process from experienced researchers, share strategies for success in the academic arena, and refine their academic writing skills. Participants were invited to bring a draft manuscript, conference paper, or thesis or dissertation chapter, to develop throughout the program into a peer-reviewed article ready for submission to a high ranking journal.

“Knowing that everybody goes through the same process of actually making it ready was very reassuring. It was good to hear from the experts how each step works,” commented PhD student Nasrin Javid, who has a submitted a paper to a high impact journal since completing the program.

PhD student Peter James commented on the program’s open and non-hierarchical environment. “We were free to ask questions and share our opinions on a level-playing field. Having more senior researchers share their insights into how to tackle some of the challenges we might face was really valuable. As a young researcher, this is something really important to me because these are the nuances of the publication process that you cannot learn from the books,” said Peter.

With already several years’ experience writing successfully for publication, researcher Chris Rossiter said she learnt useful lessons about making articles more engaging and appealing to editors and readers, and the particular importance of composing a compelling abstract. “My writing has become more focused and strategic, and I feel even more pleasure and enthusiasm about the process,” said Chris.

Members of the program’s working group, Professor Jane Phillips, Dr Nikki Percival, Dr Jane Frawley, and Professor Fiona Brooks celebrated the program’s success together with participants at an end-of-program luncheon last week. A second session of the program is currently being planned for later this year.