Building a robust publication profile is essential in the competitive world of academia. No one is more aware of this than Professor Donna-Maria Maynard, a prolific researcher who has established herself as a leading figure in the field of psychology.
Professor Maynard has used her extensive knowledge and experience to impart career-defining advice to early career scholars. She presented a seminar titled “Launching Your Academic Career: Building a Publication Profile from the Ground Up” on 2 July 2024. It was held under the aegis of The Author Fellowship Program, an initiative of the Office of Research, Innovation and Community at Cave Hill (RICCH).
Professor Maria-Maynard has written and co-authored dozens of published articles, many of which have been peer-reviewed. She has taught psychology and counselling at the undergraduate and graduate levels and has provided varying levels of training during her career.
Her seminar focused on teaching and research, which are closely intertwined and form the backbone of an academic’s career. She urged budding scholars to take a strategic approach to their work. This included effective time management techniques. She gave tips on overcoming procrastination, limiting distractions, scheduling designated time to check emails, reducing multitasking, knowing when to say no, and taking time for honest self-reflection.
She said achieving academic success was not possible without personal sacrifices: “Remember that your contribution to academia is reflected through the arc of your career. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. There’ll be highs and lows, there’ll be times when you’ll be pumping out work and you’ll be publishing consistently, and then there’ll be lulls.”
A recipient of the Principal’s Award for Excellence for Outstandng Research Accomplishments in 2019, Professor Maynard said a strong publication profile can lead to career opportunities and advancement while demonstrating expertise in a particular field. Her advice was particularly instructive given that she sits on the editorial board of the Caribbean Journal of Psychology and undertakes peer reviews for several journals, among them the British Journal of Guidance and Counselling and the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling.
In selecting a journal, she said early career researchers should pay attention to its relevance to the research topic and methodology. She said consideration should be given to its scope, impact factor (measures citation influence), target audience, and publication frequency.
“Always prioritise journals within your specific research field and audience, and I recommend that young academics avoid journals with publication fees. You have to think of your academic contributions as a marathon so there’s no fast way to publish. You have to engage the process and see it through to the end remembering that setbacks are inevitable … just keep pushing ahead.”
She also advised against submitting the same work to multiple journals and said budding researchers should ensure honesty in reporting data, declare any potential conflict of interest that could compromise the integrity and credibility of their work and be transparent about the use of tools like generative artificial intelligence.
The registered psychologist said the focus should be on publishing in peer-reviewed journals, regarded as the gold standard for scholarly publications. She said the necessary checks should be undertaken to protect against illegitimate journals.
With networking and collaboration crucial for a successful academic career, she encouraged building a network of collaborators and co-authors by attending international conferences and engaging with social networks, and electronic journals.
