Nathaniel M. Lambert - Publish and Prosper

Intended to help readers succeed in academia by increasing their scholarly productivity, this book provides strategies for getting articles published quickly in reputable research journals. Rather than focusing on the basics of writing about results, this unique guidebook provides tips on how to approach research, maintain motivation, maximize productivity, and overcome common pitfalls so as to become productive scholars. The strategies reviewed will help readers successfully navigate through graduate school, get a good job, receive grants and promotions, and make important contributions to their field.

Written in a breezy style, this book offers case studies, examples, and personal experiences that illustrate the themes of the chapters. Introductions and summaries and key points help to highlight the most critical concepts reviewed in each chapter. Chapter exercises encourage self-reflection and/or the application of the strategies introduced in that chapter. Self-assessment questions in along with the time diary and the chapter and self assessment exercises.

Although a young scholar, Nathaniel Lambert has an impressive track record. He already has over 50 papers published in research journals. This book reviews winning strategies practiced by the author and additional insights based on conversations with top producing scholars. By diligently applying this book's core strategies, you too can publish and prosper!

Intended as a reference for students who are planning to attend graduate school and/or pursue an academic career, this book is ideal for professional development and/or research methods courses taught in the behavioral, social, health, and life sciences and for researchers and professionals looking to increase their publication productivity.

Nathaniel M. Lambert is an Assistant Professor of Family Life at Brigham Young University.

Publish and Prosper

A Strategy Guide for Students and Researchers

Nathaniel M. Lambert

First published 2014
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2FA

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2014 Taylor & Francis

The right of Nathaniel M. Lambert to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A catalog record for this book has been requested.

ISBN: 978-1-84872-993-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-84872-994-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-20312-289-1 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

PART I
Priorities

PART II
Efficiency

PART III
Pitfall Prevention

PART IV
PEP at Different Career Stages

I once read a book on this topic by someone who hadn't published much himself and I found myself wondering, How will he teach me how to do something he hasn't done much himself? Rest assured that although still a young scholar, I have a substantial track record of publications. I published 23 manuscripts before leaving graduate school and 50 manuscripts midway through my second year as a professor. Let me be the first to point out, however, that the success I have experienced is not due to any extraordinarily high level of intelligence. I do consider myself intelligent, but I'm no genius.

When people see my publication record, a common reaction is, You must never sleep! I am a hard worker, but I also sleep an average of about 7.5 hours per night and pride myself on having a balanced life. I was able to meet my publication goals without ever working on Sundays and while exercising daily, spending 35 hours each day with my family and friends, and pursuing other hobbies such as sports, hiking, and gardening. Thus, although I am indeed a very hard worker, this also is not the secret of my success, considering that many people put in far more hours than I without experiencing the results I have seen.

So if it wasn't superior intelligence or long hours that helped me to discover and apply the keys of publishing success, then what was it? I had not seriously thought about the answer until a friend of mine, knowing of my productive track record while I was in graduate school, said to me, I simply have no idea how you could possibly have done all that while in graduate school. This comment led to a lot of self-introspection and was actually part of the inspiration behind writing this book.

Essentially, neither high levels of intelligence nor hard work are enough to succeed in becoming a prolific scholar. Rather, I believe the application of core principles and strategies, combined with hard work, is the key to publish and prosper. My objective in writing this book is to clearly communicate these core strategies so you will be able to accomplish more than you've ever thought possible.

My objective in writing this book is to pass along winning strategies, mindsets, and approaches to help you succeed. However, this book is not intended to go over the nuts and bolts of planning, conducting, and writing up research results; plenty of books have been written on such topics. I also assume you will receive training from your mentor, university, or other books to help you with these issues. So rather than being a step-by-step guide to conducting research, this book describes strategies and approaches for the transformative process of becoming a productive scholar.

In addition, although this book is intended for advanced students and new professionals, it is obviously not written in academese. I use largely informal language and do not support all my points with academic references; in fact, this topic of publishing has surprisingly not been studied much by academics. Rather, the strategies I recommend stem largely from my own experience as well as from my observations and conversations with some of the top producing scholars in my field.

This book is divided into four parts that detail principles for enhanced productivity, including how to increase the importance and urgency of your research as a key priority (Part I), tips for enhancing your efficiency (Part II), description of productivity pitfalls and how to avoid them (Part III), and how to apply these principles of enhanced productivity at different stages of your career (Part IV). This book is best used as both a guide to give you ideas for improvement and as a workbook of exercises to help you apply what you learn to your professional career. If you are just beginning your research career, you may feel somewhat overwhelmed by all the suggestions; if so, I would suggest implementing the strategies one at a time. You can't expect yourself to go from being a novice researcher to a highly productive scholar overnight, so don't get overwhelmed. Reading this book and then referring to it throughout your career will help you to gradually apply strategies that will enhance your productivity. Remember to move just one step at a time.