So much work goes into writing a
thesis or dissertation, but if we’re completely honest with ourselves, not even
our committees read the entire document all the way through. Once a thesis or
dissertation has been defended, it’s submitted and published online via ProQuest,
but it’s not likely readers will stumble upon it there either. While you can’t
publish every chapter of your dissertation and have it accepted by the
university, policy does allow you to publish a few chapters and this is a
wonderful way to ensure greater readership. It’s also a way to show future
employers your research is relevant. There is a lot of pressure for graduate
students to publish and a thesis or dissertation can produce two or three
articles before you graduate. It’s likely the only time in your academic career
that you’ll be able to send off an article to a publisher that’s already been
reviewed by three professors. While your committee will certainly recognize the
amazing work you’ve done, having the contribution you’ve made recognized by other
peers will make the intensive effort of writing a thesis or dissertation that
much more gratifying and worthwhile.
To begin, identify a target journal
that’s appropriate. Your committee can definitely help you with this and may be
more familiar with which journals are out there. Be sure to find out what you
can about different journals’ purposes, rates of acceptance, reviewing
processes, and previously published content. You’ll need to shorten your
chapter before sending it off for consideration, giving you the opportunity to
make your research even more clear and concise. It will also be necessary to repurpose
parts of your thesis or dissertation. For instance, you may have to reformat
your introduction into an abstract for publication. Combine multiple research
questions included in the longer thesis or dissertation into one coherent focused
question. Be sure also to situate your research in the literature and discuss
how future study can expand upon your findings. Limit your citations to the
most up to date and relevant. Remember as your tailoring your chapter for an
academic journal that a journal has different requirements and a different
audience than a university. Review your findings for value and impact when
condensing to be sure to give yourself the best chance of being published. Have
your committee comment on the article once you’re done condensing before
sending. Whatever you do cut may find its way into another article, so don’t get too upset about cutting up the hard work you’ve completed.
Reviewing chapters for
consideration before sending them off to prospective journals is also a
fabulous way to prepare for your defense. Your committee will be encouraging
you to publish but it’s important to remember that you are driving the
publication of your thesis or dissertation so plan to include publishing as an
important step in the process.
