C. Research and Publishing

The ultimate evidence and validation of your scholarship comes when it is published. Part of your success as an academician will depend on how well you recognize when you have enough to say in a publishable form, what outlets you choose for publishing, how often you publish, and how you deal with the rejection inherent in the publishing process.

1. Choice of research area

Although changing priorities at federal funding agencies (NIMH, NSF, NIH, etc.) have made research on ethnic minority populations and women more desirable, many academic institutions tend to be conservative and value traditional areas and methods of research. In such institutions, research on women's issues or ethnic minority issues is often viewed pejoratively as nonmainstream or marginal and may be either devalued or discouraged (Sandler & Hall, 1986).

According to Taylor and Raeburn (1995), there are career consequences for activism in high risk areas. For instance, openly gay sociologists who challenge stigmatization, promotion of unequal treatment of disenfranchised groups, and/or who conduct research on diversity issues face personal discrimination in hiring, bias in tenure and promotion, are excluded from social and professional networks, and are harassed or intimidated with systematic devaluation of scholarly work on gay topics.

Others' lack of recognition for your work can be a source of disappointment and frustration. The problem particularly affects women and ethnic minorities because they are the faculty most often interested in pursuing research in nonmainstream areas. The term "double whammy" applies here because research in a nonmainstream area is less likely to be seen as important, and, at the same time, leaves a person more open to being perceived as "biased and lacking scientific objectivity" (i.e., as "having an ax to grind").

Discuss your research interests with your department chairperson and other senior colleagues. If you perceive that the importance of your work might be misunderstood or undervalued, seek opportunities to inform others of its relevance and significance. Present your work in and out of your department or institution at conferences, seminars, or forums that will expose you to people with similar interests. These individuals may become collaborators in research and/or can serve as a broad-based system of support outside your department. They should become familiar enough with your work to be able to provide strong positive evaluations. If possible, work with individuals with strong reputations so that their opinions are more likely to outweigh any prejudicial judgements.

Some scholars maintain two areas of research, one mainstream and one nonmainstream. This can be difficult because you might then be expected to be an expert in two distinct areas, and your record in the mainstream area may be compared with the records of researchers who have devoted all of their time and energy to this one area. An alternative strategy is to research topics that may be considered outside of the mainstream, but frame the topics within solidly mainstream methodologies and/or theories.

2. Publishing steadily

Beginning researchers should publish as many pieces from their dissertation as they can. There is evidence that this is one of the best predictors of success in publishing. With many things to do each week, making time for writing is difficult. You can structure your time so that every week you work on some aspect of a manuscript. If you have structured your teaching so that it supports your research, most of the work you do for teaching will also serve this purpose. But you must also dedicate a certain amount of time each week during the school year to advancing the start of new research, writing, and publishing. Saving this time and considering it as untouchable as your teaching time is one of the most important work habits you can develop. Suinn and Witt (1982) and Suinn (1996) determined that insufficient time devoted to research activity, research writing, and data collection activities comprised the leading obstacles to tenure. Form or join a writing group. In this group (usually five to six people) each member brings work in progress to be critiqued. This process helps you to clarify ideas, gain access to a broader set of references, and keep you on track with your writing.

3. Publishing carefully

Not all journals are held in equal regard. Make every effort to publish your research in the most respected journals in your area. Here again, soliciting colleagues' opinions about the various outlets for your work and the type of research activities you are expected to pursue is useful. For example, many departments do not consider textbook writing as research and, even if valued, expect it to come only after demonstrated success at publishing empirical research in peer reviewed journals. Furthermore, an article published in a mainstream journal will likely be valued more highly than the same article published in a women's studies or ethnic studies journal (Sandler& Hall, 1986). At times you may have to weigh the most appropriate audience against the most valued publication outlet for your department.

Some scholars decide to submit articles only to mainstream journals. Others publish in both mainstream and nonmainstream journals, but often the choice is not one over which the researcher has control. Just as it is more difficult to get peer recognition for research on women's issues or ethnic minority issues, it is often more difficult to get this research published in the most prestigious and mainstream journals.

The important point is that publishing in journals that seem obscure to your department may make your tenure and promotion more difficult to achieve because your department may not know how to value your work. If the outlets for your work are mostly nonmainstream journals, one strategy is to inform your colleagues of the worth of the journals by calling attention to studies of high quality that are published in them, noting which citation indices include them, etc. High numbers of citations of your published articles by others (as shown in Citation Index volumes) can attest to the importance of your work.

4. Learning to handle rejection

Most manuscripts are rejected, often multiple times, before publication. Most academicians experience such failure and rejection. You should not take criticism as a personal attack, indeed, doing so may undermine your chances of success (Stake, 1986). Instead, use the feedback you receive in a constructive manner to revise the manuscript and resubmit it. If the rejection feedback makes resubmission possible, resubmit as soon as possible. If the rejection feedback suggests a new venue, make the suggested changes and send the manuscript to a new outlet.

Not all review suggestions are equally useful. Some may reflect the preferences of a particular journal reviewer. If there is no possibility of resubmission to that journal, you may be better off incorporating immediately the suggestions you deem appropriate and resubmitting your revised manuscript to a new outlet without further delay. If you perceive the reviews of your manuscript contain sexist or racist assumptions or in other ways seem to be systematically biased against your research, it is appropriate to tell the journal editor of your concerns. Often, if your concerns sound legitimate, the editor will secure another review.

5. Diversity presentations

Young scholars with expertise in diversity topics may be sought after to give conference presentations, consult, or otherwise participate in work on diversity issues. In some cases, the expertise may simply be the result of being a woman or a person of color in one's field. While these requests may be quite validating and personally rewarding, they can be quite demanding in terms of preparation and travel time. It is important to not let these requests consume too much time that might otherwise be devoted to research and publishing.