Special Research I

　Session 2: (4) How to Publish Research Articles in Professional Journals (Chapter 4)

 Carry out “This Session's Task 2” and submit the task after reading and understanding the following contents.

[Introduction]

 Chapter 4 “How to Publish Research Articles in Professional Journals” from the textbook is about your final goal of the master's program. In order to complete this program, you are required to write a master's thesis or a research paper on a specific topic.

 In “Special Research II” that follows upon this “Special Research I”, you are going to write a thesis or a research paper taking one year. What is the difference between a master's thesis and a research paper on a specific topic? Although the instructors have been discussing the issue, they have not reached a consensus yet. At the very least, the procedure for screening and accepting a thesis for the master's degree is prescribed in the same way as the other master's program in the university. On the other hand, the decision on the procedure for screening and accepting a research paper on a specific topic depends on this program. Generally, a thesis for the master's degree is mandatory for those who go on to study in the doctoral program, and those who do not seek the doctor's degree can write a research paper on a specific topic. It is also said that a thesis for the master's degree is more “academic,” and a research paper on a specific topic is more “practical.” However, research concerning instructional systems is practical from the very start. It is not easy to clarify the difference.

 Whether it is a master's thesis or a research paper on a specific topic, submitting your thesis to an academic journal is a big challenge. In this session, grasp a image of what it is to submit your paper to an academic journal. Although it is not an immediate task for you, submitting papers to academic journals would be your routine work as a researcher, or a practitioner with a researcher's mind. So, let us go a little further into your future now.

 It is a way of announcing to the public that you have accomplished research as a result of spending two years in the graduate school as a future researcher. Attitudes toward making a conference presentation would differ depending on if it is the only goal to present at the conference, or you regard it to be the first step to take until finally submitting the research paper to an academic journal. In this way, let's shape your image of what it is to submit research to academic journals.

→Read Chapter 4 “How to Publish Research Articles in Professional Journals” from the textbook and move on.