Every lecturer has the duty to impart knowledge or expertise to students, develop scientific knowledge, and use it for community service. Therefore, academics must master the rules and techniques of writing academic books.
UGM continuously strives to encourage lecturers to publish scientific works and write academic books. In addition to advancing their careers, international publication collaborations also enhance the university’s reputation.
This was highlighted in the Academic Book Writing Workshop initiated by the UGM Directorate of Research on Tuesday (May 14) in the multimedia room at the UGM Central Office.
Dr. Khotibul Umam, a lecturer at the UGM Faculty of Law (Law UGM), mentioned that writers often face several issues in their work. One such issue is authorship or the inclusion of the author’s name.
In practice, lecturers often involve students who participate in writing. It is risky to include students’ names in the book.
“If students contribute to analyzing the book, authorship rights can be given as academic appreciation. But if they are only collecting data, it is unnecessary,” he explained.
According to UGM Rector Regulation 16/2018 on Authorship of Scientific Publications, a person can be listed as an author only if they contribute significantly to the planning, drafting, data collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
Dr. Umam explained that economic and moral rights must be fulfilled if a lecturer involves students in research.
“As stated in three articles of the same regulation, students will be responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their writing if they are listed as authors,” he clarified.
Besides authorship, another challenge often encountered is balancing academic substance with market appeal. The market for academic or scientific books tends to have a narrow scope.
The majority of academic book readers are generally from academic circles. Dr. Umam advised that writing a scholarly book should align with its intended purpose.
“Indeed, the interest in academic books has always been particular. It’s fine to write according to one’s ideals. But if you want to sell it, choose an interesting research topic currently in demand,” he explained.
Professor Zullies Ikawati of the UGM Faculty of Pharmacy (Pharmacy UGM) explained that the distribution issues of academic books are not only about substance and audience but also about the publisher. Publishers have their preferences.
Therefore, authors must choose a credible and trustworthy publisher to ensure their work is well-distributed.
“Some publishers prefer general books, while others prefer more specialized books,” she said.
Professor Diatri Nari Ratih, Secretary of the UGM Directorate of Research, stated in her opening remarks that the writing workshop aims to motivate the academic community to write publications and maintain the quality of academic books produced by UGM academics.
“This activity is expected to facilitate the academic community in writing books, whether they are in the process or not, and simultaneously encourage scientific publications from UGM academics,” she concluded.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson