Module: Navigating the Academic Publishing Landscape

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Navigating the Academic Publishing Landscape
Module Code	HUM1023 (ITS: LC604)
Faculty	SALIS	School	Humanities & Social Sciences
NFQ level	9	Credit Rating	5

Description

It is increasingly expected that by the time of graduation a PhD student would have one or more journal publications to their name. This is beneficial for career development, future funding applications, and for dissemination of research, not only for a career in academia but also for future employability in many sectors. This module aims to support PhD students who are new to academic publishing in their journey towards a first journal article. The focus is on journal article publication, but the module also aims to cover the process and challenges of monograph publication as a post-PhD career milestone.

Learning Outcomes

1. Understand the discipline-specific research landscape and make decisions on how to publish early-career work
2. Plan and prepare the submission of a research article to a discipline-specific journal or a monograph proposal
3. Apprehend the purpose of and respond to peer review of research articles;
4. Participate in peer review;
5. Identify relevant monograph publishers and pitch a book proposal

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Workshop	125	Five workshops of two hours’ duration each as follows: Introduction Develop a journal article publication plan Peer review The monograph publishing landscape Assessing progress and reflection
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	11624	Part of Term	Semester 1 & 2
Coursework	0%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	Y
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Sharon O'Brien	Module Teacher	Tetyana Lokot, William Murphy

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Assignment	The module will be assessed with a grade which will be made up of the following components: Attendance 50 marks - 10 marks for each session attended Submission of a journal publication plan - 20 marks for appropriate submission Participation in peer review exercise - 20 marks for full participation Presentation on progress - 10 marks for presentation and level of reflection	100%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Belcher, Wendy (2019) “Writing your journal article in twelve weeks: A Guide to Academic Publishing Success”, University

COARA.EU: https://coara.eu/about/

Langum, Virginia and Kirk P.H. Sullivan (2017) “Writing academic English as a doctoral student in Sweden:..."

Martín, Eloísa (2014) “How to write a good article” Current Sociology 62(7).

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.117

Portwood-Stacer, Laura (2021) The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors. Princeton University Press.

SAGE Reviewer Gateway - resources for reviewers https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/journal-reviewer-gateway

San Francisco Declaration, https://sfdora.org/read/, and, perhaps, https://coara.eu/agreement/the-agreement-full-text/

Indicative Reading List

Books:
None

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None