Scholarly Publication Cycle

Scholarly Publishing Process

University Professors and scientists are experts in their subject area. They devote their professional lives to the study of their field. In order to be successful, acquire tenure, and gain prestige for themselves and their institutions, scholars are expected to conduct research, discover new information in their area of expertise, and to share that information with others.

These experts then write up the results of their research and submit their articles for publication, usually with no expectation of compensation. They will select an appropriate publication based on audience and reputation. A scholar would want to publish in the most prestigious journal possible, concentrating in their subject area.

But not every article is accepted for publication. The article must go through the peer-review process. In this process, other experts in the field will scrutinize the research to be sure it is valid, sometimes replicating the research to be sure the results are consistent. Articles are only accepted for publication after they meet the criteria set forth by the journal. The more stringent the standard for publication, the more prestigious the journal among peers.

These articles are meant to be read by other scholars, assuming that the reader has a background in the field. Scholarly journals can be difficult to read by the lay-person, but as a student, you are being introduced to the information that may one day be your area of expertise. Scholarly information has the highest degree of authority, making them the best sources for research papers.

Turn to the contributing authors page in the scholarly journal example

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last update 2/25/07