Online-Workshop “Successful academic publishing for doctoral students”

This practice-oriented workshop develops the foundations for a successful academic publishing strategy for doctoral students. The participants will learn how to assess their research in the context of the scientific publishing market and develop a publication strategy that is in line with their individual career goals.
The workshop covers a wide range for topics, from choosing the most appropriate publication format and the most salient selection criteria for target journals to the practicalities of submitting journal articles and managing review processes, taking into account disciplinary differences between the natural sciences and the humanities/social sciences.
Further practical modules deal with the creation of optimized titles and abstracts for journal articles as well as with the advantages and disadvantages of co-authorship and an overview of the most important aspects of plagiarism and usage rights, as relevant e.g. for the “recycling” of dissertation chapters towards journal articles or contributions to edited collections. Finally, the importance of impact factors, open access and other facets of the digital dimension of academic publishing will be addressed.

Structure
I. Introduction
• What does “successful” publishing actually mean?
• Planning a personal publication strategy during the PhD phase
II. The basics of scientific publishing
• Publication formats: Journal article, edited collection or monograph?
• Journals:
o Which journal is the most suitable for me?
o Journal metrics, impact factors, open access, etc.
o Beware of “predatory” journals
o Submitting an article
• The peer review process
• Differences between the natural sciences and the humanities and social sciences
III. Titles and Abstracts
• What is important when choosing a title?
• The perfect abstract
IV. Practical aspects of authorship
• Recycling data and texts: From dissertation chapter to anthology contribution?
• What do you have to watch out for in co-authorship/co-editorship?
• Plagiarism and usage rights – what am I allowed to do with my text?
• Self-marketing and “impact”
V. Group discussion of specific project-related questions from the plenary session

The course is aimed at doctoral students who have had limited experience with academic publishing and would like basic orientation as well as concrete practical help in productively shaping their profile as early career academic authors. It is aimed at academics based in Germany who nevertheless have an eye on the international, especially the Anglo-American, academic market.
During the workshop, the active participation of the participants and the exchange of experiences is explicitly welcomed. In addition to presentation segments by the coach, there will be group exercises in breakout rooms as well as individual tasks for the participants. The course is held in English.