The Dilemma of Chinese Multilingual Scholars in the Academic Publishing Process

Objectives The purposes of this study were to understand the nature and meaning of the dilemmas that Chinese multilingual researchers experience in the academic publishing process. Methods To achieve this, in-depth interviews were conducted with Chinese international students who have obtained or are in the process of obtaining a PhD in Korean Language Education at a graduate school in Seoul. The collected data were analyzed using Giorgi’s (1985) phenomenological method. Results The findings reveal that participants face dilemmas as they strive to achieve their academic goals within a limited timeframe while navigating pressures from the publishing process and a rapidly changing academic environment despite linguistic and social constraints. The challenges related to pressures of academic publishing and the shifting dynamics of the academic environment include the global spread of the ‘publish or perish’ culture, the dominance of English as the primary academic language, national policies protecting domestic academic journals, and inconsistencies and ambiguities in university and departmental evaluation criteria. Additionally, time constraints stem from deadline pressures, limited time for research aimed at performance management, and a lack of autonomy in scheduling research activities. Participants also encountered linguistic barriers, such as challenges with academic language and differences in how manuscript feedback is given across cultures, as well as social barriers, such as limited access to critical information from the margins of academic networks. Meanwhile, participants were found to employ various strategies to cope with the dilemmas they encountered across different contexts, including structural, temporal, linguistic, and social constraints. These strategies included leveraging their linguistic capital, drawing on social capital, strategically deciding the order of publication languages from a long-term perspective, and cultivating a growth mindset. Conclusions Based on the dilemmas and coping strategies identified in this study, we discuss the implications and provide both practical and academic insights. Additionally, we outline the study's limitations and suggest directions for future research.