COMMENTARY pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Become a Journal of Chemical Education Author Erica K. Jacobsen* The Dalles, Oregon 97058, United States
bS Supporting Information ABSTRACT: Preparing and submitting a manuscript to a professional journal can be a daunting task, particularly for high school educators. The author discusses reasons one might choose to write for the Journal of Chemical Education, identifies potential obstacles in preparing and submitting a manuscript, suggests ways to overcome these obstacles, and encourages educators to take the next step toward becoming a JCE author. KEYWORDS: High School/Introductory Chemistry, Professional Development
’I don’t have time. I can’t write. I don’t have any worthy ideas. I don’t have enough knowledge. It won’t be accepted anyway. I don’t want to undergo peer review. It’s scary! The list above shares the most common answers to the question “What is your biggest obstacle to publishing your ideas?” from a brief survey I have given at the start of a workshop presentation titled, Publishing Your Chemical Education Ideas: What, How, When, Where, Why? In presenting to several different groups of high school and college-level educators, the same answers arise every time. During my time as part of the precollege chemistry section of the Journal of Chemical Education (JCE), a constant goal of the section has been to encourage more high school educators to submit their work to JCE. Working toward that goal has included the workshop presentation mentioned above, speaking to potential high school authors, following up with those authors, and providing constructive feedback on ideas and early drafts. Progress has been slow, yet encouraging. Over the past nine years, numbers for a yearly total of high school authors have risen from the low teens to the low twenties. However, given that a recent single issue of JCE had over 60 authors, there is room for improvement.
important reasons are that it is a way to share useful curriculum with a wider audience and to give back to the educational community, even beyond the time of one’s teaching career. Some articles that were published long ago in JCE still find use today. A high school teacher who recently published an article in JCE, Peter Heid, provides an additional reason for pursuing publication: “I thought that I could also demonstrate (model) setting a goal and achieving a goal to my classes, so off I went.”1
’ OVERCOMING OBSTACLES Time
High school educators in particular have many school-related demands on their time, in addition to the regular flow of everyday life. Many books have been written on time management techniques, but there really is no silver bullet. If you decide that writing an article is important and a priority for you, you will make the time. One potential pitfall is to view writing an article as a single, major event; it seems as though it will take such a long amount of time that we never even begin. If pictured as a series of small chunks of work, it may be easier to find that shorter amount of time and only focus on the next action, whether it be beginning a literature search, selecting keywords, writing an introduction, creating a table, and so on. Writing Ability
Even experienced writers may doubt their ability when faced with a new piece. One way to overcome your doubts is to ask for feedback from a friend or colleague; this could be someone in the field of chemistry education or even outside of it. Explaining your idea to someone you feel comfortable with can help you to clarify the idea within your own mind and lead to constructive questions, feedback, and, most of all, encouragement. Or, if the article is describing work done with a colleague, enlist that person as a coauthor. You can then share in the writing and bounce ideas and drafts off of each other. Understanding more about the writing process can also be helpful. I have always felt more secure in getting the first words down on the page when thinking of Anne Lamott’s idea in her book Bird by Bird, that the first draft will be
’ WHY WRITE? The obstacles listed above can be formidable and the section below suggests how each can be overcome. However, even before that, the first question to ask is: Why do you wish to publish your chemical education ideas? During presentations, certain answers to this question crop up again and again. Those at the college level sometimes bring up the phrase “publish or perish”. For high school educators, it is quite rare to encounter this pressure. Authoring a publication in a professional journal, particularly one recognized as being a major journal in its field, can be a good resume builder at the high school level. Preparing an idea for publication can also be a good opportunity for professional growth. It can help even a seasoned educator to review and clarify what they know about chemistry and teaching. Other Copyright r 2011 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: November 16, 2011 2
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Journal of Chemical Education
COMMENTARY
terrible.2 She says, “All good writers write them. This is how they end up with good second drafts and terrific third drafts.”2
authors to see what peer reviewers are meant to use as criteria. Serving as a reviewer yourself can also help you to see the submission process from that viewpoint. Literature searches can be performed from the JCE home page at http://pubs.acs.org/ journal/jceda8 (accessed Nov 2011). Mary Harris states, “Make sure your idea has not been published before or use the search to mention similar ideas that have been published in the past. Give credit where credit is due.”6 Simply reading JCE helps an author to know the usual style of articles, laboratory experiments, demonstrations, and so on, to know the audience they are writing for, and can even give you ideas for submissions if you have an addition or improvement on an idea shared in a previous article. What next? Write away, write now!
Worthy Ideas and Knowledge
When first considering what you might write an article about, nothing may come to mind. I typically tell potential authors that everyone has an idea that could be made into an article. You can ask yourself questions such as: What particularly interests me in the classroom and my own journal reading? What ideas from others have I tweaked to “build a better mousetrap”? What have I presented at conferences? What do I most often talk to other teachers about in conversations at conferences? A review of the past year’s curriculum can yield ideas. JCE is also looking for ideas for commentaries on issues relevant to the high school educator community. High school teachers who have published in JCE offer advice in this area. Paul Matsumoto suggests working in a lab during the summer, stating, “Such an experience may show a teacher the interdisciplinary/collaborative nature of science, which could lead to altering a teacher’s classroom activity that leads to a publication.”3 He also encourages being open to student ideas: “Encourage your students to offer their ideas—to do it ‘their way’ and do not discourage your students from providing their ideas on how to solve a problem or explain something. Such an attitude may lead to a publication.”3 Recently published author Alice Putti described her experience at the Target Inquiry Program: “As part of the program we were required to submit a manuscript to a science journal. Prior to joining the program it never occurred to me to try and publish my work.”4 She also benefited from having the instructors of the program to serve as mentors who could offer encouragement.
’ ASSOCIATED CONTENT
bS
Supporting Information A list of advice and tips from several past high school educator JCE authors. This material is available via the Internet at http:// pubs.acs.org.
’ AUTHOR INFORMATION Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected].
’ ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thank you to past authors Brett Criswell, Mary Harris, Peter Heid, Paul Matsumoto, Alice Putti, and Michael Wirtz for sharing their advice for potential JCE authors.
Peer Review and Acceptance for Publication
It can be difficult, after submitting a lovingly and carefully crafted article that you feel is already perfect, to read reviews that suggest changes should be made. Brett Criswell states, “Do not take reviewers’ comments personally. Everyone has a different lens with which to view intellectual materials, such as a submission, and many comments are just a reflection of different lenses.”5 The simple fact is that pretty much every manuscript gets revised at some stage. Reviewers often raise questions or make suggestions that the author may not have considered, that, if addressed in the paper, would make it even better. An ideal reviewer encourages the author by pointing out the strengths of a manuscript, yet also shares constructive criticism to improve the paper. An estimate is that JCE accepts and publishes roughly half of the submissions that it receives. If an author receives a decision letter that asks for revisions, the submission has definite potential if the reviews are carefully considered and used to guide a revised manuscript. At the same time, if a particular detail is brought up by a reviewer that you, as an author, feel there is a compelling reason to not change that portion of the manuscript, you can always state this reasoning in a document that lists how you addressed reviewer comments when you return your revision.
’ REFERENCES (1) Heid, P. Advice for Potential High School Teacher Authors— Journal of Chemical Education. E-mail to Erica K. Jacobsen. October 27, 2011. (2) Excerpt from Lamott, A. Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life; Pantheon Books: New York, 1994. http://www. orcutt.net/othercontent/sfds.pdf (accessed Nov 2011). (3) Matsumoto, P. Advice for Potential JCE Authors. E-mail to Erica K. Jacobsen. July 19, 2007. (4) Putti, A. Advice for Potential High School Teacher Authors— Journal of Chemical Education. E-mail to Erica K. Jacobsen. October 17, 2011. (5) Criswell, B. Advice for Potential JCE Authors. E-mail to Erica K. Jacobsen. July 20, 2007. (6) Harris, M. Advice for Potential JCE Authors. E-mail to Erica K. Jacobsen. July 20, 2007.
’ WHAT NEXT? If you have decided you want to submit an article and are prepared to overcome obstacles that may lie ahead, what next? The JCE Web site offers resources and information to get authors started. A Web page on submissions and review offers links to information for authors, including author guidelines: http://pubs.acs.org/page/ jceda8/submission/index.html (accessed Nov 2011). It also provides links to information for reviewers, which can be useful to new 3
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