Participants will... Understand how to begin adapting course papers for publication. Apply selected tools to discover high-quality journals in a field. Evaluate journals to select the best match for a manuscript submission. Presenter: Erin Owens is a full Professor in the Newton Gresham Library, where she has spent more than fourteen years in varying roles: guiding students through history research, improving web services, coordinating access and interlibrary services, and supporting researchers with numerous stages of the scholarly communication cycle, from research management to post-publication.

1. Welcome!
As you come in and get settled, please log into Mentimeter
to participate in activities later in the presentation.
1. Go to www.menti.com
2. Use the code 2866 9734
3. Wait for activities during the session

2. The Graduate School
Leanna Martin, Thesis/Dissertation Specialist
Thesis/Dissertation Information and Resources
• The Graduate School Webpage, Thesis/Dissertation Tab
 Deadlines
 Students Forms
 Formatting: Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Manual,
Templates, Approved Style Manuals
• Thesis/Dissertation 101 Workshop (Zoom)
• Thesis/Dissertation Formatting Workshops (Zoom)

3. From Term Paper to
Article: Writing for
Publication
Hannah Menendez, Assistant Professor, Newton Gresham Library
Erin Owens, Professor, Newton Gresham Library
Graduate & Undergraduate Instructor Academy (GUIA) 10 Jan 2022

4. Getting Started with the
Library

5. Using Library Resources for Your
Research
Where to start
• Engine Orange
• GoogleScholar
• Subject-specific databases
• Research guides
Need more help?
• Schedule a research
consultation with your
subject librarian
• Sign up for our One-to-
One program

6. Adapting Writing and
Selecting Journals

7. Adapting Coursework for Publication
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 2866 9734
Think about your dissertation, thesis, or any paper you
wrote for a class.
What aspects of this paper do you imagine you might need
to change in order to convert that student writing to
scholarly writing?

8. Infographic from Editage Insights, https://www.editage.com/insights/9-differences-between-a-thesis-and-a-journal-article. Displayed in two pieces for readability.

9. Infographic from Editage Insights, https://www.editage.com/insights/9-differences-between-a-thesis-and-a-journal-article. Displayed in two pieces for readability.

10. Consequences of
the “Wrong” Journal
•Paper is rejected, not a good fit for the journal.
•We lose time and momentum during an unsuccessful
evaluation / review process.
•Paper is published, but does not effectively reach desired
audience.
•If the journal was predatory, we end up with a problematic
citation on our CV that affects our professional reputation.

11. What Makes the “Right” Journal?
Go to www.menti.com and use the code 2866 9734
What feature(s) are you expecting / looking for in order to
identify the “right” journal?

12. What Makes the “Right” Journal?
• Consider yourself and your work:
• What audience do you want to reach?
• What are your goals?
• What do you value?
• How do the journal’s traits align with you? Consider factors like:
• Lack of predatory features / concerns
• Mission and scope
• Content focus / angle (e.g., theoretical vs. practical)
• Target audience and circulation/distribution
• Style / tone (e.g., formal vs. conversational)
• Publisher (e.g., scholarly vs. commercial)
• Peer review model and average review time
• Rankings, acceptance rate, and citation-based indicators
• Paywall versus open access

13. Selecting Journals
• Two alternate approaches:
1. Journal-first search in Cabell’s Scholarly Analytics or
similar journal indexing resource
• May be more efficient for more experienced scholarly authors
2. Article-first search
• Often easier for early career researchers
• We will explore this approach together today

14. Selecting Journals: Practice
• Think of a topic you have researched or want to research.
• Start at https://library.shsu.edu and use the Engine
Orange search box to search for your topic.
• Check the box for Scholarly (Peer-Reviewed Journals).
• Now browse the results and jot down journal titles of
potential interest.
• Find articles that feel similar in scope and audience.
• Expand the Publication facet & click Show More.

15. Selecting Journals: Practice
• Now go to https://shsulibraryguides.org/az.php
• Click “C” and click “Cabell’s Scholarly Analytics.”
• Search for a journal title you noted in Engine Orange.
• Click on the journal’s title to expand.
• On About tab, peruse scope, submission, & review details.
• Click Metrics tab for additional details.
• Use the Compare checkbox on the journal cover image to
add multiple journals to a side-by-side comparison.

16. Suggested Resources
• Newton Gresham Library’s Guide to Scholarly Publishing:
• https://shsulibraryguides.org/publishing
• Cabell’s Scholarly Analytics:
• https://ezproxy.shsu.edu/login?url=http://www.cabells.com/
• MLA Directory (for more Arts/Humanities journals):
• https://ezproxy.shsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/lo
gin.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=kah
• Directory of Open Access Journals:
• https://doaj.org/
• Think. Check. Submit. – Journal trust evaluation checklist:
• https://thinkchecksubmit.org/journals/

17. Thank You! Questions?
• Contact me any time…
• Erin Owens
• Professor, Newton Gresham Library
• 936-294-4567
• eowens@shsu.edu
• My slides will be posted after this presentation at:
https://shsulibraryguides.org/publish/slides
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