Common Problems Faced by PhD Scholars during Journal Publications

Introduction

As a researcher, it’s very important to note that, “Publishing your research findings in a very reputable journal is considered as a crucial aspect of your academic journey.” It not only increases values to your research manuscript but also it increases the advancements in the most relevant field. These particular processes also have very crucial challenges and obstacles that PhD scholars mostly meet in their academic journey.

Selecting the Right Journal   

   Journal Publications

It’s very important to choose the right journal to get your manuscript reach in a very high level in all over the globe. This is the very first step that all researchers need to do while starting their research in the relevant field. They need to consider some of the important factors, which include journal's scope, impact factor, audiences, and publication fees as well. Additionally, researchers also need to beware of predatory journals as well because they thoroughly exploit researchers and their works to get some profit but they can’t able to provide any genuine peer review or editorial services as well.

Understanding Journal Requirements

It’s very important to note that each and every journal have their own requirements as well as they all have a specific formatting guidelines also and word count restrictions are always there so, authors must consider and go through it thoroughly to get some valuable insight about the journal and their requirements as well. It’s highly notable that if you fail to meet these requirements, then your manuscripts will be promptly rejected by journal editor without any particular reasons. So, as PhD scholars you must carefully read and understand each and every submission guidelines before submitting your manuscripts in any of the journals.

Dealing with Rejection

You need to note that manuscript rejection is a very common experience in the world that most of the researchers have experienced in it also. You have to take your manuscript rejection as a chance to improvise your skills and make it meet journal requirements accordingly. If you face any rejections, don’t worry, you need to utilise your time in a very right way and as a PhD scholar, you need to invest your time and effort into their research in a more useful way. It is very essential to develop writing strategies to deal with manuscript rejection and always take it in a very positive way. You need to seek some valuable feedbacks from reviewers which can thoroughly provide very important valuable insights for improving your manuscript.

Managing Time Effectively

As a research scholar, you need to know how to balance your research activities because balancing research activities is very challenging for PhD scholars, and especially when they are facing short deadlines for their journal submissions. So, you need to optimise an effective time management skill that is very crucial for make you prioritizing your important tasks and it also make you to allocate some sufficient time to you for writing and revising your manuscripts.

Overcoming Writer's Block

One of the common obstacles is a writer's block that most of the PhD scholars have experience in it during the writing process. In order to overcome this critical challenge, then you need to try various techniques such as writing in a relax mode, brainstorming, or need to take some breaks to refresh your minds as well. The important thing that you need to seek some support from peers, mentors, or any writing groups, they can also provide some encouragement and motivation to you.

Addressing Peer Review Comments

It’s very important to receive feedback from peer reviewers which can thoroughly help to improvise your manuscript. It is also very essential to approach some peer review comments with an open mind and you should have some willingness to revise your manuscript accordingly. Constructive criticism can thoroughly help you to improvise the quality of your research and these potential activities will automatically increase the chances for get acceptance for your manuscript.

Handling Co-authorship Issues

As a PhD scholar, you need to familiarise with this collaborative research projects and this collaborative research projects often involve multiple authors with different perspectives and contributions to the same manuscript. It’s very important to get some clear communication and roles and responsibilities for avoiding any conflicts while preparing the manuscript and also during the publication process as well. So, it’s very important to resolve any issues or any conflicts promptly for maintaining the productive working relationships forever.

Navigating the Revision Process

It’s very important to note that after receiving any feedback from reviewers, then as PhD scholar you need must revise and resubmit your manuscripts according to the feedbacks given by the reviewers during your manuscript submission. Particularly, this important process may require multiple rounds of revisions also but you need to do all the provided corrections in a very disciplinary and correct way for your manuscript publication. It is very essential to communicate with journal editors in effective and disciplinary manners and you need to respond promptly to their requests to avoid any conflict during your manuscript publication process.

Dealing with Ethical Concerns

It’s very important to maintain the integrity and ethical standards in research as this is the very important paramount for PhD scholars as well. This process includes some important activities as follows: avoiding plagiarism, citing sources according to the journal requirements, and obtaining necessary permissions for using copyrighted materials as well. You need to follow the ethical guidelines which thoroughly ensure the credibility and reliability of your research findings during manuscript publication.

Managing Stress and Burnout

There may be pressures which arise during manuscript preparation or during manuscript publication, you need to face it in a very positive manner otherwise it will directly affect your mental health and well-being as well. So, it is very essential to practice some important self-care strategies such as exercising, meditating, or seeking any support from friends and family as well. So, it’s vital to recognise the signs of depression and seek professional help promptly if you needed to enhance your overall health and productivity in a more right way.

Networking and Collaboration

You need to build a strong network within the academic community which can thoroughly help you to provide very important valuable support and opportunities for easy collaboration. You need to attend conferences, workshops, and seminars which directly allow you to connect with peers and potential collaborators during those meetings. This research projects collaboration can lead to have your possible directions that you can publish your manuscript with them as co-authors in future and it will also enhance the visibility and impact of your works in all over the world.

Staying Updated with Publishing Trends

You need to be as a updated person in this academic publishing activities and you need to understand new trends and technologies which is used to shape your research in a very correct manner. As a PhD scholar, you must stay updated about current and important publishing platforms, open-access initiatives, and alternative metrics for measuring the research impact in a very accurate manner. These adoption activities will spontaneously ensure that your work reaches a large number of audiences in all over the globe as well.

Celebrating Achievements and Milestones

While understanding the challenges and setbacks in your research areas, it is also very essential you to celebrate your achievements and milestones in your publication process. Whether it's receiving any positive feedback from reviewers, or securing acceptance from a prestigious journal, or reaching a citation milestone, as PhD scholars, you need to acknowledge these accomplishments which is used to increase your morale and motivation as well. It's very important to set new goals for your future publications as well.

Conclusion

In conclusion, as a PhD scholar, you need to travel with this publishing journey with many challenges and hurdles, but you need to overcome these obstacles in a very positive and confident way and this is mainly considered as the very essential element for your academic as well as professional growth. We have addressed some of the common problems such as selecting the right journal, managing time effectively, and dealing with rejection, which can thoroughly helps you to publish your manuscript in a very effective and confident way. You can easily able to overcome these challenges with better understanding of above-mentioned points, support from peers and mentors, and a commitment to excellence as well.