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Research and Publishing in IS

Research Methods in the Information Sciences |  The IS Writing and Publishing Process | General Advice on Academic Writing and Publishing

Research Methods in the Information Sciences

Online Methods Texts

Research and Advice on the IS Publishing Process

  • Academic Writing Librarians.
    This blog is maintained by Helen Fallon, who teaches courses on writing for academic publication.  Look here for her course materials, links and citations to more sources for guidance on the writing process, and calls for papers. Last updated 2021.
  • Crawford, Walt. First Have Something to Say: Writing for the Library Profession. Chicago: American Library Association, 2003.  (Main Stacks 808.06602 C859f or online)
    Contents: Why write? — Getting started : room for one more — Journals : tell me something new — Report, inform, explain, illuminate — Copyright, contracts, and ethics — Working with editors — Reviewing — Editorial boards and editing — Nontraditional writing: discussion lists, and weblogs — Doing it yourself : zines & e-newsletters — Finding your niche, building your voice — Overwriting and the second draft — Books — Columns and series — Breaks and blocks — Believing your own stuff — Speaking of speaking — Hiding behind Powerpoint — Who are you–and what’s next?
  • De Castro, Paola.  Librarians of Babel: A Toolkit for Effective Communication. Oxford: Chandos, 2009.  ( Main Stacks 020.14 D355l )
    Contents:  The communication process — What you should know before writing a paper — The writing process : technical considerations — Writing a journal article — Writing a book, a report or a chapter therein — Writing conference papers and issuing proceedings — Using illustrations — Citing the work of others : how and why — Editorial revision — Producing leaflets — How to organize a conference — How to produce effective presentations — How to produce effective posters — Addressing the media.
  • Dew, Stephen H. “An editor’s tips on publishing in library literature.” Journal of Library and Information Services in Distance Learning 2.2 (2005): 3-12.  (Oak Street Facility 027.705 JOL or online)
    Offers good general advice for aspiring librarian-authors, with specific hints for writing articles about library services in distance education. Reprints the referee’s checklist for manuscripts submitted to theJournal of Library & Information Services in Distance Learning.
  • Gordon, Rachel Singer.  Publish, Don’t Perish: How to Get Published. 
    Sponsored by Emerald, this site offers a wealth of tips on every stage of the writing and publishing process.
  • Gordon, Rachel Singer. The Librarian’s Guide to Writing for Publication. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2004.  (Main Stacks 808.06602 G658l)
    Contents: Getting started in library publication — Submitting your work — Queries and proposals — Increasing your odds — Writing and editing your work — Networking and collaboration — The academic environment — Related opportunities — Writing a book — Marketing and promotion : yourself and your work — The electronic environment — The business of publishing.
  • Hollister, Christopher V. Handbook of Academic Writing for Librarians. Chicago: Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association, 2013. (Main Stacks 808.06602 H72h or online-newer edition)
    This book has chapters covering elements of style and organization in academic writing, as well as on understanding the journal and book submission and publication process.
  • Langley, Anne, and and Jonathan D. Wallace.    A Practical Writing Guide for Academic Librarians: Keeping it Short and Sweet.  Oxford, England: Chandos, 2010.  (Main Stacks 808.066027 L266p)
    From the publisher’s website:  “…examples and how-to’s to all the various types of writing academic librarians will need to do in their careers, from progress reports to project plans, cover letters to case studies, book reviews to blogging. The book includes information on presenting data: specifically, tables, graphs, and charts and focuses on real-life writing examples and situations.”  Not about academic publishing, but still potentially useful.
  • Lonergan, David. “How to Get Published, Part I.” Community & Junior College Libraries 17.1 (2011): 35-7.   (Online)
    A guide to getting started publishing in the library literature. Part II focuses on scholarly communications for community college librarians and can be found in volume 19, issue 1-2, 2013.
  • Lorenzen, Michael. “Getting Published: An Overview for Off-Campus Librarians” Journal of Library Administration 49.1 (2009): 23-33.  (Online)
    A publishing how-to guide for distance education librarians.
  • Mosley, Pixie Anne. “What Editors Look for in Submitted Manuscripts: Some Insights.” Library Leadership and Management 25.4 (2011): 1-4.  (Online)
    Advice for librarians looking to publish in this journal or elsewhere in the library literature.
  • Putnam, Laurie L.  “Professional writing and publishing: Resources for librarians.”  C&RL News 70.4 (April 2009): 222-225.  ( Online )
    Selected, annotated websites to help the librarian-writer identify publishing opportunities, manage the writing process, get help with grammar and style, and connect to other writers and mentors.
  • The Researching Librarian 
    For librarians who need “to perform research for purposes of publication, promotion, tenure, or other reasons,” this site links to “freely searchable citation and full-text databases, funding information, relevant journals, statistics and statistical methods, useful research tools, current awareness sources, and conference papers and proceedings.” Last updated in 2018.
  • Schloegl, Christian, and Wolfgang Petschnig. “Library and information science journals: An editor survey.”  Library Collections, Acquisitions, & Technical Services 29 (2005) 4-32.  (Online, access through UIUC)
    This study compares 48 English- and German-language IS journals on many dimensions, including: type of content; online access; characteristics of authors, readers, and editorial boards; review procedures; time from acceptance to publication; rejection and revision rates.
  • Schrimsher, Robert H., and Lori A. Northrup. “Helpful Hints for Every Librarian’s Nightmare: Publishing an Article.”  College & Undergraduate Libraries 20.1 (2013): 87-94.  (Online)
    Advice from the editors of the journal on general writing issues.
  • Smallwood, Carol, ed.  Writing and Publishing: The Librarian’s Handbook.  Chicago: American Library Association, 2010.  (Main Stacks 808.06602 W939 and Online)
    Practical how-to guidance covering fiction, poetry, children’s books/magazines, self-publishing, literary agents, personal blogging, and other topics, including academic writing.
  • Sullivan, Doreen.  “Publication Anxiety: Emotion and the Stages of Publishing in the Library and Information Science Literature.” Australian Library Journal 61.2 (2012): 133-41. (Online)
    This article reviews strategies for dealing with technical issues in writing as well as emotional and psychological issues that crop up in the academic writing and publishing process.

General Advice on Academic Writing and Publishing

  • Becker, Howard S. Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2020. (Online)
  • Belcher, Wendy Laura. Writing Your Journal Article in 12 Weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications, 2009. (Main Stacks and Literatures and Languages Library Z471 .B45 2009)
  • Carriuolo, Nancy, Hunter Boylan, Michele Simpson, et al. “Special Feature: Advice for Novice Researchers Who Wish to Publish Their Results.” Journal of Developmental Education 31.2 (Winter 2007): 28-31. (Online)
    Although written specifically for the Journal of Developmental Education, the advice in this article is applicable for publishing in any journal.
  • Curry, Mary Jane, and Theresa M. Lillis. A Scholar’s Guide to Getting Published in English: Critical Choices and Practical Strategies.  Bristol: Multilingual Matters, 2013.  (Main Stacks 808.02 C937s)This guide covers issues in book and article publishing and participating in academic scholarly conversations more broadly. Includes chapters on collaboration and communication during the process as well.
  • Day, Abby.  How to Get Research Published in Journals.  2nd ed.  Aldershot, England: Gower, 2007.  (Online)
  • Hartley, James.  Academic Writing and Publishing: A Practical Handbook.  New York: Routledge, 2008.  (Literatures & Languages PN146 .H373 2008)
    Emphasizes journal articles, but covers all types of academic writing.
  • Kalwij, Jesse M., and Christian Smit. “How Authors can Maximise the Chance of Manuscript Acceptance and Article Visibility.” Learned Publishing 26.1 (2013): 28-31.  (Online)
    Suggests strategies for overcoming barriers to publication in a competitive publication environment.
  • Kendall-Tackett, Kathleen A.  How to write for a general audience : a guide for academics who want to share their knowledge with the world and have fun doing it.   Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007.  (Communications Library PN145 .K38 2007)
  • Kitchin, Rob and Duncan Fuller. The Academic’s Guide to Publishing London: Sage, 2005. (Main Stacks 070.594 K648a)
  • Luey, Beth. Handbook for Academic Authors. 6th ed. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 2022. (Online)
    Primarily concerned with book publishing, this readable and encouraging guide includes a chapter on journal articles.
  • McCabe, Linda L., and Edward R. B. McCabe. How to Succeed in Academics. 2nd Ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010. (Main Stacks 378.12 M1232h2010 or online)
    See especially chapter 5, “Marketing Your Ideas Through Publications.” This handy book also gives tips on writing research articles, chapters, review articles, abstracts, grant proposals, research data, and curricula vitae, and on preparing for presentations. Examples come mostly from science and medicine.
  • Morgan, Susan E., Tom Reichert, and Tyler R. Harrison. From Numbers to Words: Reporting Statistical Results for the Social Sciences. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2002. (Oak Street)
    Classic text that explains what language to use to report statistics when writing up quantitative research, with sections for different statistical tests.
  • Rocco, Tonette S., Tim Hatcher, and John W. Creswell. The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. (Oak Street or Online)
    Includes sections on becoming a published scholar, writing techniques, preparing submissions, coauthorship, and cross-cultural issues.
  • Olson, Gary M., Ann Zimmerman, and Nathan Bos, eds. Scientific Collaboration on the Internet. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008. (Engineering 507.2 Sci278 or online)