Making writing-related New Year’s resolutions can be a great way to kickstart your writing in the new year. But just making a resolution isn’t enough. You also need a plan and support to keep you on track. If your resolution is to finish your textbook or complete your dissertation, you will need to break that project up into manageable steps and create deadlines that will keep you on track. You might also want to join a writing group to provide feedback and support along the way. If your resolution is to write every day, you will need to decide what time of day works best for you, create a writing space that is free of distractions, and let your friends and family know you are not available during your writing time.
Sudan government bans Sudanese Writers Union
On January 29, 2015, the Sudanese Writers Union (SWU), the umbrella organization of the Sudanese Writers, was involuntarily dissolved and its…
Join us 2/10 for the TAA Webinar, ‘It’s All Greek to Me’: Translating Statistical Writing
Join us Tuesday, February 10 from 2-3 p.m. ET for the one-hour TAA webinar, “‘It’s All Greek to Me’: Translating Statistical…
6 Tips for selecting the right textbook publisher
Selecting the right publisher for your textbook is key to the success of your project, so it’s important to find…
Amazon offers new tool for creating etextbooks, Kindle Textbook Creator
Amazon has a new tool, Kindle Textbook Creator, to help educators and authors prepare, publish, and promote etextbooks and other educational content that can be accessed on Fire tablets, iPad, iPhone, Android smartphones and tablets, Mac, and PC.
Kindle Textbook Creator, offered through the new KDP EDU segment of Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, can be used to turn PDFs of textbooks and course materials into Kindle books and upload them to KDP in just a few simple steps.
How to publish an article in an academic journal: Avoid rookie mistakes
My article is based on ethnography and interviews, so the methods section is pretty straightforward. I discuss how long the ethnographic research lasted (9 months); how many interviews (83); and the case selection – why I interviewed deportees in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, and why most of my interviewees are men.
Data and Analysis
This is the meat of your paper – where your original contribution lies. The main trick here is to make sure that you deploy your data to answer your research questions.
Many qualitative papers fail to analyze their data. You not only need to tell us what you learned from your interviews and ethnography; you also need to analyze each piece of data you provide. Tell the reader what it means and why it’s important.
Conclusion
I have not thus far rejected an article for not having a good conclusion – although I did receive one that completely lacked a conclusion. And, that did not look good.
In any event, a good conclusion can only strengthen your article and make it more likely that your findings will be understood and disseminated.
In my conclusion, I reiterate my findings, mention any possible limitations, and explore directions for future research.