How to publish and get your research cited

You don’t need to be at a top-tier university or have decades of experience to produce research that makes a real difference. With the right approach, your next paper could be the one that changes your field forever. But there is a strategy to publishing research that ensures your research makes a difference. It starts with asking the right questions. In today’s issue, I’m sharing ten steps to ensure your work gets the attention and citations it deserves. Let’s head into it.

1. Choose impactful research questions

I know you want to do work that matters. I do, too. But sometimes it’s tough finding the issues that really matter in your field. One way to do this is to start with questions that address real gaps in your field. I will probably write a more in-depth tutorial about this in the future and I’ve already written about research gaps in the past. But here’s a way to get to research questions that matter quickly: You begin by tracking recent publications in top journals in your field to identify emerging gaps as you scan new articles that are coming out. The best place to look for new gaps is the “future work” section of current papers as well as highly influential papers in your field from the last 5 years (keep in mind that there is no hard metric for influence, but looking at the citation count is a great way to start). In conjunction to skimming these papers, I would also use citation databases (e.g., Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar) to see what topics in your field are heavily cited and consider adjacent questions to these topics. For example, in my field, there has been a massive research shift to AI in recent years and before that it was VR. Finally, I would try to connect the research questions you’ve drafted with practical problems in your domain: Ask yourself: What societal, technological, or policy issues demand solutions?

2. Follow a structured research process

The quality of your research process directly impacts the quality of your findings. It’s that simple. So, what do I recommend to create highly quality research is to establish a high-quality research process. An easy way to do this is to start research with a literature map to synthesize previous research. I always use reference manager tools like Zotero, Paperpile, Mendeley, or concept-mapping software at this stage. Next, I would want to make sure I follow a robust methodology (i.e., quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods). My methods should always align with leading standards in my field. Of course, it takes a bit of time and reading to understand what those standards in your field are. Good research processes can therefore not be rushed but require some time to develop well. A good process includes collecting and analyzing data well and with rigour. One way to guarantee your data collection is rigorous is to simply document every step so that other researchers can reproduce your work and how you did things is transparent to your readers. Finally, I would want to deliver hard evidence to support my conclusions in my research. Yes, data is great, but you will always need to argue for the insights that you are drawing from it. I like to do this with clear visuals like tables, figures, and charts.

3. Write a compelling manuscript

This is why you’re on this newsletter. So, many of you already know this. And, I’ve been preaching it for quite some time. You can have the best research in the world, but if it’s poorly written, no one will read it. High-quality writing makes your findings accessible and engaging to a broad audience.
Of course, I’ve talked about this in many a masterclass and webinar before, but here is how to write the best publication possible. I would use a version of the IMRAD structure: Introduction (and Related Work), Methods, Results, and Discussion. In my field specifically, we always have related work in a separate section after the introduction. I would use a version of this structure for both my introduction and my abstract as well. For your abstract, double-check that it contains the following:

• Problem statement
• Methodology
• Key findings
• Significance

Then, I’d use my abstract to create a clear and concise title that includes keywords, and maybe a colon. I’ve written about this before. For your title as well as your paper, you’d always want clear sentences that flow well, so alternate short and long sentences and find clear transitions. I try to avoid field-specific jargon unless absolutely necessary to get my point across. And finally, I put some extra effort into writing an impactful conclusion that ties findings to broader implications.

4. Publish in the right journals

Yes, publishing in general is a great strategy to get your work out there. But, the journal you choose influences your work’s reach and citation potential. It’s a big deal. And you may not land the top journal while doing a PhD, but you certainly set your eyes on the right venues early. I would recommend the following strategy: I’d identify high-impact journals in my field using impact factor or h-index metrics (like the metrics you can find on Google Scholar). Then, going forward, I would align my research scope with the journal’s audience and aims. In addition, I would probably prioritize open-access journals whenever possible because they increase visibility of your work. Now, I know this might be expensive for some, but it pays dividends in the long run. One last option to think about is to explore special issues or thematic calls for papers in high-ranking journals when the call fits your area. You will likely attract a more focused readership in your niche, which will lead to more impact of your work.

5. Use strategic keywords for discoverability

Consider that researchers find work through search engines and databases, so you need to make it easy for them to find yours. I know this is usually the least of our worries when trying to get an article published, but all those LinkedIn influencers pushing SEO title strategies for your papers are not completely wrong. You want to know what people are looking for to get discovered. The best way to get started with this is to identify relevant keywords from your literature review. These are the keywords I’d build your paper around and I would want to include them in the title of the paper, the abstract, and often also in subheadings and body text.

6. Promote your research actively

Publishing alone isn’t enough unfortunately. Just because you got past peer review, doesn’t mean people will actually read your work. Sure, the right journals do much for visibility, but you do need to share your work far and wide. Trust me, it’s worth the effort. So, what are some promotion strategies that I’ve used in the past for my work? I generally try to share the findings from my research group on social media and my students like academic networks, such as ResearchGate and Academia.edu. I find them both quite spammy to be honest (there was a time when they send way too many emails) and it took me a long time to actually appreciate some of their features (I didn’t like the logged-in PDF wall they have). However, they can be effective. Either way, I would definitely post highlights of my research on LinkedIn, X/Twitter, or other relevant platforms, such as BlueSky, Threads, Instagram, and maybe even TikTok or Pinterest. I find for my work that I usually get the best discussions on LinkedIn (don’t hate). When posting there, I usually put in some effort to use plain-language summaries for broader appeal. Example: “Our research shows a 20% improvement in X using Y.” But, I have also collaborated with press offices at my institution for media outreach. They can be hit or miss, depending on how knowledgable you are about this stuff yourself. However, one thing that is quite common in my field and that I would definitely recommend in addition is to present your work at conferences or workshops to engage your peers. And more often than not, we’ll upload a preprint to platforms like arXiv or bioRxiv for early visibility (you might not want to do that if you’re afraid you’ll get scooped).

7. Collaborate strategically

We love people. And while you be in hermit mode when researching your stuff, working with other researchers can substantially improve both the quality and visibility of your work. So, it’s something I would consider. (Keep in mind the downside as well: At some point, I had collaborated with most of the mid-to-senior people in my field, so that most people had a conflict of interest reviewing my papers, which led to a tough period of being evaluated by less-relevant peers.) In general, though, I will always co-author with experienced or well-connected academics. It’s fun. And I love participating in international collaborations, which will increase your reach. Find mutually beneficial opportunities and go all in. I also like to contribute to research networks, working groups, or multi-institution projects. All of these increase your visibility and that of your research.

8. Cite and engage with others’ work

Reciprocal engagement is key. Yes, citations must be relevant. I don’t want you to form a citation cartel. Those are bad. But, when you engage with other researchers’ work, it increases your own visibility and credibility. And it’s the right thing to do if the work is relevant to yours. Don’t be petty and not cite someone, because you feel they’re infringing on your territory. Academia is a community. Sharing is caring. So, I would recommend to cite recent, relevant studies in your work because all researchers notice citations. I liked to reach out to authors I cited to share my paper directly when I was more junior and it got some discussions started. Boss move: Publish a review paper that synthesizes key findings in your area. That’ll get people’s attention, for sure.

9. Try out citation-boosting tactics

You might be surprised how much small actions can impact your citation count. Availability of your research is a big one, so having your papers available on your own website is essential and many publishers allow so-called author versions. You could also share your paper in course syllabi or research group discussions at your institution to get some of that local visibility. One thing that is more common today that it used to be is to register your work with ORCID and then, of course, to keep your profiles up-to-date. In your next grant, you might also want to consider participating in cross-disciplinary research to attract a broader audience that goes beyond your discipline. This is great for introducing your work beyond your usual community.

10. Monitor and improve over time

Always keep learning. Track your impact with citations, podcast, visits, newspaper articles about your work, and then adjust your approach for better outcomes in the future as you see what works for you. Not everyone likes to use the same strategy. Introverts prefer different tactics than extroverts and so forth. One way I do this, is track impact with tools like Google Scholar citations, Scopus, or Altmetric to monitor the reach of my research group. You might easily identify which platforms drive the most visibility and engagement. At some point, Academic Twitter was really great for this, but it’s not anymore, and BlueSky is only now gaining critical mass for this. One thing, I definitely recommend is to regularly update your academic profiles (ORCID, ResearchGate, institutional websites) to make sure people find your most recent work.

Do this now

Here are 10 simple steps you can do right now to get a better strategy implemented for your research publications:

1. Write down 3-5 specific questions and rank them based on significance, feasibility, and novelty.
2. Focus on research integrity: validate data sources, report limitations, and avoid overstating results.
3. Edit ruthlessly. Use tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor to refine your prose.
4. Review the journal’s most-cited articles for stylistic and thematic insights.
5. Tools like Elsevier’s journal planner can help find search-friendly terms as you are scoping out journals.
6. Create short videos or visual abstracts to explain key findings.
7. Build relationships through conferences, online forums, or academic societies.
8. Offer constructive feedback on other researchers’ preprints or draft work.
9. Make your supplementary data or code publicly available for added value.
10. Use insights from high-performing papers to guide future research and publication strategies.
    So, if you want to produce high-quality research that gets cited? It’s not magic. It’s about choosing impactful questions, writing clearly, publishing strategically, and actively promoting your work. Follow my 10 steps, and you’ll maximize your research’s value and visibility. For anything else, become a client to see if I can help you with your research strategy.