Writing and publishing scientific articles is an important activity of academic life. It is a vital and integral part of academic life (Gilmore et al. 2006, cited in Ligthelm and Koekemoer, 2009). Most importantly, academic publishing is the primary vehicle for the advancement of scientific knowledge (Ligthelm and Koekemoer, 2009). Furthermore, scientific publications can serve as documentation of work performed, fostering exchange (feedback, discussion and debate) and sustainment of support and competitive funding (Lüttge, 2011). Scholarly articles are also decisive to indicate societal problems and to fill those gabs.  They, besides, can serve as form of promotion in the academic world.  “Publications are imperative for career advancement and for the economic survival of research departments,” (Peat, 2002, p. 2). In line with this, Körner (2008) points out that researchers in the academic world are inevitably judged by the number and quality of their published papers; they are rarely judged by their dexterity in the laboratory, their teaching skills, or their erudition. Moreover, even the most extraordinary experimental results are of little benefit if they fail to reach the appropriate audience. Specially, in tertiary institutions, academics are encouraged to publish scholarly articles; they must publish or perish.

This training manual intents to cover three modules.  The first module deals with historical perspectives of academic publishing, aspects of academic publishing, basics of academic writing and  some guides to publishing a scientific manuscript. The second module covers contents related to writing and publishing scientific manuscripts. It includes issues, such as the language of scientific papers/manuscripts components of a journal manuscript, preparation of journal manuscripts for submission, editing and formatting journal manuscripts and submitting manuscripts. The third module gives emphasis on software packages related to proofreading and editing, reference management and online journal systems.

Expected Outcomes

It is expected that after completing the four modules, trainees will be able to:

ü  Refresh your knowledge of academic writing and publishing;

ü  Identify different aspects of academic publishing;

ü  Develop skills of writing scientific papers;

ü  Produce publishable manuscripts; and

ü  Publish articles;

Training scheme and Time

The following methodologies will be employed during the training:

• Brainstorming and discussion
• Explain points by providing context specific practical examples
• Hold interactive lecture/presentation
• Capture points raised from the trainees and facilitate group discussion
• Workshops- practical activities

And the training requires about 30:00 hours, where

‰  Academic Publishing(5 hours)

‰  Writing and Publishing Scientific Manuscripts (10 hours)

‰  Academic publishing software packages (5 hours)