Academic Writing, Publishing, and Presentations in Educational Technology
Tristan E. Johnson, J. Michael Spector and Minhong (Maggie) Wang
Abstract There are many misconceptions about academic writing and publishing that sometimes inhibit or intimidate educational researchers. One misconception is that academic writing should reflect the complexity of challenging scholarly research. As it happens, a complex writing style can detract from the comprehensibility of a manuscript. It is possible to tell a very complex story using simple, descriptive language. Short sentences are often more easily understood than long sentences containing multiple dependent clauses. Academic writing should not result in discovery reading; the reader needs to know the purpose, scope, and major point prior to embarking on the adventure of reading the rest of the manuscript. This document includes some tips on writing clearly for an academic audience along with an editor’s perspective on publishing research.
Keywords Academic writing Publishing Research framework Research agenda
One of the key societal benefits of conducting research is the knowledge created that provides information and direction for understanding and application in various settings. The value of the research knowledge is derived from many criteria. One of the main criteria is the research framework and logic that is used to generate the knowledge. Other value components include the ability to clearly articulate the process for creating the knowledge and also specifying the value based on prior
T.E. Johnson (H)
Northeastern University, Boston, USA e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
J.M. Spector
University of North Texas, Denton, USA e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
M.(Maggie) Wang
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017
F.-Q. Lai and J.D. Lehman (eds.), Learning and Knowledge Analytics
in Open Education, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-38956-1_15
research and critical reasoning. This paper presents several ideas that are considered important and valuable in the process of creating knowledge as it relates to Educational Technology research.
Educational research often involves an intervention aimed at solving a problem or improving a situation pertaining to learning, performance, and/or instruction. The specific problem addressed in a research study is likely to be representative of (or a part of) a larger problem of significance to society or others outside the scope of the specific study; this is especially the case with funded research, and which is why the ability to generalize is important. While one study may not establish a sufficient basis to generalize findings to other situations, it is generally desirable to at least lay a foundation for generalization (e.g., through the validation of instruments and an investigative methodology or through a study that can be replicated in other contexts).
