Completing your capstone thesis project is a significant milestone in your educational career. You’ve likely invested countless hours analyzing research, crafting your conclusions, and developed insights that will benefit your chosen field of study. So now, how do you share your work with a broader community? Publishing your capstone can be a rewarding experience that allows you to share your research findings with a wider audience and contribute to the academic community.
ACHS Chief Academic Officer Dr. Tiffany Rodriguez shares these resources and steps to help you get started:
Step One: Select a Suitable Journal or Publisher
The first step is to identify a journal or publisher that aligns with your subject matter and the focus of your capstone thesis. Here are a few reputable journals:
- International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy (IJPHA)
- Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine
- Journal of Evidence Based Integrative Medicine
- Journal of Integrative Medicine
- Journal of the American Herbalists Guild
- Journal of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists
You can reach out to the contacts in the links above and discuss their specific guidelines for submission. If you find other journals that may be a good fit for your content, you’ll want to do your research on their reputation and reach.
How do you know if a journal or publisher is reputable?
With new journals and publishers emerging all the time, it can be difficult to assess if they are reputable. However, there are a few tools you can use in your initial research to avoid publications that are known to be predatory. If you're concerned about potentially predatory journals, here's a helpful resource you can check out. It provides more information on this topic and can guide you in making informed decisions about where to publish your work.
Be on the lookout for other red flags, such as:
- Email communications have typos or grammatical errors, demand payment, or come with frequency e.g. several times a day or week that does not align standard business communication
- Quick time to publish e.g. only a few weeks. Most journals will require peer review or a formal editorial review process that will take some time. You should never feel pressured.
- There is a fee. While there may be a cost involved in publishing, this should be investigated before any payments are made. Never share your bank or credit card details via email or submit via a website until you are 100% sure it is a legitimate publisher and service.
Step Two: Review Submission Guidelines
Once you've chosen a journal or publisher, carefully review their submission guidelines. These guidelines will provide instructions on formatting, referencing, and the submission process. This will help you understand what to expect from the beginning - before you have submitted your paper or further engaged in the process. For instance, let's take a look at the submission guidelines provided by the Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine.
Step Three: Submit Your Manuscript
This is typically an upload process. Ensure your capstone thesis is appropriately formatted before submitting; these requirements will be detailed in the submission guidelines and may include requirements for word count, font and type size, chart or graph specifications, and other guidelines such as the example above.
Step Four: Peer Review Process
Most academic journals subject submitted manuscripts to peer review. Be prepared to respond to reviewers' comments and make necessary revisions based on their recommendations.
Step Five: Celebrate Your Publication!
Once your work is published, it’s time to celebrate! If you’re an ACHS graduate, we want to help you share your success, so be sure to reach out to us at alumni@achs.edu and tell us about your publication, and all of your professional successes!
You’ve published - now what?
Once you’ve published, and even before, there are several ways you can continue to share your capstone thesis and network to promote your expertise. Here are a few suggestions for next steps:
- Distribute a local news press release - let your community know about your research and the products or services you have to offer. Download a template online here.
- Share with industry organizations that are aligned with your topic
- Offer to be a guest panelist or join a podcast to talk more about your work
Additional Resources
As a graduate, remember you have continued access to the ACHS library for any additional guidance and access to academic databases that can help you find scholarly journals or publishers. You can reach out to our librarian at librarian@achs.edu if you have any questions about journals.
