The University of Northern Philippines, through the University Research Development Office (URDO), in partnership with the University of the Cordilleras (UC), conducted the first phase of the Research Publication Training Series held at the Tadena Hall on May 16-17.

The event featured the overall participation of 91 faculty researchers, which included the presentation of 43 papers that are ready to be published. The event aimed to enhance research outputs by providing training on manuscript preparation skills, offering tips and best practices to improve the quality of manuscripts, and increasing the likelihood of acceptance in reputable journals.

Dr. Fatima F. Rocamora, Vice President for Research and Extension, emphasized in her welcome remarks that the event enhanced the capability of faculty researchers at the University, showcasing the dynamism and strength of its research culture at UNP.

“Research publication is a crucial condition for achieving a higher status in the SUC leveling,” Dr. Rocamora noted, “and it significantly contributes to the overall performance of the uUniversity.”

Dr. Edelyn A. Cadorna, URDO Director, emphasized the significance of the event by highlighting its key purposes. Firstly, the event aimed to enhance research quality by assisting researchers in structuring their manuscripts to meet journal requirements. Secondly, the event targeted meeting publication goals, which increased the likelihood of manuscript acceptance. Thirdly, it focused on enhancing the University’s reputation through publication in reputable journals, thereby boosting visibility and recognition. Lastly, the event aimed to cultivate a passion for research, contributing to knowledge advancement, and improving faculty teaching.

Additionally, Dr. Cadorna highlighted the training as an opportunity for UNP to collaborate with UC. “When we conduct research, we foster innovation, which may lead to breakthroughs in the academic community and society,” she noted.

In his message, Dr. Erwin F. Cadorna, University President, emphasized that research plays a vital role in advancing human knowledge and improving lives. Through research findings, answers to complex social issues faced by our community are discovered.

He highlighted that this event would elevate the research efforts of the University. “This collaboration with the University of the Cordilleras aims to develop valuable skills in preparing well-thought-out, comprehensive, and world-class manuscripts for publication,” he stated.

Dr. Thelma Domingo-Palaoag, Director of the University of Cordilleras Innovation and Technology Transfer Office, served as the keynote speaker for the training workshop, delivering a lecture titled “Fundamentals of Research Publication.”

Her presentation covered the structure of scientific papers, the publication process, and ethical considerations, including guidelines for research writing, publishing, and steps to ensure trustworthy and credible publications. She also highlighted the importance of publishing ethically, provided tips on amplifying research work, and discussed principles of transparency and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Her discussion on ethical considerations included authorship issues, plagiarism, conflict of interest, and data accuracy. She emphasized the importance of transparency and institutional policies in resolving authorship problems and highlighted the characteristics and indicators of predatory publishing to avoid untrusted journals. Her presentation aimed to encourage scientific progress, good representation, and ethical behavior in research and publication.

In her second module, titled “Transforming Thesis Manuscript into Publishable Research,” she emphasized the importance of research focus, paper structure template, feedback, and impact. She also provided guidelines on the preliminaries, compared the thesis and journal article formats, and highlighted strategies for turning theses into journal publications. Additionally, she guided participants on selecting legitimate journals using resources like Journal Finder and provided samples of websites and platforms to aid in the process.

As part of the training workshop, faculty researchers were tasked to find suitable journals using Journal Finder for their research, identify the factors influencing their selection, and justify their choice. Furthermore, they were required to refine or recast their abstracts and present their revised outputs as part of the workshop activity.

Article by Kennedy R. Jetajobe. Photo by Joel Tipon.