Going global: Supporting Russian academics in writing for English-medium publication

This thesis examines writing for English-medium publication by Russian academics. Being committed to identifying how support for Russian academics to be published in high ranking English-medium international journals can be enhanced, I began by initiating Research Phase One to explore the current situation and identify the gaps in existing institutional publication support. In doing so, I first investigated what such journals are looking for in successful submissions, drawing on documentary research to identify the requirements for submissions communicated on journals websites, as well as conducting a survey of journal editors’ and reviewers’ perceptions of non-native English-speaking authors’ submissions. I then explored whether Russian academics have the competence and necessary support to satisfy journals’ requirements, drawing first on my own experiences and perceptions of writing for English-medium publication that emerged from autoethnography and then on survey data that investigated the experiences and perceptions of writing for English-medium publication of other Russian academics.

Informed by Research Phase One, I moved on to Research Phase Two to explore what actions could help Russian academics to publish their papers in high-ranking English-medium international journals by implementing an action research project. This led to the identification of a range of actions and features of effective publication support, which enabled me to develop recommendations for the provision of publication support for Russian academics, as I had originally aimed to do.

In sum, the findings of this research demonstrate that writing for English-medium publication is about going global, that is, the transition from local researcher to global contributor, which requires education, not simply training, to succeed, as it involves primarily the development of critical research and publishing skills, not just linguistic development. This research is expected to make a useful contribution to the Russian higher education context. In addition, it will have broader implications for other countries by providing valuable theoretical, methodological, and empirical considerations that can be used in their specific situations.