The aim of this workshop is to provide participants with the skills, knowledge, and confidence to publish in journals and/or present at conferences.

Why publish/present as an undergraduate student?

• The process of publishing/presenting for the first time will provide valuable feedback on what steps may require improvement and where strengths may be. Going through these steps will improve writing and research skills that will be useful in graduate studies or a professional career.

• Having a published paper will provide a certain level of professionalization to a resume that many undergraduates do not have.

When to publish/present?

How do I know if my thesis is good enough to publish?

What are some of the criteria for a research to be selected for publication? 

What's the pre requisition to publish our final year dissertation?

• When you are sure that you have some ‘publishable’ research material available with complete results or even a review, then it is a good idea to look into the option for publishing/presenting.

Where to publish/present?

Where is the best place to publish final year research study?

• It is a good idea to aim for a higher ranking journal depending on the quality of your research because, if you have a publication in a prestigious journal, it makes your resume more alluring for future prospects.

Is it possible for undergraduate students to publish/present?

I want to know how to publish paper with only undergraduate qualification.

• YES [my undergraduate students' conference proceeding and journal article, which were written based on their course assignments]

Adapted from: https://www.academictransfer.com/en/blog/five-great-tips-to-start-publishing-undergraduate/; https://publish.illinois.edu/ugresearch/2014/10/14/the-benefits-of-publishing-as-an-undergraduate/ 

Forms of publication: 

1. • conference [e.g., Malaysian Psychology Students Assembly 2022; Psychology Research Symposium 2021; Malaysian International Psychology Conference 2021; 7th ARUPS Congress: ASEAN Regional Union of Psychological Society and 3rd MIPC (Malaysian International Psychology Conference)] - conference proceedings, abstract books, oral/virtual presentation, poster presentation

   • scientific journals - original research, systematic review, meta-analysis, brief report, registered report, etc.

Journal metrics/ indexing: 

1. • Scopus

   • Web of Science (SSCI)

   • MyJurnal

Would like to understand the process of submitting to a journal.

What would the process be like to publish in an indexed journal?

1. • Journal publishing process

How to publish an article (with name as the author)?

What is the process that needs to be done before publishing our research upon completion?

What are the steps I need to take to submit my thesis?

Share a bit of the process on how to publish it.

What are the requirements for one to submit a manuscript for review?

What are some eligibility criteria a study needs to fulfill to be valid for publication?

What are the criteria that need to be met before an article is being accepted for publication?

1. • All journals should have submission guidelines [Example]. Make sure you fulfill all the requirements before submitting.

   • Pre-submission checklist 

   • Peer review

What are the important steps to consider before publication?

How to search for a suitable journal?

What are some important considerations before submitting to a journal?

1. • Choosing the right journal for your work [Tips].

How to get accepted for publishing paper?

1. • Keep submitting (and revising). Rejection is common. Do not give up!

   • Respond to editors’ and referees’ reports [Example].

Can I submit part of my chapters / research proposal / literature review for publications? How exactly do I do that and which portals to go for?

1. • Yes. Search for potential journals that publish review papers.

How do you preregister a study and make your research outcomes accessible? 

1. • You may pre-register it at Open Science Framework or submit it as Registered Report to a journal [Example].

If it is possible, how can we make sure our journal article does not have any mistakes without guidance?

1. • Get it reviewed or proofread by someone before submitting your manuscript.

   • After the journal receives your manuscript: editorial review, peer review, copyediting.

For example,  if students want to do a questionnaire which related to the topic, how can we make sure our questions are suitable to our topics and our objectives if we are doing it solo or without guidance, how can we make sure our abstract is correct or not and so on?

1. • To me, there is no correct or wrong in doing research. Based on the literature you reviewed, you will know whether the questions are suitable to your topics and your objectives. 

   • Read more about other researchers' abstracts and you will know whether you are on the right track.

How to start finding supervisor/conduct a study on our own?

1. • Identify the topic you are interested in, then find the supervisor with relevant expertise; or

   • Browse through the potential supervisors and get to know their expertise and research interests, then select the one with research interests similar to you or the expertise you need.

How to reach out to publishers? Must I go through personal connections?

1. • Every legit journal should have a webpage for you to submit your manuscript.

What are the essentials to actually publish a journal? Perhaps the references being used etc?

1. • Fulfill all the requirements outlined in the submission guidelines. 

   • I have experience being asked how many times I have cited/referenced their journal in my manuscript. So, I believe that the references being used do play some role in affecting the editor's decision.

   • Most importantly, you conduct a thorough literature review and include the latest and relevant literature in your manuscript.

What type of journals would you recommend for Qualitative research? International and Local. Thank you!

1. • It is recommended to choose a journal based on your research topic, regardless of where the journal is located at.

What resources/websites are available for us to publish our papers? 

1. • I believe I have included several useful resources/websites in this webpage.

How to choose research topic?

How to start & to find the most relevant topic which suitable at the present situation?

1. • Choose a research topic that you are interested in!

   • Explore your research interests and/or hot research topics by reading journal articles and attending conferences.

How to stay motivated when it comes to writing your thesis?

Share some tips that need to be considered to start writing thesis.

1. • Choose a research topic that you are interested in!

   • It's fine to feel unmotivated sometimes.

May I get some insights on the right way to write?

What are some important aspects of writing?

How to write a good paper? How do we know if our writing is good or not?

What is the most crucial part in writing process to look for?

1. • There is no right or wrong in writing. Make sure you follow the format (i.e., APA 7th style).

   • Whether your paper is good enough to be published depends on the feedback from the journal editor and peer reviewers invited.

Can you give some tips on writing a quality research paper as to prepare for publication?

What are the important considerations when writing the article for submission? What kind of mistakes that should try to avoid to make the article be more likely to get accepted?

1. • Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are a great way to learn and unlearn certain things!

   • Tips: Get someone to review your paper before submitting, revise your paper based on the feedback received (e.g., from the editors, reviewers, supervisors, coauthors).

What are the chapters that we must include in our thesis to make sure we produce a good quality of thesis?

1. • Check with your supervisor as the chapters needed may vary across institutions.

Which chapter should start first when it comes to writing?

1. • As long as the final product is coherent, it doesn't matter which chapter you write first. 

   • It's common to revise your writing again, again, and again (even after you submitted it to a journal).

Does language matters in our writing?

1. • Yes. So, make sure you let someone proofread your manuscript if you are not confident.

What's the difference between the statement of problem (introduction part) and research gap?

1. • There is no fixed answer. Example

How to structure a report in a way that journals accept it? What is the approach to take while writing a thesis?

1. • A thesis is different from a journal article. 

   • Write a thesis according to the guideline provided by your supervisor

   • Write a mansucript (to be submitted to a journal) according to the journal's guideline (see the section below).

How do we compile and paraphrase the studies if it is relevant after when we have read so many journal articles? 

1. • Outline your manuscript as detailed as possible (with headings and multiple levels of subheadings), then fill in the blanks.

   • There is no right or wrong way to compile or paraphrase relevant studies. Just make sure they are written in a coherent way.

   • Check how other journal articles compile and paraphrase other studies. Then, adopt the style that best suits your research!

How to write an effective research proposal for scholarship?

1. • It depends on the postgraduate program you are applying for...

What are some important considerations during oral presentation?

What are the tips of making sure to present a research in an attentive and catchy way?

1. • Deliver what the audience wants to hear.  Avoid uninteresting materials.

   • Your knowledge of the subject is best expressed through a clear and concise presentation that is provocative and leads to a dialog during the QnA session when the audience becomes active participants. 

   • Set a clear beginning, middle, and an end. Take-home message is clearly understood.

   • Practice and time your presentation 

   • Make the points few and clear.

Adapted from: https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/connections/ten-simple-rules-making-good-oral-presentations

How do you summarise all of the research content to fit into a short presentation?

1. • Include only important details for each section required by the organizer.

Does every research need to be presented before we can publish them? 

1. • No. In normal circumstances, submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full).

What are the tips that we need to know when trying to defend our paper, even prior to presenting or publishing it?

1. • Make sure you read the scoring rubric and include all the things required in your oral defense.

   • Know how to justify everything in your research (especially the methodology part).

How to determine which information to be included in poster since the space is very limited? 

1. • Include only important details for each section required by the organizer.  

   • Include what the audience wants to see.  Avoid uninteresting information.

What are the roles of first and second author in general? (e.g., who is responsible for editing the draft for publication). From my personal experience, there is cultural differences in terms of these roles.

1. • Normally, the authorship order is based on the extent of contribution and there are no fixed roles. But the authorship order should be agreed upon by all the authors before submission.

   • You are right. Not only cultural differences, but also individual differences. It all depends on the agreement amongst the authors.

   • Authorship [CRediT; e.g., Example]

What are the differences between different journals in the same field?

1. • Scope,  types of articles, publishing time, ranking, indexing, acceptance rate, article processing charge (APC), etc.

Why some journals require fees and some do not? 

1. • Some run the journal as a business, while some are not.

Can you do research independently / without being a lecturer?

Is there a way for me to conduct independent research unaffiliated with a university and get it published?

1. • Yes, you can. 

   • You may put your current organization (if it is related/relevant to the research) or your previous institution as your affiliation.

Can we proceed to publish our own dissertation/article without the knowledge of our previous supervisor?

Is it possible to publish a paper during undergraduate without guidance from anyone such as lecturer and so on at some platforms such as SCI?

1. • It is recommended to ask for your supervisor's guidance. 

   • If your supervisor is not willing to guide you, you may proceed to publish it yourself. 

   • Also, ask your supervisor if s/he wants to be listed as a co-author.

Should we get approval from our school supervisor?

1. • Unless your institution requires you to do so. Always check with your supervisor.

Who can help me to publish my research?

1. • You, yourself is the best candidate to submit your own research for publication.

   • You are encouraged to ask for your supervisor's guidance throughout the publication process.

What are the biggest challenges for a student aiming to publish in a journal?

1. • Lack of experience and proper guidance. 

   • Some supervisors are not experienced and/or motivated to guide students (extra workload to them).

If undergraduates are interested to publish our final year thesis yet supervisor seems not interested to support and guide us, what should I do?

1. • Publish it yourself (based on what you have learned in this workshop) or find someone (like me) who is willing to guide you.

   • Proposed solution: Research Team (Collaboration among MAPS members who are interested in journal publication).