Is mentoring the answer? The journeys of early career academics in new universities towards scholarly publication

Abstract

Novice scholars tend to learn about scholarly publication mainly through informal networks of friends, mentors and research supervisors (McCulloch, Tusting & Hamilton, 2017), but academics in newer UK universities (those established after 1992) may face particular challenges accessing such networks. For example, relationships with former PhD supervisors are not only influential in nurturing scholarly writing, but can also provide co-authoring opportunities (Tusting et al., 2019). However, many academics in newer universities do not have PhDs. They also typically have high teaching loads, which can undermine opportunities to do research (Brandt, 1998) even for those with PhDs. Finally, they may lack a critical mass of experienced colleagues to create a supportive culture for scholarly publishing. For these reasons, mentorship may play a particularly important role for junior scholars in new UK universities.

Informed by views of scholarly publishing as a contested social practice (Lillis & Scott, 2007), this chapter reports on a study conducted in one new university in England. In order to explore the barriers and enablers to scholarly publishing in this context, two groups of early-career scholars were interviewed about the role of mentoring and support networks in their scholarly publication practices: those with and those without PhDs. Implications for practice are considered.