Feeling pressured to publish before you’ve even finished your PhD?
If the mere thought of publishing journal articles during your PhD makes you want to hide under a blanket, you're not alone. Maybe someone’s already asked, “So, when are you submitting to a journal?” and you wanted to scream into a pillow. I get it.
You’re already juggling a million things, both PhD-related and life-related. Writing for publication feels like something for ‘later’, once you’ve figured it all out. But here’s the truth: your PhD already contains publishable material. You just need to know where to look, and how to reframe it.
Let’s break it down.
Why this matters
The pressure to publish is real — but so is the opportunity.
Publishing isn’t just about padding your CV. It’s about:
Building your academic voice
Sharing your insights with the wider research community
Getting credit for the critical, reflective work you’ve already done
You don’t need to wait until you’ve submitted your thesis. You can start now — one small slice at a time.
Six ways to turn your PhD into journal articles
Here are six surprisingly simple - and often overlooked - ways to carve out publishable pieces from your thesis.
(1) Rework your literature review
You’re probably thinking, “Who wants to publish a summary of other people’s work?” And fair enough — if it’s just a summary, that’s not exciting.
But a critical lit review that:
Identifies a gap
Challenges dominant ideas
Shows how two areas of research are talking past each other
…now that’s publishable.
🧠 Example: If your PhD is on youth homelessness and mental health, and you’ve noticed those two literatures rarely talk to each othe, that’s your angle.
(2) Use your theoretical framework (yes, really)
Theory doesn’t have to be the boring bit you ‘get through.’ If you’ve done something unusual, reflective, or bold with your theoretical framework, it can be a standalone article.
🎓 Example: Maybe you used Bourdieu to study mature students — but your participants don’t quite fit. That’s a powerful critique of the theory, and journals love that kind of challenge.
(3) Split up your findings
Your findings chapter isn’t one article. It’s four. Or maybe six.
Trying to cram it all into one paper? That’s like trying to fit a duvet into a pillowcase.
Instead, choose one strong theme and explore it in depth.
🩺 Example: If your study is on emotional labour in nursing and one theme is peer support — that could be a whole article. Tie it to big-picture ideas like resilience and relational care at work.
(4) Write a reflective piece about your research journey
This is especially powerful for qualitative or participatory research.
If your own experiences shaped the research - if it got emotional, personal, messy, or existential - that can be the basis for an autoethnographic article.
👩🎓 Example: Maybe you're a first-gen university student researching other first-gens. Your own feelings of not belonging, imposter syndrome, or community pressure could be the lens through which you explore broader exclusion in higher education.
(5) Reflect on a real-life ethical dilemma
Nope, not the “we got ethical approval” stuff. We’re talking about actual, messy, on-the-ground dilemmas.
What did you do when a participant said something you weren’t prepared for? What did you wrestle with emotionally or morally?
🏘️ Example: If a young participant disclosed that they were staying somewhere unsafe - what happened next? That kind of thoughtful reflection is gold dust for journals, especially ones focused on methods or early-career researchers.
6. Co-author something with your PhD peers
You don’t need to be working on the same topic to write something together.
Find a common thread - identity, emotion, inequality, resistance - and bring your different disciplinary lenses to it.
🤝 Example: Maybe three of you are doing very different qualitative projects, but you’ve all found semi-structured interviews to be messy. That’s a great topic for a joint article.
Publishing doesn’t have to be lonely. And yes - this stuff gets cited.
What’s your next step?
Publishing from your PhD doesn’t have to be scary or overwhelming. Start small.
Pick one idea.
Reframe it as a standalone piece.
Write it like you’re contributing to a bigger conversation, because you are.
And remember, journal articles aren’t theses. They’re focused. Sharp. Short(ish). You don’t need to explain your entire project, just one compelling part of it.
Want help turning PhD chapters into journal articles?
Our Complete Literature Review Guide and Discussion & Conclusion Chapter Pack have loads of sentence templates and examples to help you:
Clarify your contribution
Identify publication-worthy angles
Write clearly and critically (without the waffle)
📥 Click here to explore all our PhD Survival Guides.
These aren’t just for your thesis — they’re the perfect stepping stones to publication too.
You’re not behind. You’re just getting started.
If you haven’t published yet, that’s not a failure. It’s just a sign you’ve been busy doing the hard, thoughtful, complicated work.
That work is worth sharing.