Publication

Question: How long does it take to publish a research article in Research in the Teaching of English?

Answer/Quote: “How long does the process take? This is made up of 3 components: time for reviews to be completed, time for revisions, and time for the printing and publication process itself. In most cases, authors can expect the review results two to three months after we receive a manuscript, together with suggestions for revisions. Time for revisions is of course in the authors’ hands; since becoming editors, we have seen revised manuscripts returned to us in less than a week, and others that have lingered for more than 3 years. Time for publication of accepted manuscripts varies from 4 to 8 months, depending upon where in the quarterly publication cycle we happen to be.” P. 241.

Comment: Sounds as if publication takes at least a year by the time that peer reviews are returned, revisions are made and publication arranged. These are not easy articles to read and reflect on. And, of course, the content is not exactly earth-shaking. As someone once said, with research in education, you take the long view of things, the accumulation of the research over time in order to arrive at some possibly reliable and valid results. That’s the way it is and probably the way it should be. We have enough fads in education, without adding to them by overreacting to research findings. RayS.

Title: “Musings…On Publishing in RTE.” Arthur N. Abblebee, co-editor. Research in the Teaching of English (October 19988), 239-241.