International publication: Not difficult but must be determined!

At the seminar, Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh emphasized that international publication is an inevitable path for Vietnamese scientists to integrate with world science. This is also an urgent requirement for researchers, regardless of the scientific field. The Rector also pointed out the difficulties that are hindering the integration of Vietnamese scientists today, such as language barriers, lack of scientific information, differences in scientific research methodologies and especially cognitive barriers.

In addition, the context of Vietnam's increasingly deep international integration also brings many opportunities: Vietnam is increasingly becoming an attractive research subject, receiving the attention of scientists around the world; access to information and regional and international connections is becoming easier; the number of Vietnamese scientists studying and researching abroad is increasing...

Professor Pham Quang Minh emphasized that international publication is an inevitable path for Vietnamese scientists to integrate with world science.

Since 2010, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has had policies to promote international publication activities. In 2010, the whole school had only 13 international publications, but this number increased rapidly each year. By 2015, the whole school had 50 international publications and in 2017, this number was 55. Of which, the number of articles in ISI and Scopus journals was not much, in the period 2012-2016, the whole school had 26 articles. Not only rewarding and directly supporting authors with international publications, the University also organizes many seminars and workshops revolving around sharing experiences in international publication; courses on academic writing; forming forums and scientific networks to promote international publication among staff, especially young staff. Recently, the School has issued a new policy to further promote this activity, providing up to VND250 million for a book published by reputable foreign publishers. As a result, awareness of the important role of international publication activities has been gradually changing in a positive direction among staff.

According to Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh, international publication in social sciences and humanities is not as difficult as people think, but to do it, one must have high determination. To start, young scientists need to actively participate in international scientific conferences, thereby building professional relationships with international scholars, collaborating together in common research projects... In addition, teachers must be aware of improving their academic English skills as a prerequisite for scientific integration.

Dr. Tran Quang Tuyen (University of Economics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi) warns about "fake" scientific journals

Agreeing with the above viewpoint, Dr. Tran Quang Tuyen said that currently, the increasingly strong development of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary trends has opened up many opportunities for scientists in the social sciences and humanities. International publications in prestigious journals not only help to enhance the position and prestige of individual scientists but also help to improve the ranking of their departments and universities, creating more opportunities to attract funding sources for research. Therefore, scientists need to determine for themselves the right motivation and a high determination, not to be discouraged by difficulties.

Dr. Tran Quang Tuyen also warned about the phenomenon of "fake" international scientific journals not listed in ISI, Scopus, published by small private companies, untrustworthy and unethical scholar groups. Normally, to publish articles in these journals, you have to pay a fee, the article acceptance time is fast, no review is required... If you do not have a clear understanding of the information, teachers can easily send the wrong article to these journals, causing loss of personal reputation, wasting effort and the value of the work they are passionate about.

In terms of research methods, there are differences between the fields of economics, business, finance... which tend to be quantitative research and the fields of social sciences and humanities which tend to be qualitative research. Statistical methods bring many benefits and values ​​to research in social sciences and humanities.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Minh believes that the most important thing that determines the quality and value of an international publication is to clarify the elements of the author's research background and research methods. That is, what the author researched, what research methods were used, what data bases were used to draw conclusions, and what role the author played in that research.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Minh believes that a good research work needs to clarify: what the author researched, what research methods were used, what data were used to draw conclusions, and what was the author's role in the research.

To have their research accepted for publication, Dr. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Minh advises young scientists to behave sincerely and accept comments and reviews from international reviewers. Editors of prestigious scientific journals in the world are often leading scientists, and even by rejecting or accepting articles for publication, they can create new trends in research. Therefore, scientists should carefully study the “taste” of each journal and the editorial team to be able to orient their research content appropriately.

The female scientist also believes that it is necessary to always be aware of building your scientific reputation from the early stages of your research journey, when you are a student or an assistant to a professor. It is simply that you work responsibly, do not give up, always pay attention to new scientific ideas, always consult with colleagues and senior scientists, actively participate and connect with the network of scientists in your field... If you are a potential young researcher, there will always be great scientists interested in helping you.

Also at the seminar, young staff of the School proposed the establishment of a network of researchers inside and outside the School to share and update information on the international publication situation. The School also needs to open more academic forums and expert classes on specialized content to support such as: how to use quantitative methods in social science and humanities research, how to use data retrieval software in research, new theories in humanities research, interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in social sciences...