The journey to complete PhD is a daunting task with bumps throughout the way. This position brings along a set of challenges that test the limits of dedicated scholars. PhD students deal with heavy workloads, lack of support, unhealthy balance between life and studies, and the pressure to publish. With all these challenges, dealing with anxiety and imposter syndrome becomes much harder.
In this blog, we will learn about some of the problems that are common among PhD scholars when they publish their writings in journals.
Problems faced by PhD scholars during the publishing process
- Choosing the right journal
Like the way writing is a critical process, choosing the right journal to publish the manuscript is also a challenge. You need to opt for a place that can take the manuscript to new heights all around the globe. This is the foremost step that all researchers need to figure out when collecting data in the relevant field. Some of the important factors need to be considered. These include the scope of the journal, the target audience, and the publication fees. With all these challenges, they need to stay away from choosing the journals that exploit the work of the researchers. Such publishers don’t facilitate the scholars by providing services like peer review or editing services. So when you look for a journal, get help from services like UAE’s journal publication services or Journal publishers in the Emirates. They will help you find an authentic one that fits your field of interest.
- Understanding the requirements of the journal
Keep in mind, that each journal has a set of norms that are different from others. They have their formatting styles and a restricted word count. Scholars need to go through these criteria to gain insight into the journal’s requirements. If they fail to meet the requirements, there is a chance that the journal editors will reject the manuscript. An in-depth reading and understanding of the submission guidelines are important before you submit your manuscripts for publication.
- Facing rejections
Facing manuscript rejections is a common experience around the world that scholars have to face. You can take the rejections as a chance to improve your skills and work hard to meet the journal requirements. If you are facing rejection as a PhD scholar, don’t worry; utilize your time in the right way. There might be some issues with your writing strategies, work on them. These reviews can help you prevent the same mistake from being repeated in the future.
- Time management
As a research scholar, time management is the key to success. You need to balance your research activities and daily life. This balance is a challenge for PhD scholars. They have to face the short deadlines for submitting their work in journals. There is a solution to overcome this challenge. Time management skills will help. Prioritize the important tasks and set a schedule where you have enough time to write and revise the manuscripts while managing your time.
- Dealing with writer’s block
One of the common problems faced by PhD scholars is the obstacle of writer’s block during the writing process. To overcome this critical challenge, they need to incorporate different techniques. Writing in a relaxed mode, brainstorming all the ideas, and taking short breaks during the writing process will benefit. Stay in connection with your peers, mentors, and the writing groups during writing research. Their encouragement and motivation will help in uplifting your mood. You can function better.
- Acting on the peer review comments
During writing, the scholars receive feedback from their peers. This is important to improve the manuscript. However, sometimes, this feedback can be demotivating. This is a challenge for them to accept feedback with an open mind. Acting on those reviews and revising the manuscript accordingly with already more to cover.
Remember, constructive feedback can help improve the quality of the research, and these activities can automatically increase the chances of getting the manuscript approved.
- Dealing with co-authorship issues
There are times when PhD scholars have to deal with collaborative research projects. Getting multiple authors on board with different perspectives and contributions to the same manuscript is itself a challenge. Therefore, it becomes important for the scholars to get clear communication and roles and responsibilities to avoid conflicts during the manuscript preparation. Dealing with the writing and publishing process, along with resolving the issues, is a difficult and time-consuming task. So it becomes important that all the issues and conflicts are resolved to maintain a productive working relationship.
- Handling ethical consideration
While collecting data, it is important to maintain integrity and ethical standards in research. This is one of the parts of the research norms. This process involves some activities such as avoiding plagiarism, citing sources according to the requirements of the journal, and getting permission to deal with copyright issues. Scholars need to follow ethical guidelines to ensure the credibility and readability of their research findings when publishing their manuscript using services like Gulf Publication or Emirates Publication.
- Managing stress and burnout
Scholars might face pressures that arise during the preparation of a manuscript or while publishing it. They need to handle such situations smoothly. If they fail to do so, they might affect their mental health and well-being. Therefore, add some self-care strategies to your lifestyle like exercise, medication, or talking to a friend or peer. If the symptoms worsen, then you should consult a healthcare advisor to enhance your overall health and productivity in the right way.
- Networking and collaborating
The role of PhD scholars is not restricted to research and writing. They need to attend various workshops and seminars along with their daily tasks. Such events are beneficial for them. They help them to connect and collaborate with peers and potential collaborators. This networking helps in waving the possibility of publishing their work with co-authors in the future, increasing the visibility and impact of the work worldwide.
- Working on the revision process
Upon receiving the feedback, scholars need to handle the multiple rounds of revisions. All the corrections should be handled in a disciplinary and correct format to get the manuscript published. So, keeping the writing process going smoothly by adding new content and revising the previous ones is a challenge. Successful scholars can overcome this challenge through proper scheduling.
- Staying updated with the publishing trends
Keeping an eye on the latest trends of publication by researching for the literature review section is a daunting task for scholars. However, staying updated about the current and important platforms and having open access to measure the research impact accurately are important. These activities will ensure that a large number of audience reads the work and goes globally.
FAQs
Which is the most challenging part of the PhD?
One of the biggest problems faced by PhD scholars is to maintain the motivation to work through and complete the long journey.
How can scholars overcome writer’s block?
Writing in a relaxed mode, brainstorming all the ideas, and taking short breaks during the writing process will benefit. Stay in connection with your peers, mentors, and the writing groups during writing research.
Why is an understanding of the journal requirements important for scholars?
If they fail to meet the requirements, there is a chance that the journal editors will reject the manuscript.
How can networking help scholars?
Networking helps in waving the possibility of publishing their work with co-authors in the future, increasing the visibility and impact of the work worldwide.
The bottom line
A PhD scholar needs to handle the research and publishing journey with hurdles and obstacles. All these obstacles can be overcome in a positive way.
Some of the common problems faced by PhD scholars arise from choosing an authentic journal to publish the work to dealing with rejections after full efforts. A better understanding and the right strategies can easily mark the scholars safe in their journey.
