When Research Doesn’t Pan Out

There are times when research projects just don’t work out. As an author or researcher, it is important to be able to discern when to embark on a project, and know when to pull the plug on an idea.

When the clock is ticking on a project’s deadline, there must be a point when an author needs to walk away from or shelve a project.  This can be caused by factors such as a project requiring too much research, the authors not having enough expertise in this area, or simply just bad timing.

There are also occasions when an author might have to combine their project with another researcher, especially if they are writing outside their own field. In addition, there can be an abundance of publications on a topic. Sometimes an author can be late to the conversation, resulting in editors not being interested in their writing project.

A project could have a second life due to circumstances one cannot predict.  For example, there were many articles about colleges moving to online education in the late 2010s, highlighting anew a subject previously thought covered by researchers.  This renewed interest was due to experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic.

At Lehman College, faculty members on tenure track are expected to participate in research such as producing presentations, articles, and sometimes books. Journal editors seek relevant articles to engage their readers. Finding the right project is important when looking for publication acceptances.

Stephen Walker