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New to Scholarly Articles?

here are several types of academic publications, with varying lengths, level of details, and time frames for publication.

  • Workshop papers: Workshops usually occur in parallel (or right before) the main program of the major conferences. They are often aimed at building networks around or discussing emerging topics, which are not yet mature to be presented at the main conference. They can also be used to discuss specific, niche topics. As such, Workshop papers are often one of the initial publications of graduate students. They allow students to present their initial progress towards their research and obtain feedback from the research community, while networking with other researchers working on similar topics. Workshop papers are usually a bit shorter than full conference papers, and often go through a more relaxed peer-review process than conferences.

 

  • Conference extended abstracts and posters (also called works-in-progress, late-breaking work, or similar): Work that is in its initial stages can usually be presented in conferences as an extended abstract or poster. The exact format varies between conferences. For example, some conferences let authors publish an extended abstract (a short description of their work and results), which is presented during the conference only as a poster. Similar to Workshop papers, extended abstracts and poster sessions are good opportunities to present initial ideas and results and receive feedback from the community.

 

  • Short conference papers: Some conferences allow researchers to submit short papers, which usually have a limited length between four and six pages. Short papers are intended for not for publication of mature and finished results, but for small studies or any other form of contribution which can be explained within the page limit. Short papers usually go through a rigorous peer-review process and are presented as a talk within the main conference program, although usually with a bit less allocated time than full papers.

 

  • Full conference papers: Full papers represent the main type of contribution for academic conferences. These must present a mature and finished contribution to the field. Full papers also go through a rigorous peer-review process and are presented as a talk within the main conference program. They also help to considerably increase the visibility of one’s research, due to the presentation during the conference and the posterior availability of the paper as part of a digital library or other form of proceedings. 

 

  • Journal articles: Journal articles are aimed for the publication of completed research, which represents a strong and original contribution to the research community. They are usually longer than conference papers and need to provide detailed information on the employed methods, the results, and the contribution to the research field. Journal articles go through a rigorous peer-review process, which might usually include several rounds of feedback, improvement, and follow-up, thus ensuring that published papers have reached a high quality level.

 

  • Books or book chapters: Academic books are often published as a summary of existing research. Usually, a team of researchers act as editors, who are responsible for choosing the topics of the book chapters and inviting scholars with expertise on the field to write them. These kind of books usually do not include novel research results, but instead they provide reviews, summaries, or guidelines for the use of existing research.

 

*Adapted from *Adapted from https://blog.xrds.acm.org/2018/02/how-to-publish-about-your-research-results-for-academic-and-non-academic-audiences/