Publish and exhibit presence

Socrates was an enigmatic figure, Greek philosopher from Athens 470–399 BC, and is credited as the founder of Western philosophy. Strangely Socrates did not write down any of his thoughts and believed that writing was not an effective means of communicating knowledge. To him, face-to-face communication was the only way one person could transmit knowledge to another.

Although Socrates did not author any texts, still he is known through the posthumous accounts of classical writers; particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts were written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examined a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue.^[1]

Had Socrates’ protégés not written his accounts, he would not have been known to the world as he is known today, thereby highlighting the importance of publication even more.

For every person in today’s world, regardless of the career path, they are following or their position in the society, there is always room for learning. The same is applicable for individuals going through their academic years. Research and development is integral to the further development of professions. Research can be mentally draining at times and students want to avoid it. Yet, it is an imperative part of learning and developing as a scholar. Without research, any intellectual growth is quite impossible. References or existing publications on ones concerned research are much needed for further improvement and to add to the existing body of knowledge.

Unpublished research is as bad as research not done, since no one except the researcher is aware about it. Hence, it becomes imperative for a research student to prepare the research finding in line with the rest of the world so that it can be universally accepted and also add to existing body of knowledge. Publishing provides a communication channel for researchers within a field, a repository of important research efforts, and a recognition mechanism for researchers and institutions alike.

Publishing in journals can give researcher’s work visibility among other researchers in one’s field and also outside of immediate circle of contacts and colleagues. Journals make the work more discoverable, as they are already being read by circles of interested readers.

Communicating the information that researchers have found help other researchers advance their work, thus building on the body of knowledge that exists in any field. Writing and publishing puts the research into larger context and helps in the public understanding of a research question.

Publishing results of research projects in peer-reviewed journals enable the scientific and medical community to evaluate the findings themselves. It also provides instructions so that other researchers can repeat the experiment or build on it to verify and confirm the results.

Regulators such as UGC, NAAC, NMC, DCI, and PCI and others encourage to create an environment to persuade students to do enough research and publication of their work.^[2] Universities have a social responsibility to abide to this rule.

Adesh University has shouldered this academic responsibility by starting Adesh University Journal of Medical Sciences and Research, thereby providing an opportunity to its research scholars and students and others across the nation and world, to publish their research work. It is indeed is a welcome step.

Students should choose a topic that one is passionate about. The writing should reflect the issue one actually cares for, making the paper more interesting to read and more relevant to readers. Faculties, researchers, fellows, and inquisitive students let us make the best out of this opportunity. Let’s prepare and publish.