Preparing and Communicating Results

The internal audience for business research is the firm’s decision makers, and the reports should follow the accepted form for such internal reports. The broader goal of business research is to add to the academic body of knowledge through journal article publications and conference presentations. This module discusses how to get started in the process of publishing and presenting and offers tips for increasing the odds of a peer-reviewed journal or conference accepting the research project.    

Learning Objectives

• Understand how to improve the acceptance odds for peer-reviewed journals and conferences
• Understand the requirements for journal article manuscripts
• Understand the requirements for conference presentations

Requirements for a Peer-Reviewed Journal Article

Scholarly journals are where the results of new research or new ideas are published for rigorous examination by the academic community (Kekäle, de Weerd-Nederhof, Cervai, & Borelli, 2009). So why is the rejection rate for journal articles so high? As you might expect, there are many reasons. McKercher, Law, Weber, Song, & Hsu (2007) reviewed manuscripts rejected by hospitality and tourism journals and found 74% were rejected for faulty methodology. Failure to communicate the study’s significance (60%), poorly written, or a weak literature review (50%) were the other most common reasons manuscripts were rejected. Summers' (2001) study of marketing journal rejections found the most common reasons for manuscript rejection were the research question were not very interesting, the study did not make a significant contribution to the literature, the conceptual framework was not well developed, the article was poorly written, or the methodology was seriously flawed.  

What’s required in a manuscript depends upon the journal. Most journals publish guidelines for authors on their web page that will detail exactly what’s required for that particular journal. But in general, a journal article should include an introduction where the author “sells” the importance of the research, and a literature review where the theoretical foundations of the study are laid out and previous research is summarized. This is generally followed by the methodology section, detailing how the work was conducted, and ending with results and discussion chapters where the results of the study are reported, implications of the findings are outlined, and practical value of the findings as well as opportunities for future research are discussed.  

In many cases, two or more people will take on writing the journal article together as co-authors. This has become increasingly common, with the average number of authors on scientific paper doubling between 1945 and 1995 (McDonald, 1995). Rocco and Hatcher (2011) recommend six tips for effective co-authoring relationships. Choose you co-authors strategically, clarify your co-authoring goals, understand that getting along is as important as producing, agree to reflective analysis of the co-authoring process, expect to be responsible and accountable, and be willing to let go of personal paradigms.   

Once the manuscript is submitted, it will take weeks or even months to receive the reviewers’ comments. Rarely is a manuscript accepted on the first submission, although as noted above many are rejected at the first review. With luck, you’ll be invited to revise the work and resubmit for further consideration. Reviewers tend to be successful researchers and their comments should be accepted as an effort to help you improve the work. If you believe the reviewer’s comments are the result of misunderstanding the manuscript, consider how you can better organize and explain the work to be clearer (Summers, 2001). Any attempt to “prove the reviewer wrong” will be counterproductive to the end goal of journal publication (Summers, 2001).

Requirements for a Conference Presentation

The conference presentation is a verbal summary and discussion of the findings and conclusions of the study, along with background on the theoretical foundations and how the research was conducted. This often occurs before a journal article, and serves as a kind of trial run, to get preliminary feedback on the material. 

An invitation to present at a conference commonly results from submitting a presentation proposal to the conference. Conferences hold open request for proposal periods, review all presentation proposals submitted, and issue invitations to those chosen for the conference. What is required in these proposals varies according to the conference, and the conference webpage will have full instructions on how to submit a proposal. But generally speaking, the conference wants an abstract of your research and findings along with a clear explanation of how this will benefit and interest conference attendees.  

Having secured an invitation to present, the next step is to prepare the presentation itself. Conventional presentations are essentially the oral equivalent of a conventional written report, delivered from a lectern using speaker’s notes, with audience questions at the end. Such presentations often include PowerPoint displays as well (Thody, 2006). From that starting point, the presentation can become as informal and creative as the presenter wishes and as is appropriate for the conference audience. Incorporate more back and forth discussion with the audience throughout the presentation. Include music or posters to communicate key points. Break the audience into discussion groups. The possibilities are limitless (Thody, 2006). 

In planning your presentation style keep in mind conference precedents and practicalities. In choosing an alternative presentation style, consider something that will give your audience a welcome break from other more conventional presentations (Thody, 2006). In terms of practicalities consider the size of the room where you will be presenting, and the time of day that you’ll be presenting and adjust accordingly. It goes without saying that you should practice your presentation, with slides and other equipment, before the day of the presentation. The ability to handle your visual aids and electronic equipment confidently will help strengthen your professional impression. 

Scenario: ABC Consulting

In either case, the data must be presented to audience in an appropriate manner. For the purpose of presenting to the stakeholder of ABC Consulting, some form of data reporting must be prepared. In quantitative terms, most data are often presented in graph and table formats. Statistical data is often presented with a written explanation followed by the appropriate table.

Qualitative data is often presented in a narrative, with occasional figures to better describe the data in question. The richness of data is best described by the actual words of participants, and occasional visuals to show connections between themes. 

In either case, as data is prepared for internal use by the company, it may be important to consider presentation of data to outside sources. This may come in the form of conference presentations or journal articles. Here it is essential to incorporate the requirements of that conference or journal (Style wise, format wise, or other). These constraints play the largest part in the presentation of data. There is often a change in language, from a more practitioner based, to a more academic tone.

It is important that the company grants permission for the researcher to publish findings outside of the company, such as in a journal. It will also require that all participants understand that their data may be used for purposes outside of the company. This is usually identified in the informed consent documents.

For Further Study

Research Ready: Publications: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/publicationready

Research Ready: Presentations: https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/research_ready/publicationready

What To Think About Before You Start To Write A Journal Article: https://youtu.be/fxYVyL_s3P0

How to Write for an Academic Journal? https://youtu.be/XSrE0OBauWc

13 Tips For Writing A Great Journal Article: https://youtu.be/jySXtqQaX44

How To Create A Journal Article From Your Dissertation: https://youtu.be/Ryh35HnwAzA

How To Write A Conference Proposal: https://youtu.be/2ESAV51B9VY

Creating A Great Conference Proposal: https://youtu.be/roO9atssCC0

How To Prepare An Oral Research Presentation: https://youtu.be/LzIJFD-ddoI

References   

Cassey, P., & Blackburn, T. M. (2003). Publication rejection among ecologists. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 18(8), 375-376.

Kekäle, T., de Weerd-Nederhof, P., Cervai, S., & Borelli, M. (2009). The “dos and don'ts” of writing a journal article. Journal of workplace learning, 21(1), 71-80.

McDonald, K. A. (1995). Too Many Co-Authors? Chronicle of Higher Education, 41(33).

McKercher, B., Law, R., Weber, K., Song, H., & Hsu, C. (2007). Why referees reject manuscripts. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 31(4), 455-470.

Ransdell, L. B., Sedlacek, V., Kennedy, C., Gallegos, D., & DeVoe, D. (1998). A comprehensive analysis of the publication process in selected health-related journals. American Journal of Health Studies, 14(3), 143.

Rocco, T. S., & Hatcher, T. G. (2011). The handbook of scholarly writing and publishing: John Wiley & Sons.

Straub, D. W., Ang, S., & Evaristo, R. (1994). Normative standards for IS research. ACM SIGMIS Database: the DATABASE for Advances in Information Systems, 25(1), 21-34.

Summers, J. O. (2001). Guidelines for conducting research and publishing in marketing: From conceptualization through the review process. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(4), 405-415.

Thody, A. (2006). Writing and presenting research: Sage.