So, you are required or invited to submit a paper based on your PhD for publication in a journal.

Here are seven steps to reduce the pain of publishing an academic paper based on your PhD. 

Pinning Down the Purpose

An article requires a precise focus because you have far fewer words to play with. Are you showcasing a methodology? Describing a case study? Presenting a framework for consideration based on your literature review? Offering a meta-analysis? Reporting on the results of your research? Your purpose will determine your research questions, and your research questions, in turn, will determine what parts of your dissertation are relevant to answer that research question.

For example, you might have conducted broad research about what enables and obstructs firms from adopting data analytics and choose to focus on just the human resource factors in your paper. In that case, you would alert the reader to broader research conducted, but your focus would be on the human resource factors highlighted by the research rather than the technological enablers and obstructions.

Establishing the Journal Agenda

Depending on what you want to demonstrate or argue, the point of presenting your sliver of truth determines which journals to consider. If you intend to describe the merits of a qualitative case study, sending your work to a journal that publishes correlational research based on hypothetical constructs is pointless. Likewise, erudite models presented for testing require targeting discipline-specific audiences, and journals that value empirical evidence may not welcome a meta-analysis of constructs to include in a proposed framework.

Using Keywords

A helpful way of narrowing down possible publishers is plugging the keywords for your dissertation into Google Scholar, importing those titles into Zotero, and generating a list of journals where the articles include the same keywords. This exercise lets you identify journal titles where your sliver of truth might be accommodated.

You can also cast an eye over your references list. Where have the minds with whom you have been developing your thinking about the issue been publishing their work? It is important that you identify a receptive audience.

Identifying the Requirements

Once you have a short list, explore those journal requirements. At this point, the word count is the most important consideration. If what you wish to present, based on your Purpose, the journal’s Agenda, and the article’s Keywords, cannot be accommodated in 4,000 words, exclude those journals from your list. If you must pad your paper unnecessarily to reach 12,000 words, consider excluding those journals from your list. Now, you have a shortlist of journals for which you can write with a view to submitting your sliver of truth.

Crafting the Content

The fifth step is crafting your sliver of truth according to the requirements of your first choice on the shortlist. How much of your methodology must be secured to make your sliver of truth credible? Some journals require precise detail, others just a concise description covering all the bases—sample selection, data collection, data documentation, and data analysis—all within the required methodological and ethical parameters.

Some journals insist on specific headings—Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Discussion, and Conclusion; others permit the development of a unique and coherent argument where you can choose more exciting, meaningful, thematic headings.

Carving the Product

The sixth step demands that you begin to carve out and let go of anything in the dissertation that is not central to achieving your Purpose, demonstrating congruence with the journal’s Agenda, and deliberating upon your Keywords. Sometimes, it might be whole chapters you exclude; for example, if you present a theoretical framework for testing based on a meta-analysis of the literature in your field, your methodology, discussion, and conclusion chapters can be excluded, for the most part. I say “for the most part” because you might want to suggest the method by which the model was tested in your research as a research possibility in the Conclusion to your paper. And there you have the grounds for writing your next paper based on the results of testing the framework you proposed.

Other papers might require a golden thread that cuts to the chase with a precise summary of aspects of the research, and that means carving away constructs that are not required to support the sliver of truth you offer.

Proofread and Polish

Once you are clear about your Purpose, identified the journal’s Agenda, used your Keywords to generate a shortlist of potential publishers, are clear about which journals are read by a receptive audience, have identified your first choice in terms of allowing enough words to achieve your aims, and have crafted and carved the paper to support your answers to the research questions and conclusions, consider a professional proofread and polish to ensure your paper is well-structured and coherent and that the style is congruent with the journal’s requirements.

Remember, a well-written, coherent and well-structured paper that follows the style of the journal you chose has a better chance of being taken seriously, reaching a reviewer’s desk, and earning meaningful feedback. And if the answer from the journal editor is yes with no amendments or even yes with revisions, you are well on your way to contributing your sliver of truth and seeing your name in print.

References

[1] Monash University. (2025). Writing a journal article. Student Academic Success. https://www.monash.edu/student-academic-success/excel-at-writing/how-to-write/journal-article

[2] Campus Team. (2025.) Tips for writing a PhD dissertation: FAQs answered. Times Higher Education. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/tips-writing-phd-dissertation-faqs-answered