The 2025 Academic Research Quarter lecture was successfully held on the morning of December 5, 2025, in Seminar Room G2213 at the Golden Dragon Campus. This lecture series is organized by the Research Management Office, with this session hosted by the Faculty of Finance. Professor Yong Yang from the School of Economics and Management at Shanghai Polytechnic University was invited as the keynote speaker, delivering a lecture titled "Experience Sharing in Writing and Submitting Papers to International Academic Journals in Economics and Management". The event was hosted by Associate Professor Weiping Li, who also presented a commemorative gift to the speaker.
Professor Yong Yang is currently a professor at the School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Polytechnic University, and he is also a qualified PhD supervisor. He previously served as Deputy Director (on secondment) of the Minhang District Economic Commission in Shanghai. His academic appointments include Associate Professor and Reader at the University of Sussex, Lecturer at the University of Essex, Research Fellow at Brunel University London, and Approved Researcher at the UK Office for National Statistics. He has led or participated in numerous research projects for organizations such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, the European Commission, the OECD, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission, and the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Human Resources and Social Security. Professor Yang has been selected for provincial and ministerial-level talent programs and has received awards including the Temple/AIB Best Paper Award from the Academy of International Business (AIB) and the Academy of Management (AOM) Douglas Nigh Award. He currently serves as Associate Editor for the SSCI-indexed journals International Journal of Finance & Economics, Journal of Economic Surveys, Journal of International Financial Management & Accounting, and Economic Analysis and Policy, and as Guest Editor for Economic Modelling and Oxford Economic Papers.
At the opening of the lecture, Prof. Yang underscored that publishing in international academic journals demands both strategic foresight and meticulous execution. He outlined the submission journey as comprising five distinct stages, each with its own set of critical considerations and required actions.
Prof. Yang advised that in the initial phase, authors should carefully evaluate potential journals to ensure their research aligns well with the publication's scope and interests. A thorough review of the Author Guidelines is essential, he stressed, to prevent easily avoidable errors in formatting or submission protocols. He recommended that citing relevant, high-quality work in the manuscript would help better integrate the manuscript into the existing literature.
Addressing the relatively high rejection rates of premier journals, Prof. Yang highlighted several key areas for systematic improvement: crafting a compelling title and abstract, ensuring strong alignment between the research topic and the journal's mission, selecting robust methodologies that clearly articulate their contribution, adhering to length guidelines, and meeting all anonymity conditions. During submission, he noted, the title must capture attention, the key findings should be presented succinctly, and the abstract must fully encapsulate the study's core conclusions and scholarly value.
Shifting to an editor's viewpoint, Prof. Yang also discussed how to respond to the reviewers’ comments. From his own experience, he encouraged authors to approach the review process with patience, to treat all feedback seriously, and to plan adequate time for revisions, ensuring each reviewer's comment receives a thoughtful and precise response.
The following Q&A session was dynamic and engaging. Students raised thoughtful questions on practical matters, including the ethical use of AI in academic writing and how journal rankings relate to scholarly impact. Prof. Yang addressed each query with detailed explanations grounded in real-world contexts, offering actionable advice drawn from his extensive background. Attendees found the exchange highly rewarding. The Faculty of Finance at City University of Macau expresses its sincere appreciation to Prof. Yang for his valuable insights and looks forward to future installments of the Academic Research Quarter series.