Getting Research Published: How to Develop a Publication Strategy in Biomedicine

Ten week online course - next course starts on 12 April 2010

Please send me an email about future courses as I cannot make this date.

"For me as an editor of a medical journal, this course has illuminated many of the important pathways and issues pertinent to medical journalism and publishing"
Elsheikh Badr, Editor in Chief, Sudanese Journal of Public Health

About the course

This online course covers the ethics, conventions and often unwritten rules of publishing in peer-reviewed journals and at conferences.

Who is it for?

The course is for everyone who wants to understand and manage the publication process, and in particular, anyone who develops publication plans and strategies. Whole teams of researchers work collaboratively on a project but then the responsibility for writing up and getting the results published can be a solitary process for which there is no guide.

Even experienced researchers admit that some of the processes whereby papers are accepted or rejected remain a mystery. This course will provide you with a route map for navigating the publications process. It's a user-friendly way to avoiding the frustrations and blind alleys of the process and gaining an easier, cost effective path to getting research published

"This course confirmed my thinking about how to develop a publication strategy. The course also greatly increased my knowledge in what was involved in publishing. Demystifying a process such as this has helped me to participate in it."
Keri Moore, University of New South Wales, Austraila.

Benefits

Optimise the publications for any research project.
Navigate through the unwritten rules and conventions which appear to govern the publications process.
Join in discussions with your tutor who is an expert in this area and author of a new book in this field.
Discuss complex ethical and authorship issues with your tutor and other professionals.
Devise an effective planning strategy for cost effective publications.

Course presenter

Elizabeth Wager: Writing and publishing consultant and author of 'Getting Research Published: An A to Z of Publication Strategy' (Radcliffe Publishing).

Course content

It is not about how to write papers or abstracts, but about getting the most from your writing efforts, for example by choosing the best meetings and journals. It also covers the many rules and conventions of peer reviewed publications.

The course has 10 units and students study one unit each week. This should involve about 10 hours of study per week.

Each unit of the course and book covers a different aspect of Publication Strategy. The units are:

The peer review process
Number and types of publications
How long does publication take? (This unit is available to view online - see the 'View a Sample Unit' section below for details)
Selecting Journals and meetings
Guidelines and regulations affecting biomedical publishing
Developing a timetable for publishing a research paper
Authorship/the role of medical writers
Human factors
Current issues in biomedical publishing
Plan for a multicentre study

During the course you will:

Undertake various directed reading from the course textbook.
Read further information about the topic you are studying in order to give you a broader context and information.
Undertake various activities during the course which will involve making individual postings and also group activities with your fellow students.
At the end of the course you will complete a short assignment for which you will build up the information and ideas through the individual and group activities you complete as you progress through the course.

"I really enjoyed the course, especially the real-life scenarios and the hands-on assignments, and the course documentation will be valuable reference material. Now I feel more confident about taking on publication planning projects in the future."
Ingrid Edsman MD, Edsman Medical Writing, Sweden.

View a sample unit

You can view one of our course units by visiting http://openmoodle.conted.ox.ac.uk and setting-up your own username and password -- follow the on-screen instructions for creating a new account. Existing OpenMoodle registered users can alreadly gain access to this course by clicking on the "All courses" link in the "My courses" box.

This sample unit has been chosen to illustrate to you how our online course in Getting Research Published is actually delivered and will also give you an insight into the types of activities, personal tasks and weekly readings that you can expect to undertake as an online student.

Course textbook

The course textbook is 'Getting Research Published: An A to Z of Publication Strategy' Radcliffe Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1857756878. You will need to obtain a copy of this book before the course begins. This book is available from Amazon and other booksellers.

IT support

The whole course is delivered online through the Department for Continuing Education, Rewley House, Oxford and no attendance at Oxford University is required.

Once you are registered you will receive a personal password so you can access all the course materials, discussion forum and your tutor. An IT helpdesk is available online through the TALL (Technology Assisted Lifelong Learning) unit at the University of Oxford.

Computer specifications

The minimum specification is what we believe to be the minimum you will need to be able to complete the course.

Minumium specification

Hardware:

PC 600Mhz
128MB of RAM
400MB of free hard disk space
SVGA display 800x600
CD-ROM drive (4X)
Speakers and Soundcard
56K Modem (if connecting by phone line)
Mouse / keyboard/ 3.5" floppy drive or some other means of offline storage
Internet access
We strongly recommend that students have access to a printer.

Software:

Windows 2000, XP or Vista
either Internet Explorer 6 (or above) or the latest version of Mozilla Firefox
The following plug-ins - Flash 5 Player or higher; Adobe Acrobat 4 viewer or higher (standard edition); QuickTime Player
Microsoft Office 2000 Professional/Premium, Office XP Professional, or Office 2003 Professional or Office 2007 Professional

All the above components must be installed and maintained correctly.

Computer specification queries

If you have queries about your computer facilities, please contact the TALL (Technology Assisted Lifelong Learning) programme by email: tallithelp@conted.ox.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0) 1865 280990.

If you are intending to access the course on a public computer, such as in a public library or internet cafe, we recommend that you contact TALL before applying.

Certification

Delegates will receive a University of Oxford Certificate of Attendance.

Fee options

£625 - standard course fee.

Fees include course materials and tuition. This is an online course.

All courses are VAT exempt.

How to apply

If you would like to discuss your application or any part of the application process before applying, please contact:
Emma Haslam (Course Administrator) - Tel: +44 (0)1865 286958 - Email: CPDpersonaldev@conted.ox.ac.uk

If you would like to pay using a company purchase order / bank transfer, please see the guidance notes below.