Tips on Publishing and Presenting
Lynn C. Callister, Associate Dean
School of Nursing
RESEARCHERS HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO COMMUNICATE THE RESULTS OF A STUDY, THE FINDINGS RELEVANT TO PRACTICE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.
Making Presentations
1. Look at the Call for Abstracts for professional meetings, which are received in your college/department.
2. Submit your abstract, after review by a colleague or colleagues in your department/college who has been successful in doing professional presentations.
3. Remember that a podium presentation is generally considered "stronger" on your vitae than a poster presentation, although a poster presentation may be utilized for research in progress.
4. Learn Power Point: this will enhance your presentation. But remember that such technology may or may not be available at the meeting at which you are presenting. Request funding for slides. Slides should be limited to 8 lines or less, with 6 or less words/line. Only major points are presented on visuals. The use of color can increase clarity and appeal to the audience.
5. It may be helpful to develop a typed script for presentation and include visuals. Load slides and view them on a screen. Mark the top right of each slide with a felt-tip pen to identify the correct position for quick and accurate reloading. Carry on your slides/copy of presentation: don't check it with your luggage!
6. Time is the most important factor in developing a presentation, since many presenters are limited to 12-15 minutes with 5 minutes for questions. As a time guideline: 10% introduction, 20% method, 35% results, and 35% discussion. The shorter the presentation time, the greater the preparation time that is needed. Depending on the pace of delivery, approximately 250 words are spoken in every two minutes.
7. Consider what sections of the presentation can be omitted if time is reduced.
8. Know your audience—researchers or clinicians or other professionals—and make your presentation applicable and relevant to them.
9. Anticipate questions that may be asked and rehearse your answers. You could do a dress rehearsal with colleagues, who might be asked to raise questions. Questions asked by the audience may be useful in preparing a manuscript for publication or developing your next research study.
10. Arrive at the presentation room early. If your abstract has been updated since submitted, additional handouts may be helpful. Business cards are helpful for participants who want to contact the presenter after the conference.
11. Consider the time of day. Use a livelier presentation style when the audience may be less than enthusiastic (like after lunch or late in the afternoon).
12. Use your presentation as a basis for writing an article for publication.
Getting Published
1. Consider dividing your dissertation/thesis into several publishable journal articles rather than publishing a book or monograph. Less may be more.
2. Know your audience and professional periodicals in your specialty area. Start your own personal file of author guidelines for important journals in your discipline. Guidelines may include (a) directions for manuscript preparation, (b) discussion of copyright, and (c) guidelines for submission of the manuscript.
3. Select journals with care and demonstrate awareness not only to scope but to all stated requirements for submission (listed under "Information for Authors"). Careful attention to detail is essential!
4. Manuscripts that are original and timely or manuscripts that address controversial topics often get high ratings on review.
6. Have a colleague or colleagues in your department/college who has been successful in publishing review your manuscript for organization, completeness of content, and writing style. This kind of "insider" peer review can be very helpful.
6. Submit to only one journal at a time. Avoid plagiarism, which involves "using or closely imitating someone else's writing without obtaining their permission, acknowledging, or compensating them and representing it as [one's] own" (Sheridan and Dowdney, 1986, p. 184).
7. Review of the manuscript results in one of four possible decisions: (a) acceptance of the manuscript as submitted, (b) acceptance of the manuscript pending minor revisions, (c) tentative acceptance of the manuscript pending major revisions, and (d) rejection of the manuscript. DO NOT incorrectly interpret the request for revision as a rejection!
8. A rejection or two should not lead to a premature conclusion that a manuscript is unworthy. Pay attention to specific suggestions or criticisms offered with a rejection. When it is returned, read your manuscript afresh as though you were a reviewer rather than the author. Revise and submit to another journal!
9. The commonly cited writing weaknesses include: (a) overly formal and pedagogic writing, (b) poor organization, (c) absence of introduction and summary, (d) poor sentence structure, (e) poor or fabricated documentation, and (e) use of Jargon (Mateo & Kirchhoff, 1991, p. 238).
10. When attending professional meetings, invest time at the book exhibits and search out publishers interested in the same topics and approaches that you are. Often senior editors are also attending these meetings. Talk to publishing house representatives when they are here on campus in your college/department.
References
Mateo, M.A. & Kirchhoff, K.T. (1991). Conducting and using nursing research in the clinical setting. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins.
Sheridan, D. R. & Dowdney, D.L. (1986). How to write and publish articles in nursing. New York: Springer.
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