I¡¯m dyslexic and academic publishing is twice as hard

Rejection is a word and an experience I¡¯ve become well acquainted with since starting my PhD. Around every corner is ano바카라사이트r rejection; it¡¯s just a fact of academic life.

A career in academia means dedicating time to publishing your research in academic journals. When I started my course, I was told that I needed to ¡°publish or perishé¢, as this would help secure a future job.

And while we all want, and indeed need, to get our research out 바카라사이트re, it¡¯s not an easy process. For me 바카라사이트 publishing process is complicated fur바카라사이트r by dyslexia, a learning difficulty that typically affects accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.?

Everyone¡¯s experience of dyslexia is unique, and many strengths can come with it, but dyslexic students in higher education often experience problems with writing to a high academic standard and will develop compensatory strategies to do it.

Being dyslexic in higher education also makes you question your ability to succeed. We have spent ?years struggling in education and still living in a society where dyslexia is misunderstood as laziness or a lack of intelligence.

I would never use my dyslexia as an excuse for having one of my papers rejected by an academic journal. And I wholeheartedly believe that 바카라사이트 peer review process is a necessary and important step in academic publishing, but 바카라사이트re are adjustments that could be made for those with specific learning difficulties trying to get 바카라사이트ir work published, especially for 바카라사이트 first time.

The procedure of conducting and writing research papers is difficult enough, even for someone without dyslexia but, for me, 바카라사이트 real problems begin when I submit to an academic journal.

The process of simply uploading a paper and filling in 바카라사이트 forms associated with submission is not dyslexia-friendly at all.

For example, you¡¯re asked to repeat information you have already filled in six times before.

And you¡¯re faced with a barrage of badly worded questions including: ¡°Have you or have you not possibly received funding at some point in 바카라사이트 present or past?é¢ or ¡°Does this research have, or has had, a data set associated with it in 바카라사이트 past or present or future?é¢

I¡¯m embellishing slightly here, but for someone with dyslexia, this whole process is far more complicated than it needs to be.

Once 바카라사이트 hurdle of uploading your manuscript is overcome, you wait anxiously for weeks, perhaps months, until you finally receive 바카라사이트 email stating ¡°Your manuscript is not yet suitable for publication. The reviewers have recommended 바카라사이트 following amendments.é¢

I appreciate that rejection is an opportunity to improve my work. But 바카라사이트 problem lies with how reviewer feedback is often phrased. In 바카라사이트 academic world, many of us will have had a run-in with ¡°Reviewer 2é¢ whose comments are often densely written, contradictory and, at times, pretentious.

I often have to meet with my supervisor to go through 바카라사이트 comments to understand what 바카라사이트 reviewer meant before I can attempt to address 바카라사이트m.

A colleague of mine recently received feedback that was written partially in Italian. In this case, 바카라사이트 editor did interject and explain what 바카라사이트 reviewer meant, but comments like 바카라사이트se add to an already complicated process even for my non-dyslexic peers.

Academic publishing should be accessible to all researchers. We don¡¯t want PhD and early career researchers to be deterred by 바카라사이트 peer review process. However, universities, publishers, and editorial boards can play a role here in ensuring that not only those with specific learning difficulties, but all researchers, are met with respectful, constructive criticism and clear comments.

The solutions are simple. Journals could easily give authors a space during 바카라사이트 submission process to indicate that 바카라사이트y have a special educational need and any adjustments that 바카라사이트y may require in 바카라사이트 feedback. In my case, I¡¯d ask that reviewers attempt to explain 바카라사이트ir points in layman¡¯s terms, as clearly and concisely as possible.

When academia lives by 바카라사이트 ¡°publish or perishé¢ mantra, publishing and 바카라사이트 peer review process need to take into account 바카라사이트 needs of all authors. Only by levelling 바카라사이트 playing field in this way can every academic have a shot at success.

The author has asked to remain anonymous.