The Journey of a Non-Native English Speaker towards Scopus Publication: An Autoethnography

Abstract

Research publication continues to be a challenge for faculty in higher education institutions. Much more is expected of research leaders. My journey towards Scopus publication started over a decade ago when I was designated as a research director. I worked hard on my first publication in Scopus for years, but to no avail. Applying Autoethnography, I chronicle my publication journey, which can be a glimpse of the situation of other neophyte researchers who are non-native English speakers. In this paper, I discuss my struggles toward publication, such as losing confidence, excitement, and ignorance of standards, and Filipino English as a liability. However, I also expounded on the essential lessons I gained, such as article-journal fit, journal quality and standards, editing help, and focus and determination. Indeed, publishing in high-end journals like Scopus is challenging, but there is always a way, particularly learning from past mistakes and maximizing the lessons learned.

Keywords

• publication
• scopus
• english
• autoethnography
• philippines