Introduction: From thesis to the pristine publication.
Completion of thesis is indeed the primary goal for many academic researchers; a milestone which represents the sum of years of painstaking effort, sharp analytical reasoning and deep insight into their respective disciplines. However, this is not the culmination in totality. Unless properly polished and formatted, a thesis becomes credible to the academic world only when it appears in its best written form, flawless and coherent. Failure occurs for many researchers not because their research is lacking in any way, but because many of them often miss the crucial elements of thesis formatting, choice of journals, research ethics, and submission processes in an academic publication.
In today’s academically competitive scenario, it is imperative that research is widely accessed and easily evaluated, as is readily apparent through databases like Google Scholar, and the myriad indexing mechanisms. Even small, seemingly insignificant imperfections can affect acceptance, scientific reputation and the eventual scientific impact of a researcher's work. Therefore, transitioning a thesis from research stage into publication is not as easy as it looks, it takes meticulous planning, strategically thinking, and an eye for every possible detail.
The first step for thesis publication is having a clear publication strategy. It is of paramount importance for any researcher to realize what he wants out of this publication, whether it is going to be an article for a journal, book or the visibility on the internet through a repository. As for journal publication, which is most prevalent among researchers, due to the conciseness that journal papers demand, a thesis needs to be re-written and restructured into a proper research paper without including redundant literature but presenting the most prominent research outcomes.
The updating of literature review becomes important. The methodology needs to be precisely explained so that others may try to reproduce it. Vague explanation regarding sampling design can put question marks on the credibility of your work.
Research integrity demands that all the basic norms of academic publication should be strictly adhered to. Usually, a research paper requires: title, abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, results, discussion and conclusion, and the references section. A good title and abstract increase visibility, retrievability and the citation potential of your publication. You need to be extremely careful in avoiding plagiarism. Paraphrasing clearly, accurate citation and the use of plagiarism detection software become very critical. Different referencing styles (APA, MLA, Harvard etc.) must be used very accurately. The selection of the appropriate journal for publishing your work also holds great importance. The selected journal should possess an appropriate scope, an impact factor commensurate to the researcher's career goal, and adhere to its specific instructions for manuscript submission and preparation. Deviation from journal format can lead to an immediate rejection. The peer review comments must be appropriately responded to. Adherence to ethical publication practice and fair data handling are never negotiable. Researchers may use tools like Grammarly, Zotero, Google Scholar for assistance but it should never replace critical thought.
Finally, thesis publication is never a single task but an ongoing and repetitive process. Proper strategy coupled with the attention to each and every detail can take you a long way in publishing your thesis successfully and becoming a renowned research scholar in the future.
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