WHY PUBLISH IN STUDENT JOURNALS?

A student academic journal is more than an instrument to enhance visibility of a department and university, and it is more than simply a repository of research papers on a variety of topics. It is, as one political science journal states on its website, a forum to “express and exchange diverse ideas and to imagine new possibilities for democracy and justice” (Critique). The student journal is arguably another mode of service learning in which students take as much as they give back to the learning community through scholarly production. This latter benefit of student publishing—learning by doing—is underscored in the pedagogical literature. For example, several studies about student political journals already note the benefits inside and outside of the classroom that students gain when participating in publishing activities (Bauer et al. Reference Bauer, Ogas, Shakir, Oxley and Clawson2009; Clark Reference Clark1997; Hutchins Reference Hutchins2013; Ishiyama Reference Ishiyama2001). In this way, student publishing supplements classroom teaching and learning, and it offers a site for collaboration and support from faculty or practitioners immersed in the discipline.

Most students generally approach the field of political science as passive consumers, drawing on existing scholarship for writing a class paper that may or may not include original research. Yet, Ishiyama (Reference Ishiyama2002, 14) pointed out that actively engaging in the research process means students in the discipline are more capable and productive upon graduation. Participating in a scholarly community to produce original contributions propels student learning in new and challenging directions. Certainly, acquiring early credentials as a published author can enhance a résumé and prospects for advanced studies as well as encourage subsequent publishing (Ishiyama Reference Ishiyama2002; Mervis Reference Mervis2001). For graduate students embarking on academic careers, the pressure to publish before graduation may be tremendous. Having one or more peer-review journal publications can be a prerequisite on the job market in most political science subfields (Rich Reference Rich2013, 376).

However, the process of preparing and submitting manuscripts—and receiving editorial feedback on those submissions—also promises gains in deeper understanding about a subject matter such as key theoretical frameworks, critical concepts, and relevant empirical examples. Writing for publication facilitates experimentation with research methodologies, interdisciplinary fields of study, refinement of analytic and communication skills, and development of interpersonal and professional skills (Barrios and Weber Reference Barrios and Weber2006; Thies and Hogan Reference Thies and Hogan2005). Student publishing builds confidence and fosters creativity to approach challenges outside of the classroom with competence. Students also can experience “accomplishment, satisfaction, and enthusiasm for writing that goes well beyond the pleasure of receiving a good grade or praise from an instructor” (Barrios and Weber Reference Barrios and Weber2006, 107). Indeed, student authorship can provide the groundwork for careers in the political science discipline, potentially inspiring students to pursue work in research and academia.

Much like conference participation, publication connects student researchers to their peers in the academic community. The process of communicating with fellow student researchers and receiving peer-to-peer feedback is explored through social-network theory by Ghosh and Githens (Reference Ghosh and Githens2009). They noted that academic conferences create space for collaborative learning in the exchange of ideas and resources. Student conferences also can provide an “intermediate step” for students in the publication process. Being able to share research in its pre-published form at a conference helps students to improve their work for future publication.

The student journal also offers the benefit of peer review. In its first issue, the Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research (JPUR) underlined the value of editing because students can “learn about the publishing process from behind the scenes, better preparing them to be the academic authors of the future” (Weiner and Watkinson Reference Weiner and Watkinson2014, 5). A questionnaire administered to PSAJ student editorial-board members revealed that they also support the general benefits of editorial service. The editing process helps students to strengthen diplomacy skills because they must articulate shortcomings and possible improvements for student authors (Barrios and Weber Reference Barrios and Weber2006). Likewise, student authors gain valuable advice in networking with editors through the peer-review process.

Clearly, there are many benefits to publishing in student research journals; however, publishing in them is not without criticism. Gilbert (Reference Gilbert2004, 23) pointed out that student publishing puts undue pressure on students and faculty who are already bombarded with heavy workloads. He contended that the time it takes for students to publish in student journals would be better spent on “real” journal publications because they are more rigorous and esteemed within academia. Rejection in the submission process is also a real concern for students because it can create a fear of failure and inhibit future research publication (Weeks Reference Weeks2006). Nevertheless, rejection is part of the academic process and should not be internalized. Researchers can submit to a number of alternative publications and eventually achieve success (Weeks Reference Weeks2006).

We contend that the benefits of publishing in student research journals generally outweigh the costs. These benefits cannot be overstated because they ultimately foster a more well-rounded academic experience, supplement classroom learning, and encourage student–faculty collaboration. It also is worth noting that student authors may contribute to the larger academic community, offering fresh insight in their respective fields. It thus comes as no surprise that some university professors recommend journal publication to students. Pedagogical practices tend to take an active approach in involving students in the research process. As studies point out, students generally first become aware of the journal process through their academic mentors. Surveys of students who have published in journals reflect both the benefits and the pedagogical practices of publication.

WHAT DO STUDENT AUTHORS AND GRADUATE DIRECTORS SAY?

Surveys of student authors indicate that they take away a great deal from the publication process. Nearly all respondents in our survey of Critique authors stated that their submissions initially were class assignments. Whereas some submitted work after encouragement from their professors, others did so independently. One undergraduate captured a common motivation for submission: “I put a lot of effort into my research papers and like that effort to be recognized (intrinsic satisfaction) and I knew that having a publication record on my CV signals good written communication, research, and analysis skills to graduate school selection committees and employers.” When asked which perceived benefits followed from submitting their papers to the journal, most students cited positive outcomes. They noted the likely influence of a publication on later admission into graduate programs and internship programs, the boost in confidence they had from seeing their work in print, and the motivation to write again. One respondent who subsequently became a professor in the discipline stated, “The initial publication was a big deal for me in terms of seeing my work as important and feeling I belonged in academia.” Such reflections indicate the value of early publishing experiences in fueling scholarship in the profession. These results are not unique to the Critique survey. Weiner and Watkinson (Reference Weiner and Watkinson2014) found that student authors from JPUR encountered similar benefits. Benefits in the JPUR survey centered on technical aspects of the publication process, including a strengthened ability to cite sources, synthesize information, and contribute to the research community. Nearly all respondents in the JPUR survey gained a more thorough understanding of how the publication process generally works. These surveys resonate well with the benefits of publishing discussed in current literature.

In general, political science graduate directors also see benefits of publishing in student journals, although their perspectives are nuanced. The 10 program directors that we surveyed agreed that an applicant’s admission to a graduate program could be helped, even if only marginally, by being published in a peer-reviewed political science student journal. The institutions represented by the directors included R1 doctoral-granting universities and master’s colleges and universities. One director stated, “We look favorably on any attempt to create and to disseminate original research. So, comparing two students alike in all other respects, the one with a publication in a student journal would be viewed more favorably.” Not every school looks specifically at journal publication for graduate program acceptance; one director noted the weight given to GPA and GRE scores as well as recommendation letters and the quality of the writing sample. When asked if admissions committees would prefer an applicant with a publication in a peer-reviewed political science student journal or one that had presented a paper at a national disciplinary conference, responses were mixed. Several declared preferences for a national-conference presentation, whereas others said either would be impressive if appearing on an undergraduate CV. Only a few graduate-program directors unequivocally stated that coauthoring an article with a professor for a traditional journal, especially for graduate students, was better than a sole-authored article in a peer-reviewed student journal. Most found it to be a “tough call” to make. As one director explained, “Coauthoring with a professor probably gives students a higher level of experience and preparation, but having an article selected in a competitive peer review may show more initiative, independence, and promise for the future.”

Finally, we were interested to know if graduate-program directors believed peer-reviewed student journals in the discipline offer significant scholarly contributions to department curricula or pedagogy. A few directors noted that they were unaware of instances in their units in which articles from student journals were read or assigned. The general consensus was that these journals mainly provide an apprenticeship role and offer public recognition for student work. The task of the educator in this mission was not lost on one of the graduate directors, who reminded us that professors should help students find appropriate outlets for their research.

WHAT ARE STUDENTS PUBLISHING?

We might presume that the APSA list of student journals is one of the first referenced for manuscript submissions because of the tremendous visibility of the profession’s website as a resource for scholars in the discipline. A review of those journals produced only three that met our criteria for study about the type of articles political science students have published. We sought journals that were primarily student-driven, published only peer-reviewed student articles, and—to facilitate our study—had an online archive. The PSAJ, the flagship publication of the American National Political Science Honor Society, is published twice annually. Published four times a year, Politikon is an undergraduate and graduate journal supported by the International Association for Political Science Students and is affiliated with several academic and professional partners (e.g., the International Studies Association). Critique is an undergraduate and graduate journal published by the politics and government department of Illinois State University. It is published twice annually but, because its Spring issues publish only the best of the department’s student conference papers—papers that do not go through the usual journal review process—only its Fall issues are assessed here. Hence, to glean what students are publishing, we examined international-, national-, and university-level student publications. All three electronic journals are indexed with EBSCO.

We limited our study to articles published between 2005 and 2015. During this 10-year period, PSAJ published 91 articles, Politikon published 125, and Critique published 57. All totaled, we coded 273 articles by subfield, methods, and topics. Subfields included political theory, US politics, public administration, international relations, and comparative politics. Some cases were difficult to distinguish clearly between overlapping subfields (e.g., international relations and comparative politics), but these instances were too few to have a noticeable effect on frequencies. If an article was a comparative study of countries, we noted the regions involved. Topics focusing on economic development, peace and conflict issues, human rights and social welfare, democracy and governance, and “other” were coded as such. Articles also were coded by methodology. If studies employed regression analyses or surveys using statistical methods, they were coded as quantitative. A few articles used only descriptive statistics and were coded as one of the categories of qualitative methodologies best matching its approach (i.e., case-study, historical, or theoretical studies).

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

After coding articles by subfield, region of study, methodology and topic, we report frequencies below for those categories by each student journal and the sample as a whole. We then discuss implications for student publishing and for trends in political science scholarship.

The Articles

We reviewed percentages to determine what it is that political science student journals are publishing. Frequency tables provide a snapshot of the subfields, regions, topics, and methodologies covered. Table 1 reports the percentages of articles published in the three student journals by subfield. Overall, comparative studies was the predominant subfield with a fairly equal distribution of about one third of the studies in each journal. As a whole, those least represented were political theory and public administration with slightly more than 10% in each subfield. When articles in the subfield of American politics were further categorized into domestic or foreign politics, we found that the proportion of total articles about domestic issues was more than three times that of foreign matters. There also was stark contrast in the percentages of US politics covered by individual journals; nearly 45% of PSAJ and 25% of Critique articles were in this subfield, whereas only 7% of articles in Politikon dealt with US politics. We might speculate that Politikon included fewer articles on US politics because, as the only non-American journal of the three, its student authors come from a far more diverse set of countries. Conversely, it is noteworthy that those student authors appear to have a stronger interest in global politics because more than a third of the articles in Politikon focused on international relations, whereas only a small share in the American-based journals fell within that subfield.

Table 1

Articles by Subfield

Because all three journals included a significant share of comparative studies, we were interested to see if there were any patterns by region. Table 2 reports that of the 89 total comparative-politics articles focusing on particular geographic areas, nearly two thirds were about Asia or Europe. A closer look at European studies showed an even split between articles about Eastern and Western Europe. The least-studied region was North America. Recall that articles focusing exclusively on US politics were not included in the comparative-politics category. The absence of any comparative studies published in Politikon about North America, however, parallels the near lack of interest shown by its authors in US politics.

Table 2

Articles by Region

The most-discussed subject matter, as shown in table 3, touches on issues of democracy and governance, with about 40% of articles on that topic published in each of the three journals. Each journal also included a strong share of studies about human rights and welfare. The least-popular topic overall was economic development. Sporadic appearances of other topics emerged from our examination: culture and technology in Critique; climate change, education, methodology, and space in Politikon; and health, drugs, environment, and human nature in PSAJ.

Table 3

Articles by Topic

In addition to learning what students are publishing, we were interested in how they conduct their studies. Regarding methodology, PSAJ stood out from the other two journals with its relatively heavier proportion of quantitative work. Table 4 illustrates that across the board, however, more than 80% of all articles rested on non-quantitative approaches, with about half of that proportion using the case-study approach.

Table 4

Articles by Methodology

In summary, our sense of the student research agenda emerged after reviewing almost 300 articles published between 2005 and 2015. An overview of features found in each journal revealed more similarities than differences. In some cases, there was only a slight difference in percentage points between two categories. The major difference was the subfield within which journal authors most frequently work; at least two of the three journals shared other features. We found that a third of all articles fell within the subfield of comparative politics, almost half were case studies with an equal focus on Europe and Asia, and a third addressed democracy and governance issues.