Publishing Your Psychology Research: A Guide to Writing
for Journals in Psychology and Related Fields

Book Being Reviewed:
McInerney, D. M. (2002). Publishing your psychology research: A guide to writing for journals in psychology and related fields. London: Sage Publications.

Reviewer:
Roxanna Pebdani

Curricular Areas:
Research and/or Program Evaluation

Subject Headings:
Career

Review:
The thought of publishing a scholarly article can be a terrifying prospect for practitioners, first year doctoral students, master’s students and many others. Publishing Your Psychology Research by Dennis M. McInerney tackles this fear head on. In order for one to be an intelligent producer of research, one also needs to be an intelligent consumer. McInerney breaks down the types of research, providing a simplified discussion of different kinds with examples included. This explanation can serve as a means to help a prospective author decide which research methods to use (after which the author would need another source to gain deeper understanding). It can also help one who may have forgotten types of research trigger their memory on what these vaguely familiar terms describe!

McInerney’s book does not merely discuss how to write, but also helps the reader figure out how to determine where to submit the research they are producing. It also includes an explanation of how to determine how prestigious a journal is and includes information about guidelines for publishing (with an inclusion of a small APA formatting guide). McInerney provides a guide to writing the lit review, methods, results and discussion sections of the paper, providing examples mainly from his own work. These sections are discussed both in general and specific terms (why each section is important and what needs to be included in each section), with chapter subtitles that can serve as a checklist for information that should be included in each section. Possibly the most helpful sections of the book are the two chapters that speak directly to the review process.

McInerney explains what peer reviewing is, and then guides the reader through the process from both the perspective of the editor and of the author. McInerney also discusses rejection letters, giving support and encouragement to the reader. McInerney’s personal examples of rejection and how to cope with a rejection letter provide a burgeoning author comfort in knowing that they are not alone! McInerney’s final chapter "From Thesis to Journal Article” gives the thesis writer suggestions and ideas on how to turn their thesis into an article. A particularly salient suggestion is found in the "Start Early” (p.131) section, encouraging thesis writers to submit articles for publication before they have completed their thesis, thereby increasing the author’s thesis strength through feedback, and credibility by the mere fact that the author has published findings from his or her research! All in all, this is an important book for both students and practitioners and anyone else who is interested in publishing their research. It is also an interesting read for those who are interested in the publication process but may not actually be interested in publishing themselves.

The author’s approach to this book makes it not only a quick read, but also a fun read! The examples provided by McInerney provide useful examples of what to do (or what not to do) and can help a potential author feel at ease knowing that they are not alone.

Originally posted on 2/17/2009 at csi-net.org