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Graduate Studies

Specialized info for students in graduate programs; follow up to Executive Weekend Library orientation.

Publishing Your Work

As you complete graduate level research you may consider publishing it. Before attempting publication, please ensure that your work is reviewed by your academic advisor and preferably also reviewed by other experts who can give you suggestions for improvement in order to improve your chances of acceptance. 

Page Contents:

Digital Commons
All students are eligible to have their work posted in Digital Commons with the approval of academic advisors. Digital Commons is a showcase for work created by the Harrisburg University community that preserves the work and makes it searchable via Google and other search engines. Some academic publishers will not re-publish material that has been posted in a repository such as Digital Commons with no alterations, so if you are considering professional publication, you should research what, if any, restrictions your target publisher might impose.

Predatory Journals
Predatory journals are fraudulent, aggressive, and deceptive publishers that require fees for publication and often produce low-quality work that is not peer-reviewed or professional edited and show little to no citation of articles even after some years have passed. Many of these journals are open access to appear legitimate. Editors of predatory journals may contact you directly through poorly worded emails. The material in these publications are usually poorly or fraudulently cited, are not edited properly, and have editors or board members who cannot be traced or contacted. If you are invited to publish material and are unsure about the legitimacy of the invitation, contact a librarian for assistance.

You can also use these tools to identify legitimate journals and detect predatory journals:

  • A-Z Journal List - All academic journals that Harrisburg University subscribes to, as recommended by faculty and library staff. Here you will find the seminal journals in your field along with full text access to them.
  • Beall's List - A list of predatory journals compiled by a librarian. This list has been retired but is occasionally updated.
  • Directory of Open Access Journals - A curated list of legitimate open access journals.
  • Evaluating Journals - From Arizona State University.

Some tools are available to measure the relative impact of journals. This data can helps you determine how influential the journal is in its field.

Here are some articles about journal evaluation and predatory publishing:

Publishing Advice
If you plan to submit a proposal to an academic publisher, consider the following:

  • Create an ORCID to establish your academic identity.
  • Be sure to choose a publication that aligns with your thesis by reading "About" or "Aims and Scope" pages.
  • Review each publication's guide for authors and be sure your submission conforms to all advice.
  • Ensure that your work is proofread and mistake-free.

In addition to taking advice from faculty, these sites offer advice on publishing for graduate students: