by Shelly Wyatt, Ph.D. and Roslyn Miller, Ph.D.
When we publish findings and recommendations in our field, we advance our body of knowledge—not only for our peers, but for the public as well. Publishing benefits the authors too by advancing their own career opportunities and establishing themselves as experts in their field. ~ Roslyn Miller
Overview
Instructional design and online faculty development is a robust area of research and publication, with many options for publishing findings and recommendations. Outcomes-driven papers rely on data shared by stakeholders, including faculty, students, and instructional designers/faculty developers. Sources of data include survey results, answers to interview questions, observations, and performance-related artifacts. Experience-driven papers focus on the phenomena of instructional technology and design and faculty development in various contexts: formal faculty development courses, individual faculty support, course reviews for quality, and accreditation reviews for online programs. For example, an experience-driven paper might include the process of updating a long-standing online faculty course along with lessons learned that might inform future course updates or redesigns. Finally, there are opportunities to publish digital articles. For example, University of Central Florida’s Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository releases an annual call for high-quality examples of online and hybrid teaching strategies. Similarly, TOPkit issues a Call for Contributions each spring, an excellent opportunity to publish online content related to faculty development.
Not to be overlooked as an additional source of data for publication: instructional designers and online faculty developers. The expertise and experience of instructional designers and online faculty developers are in-demand, and publication of the outcomes of their efforts offers valuable insights. Nadia Jaramillo Cherrez (2021), in their chapter titled “Instructional Designers Leading Through Research,” offers many excellent examples of ID tasks that can be transformed into research.
Where to Start
If you are searching for a topic, look close to home: what projects have you worked on this year? With whom have you worked? If you have worked on a group project, consider asking a colleague to collaborate on a paper. Other sources of topics include calls for proposals from journals and professional organizations. For example, Online Learning Consortium and AECT post calls for proposals. Another option to consider is collaboration with a colleague. Potential co-authors include fellow instructional designers, teaching faculty, graphics and video staff, and librarians.
How to Finish
- Select the right journal. Consult the journal’s website and review the “scope of the journal” to determine if the journal is a right fit for your paper. One of the most frequent reasons an article is rejected by a journal is that the article is outside the scope of the journal. You can also use the Belcher Journal Evaluation Form to analyze the journal.
- Check formatting and submission requirements. Be sure to check formatting and submission requirements and documentation style for your selected journal. This information is commonly posted on the journal website.
- Edit your article. Upon acceptance, make time on your schedule to respond to editorial feedback.
- Respond to rejection. The rejection of an article by a journal does not mean the article is unworthy of publication! Reconsider the potential audience for your article and select another journal that might be a better fit. Also, review any feedback that a journal provides and revise accordingly.
Conclusion
Research and publication in the field of instructional technology and design, faculty development, and online teaching and learning is a robust segment of academic inquiry. Experience-driven papers as well as outcomes-driven papers constitute impactful contributions to the growing body of literature in the field of instructional technology and design and online faculty development.
Resources
Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. https://wendybelcher.com/writing-advice/writing-your-journal-article-in-twelve/
American Library Association. (2021). A selective list of journals on teaching and learning. https://acrl.ala.org/IS/instruction-tools-resources-2/pedagogy/a-selected-list-of-journals-on-teaching-learning/
Taylor and Francis. (2022). How to write a journal article. https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/publishing-your-research/writing-your-paper/writing-a-journal-article/
References
Association for Educational Communications and Technology. (2022). News, events, and activities. https://aect.org/aectnews.php
Belcher, W. (2019). Writing your journal article in 12 weeks: A guide to academic publishing success. https://wendybelcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Belcher-Journal-Evaluation-Form.pdf
Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida. (2017). Teaching online pedagogical repository. https://topr.online.ucf.edu
Jaramillo Cherrez, N. (2021). Instructional designers leading through research. In J. E. Stefaniak, S. Conklin, B. Oyarzun, & R. M. Reese (Eds.), A practitioner’s guide to instructional design in higher education. EdTech Books. https://edtechbooks.org/id_highered/instructional_designV
Online Learning Consortium. (n.d.). Announcements: Online Learning Journal. https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/online-learning-call-papers/
Teaching Online Preparation Toolkit (TOPkit). (n.d.). https://topkit.org/community-forum/call-for-contributions/