چکیده:
The competitive academic atmosphere of the higher education worldwide along with the current trend in producing research-oriented knowledge by universities has made research publication the first priority for doctoral students. In this study, we addressed the conceptions of purpose, process, and product of publishing research articles among Iranian doctoral students of applied linguistics. To this end, thirty students were interviewed and the data were analyzed using the grounded theory approach. The findings demonstrated that doctoral students publish papers to prepare a competition-winning resume, significantly contribute to the ELT community, turn into life-long learners and problem-solvers, and fulfill their course requirements. Furthermore, with regard to the research publication process, they highlighted the role of mixed-methods in spotting real problems in context and getting their papers published in prestigious journals. Additionally, the students believed that publishing in international journals grants them the opportunity to gain international recognition, attract an international audience, receive expert quality feedback from professional reviewers, publish in journals specific in focus and scope, and avoid publishing in cheap predatory journals. Finally, the findings suggest that the doctoral students need more systematic coaching to successfully conduct and publish their research.
خلاصه ماشینی:
Research; Publication; Applied linguistics; Higher education; Doctoral students Key Words: Article Information: Received:14 October 2017 Revised: 27 December 2017 Accepted:28 February 2018 Corresponding author: Department of Foreign Languages, Kharazmi University, Tehran, Iran Email address: atai@khu.
Introduction As Kwan (2013) argues, the fast-track globalization of higher education has led the Asian universities to take strict measures to further develop their research infrastructure and promote their international reputation by involving their faculty members and doctoral students in publishing papers in top-tier international journals.
Therefore, PhD degree is awarded to individuals who independently do research and contribute to the development of original disciplinary research and scholarship (Lovitts, 2005), where an important criterion-based measure for research productivity and quality in doctoral programs is the publication of research studies (Aitchison, Catterall, Ross, & Burgin, 2012).
Doctoral students get their papers published to not only ensure their employment, tenure-tracking, and promotion (Jalongo, Boyer, & Ebbeck, 2013), but also share their research finding with the academic community, get involved in meaningful communication with other researchers, fulfill their responsibility, do research under peer pressure, receive research fund, gain personal satisfaction, and benefit the field of language education (Lee, 2010).
The Iranian doctoral students of applied linguistics are currently seeking to publish their papers in leading journals for winning the academic competition for employment and promotion, turning into potentially prolific researchers, knowledgeable university professors, legitimate members of their own disciplinary community, and solving practical problems in context.