Introduction

Once researchers complete a project they need to make a series of decisions about how they share it. The list of questions to ask can seem endless in an area where they can often benefit from advice and support, and they may well turn to library staff for assistance. Library staff, including those new to the area, can develop their knowledge of scholarly communication by assisting them. Much of this chapter focuses on the publish and promote stages of the research lifecycle.

This chapter looks at the publication process and how researchers can overcome common barriers to sharing their work, select the right publisher for their project, and promote their work to a wider audience. It is a chapter of checklists, which librarians can use to work through some of the key decisions with their researchers. Although this chapter refers to researchers publishing their work, ‘publishing’ encompasses more than traditional, formal publication. Researchers have many publication venues to choose from, including journal articles, blogs and conference presentations; although the choice of format is influenced by external factors it is still one of the biggest decisions they have to make.

What follows is an overview of each of the stages in the publication process, the decisions facing the researcher and how librarians can support their communities, but first it is a good idea to take a step back and explore the reasons why researchers publish their work.

Why do researchers need to publish?

It is important for researchers to progress in their careers and those who wish to stay in academia will seek to take on increasingly senior roles within their research group or wider institution. To many in academia, formal publication is still seen as the gold standard of research outputs and academics at any stage of their career are expected to accumulate publications on their CV. If one of these makes a good impact it can enhance a researcher's reputation and help to make them more desirable to other institutions, as well as counting highly in assessment exercises such as the REF. Even if a researcher is not intending to pursue an academic career they may still find that their employability is enhanced if they publish their work.