Carol Taylor and Susanne Gannon led the editorial team from the Gender and Education journal on a pre-conference workshop for Early Career Researchers on “The secret life of journal articles: selecting, writing, reviewing, revising”. Over 15 participants from England, the Netherlands, Australia, and the United States attended. The editors discussed criteria for evaluating manuscripts, the reasons for rejection, and choosing a suitable journal. Background information on Gender and Education journal logistics such as who owns the journal, number of issues per year, impact factor, quartile ranking, readership and authorship were discussed – and reasons why authors might want to take these factors into account were explored. Participants were introduced to the Author Services provided by the publisher.
The criteria and selection of choosing reviewers, the timing and timeline for reviewing and also how to interpret reviewers’ ratings of a manuscript were discussed. The editors provided an overview of the characteristics of a ‘good reviewer’, and explained that timely response to an invitation to review or decline to review is much appreciated in order to ensure a timely review process.
Carol provided participants with an extract from an article she had submitted to Gender and Education along with the reviews the initial submission had received She talked through how she changed the article in response to the reviews and the resubmission process through to eventual publication. There was a broader discussion on how an author responds to reviewer and editor’s comments, the process for re-writing manuscripts and the expectations for re-submission.
ECR’s commented that the workshop helpful and informative. They also appreciated having the opportunity and time to share their experiences in submitting manuscripts for review and raise questions about the process. The workshop created a collaborative space to share insights on research approaches, reviewing practices, publishing strategies and impact narratives for gender/feminist scholars doing qualitative and quantitative research.
If you are an ECR or doctoral student and you are interested in reviewing for Gender and Education please contact Helen Rowlands, our Editorial Manager.
Email: genderandeducation@outlook.com
Carol Taylor, Susanne Gannon, Jayne Osgood, Kathryn Scantlebury
