Why Publish Public-Facing Work?

The Advantages of Publishing in Academic Blogs

Dr. Rebecca H. Best
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
https://rhbest.wixsite.com/rebeccabest

 

Maybe you’re working toward tenure or the next promotion, maybe you’re interested in finding new research collaborators, or maybe you just want to get more traction for your research and communicate it to a broader audience. If any of this describes you, academic blogging might be a solution. Don’t have time to manage a blog on top of everything else? Me neither! But, we don’t have to manage our own blogs (I don’t) and blogging doesn’t need to take much time. This post tackles the why and the how of academic blogging.

 

Why publish in academic blogs?

For most (all?) of us, academic blog posts are not part of our formal criteria for tenure and promotion or annual review. But, they will increase the impact of your academic publications and contribute to your recognition as a prominent scholar in your field. For example, political science analysis published in the Washington Post’s Monkey Cage blog has been cited in Supreme Court decisions, and many academic blog posts appear on undergraduate course syllabi[1] as accessible introductions to academic work. These short, fast turn-around publications are also a great way to road test a new coauthoring partnership or stake your claim in a field of study. Academic blog posts are also widely shared on twitter and other social media, contributing to interest in the author’s relevant journal articles. Beside all this, academic blog posts are quick and fun to write – and to read.

 

While the utility and format of academic blog posts will vary by discipline, these are generally short pieces; 900-1100 words or less is standard in my field, political science. The turn-around time is generally quite fast; in my experience about one to two weeks from initial query to publication is typical. Right now, I have a journal article under review with a co-author I met because of an academic blog post I published, and my most recent journal article has received more attention than it otherwise would have as a result of the blog piece I wrote to accompany its publication. For two to three days work, I call this a win.

 

Where to send your blog post?

If you already read academic blogs in your field, consider those as outlets for your own work. As a reader, you’ll likely have a good sense of what types of work the blogs publish. Many edited blogs have a page covering how to submit posts or propose ideas and what types of content they publish. If you aren’t familiar with the blogs in your field, take a look at CAFE’s new resources for publishing blogs, which includes a list of edited academic blogs that accept submissions. 

 

How to write academic blog posts?

Blog posts can cover a variety of topics and the format varies by field. Your post might be a commentary on the field, it might be a teaser for an article you’ve recently published, a short analysis of current events, a proof of concept, or something else entirely. Whatever it is and wherever you publish it, keep in mind that blog posts should usually be accessible to an educated population outside your own field and should be quick to read. Keep the jargon and the overall word count to a minimum. Before and while you write, consider the target audience (and make sure that the audience of the blog you’re publishing in reaches your target audience). You may be able to tell many interesting stories from your research. Which one will resonate with the blog’s readers? For more on how to write effective academic blog posts, check out this guide from Taylor & Francis and stay tuned for more information on CAFE’s blog writing workshops, starting in the Spring.

 

Why Publish Public-Facing Work?

 

We get it, you have a lot on your plate and, for most, short public-facing publications won’t count for tenure or promotion. But you should consider writing them anyway.

 Even if these short publications won’t directly count in your tenure file,[1] they will increase the impact of your academic publications and contribute to your recognition as a prominent scholar in your field. For example, political science analysis published in the Monkey Cage blog hosted by the Washington Post has been cited in Supreme Court decisions, and many academic blog posts appear on undergraduate course syllabi as accessible introductions to academic work. These short, fast turn-around publications are also a great way to road test a new coauthoring partnership or stake your claim in a field of study. Academic blog posts are also widely shared on twitter and other social media, contributing to interest in the author’s relevant journal articles. Beside all this, academic blog posts are quick and fun to write – and to read.

Where to Publish?

You’ve done the study, written up the results and published the journal article.[2] Now it’s time to really get your work out there in front of the public, policy makers and practitioners. The first step in this process is to determine what story you want to tell and who you want to reach. Once you know that, browse the list below for a relevant outlet and follow the link to view contributor guidelines. As you write, be sure to reference both the blog’s own criteria and this guide to writing academic blogs from Taylor & Francis.

Note: be sure to review the lists from all fields that are relevant to your work. For example, there is significant overlap between political science and economics and work done in one field may be of interest to a policy magazine in another. Also, check your professional societies and journals in which you publish to see if they maintain blogs that are open to submissions. Some journals will also offer authors the opportunity to contribute a guest post to an associated blog to promote a recent publication. The blogs in this list are all open to external submissions from scholars and all publish content relating to research.

Research & Analysis Blogs

 The blogs in this category provide a forum for researchers to share their latest findings, to summarize relevant literature in their field, or to apply research in their field to analyze current issues. Many peer-reviewed journals also maintain blogs for their authors; for space reasons, these are not listed here.

General

 

Social Sciences

 

Anthropology & Sociology

 

Economics

 

Political Science

 

Natural & Applied Sciences

 

Political Science

 

Ecology

 

Biology/Medicine

 

Mathematics & Statistics

 

Humanities

 

History

 

 

[1] Or maybe it will – this depends on your department. But, even if your department’s tenure standards don’t reward blogging, you should still include it in your portfolio.

[2] Or maybe you’ve just taken a first look at the data and have some hot takes – who are we to judge?

[3] Are we missing a great blog in your field that is open to guest contributors? Let us know by emailing Rebecca Best at bestrh@umsystem.edu.