For Faculty

25 Genres for Your Scholarly Communication

Before writing up your work, strategize outputs by considering the following non-exhaustive options for where to share your work. What is the right “home” for communicating your research?

Blogs:  Entries in an online platform where individuals or organizations regularly publish written content, typically in the form of short, informal posts.

Editorials: Short pieces written by experts or editors, often providing commentary on current issues or trends in a particular field.

Opinion Pieces: Articles presenting personal viewpoints or interpretations on current research, trends, or controversies in a field from non-experts or experts who are not affiliated with the publication.

Letters to the Editor: Brief communications published in academic journals, addressing or commenting on previously published research.

Book Reviews: Critical evaluations of recently published books, assessing their contributions to a field and their scholarly merit.

Scholarly Magazine Articles: Shorter academic or professional pieces published in scholarly or professional magazines, which are periodicals aimed at a specialized audience in a particular field of study or profession.

Academic Encyclopedia Articles: Comprehensive, authoritative entries written by experts on specific topics, published within academic encyclopedias.

Conference Papers: Short papers presented at academic conferences, often representing preliminary findings or work-in-progress.

Research Articles: Detailed reports of original research findings, often published in academic journals. The gold standard is the peer-reviewed academic journal article.

Review Articles: Comprehensive summaries and evaluations of research on a specific topic, synthesizing findings from multiple studies.

Meta-Analyses: Statistical analyses that combine results from multiple studies on a particular topic to draw broader conclusions.

Systematic Reviews: Comprehensive reviews of research studies, following a systematic methodology to evaluate and summarize evidence on a specific question.

Preprints: Early versions of research papers made publicly available before peer review, allowing for preliminary dissemination and feedback. E.g., Draft papers submitted to the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) site.

Data Papers: Publications focused on describing datasets, including how they were collected, processed, and their potential uses.

Protocols: Detailed descriptions of research methods and procedures, often published to share methodologies with the academic community and ensure transparency. These are sometimes published in peer-reviewed journals.

Case Studies: In-depth analyses of a single case or a small number of cases, often used in fields like medicine, psychology, and business. These are sometimes published in peer-reviewed journals.

Curriculum: Lesson plans, worksheets, assignment concepts, and other material meant for presentation to students.

Book Chapters: Sections of edited volumes, where different scholars contribute chapters on various aspects of a central theme.

Technical Reports: Detailed documents that report on technical or scientific research, often produced by research institutions or government agencies.

White Papers: Authoritative reports that inform readers about complex issues and present an organization’s stance or recommendations.

Monographs: Scholarly works focused on a single topic or a specific aspect of a topic, usually authored by a single scholar or a small group.

Theses: Extensive research papers written as part of completing a master's or doctoral degree, presenting original research and findings.

Dissertations: Detailed research projects written as part of a doctoral program, contributing new knowledge to a field.

Books: Comprehensive works that present a thorough analysis of a subject, often including extensive research and multiple perspectives.

Attribution

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Key Concepts for Journal Publishing

Single Submission Expectation

Most academic journals require that articles not be submitted for consideration to more than one journal at a time. This is also known as concurrent and duplicate/redundant submissions.

Rewrite of a Report or Dissertation Chapter

Rewrites of existing reports run a higher risk of rejection as they may not share the targeted scope or address the specific audience of the journal.

Articles Based on a Published Conference Paper/Report
Outside of conference proceedings, articles based on work presented at conferences may be seen as previously published work. Check your target journal’s webpage (“author instructions”) for their policy on published conference papers and reports. If information is not available online, contact the journal for clarification.

Previously Published Articles or Research Results
Articles published in a journal must contain new information, i.e. information that has not been published elsewhere. If your article builds on previous work or data that has been published already, contact your target journal for clarification before you submit your article. 

Attribution

Identify Journals

Curate a list of potential journal titles by:

• Reflecting on journals you know, read, and respect.
• Reviewing the journals that appear in your literature review.
• Asking a colleague with experience publishing in your area.
• Exploring journals by topic in databases for your discipline (e.g. Browse the Scopus Sources feature by subject area).
• Browsing journals & magazines by category on the library website.
• Searching the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

Select a Journal to Target for Submission 

Improve your chances of acceptance by following the guidance of the journal's website. 

• Review the Scope & Aims to assess fit. 
  • Is the subject of my article covered by the journal?
  • Does the journal publish my type of content (e.g. case studies, opinion, pieces, review, applied research, etc.)? 
• Review the Author Submission Guidelines for specific style requirements (e.g. page length, formatting and citation style).
  • Allocate time for revision, such as reformatting all of your references into a different style (e.g. APA to Chicago).
• Review a few recently published articles to get a sense of how articles are written for this journal.

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How can researchers avoid publishing in untrustworthy journals?

In the world of "predatory" publishers and journals, there are resources to help researchers make sure they are submitting to a legitimate publication. 

Before submitting research, use the practical Think.Check.Submit. checklist tool to evaluate publishers, journals and conferences. 

How to Assess a Journal

Avoid publishing in an undesirable journal with this infographic produced by the Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL).

Attribution

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