Publish from Your PhD Thesis: Strategies for Early-Career Researchers

Publish from Your PhD Thesis: Strategies for Early-Career Researchers

📅 Wednesday 20/05 10:30-12:00h

📍 Main Hall

🔎 Needs Analysis

Many PhD candidates in Technology-Enhanced Learning (TEL) complete/about to complete doctoral research but struggle/reluctant to publish from their PhD thesis. Common challenges include knowing how to select publishable parts of the thesis, reshaping dense chapters into journal articles, meeting disciplinary expectations, and understanding the publication process. These challenges are particularly acute in TEL and EdTech, where research is often interdisciplinary, methodologically diverse, and spread across education, technology, and social sciences. This workshop addresses a need for practical guidance on translating doctoral research into publishable outputs. Experiencing the hands-on workshop supports timely dissemination of TEL research and strengthens doctoral researchers’ academic profiles and career readiness.

📒 Session Description

This workshop is an interactive, practice-oriented session designed to help PhD candidates move from a completed or developing thesis to publishable journal articles in TEL and EdTech. The session combines short inputs, guided activities, individual reflection, and group discussion.

Participants will begin by exploring common challenges in publishing from a PhD thesis, such as selecting suitable material, reshaping thesis chapters into articles, and meeting journal expectations. Through guided exercises, participants will map parts of their thesis to potential article types (e.g. conceptual, empirical, methodological) and discuss audience, contribution, and journal fit.

Activities include analysing examples of articles derived from PhD research, drafting a provisional article outline, and developing a personal publication plan. Group discussions and Q&A will address questions around peer review, revisions, and responding to feedback.

💡 Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify which parts of their PhD thesis are suitable for journal publication
• Understand the differences between a PhD thesis chapter and a journal article
• Select appropriate journals for TEL and EdTech research
• Restructure literature review and findings chapters into publishable articles
• Clarify research contributions and position them for a target audience
• Understand key stages of the academic publishing process, including submission and peer review
• Develop a realistic publication plan linked to their PhD timeline
• Build confidence in publishing as an early-career researcher in TEL

🧩 Pre-activities and prerequisites

Before the workshop, participants will receive a short preparation pack including an outline of the session, a brief guide on publishing from a PhD thesis, and examples of journal articles developed from doctoral research in TEL and EdTech. Participants will also receive a reflective prompt to help them identify potential publishable elements of their own thesis.

As an optional pre-activity, participants will be encouraged to bring a short summary of their PhD topic, their current thesis stage, and one chapter or section they are considering for publication. No prior publishing experience is required.

The workshop is suitable for PhD candidates at different stages, particularly mid- to late-stage doctoral researchers and recent graduates. Basic familiarity with academic writing and the structure of a PhD thesis is assumed.

Participants should bring a laptop for note-taking and drafting. Internet access will be helpful but not essential. No specialist software is required.