HomeRecoletos Multidisciplinary Research Journalvol. 11 no. 2 (2023)

The Journey of a Non-Native English Speaker towards Scopus Publication: An Autoethnography

Randy A. Tudy

Discipline: Social Science

 

Abstract:

Research publication continues to be a challenge for faculty in higher education institutions. Much more is expected of research leaders. My journey towards Scopus publication started over a decade ago when I was designated as a research director. I worked hard on my first publication in Scopus for years, but to no avail. Applying Autoethnography, I chronicle my publication journey, which can be a glimpse of the situation of other neophyte researchers who are non-native English speakers. In this paper, I discuss my struggles toward publication, such as losing confidence, excitement, and ignorance of standards, and Filipino English as a liability. However, I also expounded on the essential lessons I gained, such as article-journal fit, journal quality and standards, editing help, and focus and determination. Indeed, publishing in high-end journals like Scopus is challenging, but there is always a way, particularly learning from past mistakes and maximizing the lessons learned.



References:

  1. Adams, T. E., Ellis, C., & Jones, S. H. (2017). Autoethnography. The international encyclopedia of communication research methods, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118901731.iecrm0011
  2. Asif, F., Tajuddin, A. J. A., & Khan, I. A. (2020). Rejection of the English language manuscripts analysis of reasons from the editors’ perspective. PalArch's Journal of Archaeology of Egypt/Egyptology, 17(4), 1553-1575. http://www.palarch.nl/index.php/jae/issue/view/6
  3. Björk, Bo-Christer (2018). “Acceptance rates of scholarly peer-reviewed journals: a literature survey”. El profes-sional de la información, 28(4), e280407. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2019.jul.07
  4. Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
  5. Brown, T. (2011). More than glimpses in the mirror: An argument for self-study in the professional learning of physical education teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of Health, Sport and Physical Education, 2(1), 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/18377122.2011.9730341
  6. Cocal, C. & De Vera, I. (2018). Challenges and Strategies on Paper Publication to International Indexed Journals by Filipino Academic Researchers. The Asian ESP Journal, 14(7.2), 113-131. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331272729_Challenges_and_strategies_on_paper_publication_to_international_indexed_journals_by_Filipino_academic_researchers
  7. Datta, P., & Jones, M. T. (2018). Being published in reputable academic and scientific journals: Key criteria for acceptance. International Journal of Higher Education Management, 5(1), 49-63. https://ijhem.com/details&cid=64
  8. Dell'Anno, R., Caferra, R., & Morone, A. (2020). A “Trojan Horse” in the peer-review process of fee-charging economic journals. Journal of Informetrics, 14(3), 101052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2020.101052
  9. Denzin, N. K. (2013). Interpretive autoethnography. Sage Publications.
  10. Dolnicar, S. (2020). Why quantitative papers based on primary data get desk-rejected by Annals of Tourism Research. Annals of Tourism Research, 83, 102981. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2020.102981
  11. Dusdal, J., & Powell, J. J. (2021). Benefits, motivations, and challenges of international collaborative research: A sociology of science case study. Science and Public Policy, 48(2), 235-245. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scab010
  12. Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography, AltaMira Press.
  13. Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: an overview. Historical social research/Historische sozialforschung, 273-290. https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-12.1.1589
  14. Goldschmidt, W. (1977). Anthropology and the coming crisis: An autoethnographic appraisal. American Anthropologist, 79, 293–308. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1977.79.2.02a00060
  15. Guba, E.G. (1981). Criteria for assessing the trustworthiness of naturalistic inquiries. ECTJ, 29, 75–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02766777
  16. Guido, R. M. D., & Orleans, A. V. (2020). Philippine Research Productivity in Education Research: A Comparative Performance in Southeast Asia. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 8(4). https://www.apjmr.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/APJMR-2020.08.04.09.pdf
  17. Hayano, D. M. (1979). Auto-ethnography: Paradigms, problems, and prospects. Human Organization, 38, 99–104. https://doi.org/10.17730/humo.38.1.u761n5601t4g318v
  18. Heider, K. G. (1975). What do people do? Dani auto-ethnography. Journal of Anthropological Research, 31, 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1086/jar.31.1.3629504
  19. Hokkanen, S. (2017). Analyzing personal embodied experiences: Autoethnography, feelings, and field-work. The International Journal for Translation & Interpreting Research, 9(1), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.12807/ti.109201.2017.a03
  20. Huang, J. C. (2010). Publishing and learning writing for publication in English: Perspectives of NNES PhD students in science. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 9(1), 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2009.10.001
  21. Iqbal, M. Z., & Mahmood, A. (2011). Factors related to low research productivity at higher education level. Asian social science, 7(2), 188. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v7n2p188
  22. Kamalski, J. & L’Huillier, R. (2011). The rise of Asia: A research profile. Elsevier. https://www.elsevier.com/editors-update/story/publishing-trends/the-rise-of-asia-a-research-profile
  23. Kang, N., Doornenbal, M. A., & Schijvenaars, R. J. (2015, September). Elsevier journal finder: recommending journals for your paper. In Proceedings of the 9th ACM Conference on Recommender Systems (pp. 261-264). https://doi.org/10.1145/2792838.2799663
  24. Karabchuk, T., Shomotova, A., & Chmel, K. (2021). Paradox of research productivity of higher education institutions in Arab Gulf countries: The case of the UAE. Higher Education Quarterly, 76(4), 759-785. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12347
  25. Khadilkar, S. S. (2018). Rejection blues: why do research papers get rejected? The Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology of India 68, 239-241. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13224-018-1153-1
  26. Kim, Y., & Lee, O. (2021). Autoethnography of a Novice Teacher’s Assessment Literacy in Elementary Physical Education. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, 16(1), 1882066. https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2021.1882066
  27. Krauskopf, E. (2018). An analysis of discontinued journals by Scopus. Scientometrics, 116(3), 1805-1815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2808-5
  28. Kurambayev, B., & Freedman, E. (2021). Publish or perish? The steep, steep path for Central Asia journalism and mass communication faculty. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 76(2), 228-240. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1077695820947259
  29. Lambovska, M., & Todorova, D. (2021a). ‘Publish and Flourish’ instead of ‘Publish or Perish’: A Motivation Mod-el for Top-quality Publications. Journal of Language and Education, (1), 141-157. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.11522
  30. Lambovska, M., & Todorova, D. (2021b). ‘Publish and Flourish’ instead of ‘Publish or Perish’: A Motivation Mod-el for Top-quality Publications. Journal of Language and Education, 7(1), 144-157. https://doi.org/10.17323/jle.2021.11522
  31. Merriam, S. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
  32. Moulding, L. R., & Hadley, K. M. (2010). Graduate Students' Understanding of Educational Research in a Master of Education Program. New Horizons in Education, 58(1), 43-52. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ893711
  33. Nafukho, F. M., Wekullo, C. S., & Muyia, M. H. (2019). Examining research productivity of faculty in selected leading public universities in Kenya. International Journal of Educational Development, 66, 44-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2019.01.005
  34. Obuku, E. A., Lavis, J. N., Kinengyere, A., Mafigiri, D. K., Sengooba, F., Karamagi, C., & Sewankambo, N. K. (2017). Academic research productivity of post-graduate students at Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Uganda, from 1996 to 2010: a retrospective review. Health Research Policy and Systems, 15(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-017-0194-8
  35. Obuku, E. A., Lavis, J. N., Kinengyere, A., Ssenono, R., Ocan, M., Mafigiri, D. K., & Sewankambo, N. K. (2018). A systematic review on academic research productivity of postgraduate students in low- and middle-income countries. Health Research Policy and Systems, 16(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-018-0360-7
  36. Pinho, D. L. M., & Reeves, S. (2021). An interprofessional international research collaboration: exploration of key opportunities and challenges. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 35(1), 140-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820.2020.1711716
  37. PranckutÄ—, R. (2021). Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus: The Titans of Bibliographic Information in Today’s Academic World. Publications, 9(1), 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications9010012
  38. Prihandoko, L. A., Nurkamto, J., & Marmanto, S. (2018, July). An Effort of Chemistry Graduate Students Publish-ing an Article in Scopus-indexed Journals. In English Language and Literature International Conference (ELLiC) Proceedings (Vol. 2, pp. 88-91). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333798774_AN_EFFORT_OF_CHEMISTRY_GRADUATE_STUDENTS_PUBLISHING_AN_ARTICLE_IN_SCOPUS-INDEXED_JOURNALS
  39. Ragan, S. L. (2000). “The critical life”: An exercise in applying inapplicable critical standards. Communication Education, 49(3), 229-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/03634520009379211
  40. Shenton, A. K. (2004). Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects. Education for Information, 22(2), 63-75. https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-2004-22201
  41. Stolowy, H. (2017). Letter from the editor: why are papers desk rejected at European Accounting Review? European Accounting Review, 26(3), 411-418. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2017.1347360
  42. Tabatabaei, O. & Nazem, Y. (2013). English language teachers’ conception of research. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(3), 521-532. http://dx.doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.3.521-532
  43. Tecson-Mendoza, E. M. (2015). Scientific and academic journals in the Philippines: status and challenges. Science Editing, 2(2), 73-8. https://doi.org/10.6087/kcse.47
  44. Tennant, J. (2020). Web of Science and Scopus are not global databases of knowledge. SocArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/qhvgr
  45. Yemini, M. (2021). International research collaborations as perceived by top-performing scholars. Journal of Studies in International Education, 25(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315319887392
  46. Ynalvez, M. A., & Shrum, W. M. (2011). Professional networks, scientific collaboration, and publication productivity in resource-constrained research institutions in a developing country. Research Policy, 40(2), 204-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2010.10.004