Successfully publishing high-impact GIScience journal papers, examples from IJGIS

Abstract
Scientific impact —as measured by the number of references to a published paper— may be conceived as a proxy for potential societal impact. Metrics such as the h-index are used for judging the scientific impact of authors and its score may have important implications for academic career opportunities. Based on experiences made in the International Journal of Geographical Information Science (IJGIS), this half-day workshop aims to discuss ideas and guidelines, particularly useful for young scientists, to publish a highly cited paper in a GIScience journal of their choice. Experienced GIScientists and IJGIS editors will share their perspectives on scientific publications. Prior to the workshop, participants will be offered copies of selected successful IJGIS publications. At the workshop, invited authors of these papers will then present their work as well as their view on what made their paper stand out. Next, participants are divided into small groups to discuss factors positively influencing the impact of their forthcoming GIScience papers. In a subsequent plenary session the results of the group discussions are reflected upon. Finally, we have a conversation among authors, reviewers, readers and editors to discuss the IJGIS submission and review processes, do’s, don’ts, concerns and suggestions.

Objectives
The objectives of this workshop are:

• to discuss ideas and guidelines for GIScientists, especially young scientists, to publish papers with a high-citation potential;
• to provide a forum for interactive discussions between editors, authors and readers of scientific publications with examples and insights from IJGIS;
• to clarify the IJGIS manuscript processes and publication prospects.
  Upon completion of this workshop, the participant:
• has acquired insights on how to write a highly cited next GIScience paper;
• is prepared for the IJGIS manuscript processes, which may serve as example of those in place also at other relevant journals.

Set-up
This half-day workshop consists of four main components, complemented by a coffee break:

1. Plenary session (45 min.): Invited authors of successful IJGIS publications (to be announced) present their work as well as their view on what made their paper stand out. Prior to the workshop, participants will be offered copies of the papers concerned.
2. Break-out session (60 min.): participants are divided into small groups to discuss factors positively influencing the impact of their forthcoming GIS papers.
3. Coffee break (30 min.).
4. Plenary session (30 min.): the results of the group discussions are reflected upon.
5. Plenary session (45 min.): conversation among authors, reviewers, readers and editors to discuss IJGIS submission and review processes, do’s and don’ts, concerns, and suggestions.

Workshop organisers
Sytze de Bruin, Wageningen University, Laboratory of Geographical Information Science and Remote Sensing, Wageningen, The Netherlands. IJGIS Regional Editor for Europe and Africa. Sytze.debruin@wur.nl

Robert Weibel, University of Zurich, Department of Geography, Zurich, Switzerland. IJGIS Regional Editor for Europe and Africa. robert.weibel@geo.uzh.ch

May Yuan, Professor of Geospatial Information Sciences in the School of Economic, Political, and Policy Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, USA. IJGIS Editor-in-Chief. myuan@utdallas.edu