A Scholar’s Thoughts About Social Media and Blogging

Over the years I have received well-meaning, but ultimately inaccurate — or even harmful — advice from superiors or colleagues at work and friends about how to “do” social media and blogging. I have been reflecting on this topic a lot lately. Here are some things I have been told (which are totally bogus) and my responses to them.

“Facebook should be for personal stuff. Keep work posts to LinkedIn or Twitter/X.”

This is bullshit. Your social media accounts are for whatever you want them to be for. I have had people unfriend or unfollow me on Facebook because they only want to see photos of my personal life. I share some posts about personal things occasionally, but not often… and that’s my choice.

I share stuff on social media channels, in part, to connect with people who have similar interests to me. If those things don’t interest you, I respect that, but don’t preach to me about how to use my own social media accounts.

“Blogging about work-related topics isn’t a hobby. You need non-work-related hobbies.”

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

I remember a senior administrator telling me this. They were criticizing me when I said that I like to blog as a hobby. They opined that hobbies should not have anything to do with work. Your hobbies — what you do outside of work to relax, blow off steam, or decompress — is your own business. If it happens to relate to work, that is also your own business.

I like blogging about things I am interested in. I happen to be interested in topics that relate to my job — ethics, integrity, higher education, etc. No one pays me to blog, so it is not technically work. It’s my blog and I’ll write about whatever I damn well please.

For the record, I have some hobbies that do not relate to my profession, but I may not post about them online. I don’t post photos of every meal I cook, even though cooking is one of my hobbies. What I share on social channels does not represent the entirety of my life.

Well-Meaning but Misplaced Advice About Online Activity

I have found wonderful online communities and individuals whom I would not have connected with any other way, if it were not for social media. In some cases, there are individuals whom I have never met in person, but yet I feel an affinity for, because we share similar interests and have meaningful conversations and interactions about things that are mutually important to us. Over the years, I have found that when I have met someone in real life for the first time that I have had a connection with online about a topic of mutual interest, the real-life encounter is easy, authentic, and often fun.

Conversely, there are people in my social media circles whom I originally met in person that I am not all that close to, or haven’t seen in years or decades. Some of these individuals seem to think it is OK to offer unsolicited advice about how to use my own social media accounts when the reality is that they don’t genuinely care much about me. If they did, they would know that I would find it more supportive if they just appreciated me for who I am, rather than who they want me to be.

Concluding Comments

I am really lucky that I enjoy my work — a lot. I have a great job that happens to align brilliantly with my strengths, expertise, and interests. I recognize this is a privilege and even a luxury. Not everyone has such luxury. Someone said to me recently, “When your interests, passion, and expertise line up with your job, you have hit the proverbial jackpot.”

That comment caused me to reflect on these criticisms in a new way. Before the neoliberalization of higher education, being a scholar was as much a lifestyle as it was a job. Being a scholar is part of my identity. It is part of who I am and I recognize that this a tremendous privilege. There are many things wrong with higher education and the system, as a whole, does not afford most of us the luxury of being scholars. There are many things that I am not good at, and some of them I am downright lousy at. But when it comes to things I am passionate about (e.g., academic integrity), I’m full on — all the time. And you know what? That. Is. Perfectly. OK.

For what it is worth, it has taken me years, no… decades, to get to a place where I can just say that.

Photo by Stanley Morales on Pexels.com

So, I’m just going to own it. I have worked hard — exceptionally hard — for the life that I have, which is that of a scholar. It is not perfect, by any stretch. I dreamed of being a professor from the time I was little. I may not sit around sipping brandy while sitting in a leather chair in a library with shelves lined from floor to ceiling with books. That reality does not exist — at least not for me. My version of being a scholar includes having a messy desk, half-read books strewn all over my untidy house, and active engagement with my online communities, my social media, and my blog.

I am in a stage of my career now, as a tenured associate professor, that I can say things that I felt too vulnerable to say as a precariously-employed or untenured academic. This blog post is for anyone out there who has been chastised or criticized by administrators, colleagues, or anyone else who has made you feel “less than” for being yourself in online spaces and communities. If you want to blog or post about topics that matter to you, I’m right there with you. If those topics relate to your work, that’s cool with me – and this should also be OK to others. If your employer does not oblige you or expect these things from you and you are engaging in these activities because they feel meaningful and important to you, then all the power to you. You may be giving of yourself, your expertise, and your wisdom in ways that extend beyond the requirements of your job – and that can actually be a pretty special and generous thing to do.

What I ask of my colleagues and superiors is that you accept me for who I am. The same goes for colleagues and others who also may be similar to me, colleagues who engage in online and social media activities about stuff that is important to them – especially when it might relate to advocacy, activism, and improving the lives of other people (in my case, students). Reserve your judgements about who a person should be and appreciate them for who they actually are. In my opinion, that is a more genuine form of acceptance, support, and even friendship. In the meantime, I am just going to sit here on a Saturday morning and keep blogging about stuff that matters to me…

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This blog has had over 3.6 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity

Self-Plagiarism: Publishing Works Based on a Thesis or Dissertation

A question I am often asked is: Is it considered self-plagiarism to publish an article or some other output from one’s thesis?

I will start with a disclaimer: The contents of this post may not represent the views of my employer, an editor, or a publisher. There is no singular or universally accepted definition of self-plagiarism. This post is based on my expertise as a scholar of plagiarism and academic misconduct. I have written about self-plagiarism in this peer-reviewed article and I dedicate an entire chapter to the topic my book, Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topics in Academic Integrity.

In this post, I use the word “thesis” to include any kind of student final summative written work including dissertations or other forms of final projects. A thesis can refer to undergraduate (often honours) work or graduate work, which is also called post-graduate work in some countries. In this post, I am talking specifically about student academic work that is supervised by a professor and receives approval and validation through formal evaluation such as a written appraisal of the work, an examination and/or an oral defence.

In this post I am talking more about a thesis with a traditional format (e.g., five or six chapters) than about a manuscript-based thesis (also called “thesis by publication” or “PhD by publication”). The queries I get about self-plagiarism are almost always about theses that follow a historically dominant structure with chapters that remains prevalent in the humanities and social sciences.

With these details covered, let’s get to the good stuff. Firstly, it is both expected and encouraged that students will publish from their thesis. After the oral defence or final thesis evaluation, the student’s work can be further refined and developed in order for it to be ready for publication. In many cases, student work may require substantive revisions (or even a complete overhaul) before it is suitable for publication in a journal or a book. It is foolhardy to assume that just because a student thesis has passed that it is automatically suitable for publication elsewhere. In some cases, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Here are the few things to think about after the thesis has been approved by the university authorities:

Archiving the Thesis in a Digital Repository

Our friendly institutional librarians at the University of Calgary have clarified for me on a previous occasion that theses are considered “unpublished”. Adding a thesis to a digital repository means it is “archived”, but not “published”. Learning that distinction was helpful for me.

Request an embargo on the release of the thesis into the public domain

Students can ask for an embargo on the release of the thesis until the results are published (e.g., journal article, book chapter or any other format). There seems to be a distressing but growing predatory practice around graduate student theses (or the data therein) being misappropriated, repackaged, and published under someone else’s name. I have heard of two such instances recently and, anecdotally, it seems this practice is growing internationally, though I have no data to substantiate this assertion.

This recommendation stems not from protecting oneself from self-plagiarism, but rather from predatory “bad actors” who have the intention of harvesting your work before you yourself have published it.

An embargo on a thesis should be requested for a reasonable and finite period of time, with the goal of making the research publicly accessible at some point within a couple of years of graduation, unless there is a compelling reason to extend the embargo longer than that.

Advice About How to Avoid Allegations of Self-plagiarism 

To avoid questions about academic or research misconduct, and specifically self-plagiarism, that can emerge when a student publish works derived from their thesis, there are two points to consider: communication and transparency. Both points should be taken into consideration.

Communication: Correspond with the Editor Prior to Submission

I recommend that students/graduates correspond with the journal editors prior to, or at the time of manuscript submission, in writing, to ensure full transparency. State clearly that the manuscript is drawn from the thesis and parts of it may be replicated exactly (e.g., methods section). Other parts of the manuscript may be derived (and/or significantly revised) from the thesis and if that is the case, offer some details, but avoid going overboard. Ask directly if such a submission would be considered by the journal / publisher. There is no harm is being clear and transparent with journal editors in this regard.

If the journal editor says no, then consider withdrawing the manuscript and trying a different publication. It is important to recognize that editors have the authority to make such judgements, so don’t be rude or try to convince the editor that their decision is wrong. Maintain a polite and professional tone at all times. Thank them for considering your request and move on.

If the editor says yes, then you are ready to proceed. Ensure you are attending to the matter of transparency during the preparation of your manuscript.

If you communicate with an editor orally (e.g., a face-to-face conversation or a video call), follow up in writing to document the conversation. Ask for confirmation that you have understood the agreement correctly. 

I recommend keeping a record of your written correspondence in case you ever need it again in the future.

Transparency: Declare the re-use of previous content in the manuscript itself

As you prepare your manuscript for submission, ensure you are being transparent about the re-use of content derived from your thesis. This can be done in a couple of ways:

Explicit transparency statement: Add a declaration to the article/chapter/knowledge output stating that it is derived from your thesis. This way, you are declaring there may be some duplication helps to mitigate concerns about self-plagiarizing. You do not need be excessive with your statement. You can keep it short and simple. Here is some sample text that you are welcome to use, re-use, or adapt (as in, I am openly giving anyone permission to use or adapt this statement):

“This work is derived from my doctoral dissertation. Portions of the text resemble or may replicate the original text from my unpublished PhD thesis and have been reproduced as such with the permission of the editors”.

Note that if you use this statement verbatim, it may (ironically) be picked up by text-matching software used by publishers (i.e., flagged for possible plagiarism). I won’t take responsibility for that, so use some judgement in how you prepare your transparency statement.

Attribution: Self-citation is a contested issue in academic publication and it is prudent to avoid over-citing oneself. There are some circumstances in which self-citation is appropriate and this is one of them. When you are deriving work from your thesis, it is appropriate to cite your thesis in the list of references of your publication.

Be careful and attentive when it comes to attribution in publications derived from your thesis. You still need to cite any original works that your thesis drew from. I once saw a manuscript derived from a student thesis and the only work listed in the references was the student thesis! This is disrespectful to the authors of any original works the student thesis was drawn from, so be sure to give credit where it is due. Ensure you give attribution to the authors whose work informed your thesis and any subsequent publications.

This does not mean that you need to replicate the entire bibliography from your thesis in subsequent publications, unless, of course, you are specifically citing every single source in the publication. Instead, be meticulous and mindful to ensure that the specific sources that inform subsequent publications are cited appropriately. Details matter, and if you are going to publish from your thesis, it is worth it to focus on producing the highest quality publication possible.

Finally, assuming that you have a good relationship with your supervisor, I recommend that you keep them informed. In some cases, co-publication with the supervisor may be appropriate, but not in all cases. Co-publishing with one’s supervisor is a topic for another blog post, so I won’t delve deep into those complexities here. Suffice to say that staying in touch with your supervisor about the publication of your work may be beneficial to you, depending on the circumstances.

The bottom line is that concerns about self-plagiarism might be solved with open communication and transparency.

Further reading

I have learned a lot about self-plagiarism from Miguel Roig and if you are interested in the topic, I recommend reading his work. Here are some suggestions:

• Roig, M. (2005). Re-using text from one’s own previously published papers: An exploratory study of potential self-plagiarism. Psychological Reports, 2005(97), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.97.1.43-49
• Roig, M. (2008). The debate on self-plagiarism: Inquisitional science or high standards of scholarship? Journal of Cognitive & Behavioral Psychotherapies, 8(2), 245-258.
• Roig, M. (2010). Plagiarism and self-plagiarism: What every author should know. Biochemia Medica, 20(3), 295-300. https://www.biochemia-medica.com/en/journal/20/3/10.11613/BM.2010.037
• Roig, M. (2023). On recycling our own work in the digital age. In S. E. Eaton (Ed.), Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed., pp. 1-20). Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-079-7_15-2

Related posts

How to Get Your Academic Article Published in a High Quality Journal  https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2024/01/02/how-to-get-your-academic-article-published-in-a-high-quality-journal/

What is the difference between a thesis, a dissertation and a capstone project? https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/what-is-the-difference-between-a-dissertation-a-thesis-and-a-capstone-project/

What’s the difference between a citation and a reference?  https://drsaraheaton.wordpress.com/2013/10/18/whats-the-difference-between-a-citation-and-a-reference/ 

What’s the difference between a manuscript and an article?

What’s the difference between a manuscript and an article?

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This blog has had over 3.6 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity

Plagiarism Witch Hunts Cause Harm

We are at the end of the first week of January 2024 and so far, the media (at least in North America) has made plagiarism a topic of the year. Claudine Gay, the (now former) President of Harvard University resigned on January 2. Her case has been written about extensively in the news and I won’t repeat all the details here. I will highlight one point that is relevant for this post. Writing for the New Yorker, Emma Green highlights that “what ultimately brought Gay down wasn’t the furor over her testimony. It was accusations of plagiarism in her scholarly work, which has focused in part on Black political participation.” I’ve given media commentary on this case here and here.

One of the people who campaigned against Gay on social media was William Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager. Next thing we hear in the media is that Ackman’s wife, Neri Oxman, a former M.I.T. professor, has been accused of plagiarism. Ackman counters by saying that he will ensure that all professors at M.I.T., including its president, will have all their work reviewed for plagiarism and he will fund the efforts to do so.

What is Plagiarism?

Before I go any further, let’s back for a moment and talk about what plagiarism actually is. In my book, Plagiarism in Higher Education: Tackling Tough Topic in Higher Education, I explore the historical and contemporary understandings of plagiarism. I’ve also researched academic misconduct and integrity policies. In one study, I conducted an in-depth comparative analysis of the definitions of plagiarism at twenty (20) different universities. From my research, I can say with certainty that there is no singular or universally accepted definition of plagiarism. Some universities say plagiarism is only about copying text without attribution, whereas others might go further including the plagiarism of ideas, computer code, or musical composition.

We all think we are talking about the same thing when we say the word, “plagiarism”, but that isn’t necessarily the case. What most people can agree on is that copy-and-paste without attribution is generally viewed as being unacceptable, regardless if it is intentional or just sloppy scholarship. What we do about plagiarism when we find it is another matter about which there is no consensus.

The Weaponization of Plagiarism

Jonathan Bailey hit the nail on the head earlier this week when he said that plagiarism has been weaponized. Plagiarism investigations post-graduation are less about student success than they are about discrediting and causing harm to the person being investigated. I have yet to see a plagiarism investigation conducted after someone has graduated that is not a search-and-destroy mission. Side note: Phill Dawson has a great chapter on surveillance and the weaponization of academic integrity in his book, Defending Assessment Security in a Digital World. If you haven’t already read Phill’s book, I highly recommend it.

Plagiarism allegations can be shrouded in moral righteousness, but as Ackerman has recently shown, someone with enough resources and motivation can take plagiarism investigations to a whole new level. Scrutinizing the work of the professoriate at scale for plagiarism would be unprecedented. If Ackerman follows through, it could mean that every university president and professor in the United States and beyond could have their academic work from their student days scrutinized like never before.

What’s the Difference Between Student Plagiarism and Professional Plagiarism?

This could no doubt be a topic of great debate, but for me, the answer is pretty straightforward. Students are still learning. It is our job as educators to ensure students have every opportunity to learn. There’s oodles of research to show that first-year university students are more likely to cheat and commit plagiarism than senior students. First-year students need more support to learn writing, citing, and referencing skills to help them be successful as they move through their post-secondary programs.

As students advance through their academic programs we expect them to build their knowledge, skills, and competencies. By the time someone graduates, we, as an academic community and a society, expect that they have the skills and knowledge they need to be able to engage in professional work. That’s the basic idea behind graduation: you have successfully completed your academic program and you are now qualified to work in your chosen field.

As a result, we hold professors and administrators to higher academic and professional standards than students. Presumably, professors have already learned the foundations of their field of study, as well as basic understandings of academic and research integrity. In other words, by the time someone is a professor, they should know better.

Post-Facto Plagiarism Allegations and Investigations 

A retroactive investigation into a person’s academic work while they were a student is often an exercise in discrediting someone in their current professional role. Pointing fingers after the fact is rarely helpful. Addressing allegations of student academic misconduct is the responsibility of the educational institution. Failing to do so reflects poorly on the institution, as much as on the student (or alum) who allegedly engaged in misconduct. There have been cases in which universities have rescinded degrees after graduation upon a finding of academic misconduct proven long after convocation. I recall one such case from my own university some years ago. In other words, there is a lot at stake.

I am not suggesting that post-graduation cases of plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct should be ignored or swept under the rug. I am saying that if an allegation of misconduct is not brought forward or investigated until after graduation, the opportunity for student learning has been lost, and the consequences can be devastating for the individual whose work comes under scrutiny. 

Where Are all the Graduate Supervisors?

In the cases of Claudine Gay and Neri Oxman, the allegations of plagiarism focused, at least in part, on their graduate theses. As a plagiarism scholar who is also a professor and a graduate supervisor, I cannot help but ask myself: What about the academic advisors who supervised these dissertations? Why is no one talking to them?

PhD dissertations do not just get posted in an online public archive without scrutiny. There are multiple levels of reviews and revisions, as well as a rigorous examination at the end. At any respectable university, the thesis is examined, in writing, by oral defence, or both, by academics who have expertise related to the thesis. The graduate supervisor, and often others, sign off on the work. Sometimes, there is a signature page that becomes part of the front matter of a thesis before it is archived in the public record. The signatures from supervisors and examiners serve as a public attestation of quality of the approved thesis.

If you ask me, every person who signs off on a graduate student thesis bears some responsibility for its quality. This is not to say that we should absolve students of their responsibility to act with integrity, but I am saying that student plagiarism is as much a collective responsibility of the academic community as it is an individual one. Why are journalists not asking the graduate supervisors or professors for commentary about their former students? Surely, any graduate supervisor who believes in their former student’s work and its worth would be willing to stand up and defend not only the student, but their own competence as PhD supervisors — especially after they have supported the doctoral studies and signed off on the work?

Human Rights, Anyone?

In North America we have been obsessed with witch hunts for centuries. So far, 2024 is shaping up to be the year when plagiarism becomes the weapon of the right/righteous to prosecute and punish. The accused are publicly shamed and humiliated as investigations become the latest scandal for the media to cover.

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations states that even in criminal matters, “Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.” (See Article 10). Yet, when it comes to public intellectuals and high-profile academics, members of the public and media act as judge and jury, and the right to a fair and impartial investigation gets thrown out the window in favour of a witch hunt.

Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, goes on to say, “Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.” Somehow, public allegations of academic misconduct rarely allow for the presumption of innocence. Individuals who are publicly accused of plagiarism are presumed to be guilty and are forced to prove their own innocence. (Also sounds a bit like a witch hunt, right?) In other words, intellectuals subjected to public allegations of plagiarism are sometimes treated worse than common criminals.

And let’s not forget the first and most important part of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” (Article 1). 

Those of us who regularly serve on academic and research misconduct panels know that following due process is an essential aspect of the work. Even when there are findings of misconduct and individuals are held responsible, we focus on the behaviour and not the person. Academic and research misconduct investigations and hearings, when done ethically, are often complex and difficult undertakings. Misconduct hearing members have a responsibility to proceed with care and caution, weighing multiple and sometimes conflicting details. We distinguish between a person’s actions and their value as a human being. Even when there is a finding of misconduct, we do not judge a person as being good or evil; we do our best to uphold human rights, which includes the right to dignity.

In public scandals about academic misconduct and plagiarism, individuals under scrutiny can be quickly stripped of their dignity, their reputation, and their livelihood. I am not suggesting that misconduct should not be investigated and addressed, but I am suggesting that when we, as a society, fail to uphold basic human rights when investigating plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct, we have lost our humanity. Upholding human rights should be a fundamental aspect of all misconduct investigations.

References

CBC News. (2018, September 19). Alberta judge upholds university’s right to rescind master’s degree over plagiarism. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-judge-university-plagiarism-masters-degree-1.4830594

Bill Ackman to check all MIT faculty members for plagiarism after wife Neri Oxman accused of copying parts of thesis. (2024, January 6). South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3247498/bill-ackman-check-all-mit-faculty-members-plagiarism-after-wife-neri-oxman-accused-copying-parts

Dawson, P. (2021). Defending assessment security in a digital world: Preventing e-cheating and supporting academic integrity in higher education. Routledge. 

Green, E. (2024, January 5). Why some academics are reluctant to call Claudine Gay a plagiairst. New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/why-some-academics-are-reluctant-to-call-claudine-gay-a-plagiarist

Haidar, E. H., & Kettles, C. E. (2024, January 3). Harvard President Claudine Gay Resigns, Shortest Tenure in University History. Harvard Crimson. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/1/3/claudine-gay-resign-harvard/

Hartocollis, A., & Betts, A. (2024, January 5). Wife of Investor Who Pushed for Harvard President’s Exit Is Accused of Plagiarism. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/05/us/plagiarism-bill-ackman-neri-oxman-claudine-gay-harvard.html

Mazer, J. P., & Hunt, S. K. (2012). Tracking plagiarism electronically: First-year students’ perceptions of academic dishonesty and reports of cheating behaviour in the basic communication course. International Journal for Educational Integrity, 8(2), 57-68. https://ojs.unisa.edu.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/810/ 

McMutrie, B. (2024, January 4). A Brief Guide to How Colleges Adjudicate Plagiarism Cases. Chronicle of Higher Education. https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-brief-guide-to-how-colleges-adjudicate-plagiarism-cases

Romo, V. (2024, January 3). Claudine Gay’s resignation highlights the trouble with regulating academic writing. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2024/01/03/1222588885/harvard-president-claudine-gay-resigns-plagiarism

United Nations. (n.d.). Universal Declaration of Human Rights. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights 

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity

How to Get Your Academic Article Published in a High Quality Journal

This month marks the beginning of my fourth year as editor-in-chief of the International Journal for Educational Integrity. Before that I served as co-editor and before that, I served as a reviewer and article author. Last year, the journal received its first impact factor (4.6), putting it in the 95th percentile of all journals in the field of educational research. Since that happened, the number of submissions the journal has received seems to have skyrocketed. Every week I am reviewing submissions from authors eager to have their work published in a Q1 (top quartile) academic journal. In this post I offer five tips on how to get your work published in a top-ranking journal.

Tip #1: Read the Aims and Scope

Ensure your manuscript fits with the aims and scope of the journal. The number one reason I reject manuscripts outright without sending them for peer review is that the topic of the manuscript has no relevance whatsoever to our journal. Reputable journals publish their aims and scope on their website. As an example, here are the Aims and Scope of the International Journal for Educational Integrity. 

As an interdisciplinary journal, we receive submissions from just about every academic field you can imagine, but just because a journal is interdisciplinary does not mean that anything goes. When I get a manuscript about the efficacy rates of a pesticide or new developments related to geo-spatial heat maps, I reject it automatically because the topic is outside the scope of our journal. Manuscripts that are about education broadly, but that have no direct connection to ethics and integrity, also get a desk rejection.

If you want to publish your article in a high quality journal, ensure it aligns with the aims and scope of the journal.

Tip #2: Focus on Quality

Poor-quality writing is one of the main reasons manuscripts get a desk rejection. Ensure the quality of your manuscript is your top priority. Markers of quality include, but are not limited to, writing that is comprehensible and error-free. (The odd typo can be fixed during the revision process.) Quality also means including a literature review that demonstrates that you understand previous scholarship in the field, a detailed methods section, and an in-depth analysis. The findings should show original contributions to the field, along with the limitations of the work.

Articles that are theoretical or conceptual in nature should still have a clear structure and be organized in a way that the reader can follow. The problem/gap/hook heuristic is one way to frame a conceptual article so that the value to the reader is clear.

Submissions that are difficult to read, either because of poor writing or because they lack organization, are more likely to be rejected. This does not mean that all articles have to follow a cookie-cutter formula. Unconventional articles can be interesting and valuable, but the reader still has to be able to follow them.

Tip #3: Follow the Submission Guidelines

Ensure your submission fits with the submission guidelines of the journal. Do not wait for a desk rejection and then tell the editor you can reformat the manuscript. Submit according to the guidelines.

I have had prospective authors argue with me via e-mail when I reject or request a revision to their submissions on the basis that their manuscript does not follow the journal’s guidelines. Arguing with an editor about how you do not have time or interest in submitting according to the journal’s guidelines is unlikely to persuade an editor that your submission should be reviewed. Saying that you will revise or reformat the submission only if your article is accepted is a fast track to a rejection.

Tip #4: Do Your Homework

Read recently published articles in the journal to understand what kinds of submissions make the cut. It can also be helpful to understand who the editors and editorial board members are and how their expertise contributes to the journal.

I reviewed a submission that claimed that female students were inherently prone to academic cheating because of their gender. (The main argument was that women are more morally corrupt than men.) Um…. Pardon me?!

Needless to say that the submission was problematic (and rejected) for a number of reasons, not the least of which was a lack of scientific basis for the claims made in the submission. As I conducted my preliminary editorial review, it occurred to me that the authors probably had no idea that the editor was a woman… And why would they, when only 8% of editors-in-chief of academic journals are women? It might not have even occurred to them to check. (If they had, they could have saved themselves the trouble of submitting…)

A quick check of the Editorial Board can give you a glimpse into who provides leadership for a journal. Reviewing the information about the editorial board is likely to provide an incomplete picture at best, but it can be helpful.

Tip #5: Provide Value 

Ensure that your manuscript adds something new to the existing knowledge base. The best academic articles provide value to the reader and the wider scientific or scholarly community. Always keep your reader in mind. One reason submissions get rejected is that the authors are so self-absorbed in themselves and their own ideas or goals is that they fail to consider individual readers as well as the collective readership of the journal as a whole.

When prospective authors beg me to publish their article because they need a publication to graduate, get hired, keep their jobs, or get promoted, my heart aches. This is a sign of systemic dysfunction of academia in general, but it is a one that a journal editor cannot solve. The article itself must provide value to the reader or the piece is unlikely to get published. The more value you can provide to the readers, the more likely it is your manuscript will be published in a high-quality journal.

There are lots of other things to say about how to get your work published in a high-quality academic journal, but I’ll stop for now, as this covers some of the basics. I hope these tips are helpful for getting your academic work published in the coming year(s).

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Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal for Educational Integrity

Unveiling the Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.) in Dubai

The 1st Asia -Middle East – Africa Conference on Academic and Research Integrity (ACARI) 2023, 17-19 December at Middlesex University Dubai. It was against this backdrop that the highly anticipated Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.), published by Springer, was unveiled at a dazzling soft launch, marking a milestone in the book’s journey and the evolution of academic integrity knowledge-sharing and community-building.

The handbook is now in its final stages of production, and the standalone second edition will be released in hard copy in January, 2024. To celebrate, Dr. Zeenath Reza Khan, who serves as one of the handbook’s section editors and contributors, and was a co-chair of the 1st Asia -Middle East – Africa Conference on Academic and Research Integrity (ACARI) 2023, 17-19 December led the organization of the soft launch for the handbook during the conference.

The launch was held during the closing ceremony of the conference on the final day in an auditorium at the prestigious Middlesex University Dubai, was both festive and scholarly, as it brought together educators, researchers, and advocates for academic integrity. In addition to conference delegates, a number of esteemed dignitaries attended including, His Excellency, Jamal Hossain, Consul General of Bangladesh to UAE; Dr. Mohammad Ali Reza Khan, Award-winning Expert Wildlife Specialist, Dubai Municipality, along with Professor Cedwyn Fernandes, Pro Vice Chancellor of Middlesex University and Director of Middlesex University Dubai. Special thanks to Ms. Rania Sheir, Senior Specialist, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Ministry of Education, UAE, who not only attended the launch, but also posted about it on LinkedIn.

The Handbook, meticulously curated by leading experts in the field, is a compendium of insights, strategies, and best practices aimed at upholding the ethical practices in academia and research. It covers a diverse range of topics, from plagiarism to artificial intelligence, to the promotion of ethical behaviour in academic research, and much more. The multidimensional approach of the Handbook of Academic Integrity  ensures that it caters to the needs of educators, administrators, and students alike.

A number of contributing authors were in attendance, including:

• Zeenath Reza Khan, Prakash Vel, Evira Asylguzhina and Veena Mulani – “Understanding Contract Cheating and Essay Mills Through a Social Lens in the Era of Web 3.0”
• Salim Razı – “Streamlined Collaboration to Face Academic Integrity Threats”
• Shiva Sivasubramaniam – “Academic Integrity in South Asia: Focus on India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka” 
• Yvonne Kavanagh – “Enhancing Cultures of Academic Integrity in Irish Higher Education” (co-authored with Sue Hackett, William Kelly, and Iain MacLaren)
• Anna Abalkina – “Quality and Policies for Academic Integrity: Challenges Faced by Russian Universities” 
• Sonja Bjelobaba – “Building a Multinational Transdisciplinary Integrity Project: Insights From the BRIDGE Project”
• Thomas Lancaster – “Contract Cheating: Practical Considerations”
• Ann Rogerson – “Student Peer-to-Peer File Sharing as an Academic Integrity Issue”

Dr. Zeenath generously gifted two colleagues and me with authentic saris that we wore during the closing ceremony and the launch. As you can see from the photo below, I was given one in dark green and I just love it! I had an opportunity to say a few words about the book and its importance in the field, and to thank the organizers and authors. Each contributor was gifted a symbolic souvenir cut-out of the front cover of the handbook and following the formalities, we signed the back of one another’s covers.

The book launch culminated in a celebratory atmosphere, with attendees leaving inspired. The Handbook of Academic Integrity (2nd ed.), now poised to be a cornerstone in the field, builds on the first edition and stands as a testament to the collective commitment to nurturing a culture of integrity throughout every level of education and research.

Photo gallery:

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This blog has had over 3 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton, PhD, is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Opinions are my own and do not represent those of my employer.