What comes first, scholarship or writing?

The processes of research (or scholarship) and writing rarely occur independently of each other. Frequently, the writing becomes intertwined with the research and the two build upon each other.

Identify publishing opportunities

Identifying which scholarly journals would be suited to your idea for a paper can provide you with valuable information about author guidelines and requirements of each publication. Where to publish your journal article provides information about this process. However, before you can match your idea with potential journals, you need to develop it enough to determine its best chances for success.

Refine your ideas

If you are redeveloping a piece from an existing work, this step may be as simple as creating a draft outline for the article.

If you are working on something new, these tips may help you refine your ideas enough to define the pool of potential journals:

• Talk it over. Share your ideas with colleagues (your supervisor, lecturers or other students). Working on your ideas with others can often help you to achieve clarity.
• Mind map. Brainstorming your ideas visually can often present new opportunities and demonstrate how ideas are interconnected. Mind maps help you to associate ideas, think creatively, and make connections that you might not otherwise make.
• Identify the gap, anomaly or other reason for embarking on your research; construct a hypothesis and define the aim of the study.
• Write it. Force yourself to begin writing, for often the most difficult part of writing is actually commencing the process. Create a plan and place time slots in your diary for writing. Dedicate at least 15 minutes a day to writing your paper.

University of Colorado Libraries. (2006). Publish, not perish: The Art and Craft of Publishing in Scholarly Journals. Retrieved from http://www.publishnotperish.org/
Belcher, W. (2009). Writing your Journal Article in 12 Weeks. Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA.
Booth, W., Colomb, G., & Williams, J. (1995). The Craft of Research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Literature Searching

UQ Library Subject Guides provide details of relevant databases in a wide range of disciplines.

UQ Library Databases (Index A-Z. Browse by subject).

UQ Library's Summon Search Service allows you to quickly access library content. Search results can be filtered to include scholarly publications.

The ERA 2012 Journal Listing provides details of journal titles that are considered to represent excellence in research.

Journal Citation Reports provide information about the impact of journals in both science and social science disciplines and can be accessed through a database search on the UQ Library website.