Overview

Scholarly Research: Writing and Publishing into Journals and Books captures the value, process, and publication of research findings. The core thesis is that conducting research is uniquely significant as it is one of the age-old means of responding to the diverse questions that face humanity. Indeed, systematic, objective and rigorous research form the basis of most cutting-edge discoveries in the history of mankind. Conducting research is one step in the knowledge construction enterprise; dissemination is the other. Unless research results are disseminated, their significance is considerably undermined. Dissemination ensures that claims made by a researcher are interrogated, shaped, and re-interpreted by peers which form the basis of additional scholarly discourse and calls for further research, ad infinitum. Dissemination also ensures that research findings reach policymakers and inform policy formulation. While findings from research can be disseminated through a number of outlets, this book focuses on academic publishing in books and journals. It describes the core principles of academic research and its reporting, guided by time-tested conventions that have evolved in the field over time. We discuss, as a foundation, what scholarly research is and explore writing for scholarly publication in the form of journals and books. It is hoped that this work will generate intellectual conversations, amongst our research peers and beyond, especially with regard to the broad concept of epistemology in practice.

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9789966082640

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Reviews

This book describes the most current dynamics of scientific research and research reporting with skill and depth. Actually, this is the most comprehensive and clearest text on the subject that I have come across in the recent past. The authors have conducted thorough research and, coupled with their experience in university teaching and research, have plugged a unique gap in an area unaddressed by almost all books of this kind that I have referred to my graduate students. I recommend it to all researchers with the aim of excelling in cutting-edge contemporary scholarly research and publishing. - Joash A. Migosi, Ph.D., MKNAS. Senior Lecturer, ODeL Campus, The University of Nairobi. Member: Kenya National Academy of Sciences; World Futures Studies Federation; and Education Management Society of Kenya. In this book, Scholarly Research: Writing and Publishing into Journals and Books, the authors have offered a clear guide of the complete research process from initial idea formulation, the write-up, to eventual results dissemination. The book offers an invaluable practical guide to graduate students and researchers by challenging them to think carefully about their writing. Its focus on enhancing communication through developing a golden threat easily moves the reader into a creative writing space that will stimulate practical authorial skills. The chapters on Peer Review and Credible and Predatory Publishing stand out, even to the experienced researcher. These two introduce a timely conversation on the politics surrounding the subject among scholars and researchers. The book has been presented in a clear, concise, and readable style ideal for persons undertaking research projects and in teaching research methods and publishing courses at graduate levels. Boniface Manono, Ph.D. Senior Lecturer, Department of Environmental Science and Land Resources Management, School of Environment Water and Natural Resources, South Eastern Kenya University. The uniqueness of the book lies in the following: Its language which can appeal universally to both budding and experienced researchers; and each sub-section is enriched with illustrations that give readers a clear picture of what the authors have in mind. The book has dealt with what research is all about, from preparation to the broadcasting of the knowledge obtained. After I successfully completed reading it, I felt so enriched and actually wished the book existed before I started my graduate studies! - Sabasi Omaoro, Eds., MSc. Lecturer, Department of Mathematics and Actuarial Science, Kisii University. Chapters two, three, five, and six are strikingly peculiar! I do not remember a recent book on research and publishing that addresses the issues covered in the chapters, yet they form the substratum of preparing graduate students and early-career researchers to become skilled and independent knowledge creators and disseminators. - Charles Kebaya, Ph.D. Lecturer, Department of Linguistics and Languages, Machakos University.

Author Information

John S. Akama, the current and pioneer Vice-Chancellor of Kisii University and a passionate scholar with regard to publishing research, is a Professor of Geography whose scholarship began at the University of Nairobi, and later at Ohio State and Southern Illinois Universities in the United States of America. His research interests are in tourism, wildlife, sociology, and culture. His wide experience in publishing his own research is a resource for researchers who engage in various types of research and who also wish to disseminate their findings through books, book chapters, conference proceedings, or through journal articles in peer-refereed journals. He has published widely in peer-refereed international journals in his areas of research interest in addition to presenting research findings at international conferences across the world. Peter N. Mose, is a Lecturer of Languages and Linguistics at Kisii University and a Post-doctoral Fellow at Rhodes University, South Africa, from where he obtained his Ph.D. in African Languages. He obtained his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Maseno and Kenyatta Universities, respectively, and his Diploma in Human Resource Management (HRM) from the Kenya Institute of Management (KIM). His post-doctoral training, publishing with peer-refereed international journals, research, and publishing of school and higher education books, has equipped him as a researcher and writer. His specialization is in Language Literacies, Bilingualism, and Language Planning. His current research is in Epistemologies and Language and Scholarly Research Reporting. He is a Language and Education Consultant and a peer reviewer with three peer-refereed international journals published with Taylor and Francis. Margaret N. Barasa is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Languages Linguistics, and Literature at Kisii University. She holds a Ph.D. (Applied Linguistics) from Laikipia University, and a Master's (M.A. English Language and Linguistics) and Bachelor's (B.Ed Arts) degrees both from Egerton University. She is an interdisciplinary scholar who integrates the conceptual rigours of applied linguistics with language and society, political discourse, and gender. She is active in discipline, university-wide, and departmental services in addition to teaching and supervising postgraduate students. Within her discipline, she has published widely in journals and books, including co-authoring a research publishing dictionary.

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