Publishing, Presenting and Writing

Over 1,200 people have joined the new S-CAR Community Network and Forum (NING) including more than 100 reconnected alums. This network is closed to S-CAR students, faculty, staff and alumni.  Among one of the many discussion forums is: "Upcoming Conferences and Calls for Papers", where S-CAR staff, and members of the network post notifications regularly.  We encourage everyong to use this resource, and to enrich it with more updates you may find. 

Click below to join!

The content of the Conflict Resolution portal supports the work of the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. This research portal intends to serve as a gateway to organized online resources for research and teaching at the School of Conflict Analysis and Resolution. 

The research section provides direct links to the current issues of scholarly online journals via the University Libraries. Research journals includes both subscription publications and scholarly open access publications. The list is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but a place to start for those seeking sources of information for publishing papers and conferences related to the many disciplines within Conflict Analysis.

Journals

The following is a sampling of CAR publications which are accepting writings:
 

Journals

• Infoguide List of Conflict Resolution Journals

•  S-CAR Journals Roster - from S-CAR's website

E-zines

Unrest Magazine -S-CAR e-magazine
Wandering Thoughts- The Centre for Conflict Studies
Peace and Conflict Monitor- University For Peace
Peace and Conflict Review- University For Peace
The Common Ground News Service (CGNews) - Search for Common Ground
Mason Gazette- George Mason University magazine

Attending conferences is a great way to start to write papers, test ideas, get published in proceedings and establish professional networks. Check with the conference coordinators for guidelines for paper publication.

Find conferences to attend by subject area, regional interests, or professional affiliations. Student funding is often available.

Check the S-CAR Community Network regularly for calls for proposals and for posting conference announcements.

Here is a preliminary list of common conferences attended by the S-CAR Community

Conferences
ISA (International Studies Association)
IACM (International Association of Conflict Management)
ISPP (International Society of Political Psychology)
IPRA (International Peace Research Association)
ACR (Association of Conflict Resolution)
AfP (Alliance for Peacebuilding)
American Academy of Religion
APSA (American of Political Science Association)
African Studies
Middle East Studies Association
International Political Science Association
 

and a few more links to the Infoguides, PCDN, and always check online keyword searches

Connect with the Mason Librarians for more information.

Writing Studio Software Programs

Engaged in extensive writing and looking for e-tools to help organize your work? Here are two examples of software packages that can help: 

Zotero- The advanced features of this free software package offers the ability to write in a word document style window linked to a citation reference.  Tags, folders and other tools can be employed to organize your notes, bibiolgraphies, pdfs and other resources.  Contact the Arlington Campus Library to request an advanced workshop. 

Scrivner- "Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft."

Writing Proposals (Thesis and Dissertation)

See Sara Cobb's - Formulating an Argument

You can also copy and paste these subject headings in the Mason Library's catalog to find many more books and online resources:

Social sciences --Research --Methodology
Dissertations, Academic--Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Proposal writing in research--Handbooks, manuals, etc.

(note: when completing this kind of search, make sure to switch the 'find' category to "subject headings" rather than title or author.)

Literature Reviews

See Mary Oberlies's- Writing a Literature review. This includes an extensive list of resources on how to write a literature review.

The Mason Library also has an Infoguide on Literature Reviews

Writing Annotated Bibliographies

http://guides.library.cornell.edu/annotatedbibliography
http://lib.trinity.edu/lib2/annot_bib.php
http://write.siu.edu/Handouts/Writing%20an%20Annotated%20Bibliography.pdf
http://www.ou.edu/cls/reference/bibliography.html

Here is some information on how to write for publications.

Traditionally, each field teaches their students how to publish for their field. Since the CAR field is interdisciplinary by nature, it is advised that when you start to write, you note the different fields' requirements, especially in their different formats and structures for writing. It is best to check each publisher/ journal's writing requirements. This information can be found on their webpages, usually under their 'call for submissions' section.

Keep in mind that there is a heirarchy in the publishing feild, especially among the journals.  For example,  a book chapter has higher academic regard than a conference proceeding. Likewise a high tiered journal is much more rigiourous, more difficult to be accepted in, and therefore more prestigious than a low tier journal which may not even be peer-reviewed. If you are writing to build your credentials, it is helpful to learn the ranking of your publication in regards to others within that field. Tracking this is especially important if you are applying for academic or research positions. Alternatively, tracking how many other people cite your work is another indicator of your scholarly standing. See here for more information.

A good place to start is the Mason Library Infoguide on publishing which includes specific links for S-CAR students.

Here are some reference links that may be helpful when planning on writing an article, book review, a book chapter or book. Again, remember to look closely at what the individual publisher requires, especially their formating and citation guidelines.

Warnings about solicited publications!!

Useful Overviews of Writing and Publishing: 

http://www.chashcacommittees-comitesa.ca/becoming%20a%20historian/chaptersix.shtml

http://culturematters.wordpress.com/2009/08/23/academic-publishing-workshop/

http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/54537_Osmond_ch1.pdf

http://methodsofdiscovery.net/?q=node/17

For Journal Articles:

http://web.up.ac.za/sitefiles/file/40/753/writing_an_academic_journal_article.pdf

http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2013/sep/06/academic-journal-writing-top-tips

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=10&ved=0CG0QFjAJ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paeaonline.org%2Fht%2Fa%2FGetDocumentAction%2Fi%2F107528&ei=Y0_6UvWdBMbH0QH8jIHQCg&usg=AFQjCNFyXRTTECoBNeNcSB_d7kLBHYVEIQ&bvm=bv.61190604,d.dmQ&cad=rja

For Book Reviews:

https://www.trentu.ca/history/workbook/bookreviews.php

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/book-reviews/

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/book_reviews.pdf

For Book Chapters:

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/authors/guides/write/book_chapter.htm?part=1

(note- see more information under the next section)

For Books:

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/752/06/

http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/education/jlemke/guide-bk.htm

http://www.academiccoachingandwriting.org/academic-writing/resources/academic-book-proposals/

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32654/title/So-You-Want-to-Write-a-Book-/