Reflections on 2016

I became the editor of JSBHS in January of this year, as I reflect back on the year I realize that it has come a long way! In 2016, the journal had 60 papers submitted, with 8 articles and 3 book reviews published for a publication rate of 13% for articles. Articles from the journal were downloaded approximately 13,200 times. I have learned a great deal this year about working with authors and reviewers and helping them get articles published.

Of course, I want to encourage you to submit your papers to the journal, but I also want to encourage you to be a reviewer for the journal and help make it great. Would you like to participate (Ph.D.s only, please)? Please send me an email expressing your interest: jsbhs@waldenu.edu.

Tick tock

Have you been putting off writing an article based on your dissertation? The year is nearly over… it is time to pull out that file and get to work on it! Where to start? Sometimes a title helps to get you focused. Start with an outline of where you want to go with it. Use the APA manual as the basis for the outline. I have a handout available on how to turn your dissertation into an article- would you like a copy? Write to me at jsbhs@waldenu.edu and I will send you a copy.

Baby steps

Today I want to remind you of the importance of doing even a small amount on your writing project each day. Reading an article, writing a paragraph, writing in your research journal all count. Even the smallest baby steps will help you to move forward.

Think of it as there are thousands of steps necessary to complete an article, take one more of those steps today, and get that much closer to the finish line.

Following Directions

I recently had an author send me their entire dissertation as an article to be published. Needless to say all of the information on the journal website discusses word and page limitations, and a dissertation does not fall into that requirement! This example illustrates a basic issue that you should remember when submitting an article to a journal for possible publication, make sure you are following the directions exactly as stated on the journal's website. Every journal varies on what they want, some follow APA exactly, others have modified the requirements. You will not know what they want until you read the directions.

What happened to the dissertation that was submitted? It was rejected! Do not follow their example!