When I started my career, I asked my professor: where should I target my papers?
They replied: MIS Quarterly.
I asked why.
They said: if it’s not worth writing a high-quality paper, it’s not worth writing.
I was puzzled. BC every paper can’t possibly appear in a top journal in my field.
I asked for clarification.
They explained that if you write every paper for a top journal, you write a quality paper. Even if it doesn’t earn a spot in that journal, you will have a paper that you are proud of.
They went on to explain that in their opinion, the level of effort required for a top journal and another type of journal was not that different.
They then noted that I was being trained to pursue excellence & it was up to me to decide if I wanted to do that.
I recall feeling a bit overwhelmed, recalibrating my goal from having any journal publication to having top journal publications & focusing on learning the craft of writing papers.
Later, as an early-career scholar, I had a chance to chat with one of my faculty when I was frustrated after a journal rejected a paper. They reminded me of the logic of pursuing excellence.
I’ll never forget these words.
‘If you write for a low-tier outlet, you aren’t doing your best work. Of course, it will be rejected. Remember, we trained you to aim high, so you always write good papers.’
They were right, I realized, & by aiming low, I had not written a great paper.
I recalibrated again & while I have #publications in a variety of outlets - each one was started with high aspirations.
Today. I tell all of my #PhDStudents aim for a #topjournal and do their very best work. Every student that listens has succeeded.
So what does that mean?
First, write well.
Master writing in English. This takes time & repetition. It takes coaching. It does improve with time.
Second, be thorough.
Small mistakes have bullwhip effects on projects. Take time to design the study well. Pretest, pilot, pilot, execute.
Hurry up research designs rarely succeed.
Third, read.
Fields have trends. If you don’t pay attention, you will miss shifts in methods & ideas.
Fourth, execute.
Execute the study well but also execute the paper well.
Rarely have I placed a paper in a good outlet that has not been iterated on dozens of times.
Fifth, be resilient.
#Rejection happens. Dust yourself off. Clean the paper up. Send it to the next outlet.
Take lessons learned & use them to improve the next paper.
Sixth, mindset.
Writing for a #topoutlet requires #confidence & #humility.
You have to be sure of your ideas & be willing to take feedback.
Confidence shields you from tough comments. Humility gives you the resilience to respond.
Finally, fun.
Enjoy the process. Publication takes time.
If you aim high, you will find the quality of your work improves. Even if you don’t hit in a top journal, you will write papers that you are proud of.
Best of luck.
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