Why Is There an Emphasis on Publishing in Graduate School? (Part I)

I’m sure you already know that learning to publish your research is a fundamental part of graduate school. Many graduate programs require a certain number of publications before defending a thesis or dissertation.

The publication process can be challenging, particularly for your first paper. In this article I elaborate on the “why” of publication: its true purpose and reason for emphasis in graduate school, for anyone who may be struggling with motivation.

1. Creating persistent research artifacts

Most people go to graduate school because they want to establish expertise in their field. This includes the deeper knowledge you obtain, but also the public aspect, which can open doors to more interesting work, consulting, etc. Publishing in credible venues (peer-reviewed technical journals) is how you begin establishing that expertise.

My advice is that while you’re in graduate school, take the opportunity to publish as much as you can, regardless of graduation requirements. I know you’re thinking, “Of course you would say that!” Yes, but why? I don’t need another paper. I won’t get a bonus for it next year, even if you publish 10 papers. The advice is to benefit you—it’s your professional vita.

In graduate school you have a unique situation where your advisor not only wants you to publish, they teach you how to publish. They help you frame, write, edit and polish papers. You’re unlikely to experience this situation again after graduate school.

Publishing a technical paper is a complex creative skill that’s learned iteratively. On your first paper, I’ll guide you step-by-step. On the second, maybe you’ll do 25-30% on your own, and so on.

The ideal outcome is that by the time you defend your dissertation, you can independently lead and publish your own high-quality research.

This defines what a PhD is trained to do. The process includes: conception of a new research idea, structuring a research plan, efficiently executing the research, validating it, writing a paper to document the findings, and getting it published in a reputable journal.

You have to go through this process several times to refine and build confidence in the skill. Take advantage of the personalized training available in graduate school to refine it.

In addition, the persistency of a publication is something you should always keep in mind. A publication will be forever “attached” to you; it’s your eternal intellectual claim and record. The very fact of this persistence should motivate you to ensure all your publications are very high quality.

You may think some of my edits of your papers are exacting. There is a reason for this. The paper will be around forever, so it needs to be solid.

That’s why I recommend printing a physical copy of any paper before submitting it. At that point, you’ve typically looked at the paper in only one medium: on screen. You’re like the winemaker who starts to like his own, bad wine. Print out a copy at the end of the day, but hold off on reading it until the morning. Seeing the draft as physical ink on paper will reset your perception, bringing any quality issues into focus.

2. Organizing your thoughts

A perhaps understated, but highly valuable outcome of learning how to write academic publications is that it forces you to become extremely adept at organizing your thoughts and expressing them succinctly and precisely.

You may find it amusing that I insist you write an “old school” outline before writing a paper. I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I didn’t do it myself (for every paper I write.)

The primary use of an outline is to think though the organization and logical flow of the paper. The tangible benefit is efficiency; it helps prevent major revisions and rewriting.

There is an additional, under-appreciated benefit to an outline. It “compartmentalizes” writing tasks. This helps combat the enemy of all graduate students: procrastination. If you’re lacking motivation, use the outline to make a deal with yourself: “Today, I’m going to write just the case studies section. After that, I’m going to [insert your favorite activity].”

Ultimately, the main benefit of an outline is time saved.

3. High-level technical writing

As with any specialized field of study, ours has its own vernacular and symbolism. This can introduce hurdles when composing a first paper. It’s like learning to write in a new, information-dense language.

As with any language, it’s acquired over time with consistent, repeated exposure. This process starts during your first semester literature review. With time and experience, you’ll pick it up. Eventually, you’ll start to express ideas—even in your head—according to the new “voice” you’ve acquired.

Even formatting choices in a technical paper convey subtle information. For example, within the technical academic community, papers created using typesetting software (e.g., LaTeX) are “better received.”

Why is that? For one thing, there is no better tool for ensuring consistency of mathematical symbols (fonts, kerning), figures, network diagrams, etc.

But there is a reason behind that reason. Technical papers are purely descriptive. They can also be rather formulaic.

Typesetting is a way to express beauty within an otherwise rigid structure.

Actually, through the structure. In a complex creative skill, excellence is communicated through nuance. A particular choice, a gesture. I’m not expecting you to see this now…or ever…but it is that deep for those practice this craft.

All this is to say that my insistence on certain editorial or formatting points may seem like nit-picking or “more work” at first. But there are reasons for it. The practical reason is that if your paper is “up to snuff” enough for me, there is a very good chance it will be accepted by a critical reviewer.

The next part to this article discusses reviewer feedback, presenting your research, and final thoughts about process.