Kurs
Academic Publication and Presentation in the Social Sciences - 4 ECTS
This course offers advanced instruction in the skills needed to successfully write and present an academic research paper, as well as in professionalization for an academic career more generally. Lessons will address the various stages of paper writing (outlines, abstracts, literature reviews, overall structure, writing style and strategies, submission for publication), conversion of papers into conference presentations; and understanding the academic career and job market. This course focuses specifically on writing in the social sciences and humanities, which have their particular structures and expectations commonly distinct from most natural science fields.
Programme
To receive course credit participants should attend at least 6 out of the 8 sessions (but can certainly do more). Some sessions are considered mandatory, as designated below, while others are optional.
Session 1: Monday 13 May (10.00-12.00): Understanding the Publishing Landscape
This session introduces the course and provides an overview of the academic publishing landscapes and different strategies for engaging with it.
Readings:
Loehle, Craig. 1990. A Guide to Increased Creativity in Research--Inspiration or Perspiration? Bioscience (40)2: 123-129.
Dunleavy, Patrick. (2003) “Publishing your Research. Ch.9 in Authoring a PhD: How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Session 2: Thursday 16 May (10.00-12.00): The Art of the Abstract
Writing a good abstract for an article or conference presentation is an important yet underappreciated academic skill. In this session we’ll discuss techniques for how to do this well.
Readings:
Sword, Helen. (2010) “The Big Picture.” Ch. 13 in Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Session 3: Tuesday 21 May (10.00-12.00): The Literature Review
A good literature review demonstrates your command of the field while also establishing the originality and importance of your own analysis. Hence it is a key component of a good article and we will discuss how to do it well.
Readings:
Taylor, Dena. nd. “The Literature Review: A Few tips on Conducting It.” University of Toronto. Http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/
Becker, Howard S. 2008. “Terrorized by the Literature.” Pp. 136-149 in Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. 2nd Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Optional:
Bernard, H. Russell. 2004. “The Literature Search.” Pp. 96-108 in Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 4th Edition. New York: Altamira Press.
Session 4: Thursday 23 May (10.00-12.00): Outlining your Article/Dissertation (Optional)
This session will address how to create a detailed outline to guide the writing process of an article as a component of an overall dissertation or thesis project.
Readings:
Dunleavy, Patrick. (2003) “Planning an Integrated Thesis” and “Organizing a Chapter or Paper.” Chs. 3 & 4 in Authoring a PhD: How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Optional:
Sword, Helen. (2010) “Structural Designs. ”Ch. 11 in Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Session 5: Monday 27 May (10.00-12.00): Writing Strategies: Planning and Executions
In this session we will delve into the mechanics of the writing process itself, discussing how to organizing your writing and how to keep yourself motivated and on track as you develop it.
Readings:
Becker, Howard S. 2008. “One Right Way.” Pp. 43-67 in Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. 2nd Edition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Dunleavy, Patrick. (2003) “Developing your Text and Managing the Writing Process.” Ch. 6 in Authoring a PhD: How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Optional:
Emerson, Robert, Fretz, Rachel & Shaw, Linda (2005) Chapter Four: Writing Up Fieldnotes II: Scenes on the Page. Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press. Pp. 66-107.
Session 6: Thursday 30 May (10.00-12.00): Co-Authorship: Navigating When, Why and How to Do it
Guest presenters: Mindi Scheider & Nowella Anyango-van Zwieten
This session explores co-authorship and co-writing. We will discuss when and why it makes sense to co-author a manuscript, considerations for choosing co-authors, strategies for working and writing with a co-author(s), and politics and practices of publishing within uneven power relations (ie. with supervisors, senior academics, and others).
Readings:
According to WUR: https://www.wur.nl/en/article/Recommendations-for-authorship-in-scientific-publications.htm.
Some useful tips, though the intended audience is ‘natural science’/quantitative researchers: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006508.
An illuminating thread on some of the controversies surrounding this topic:
Session 7: Monday 3 June (10.00-12.00): Presentation Preparation
This session will offer strategies and tips for delivering effective academic conference presentations and fielding questions in the discussion period after.
Readings:
http://www.nextscientist.com/improve-presentation-skills-of-phd-students/
https://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ld/resources/presentations
Session 8: Thursday 6 June (10.00-12.00): Presentation "Boot Camp"
In this final session participants will deliver mock presentations of a research paper for feedback from instructors and peers
Coordinator Bio
Robert Fletcher is Associate Professor in the Sociology of Development and Change (SDC) group at WUR. He is the author of more than 60 articles and book chapters as well as a monograph, Romancing the Wild: Cultural Dimensions of Ecotourism (Duke U Press, 2014). He is co-editor-in-chief of Geoforum and associate editor of Conservation & Society and regularly reviews article manuscripts for more than 50 other journals. He has also co-edited two collections of essays, NatureTM Inc.: Environmental Conservation in the Neoliberal Age (U of Arizona Press, 2014) and Lessons from the Ecolaboratory: Negotiating Environment and Development in Costa Rica (U of Arizona Press, forthcoming).
General Resources:
Becker, Howard S. (2008) Writing for Social Scientists: How to Start and Finish Your Thesis, Book, or Article. Chicago. IL: University of Chicago Press.
Dunleavy, Patrick. (2003) Authoring a PhD: How to plan, draft, write and finish a doctoral thesis or dissertation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Van Maanen, J. (2011). Tales of the field: On writing ethnography. University of Chicago Press.
Sword, Helen. (2010) Stylish Academic Writing. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Germano, William. (2016). Getting It Published. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Narayan, Kirin. (2012). Alive in the writing: Crafting ethnography in the company of Chekhov. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Peters, Kimberley. 2017. Your Human Geography Dissertation: Designing, Doing, Delivering. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Schedule
| Session 1 | 13-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 2 | 16-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 3 | 20-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 4 | 23-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 5 | 27-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 6 | 30-5-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 7 | 3-6-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
| Session 8 | 6-6-2024 | 10.00-12.00 |
Learning outcomes
After successful completion of this course, participants are expected to be able to:
1. Develop a quality research paper for academic peer review
2. Deliver a research paper in conference presentation format
3. Demonstrate command of the academic publishing landscape
Assessment
Final paper – submission of publication quality research paper (or exemplary proposal). This will be sent to colleagues for professional peer review.
Target group and min/max number of participants
This course is intended for PhD candidates and advanced research master students; 10 min/25 max participants
Assumed prior knowledge
Msc. Social science; advanced qualitative research methods; having completed a substantial research period and ready to write up results
Course fee
| WGS PhDs with TSP | € 300 |
| a) All other PhD candidates b) Postdocs and staff of the above mentioned Graduate Schools | € 640 |
| All others | € 900 |
NB: for some courses, PhD candidates from other WUR graduate schools with a TSP are also entitled to a reduced fee. Please consult your Education/PhD Programme Coordinator for more information