Read – Chapters, Journal Articles, and Research Blogs: Find top research articles to cite and enrich your reading with your ready-made bibliography of qualitative research from SAGE books, journals, and other credible sources. Use the discussion questions online to practice thinking critically about research.

26.1: Key questions

1. Why are not more research articles published that use qualitative methods?

2. What should authors of qualitative pieces keep in mind when developing their manuscripts?

3. Why is it important that qualitative researchers publish their works in applied journals?

For an article that explores these key questions, see:

Schoenberg, N. E., Shenk, D., & Kart, C. S. (2007). Food for Thought: Nourishing the Publication of Qualitative Research. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 26(1), 4–16.

Q. After reading the article, how would you answer these three questions?

26.2 Challenges Researchers Face

This paper explores the challenges researchers face in developing qualitative work to the standards required for publication in top international journals. It lists common mistakes that we make and offers advice on how to get your work published.

Huy, Q. N. (2012). Improving the Odds of Publishing Inductive Qualitative Research in Premier Academic Journals. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 48(2), 282–287.

Q. According to the advice in this article, how might you adapt your research to increase your chances of publication?

Q. Would the goal of publication affect the kinds of research questions you pose?

26.3 Recovering from rejection

How do you remain positive in the face of rejection? For a guide on managing the fear of rejection and how to recover when it happens, see:

Becker, L. & Denicolo, P. (2012). Recovering from rejection. In Publishing journal articles (pp. 119-128). SAGE Publications Ltd.

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/publishing-journal-articles/n8.xml

Q. Based on what you’ve read, how would you advise a friend to move forward if their paper had just been rejected from an academic journal?

26.4 How to get published

For a practical book by Lucinda Becker and Pam Denioco on how to get your journal article published, see:

Becker, L., & Denicolo, P. (2012). Publishing journal articles. SAGE Publications Ltd.

To learn from Donna Loseke and Spencer Cahill about the world of publishing qualitative research, read their chapter in Qualitative Research Practice.

Loseke, D. & Cahill, S. (2004). Publishing qualitative manuscripts: lessons learned. In Seale, C., Gobo, G., Gubrium, J. F., & Silverman, D. (Eds.), Qualitative research practice (pp. 491-506). SAGE Publications Ltd.

http://methods.sagepub.com/book/qualitative-research-practice/d40.xml

Access a free SAGE campus course on getting published in a journal.

Q. Based on what you have learnt, what would your plan of action be for getting your work published?

Q. How do you think qualitative and quantitative researchers might experience the world of publishing differently?

26.6 When to Submit?

For some advice on learning when to stop writing and when to submit, read this chapter:

Becker, L. & Denicolo, P. (2012). Learning how to stop writing your article. In Publishing journal articles (pp. 95-107). SAGE Publications Ltd.

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/publishing-journal-articles/n6.xml

Q. How would you decide when your work is ready to submit to a journal?