Writing Scientific and Professional Articles
Course type
Study programme and level
Language
slovenščina
Lectures | Seminar | Tutorial | Druge oblike študija | Individual Work | ECTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
30 | 6 |
Study programme and level | Study field | Academic year | Semester |
Master’s Programme | Law | 1/2 | 1/2 |
Course Type
Elective
Workload | Lectures (h/semester) | Seminar
(h/semester) |
Tutorial
(h/semester) |
Individual Work (h/semester) | ECTS |
30 | 6 |
Lecturer
Boštjan Kerbler, PhD, assistant professor
Language
English
Prerequisites
None
Content (Syllabus outline)
Premise
Writing research and survey articles cannot be taken for granted; it is a skill that has to be learned. All graduate students are required to write and publish a research or survey article. This is a difficult task not only for students, but also for many already well-established experts and academics because in addition to writing the content it also demands special skills. It all begins with the selection of a suitable journal and meeting the journal’s criteria. However, the path from selecting a suitable journal to publishing an article can be very long and characterized by many disappointments. By making the right decisions, taking the right approach, and using the skills or techniques learned, writing research and survey articles can become a pleasant experience, filled with success. Publishing articles in research journals means drawing attention to yourself, your skills, and your achievements. The larger the number of an individual’s publications and the higher their quality is, the greater is the probability for business networking and new challenges and opportunities at work. Mastering the skill of writing research and survey articles can also serve as an excellent starting point for drafting and producing a high-quality master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. It is therefore highly recommended that you select this course, preferably already in the first year.
Content
- The importance and sense of writing research and survey articles:
- Types of research articles and their characteristics and differences compared to survey articles;
- Overview and characteristics of individual elements of research and survey articles;
- Approach to and the method of selecting a suitable journal for publishing a research/survey article;
- Recommendations for reading the “instructions for authors”;
- Presenting international bibliographic databases and searching for relevant literature;
- Approaches to writing, writing stages, and methods of writing individual parts of research/survey articles;
- Methods of compiling reference lists and citing references in research/survey articles;
- Preparing graphic material and tables,
- The procedure for submitting the research/survey article;
- Reviewing and review elements;
- Making changes to the research/survey article and responding to the review;
- Formalities and editorial board conditions and requirements before the publication of an accepted research/survey article, and the author’s responsibilities;
- Recommendations to the authors after the publication of the article and dissemination.
Study Literature
- Cargill, M., in O’Connor, P. (2013): Writing scientific research articles: Strategy and steps. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.
- Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Caligiuri, P., Andersson, U., Brannen, M. Y. (2013): From the Editors: How to write articles that are relevant to practice. Journal of International Business Studies, 44, str. 285–289.
- Jubb, M. (2014): Communication or competition: What motivates researchers to write articles for journals? Learned Publishing, 27(4), str. 251–252.
- Silvia, P. J. (2007): How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. Washington, DC, American Psychological Association.
- Jha, K. N. (2014): How to write articles that get published? J Clin Diagn Res., 8(9), str. XG01–XG03.
- Faigley, L., in Hansen, K. (1985): Learning to write in the social sciences. College Composition and Communication, 36(2), str. 140–149.
- Cargill, M. & O’Connor, P. (2013): Writing scientific research articles: Strategy and steps. Chichester, John Wiley & Sons.
- Cuervo-Cazurra, A., Caligiuri, P., Andersson, U. & Brannen, M. Y. (2013): From the Editors: How to write articles that are relevant to practice. Journal of International Business Studies, 44, pp. 285–289.
- Jubb, M. (2014): Communication or competition: What motivates researchers to write articles for journals? Learned Publishing, 27(4), pp. 251–252.
- Silvia, P. J. (2007): How to write a lot: A practical guide to productive academic writing. Washington, DC, American Psychological Association.
- Jha, K. N. (2014): How to write articles that get published? J Clin Diagn Res., 8(9), pp. XG01–XG03.
- Faigley, L. & Hansen, K. (1985): Learning to write in the social sciences. College Composition and Communication, 36(2), pp. 140–149.
Objectives and competences
- Getting to know the point of writing and publishing research/survey articles;
- Getting to know the approaches to and techniques of writing research/survey articles;
- Acquiring the skills of writing a high-quality research/survey article;
- Preparing and producing any type of specialist text with confidence and having faith in one’s success.
Intended learning outcomes
- Knowing and understanding the characteristics of various types of research articles and the typical features of survey articles;
- Knowing and understanding the required structure of a research/survey article;
- Knowing and understanding how to write a high-quality research/survey article;
- Knowing and understanding how to communicate with the research/survey journal editorial boards;
- Obtaining comprehensive insight into the process of preparing, submitting, and publishing research/survey articles.
Learning and teaching methods
- Lecture;
- Discussion;
- Case studies;
- Comparison of various types of articles;
- Preparing a draft research/survey article.
Assessment
The examination is composed of two assignments that the students complete individually (at home). (1) All students receive articles that they need to review based on what they have learned in the lectures, and (2) prepare a draft research article for a selected journal based on their topic of interest or the topic they have selected for their master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. The students submit both assignments, after which they have to orally defend them (in an oral examination). The course lecturer grades the quality of the review and draft research article for the selected journal. If the article proves to be high quality and if the student so wishes, the lecturer can help him or her prepare the entire article later on (after passing the examination), providing guidance and advice.
Lecturer’s references
Boštjan Kerbler is a full-time employee at the Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia. In addition to his work as a researcher, he is the editor of the internationally indexed research journal Urbani izziv (Urban Challenge). Under his editorship, the journal has been included in a number of international research databases based on evaluations of its research quality, including the prestigious SCOPUS Elsevier indexing database. While serving as its editor, the journal was classified as A’ which means that the articles published in this journal are deemed outstanding achievements. He has received many commendations for his editorial work from internationally acclaimed researchers and research article authors, and members of the international editorial board of the journal Urbani izziv. He has published extensively in various research journals, including those indexed in SSCI, AHCI, and SCOPUS Elsevier. The bibliographical COBISS database includes more than 170 of his publications. All of his references are listed and publically available in the SICRIS, LinkedIn, and ResearchGate systems. His research focuses on living environments for the elderly and on other demographic and housing studies, especially from the viewpoint of population aging and the accessibility of the built environment, information, and communications to the disabled and other functionally impaired persons. He takes part in Slovenian and international research projects and has been teaching at the University of the Third Age for more than a decade.