Five Themes to Keep in Mind when Drafting your Manuscript for Publication
Research is hard, but publishing that research can be harder. Doctoral programs spend a significant amount of time teaching students how to conduct research, but they relatively little time talking about how to publish. Given that a central component of an academic career is the ability to publish our research, knowing how to publish is vital. The good news is that the art of publishing your research is as much of a skill as the research methods, and it is a skill that can be taught.
As the editor of Public Administration and co-editor of the Journal of Public Affairs Education and Public Finance Journal, hundreds of manuscripts from authors such as yourself cross my desk each year. It is my job to look at these manuscripts and decide what ones should be rejected, which ones should be given the opportunity to undergo revisions, and, ultimately, what research should be accepted and published in the journals. When looking at the manuscripts that cross my desk, there are five things that I look for, each of which is something you can learn to address and implement in your work.
Manuscript Fit with the Journal
The first and most crucial consideration in manuscript publishing is the fit between the paper and the journal. Each journal has its focus and topics of interest, which are reflected in its aims and scopes. The question of fit is one of how well your manuscript aligns with the journal’s aims and scope. For example, Public Administration is a generalist journal within the field that focuses on global research. If a manuscript does not speak to a broad audience within the field, it is unlikely to be a good fit for the journal. Similarly, suppose a manuscript does not speak to the state of public administration beyond the context of a single country or location. In that case, it is probably not a good fit for the outlet.
A fast way to decide if your manuscript might be a good journal fit is by looking at your reference list. How many of your references are from the journal? If none, or only a few, of your citations are from the journal, then it is probably not the best fit. Of course, the presence of references alone does not indicate a perfect fit, but your list is a quick way to understand who might be a good outlet.
In considering the fit between a manuscript and a journal, you do need to be aware of how a journal has changed over time. The editor-in-chief of a journal has their perspectives and research agenda that they want to promote. Just because a journal has published on a topic in the past does not mean it is currently interested in the subject. When you are writing your manuscripts, you need to be sure that you are not just connecting with the articles that a journal has published in the past but also with the recent debates that the journal has published.
Contribution of the Theory
Research can either take an applied perspective or a theoretical one. Applied research addresses a particular problem that an organization or individual faces. Typically, this research falls into the purview of work conducted by consultants, public servants, and policy analysts.
Theoretical research, however, is research that seeks to build upon the knowledge of the field. This kind of research creates our understanding of how the world works so that we can take that knowledge and apply it to different situations and contexts. This research typically falls into the purview of research conducted in an academic setting.
Understanding what your manuscript contributes to the theory of the field is essential in deciding where you will send your work. The field’s leading journals focus on publishing research with a significant contribution to theory. However, some journals are open to applied research, and others look to publish research that balances the two.
When submitting a manuscript, you need to be honest with yourself about what contribution your manuscript makes. For example, changing a single variable or applying a previously published framework to a new country may provide interesting and important results, but what does it add to the theory of the discipline? I am not saying that there is no contribution, but rather that you need to make sure that contribution is clear early and often in your research. Two of the most frequent comments I see from reviewers are that the manuscript’s contribution is unclear and that a manuscript does not significantly contribute to theory. Both of these comments can be easily avoided.
Methodological Appropriateness
The third component of a manuscript that we look for is the appropriateness of the methodological choices that the author has made. A long-standing debate between qualitative and quantitative research within higher education has led many to believe one approach is superior. This is not the case. Instead, the consideration is whether the methodology chosen to test a study’s hypotheses captures the research question and whether that methodology was the best choice given the circumstances of the study.
There is a tendency for people to choose a method based on what they know best or what is trendy. (I have even seen some scholars write papers as an excuse to use a particular statistical test.) As a researcher, however, you should take a specific approach because that is necessary for the study. The decision on what is appropriate is yours to make. Once you have made your choice, you must convey the appropriateness when writing the methods section of your paper.
As an editor, I always look at the methods used in a study when deciding whether it should be sent for review. I look for whether the approach tests the hypotheses and whether there are glowing concerns about its appropriateness. If a manuscript is sent out for review, I always try to ensure that at least one of the reviewers is familiar with the approach to ensure it was correctly implemented. Authors, editors, and reviewers often quibble about the methods used in a manuscript, but often, these quibbles come back to an unclear methods section. If reviewers are raising concerns about your methods, you were probably unclear why your choices were the best.
Quality of the Research
It should go without saying that journals want to publish high-quality research, but what does high quality entail? Of course, the theoretical implications of a study and its methodological sophistication contribute to a perception of the quality of a manuscript, but they are not direct measures of quality. Instead, quality of research refers to how you have undertaken the research process.
Quality reflects the author’s work when conducting the research and writing the manuscript. It reflects that the author has ensured their theoretical explanations are clear, well thought-out, and documented. It is the assurance that all relevant literature has been included in the study. And it reflects whether the author has chosen appropriate samples for their data, conducted the analysis, and adequately interpreted the findings.
A pitfall of quality that reviewers often bring up is that some of the relevant literature is missing or, worse, ignored. For example, new scholars frequently justify their research by saying that nobody in public administration has examined a particular issue. Sometimes this may be true, but have the scholars taken steps to ensure that is the case? Tens of thousands of articles are published each year in the field, allowing for lots of opportunities for someone to have missed a piece here or there. Conducting quality research means you will have spent time fully studying and understanding the literature related to your manuscript.
Communication of the Manuscript
Finally, we consider how successful a manuscript communicates to the reader when deciding whether to move forward with a manuscript or reject it. When looking at manuscripts, and even when considering my own work, there are three questions that I always consider. These are:
1. Is the manuscript clear and accessible?
2. Does the manuscript accomplish what you said it was going to do?
3. Has the manuscript been edited and polished?
Much of the research we conduct in public administration is done as part of a dialogue between academics, but the discipline also has those who engage in the practice of public administration. The greatest utility that research can have is when it can be read and applied by academics and practitioners. This can only be achieved when we successfully communicate in our work.
When teaching graduate students how to write research papers, I often recommend what I call the “mother test.” Your mom is not likely an expert in the area you are conducting research in, but a successful paper is one that anyone picking it up would be able to follow the discussion and understand its findings and contributions. The mother test is imagining that you have given the manuscript to your mother and asking her if she could follow it as she read it. If it passes the mother test, then it is likely clear and accessible for anyone else who wants to read it.
You must also consider whether the manuscript accomplished what you said it would. This involves reviewing your manuscript to ensure all loose ends have been addressed. For example, if the abstract or introduction says you will do something, you should ensure it has been done, or you need to revise the manuscript to remove the reference. The expectation that a manuscript does what it says it will do is a given, but research is conducted over time. It is easy for a paper to take a new direction or for old statements to be forgotten as it is being written. While the thrill of finishing a draft is exciting, it is important to take the time to look back and ensure all details have been resolved.
Most journals have manuscripts copy-edited before publication, but this copy-editing looks for broad issues with spelling and grammar. It is not a time for the author to make significant revisions or polishes to a manuscript. Instead, this should be done before submission. A well-polished manuscript does not guarantee acceptance at any journal, but it does help to smooth the review process as reviewers will have an easier time reading and understanding the manuscript and its aims.
Publishing is hard, and it leaves you vulnerable as an author. As you engage in research and submit your manuscripts to journals, it is important to remember that the review process is not there to say whether you and your work are valuable. You are, and it is. The review process is there to help improve the quality of the work being published and to tell the editor how likely it is that a manuscript can be improved within a period of time. Use the process to your advantage. Take the reviews, apply them to your manuscript, and learn from them. We all have manuscripts rejected, but with hundreds of journals in the field, there is always a home for every piece.
