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Scholarly Publishing

Why Publish?

Publishing is one of the primary means for exchanging ideas within the scholarly community. Advances in technology have changed the methods that we use to share these ideas. As information creators and consumers, we need to consider how we can contribute our ideas to these scholarly communities so that our work will have the greatest impact within our respective fields.

The purpose of this guide is to connect you with different resources to help you find the right communities to share your work.

Where to Publish?

Journals and books are not the only places to publish your work. Presenting at conferences is a great way to get feedback about the ideas you are working on and to connect with others who are doing similar work. At a conference you can read a paper, give a presentation, or present a research poster to share your work, which is another form of publishing.

When choosing where to publish or present, consider the following:

  • Do you belong to a professional organization(s) in your field?
    • Do they hold a conference where you can submit a proposal?
    • Do they publish a journal?
  • What are the major journals in your field? Go to the journal website and read the submission guidelines.
  • Want to get practice presenting your topic before presenting at a major conference? Look for smaller conferences at other schools to present. You might also want to present at Lesley’s Community of Scholars Day.
  • There are different types of publishing models to consider. Some publishers offer open access (OA) options and others do not. OA publications do not require your readers to pay to access them. Check out the Open Access Subject Guide to learn more.