Notes from the EEPSEA Journal Writing Workshop

on specialization
"it's tough to work on many topics and go somewhere..it's hard to go from one thing to another..specialization is extremely important.. do not spread yourself too thin.."
"don't do many things. do something you're good at."
"don't do too many papers that you don't get anything done."
"specialize to some extent to that you build on what you have known so far.. so that when somebody asks about the issue, they come to you."

on publishing
"publishing is sometimes one of the things that is not subject to the law of diminishing returns."
"acceptance rates of good journals in economics is 2-5%"
"the median of citation of published papers in good economic journal is 0. so number of citations not necessarily mean good papers?"
"Case studies are tough sell."
"Paper with too many elements are tough sell"
"in cover letter, do not say too much about the paper. 2-3 sentences ok. let the paper set the context and contribution."
"on first submission, do not be overly concerned with formats of footnotes, etc. if accepted, you have all the time to do it."
"research notes are fine."
"how long do you wait before you follow up? generally, if you haven't heard after 3 mos, it's ok to make an inquiry to the editor. but don't be too persistent."

on answering reviews
"answer every point clearly, thoroughly and respectfully (emphasized).
"if you get referee review, deal with every single thing.. cover all points.. they don't forget.. it will come back."
"be respectful."
"don't get discouraged. don't reply immediately."

on being rejected
"develop a thick skin. don't be sensitive with reactions/rejections..
..everyone gets rejected..
..try not to be upset or if upset, do not reply or do not react/write to editor immediately."
..if rejected, i think it is a good idea not to reply (although some say thank you etc.)
"the paper on the 'market for lemons' authored by Akerlof, Spence, and Stiglitz  got turned down. this paper got them the nobel prize in 2001."

on authorship
"be more generous rather than less generous. you make less enemies that way."
"if data gathered is for multiple purpose such as census etc., those involved in the conceptualization and analysis will be considered authors. if data is gathered for a specific purpose, then everyone should be included; if there is a grey area--involved somehow in doing the analysis or significant contribution...be more generous than less generous."

on writing style
"1st person or 3rd person? personal choice..
his personal choice: "stay using the third person but do it in active voice."
"review of literature is required in a thesis because you have to do a review and know the literature, but in a paper, you are talking to those who already know the literature."
"know your literature even if you don't write all of it in your paper."
"1 idea 1 paper"
"general note: make it easy for the reader as you can. make acronyms scarce. don't use acronyms or use sparingly.."
"on Introduction, set up what the problem is, what you did, what you found, and what it means..new trend: they put enough conclusions in the introduction..
.. make it concise..put something to hook the reader.."
"on Revlit, bring it up when you need it. more and more, no section on review of literature..but some do have."
"length of articles - average - 20 pages o a little over with 1.5 spacing"
"Scientific writing should be very crisp and short-sentence writing."
"logical structure of writing a paper - what is the problem/issue? what did you do? what did you find out? what does it mean?"

on research

Wrong: "I have learned about a technique and I want to show that I can use it."
Wrong: "Do not gather data, then find people who can use it."
Right: "Figure out what you want to do, then collect data to answer it."
Right: "Collect only data you need for the analysis at hand."
"On method, other people should be able to replicate it."
"keep looking for interesting things. it can be trivial, but interesting."
"ask why questions."
"talk to colleagues."
"pay attention."
"read."
"read newspapers."
"be aware of what is going around you."
"attend seminars not only on your field."
"write working papers and circulate to get feedbacks. great way to get comments/meet people."
"develop a research program..build on one project unto another.

on strategies of selecting journals
"ask yourself how good is this paper?"
"does it fit in the top journals? where can it be acceptable?"
"submit to where you think it is acceptable and get rejected"
"get comments, improve it even more"
"submit again"
"editors and referees are scarce resources"

on acknowledgment
"acknowledge fund support and technical support"

others
"be a referee. not good not to referee, you take but not give."