Disseminating your Research

The Beaver is the official newspaper of the LSE Students' Union. Its articles and other outputs are created by LSE students, including undergraduates, and some are research-based. The Beaver also provides opportunities for students to get involved in the team which oversees the paper's production and publication process. It is a student-run newspaper, staffed by students.

editor@beaveronline.co.uk

The Clare Market Review is a journal produced by the LSE Students' Union.  It is ‘the oldest student-run journal in the UK’ (you can read about the history of the journal, including recent developments here). The Review is not explicitly research-focused but could be a route to communicate your research in a creative way.

For further information, see the  Students’ Union, the journal site or the journal’s Facebook page, which includes information about participation and submissions.

theclaremarketreview@gmail.com

Some conferences specifically showcase undergraduate work, such as the British Conference of Undergraduate Research, which will take place at LSE in 2024. You may also find there is a relevant disciplinary conference where you could submit your work: search online for 'Calls for Papers' (or 'CfP') in your field. You’ll be in competition with academics, but if your proposal is strong enough it’s an excellent way to meet key people in your discipline. Many conferences also have a poster exhibition, where attendees can speak informally with researchers; definitely consider whether you could share your work.

The LSE Festival competition, and the LSE interdisciplinary student research conference, are both open annually to submissions by LSE undergraduates: see Activities for more information.

'We got interesting perspectives on our methodology and in turn got the opportunity to challenge others on their approaches… Overall it was an amazing experience as it allowed us to meet similar people and gain interesting feedback on our work.' - LSE student delegates at BCUR

Launched in October 2019, Houghton Street Press is the student imprint of the LSE Press, publishing high quality student research. It showcases the work created by our students through their critical investigation of complex social questions and provides a global forum for communities to engage with their ideas. 

Houghton Street Press publishes several journals which accept undergraduate submissions. If you would like to submit your work, you can do so via the journal websites here. 

You can also work with publications in other ways, including in editorial roles or as a peer reviewer. 

Can’t see a student journal in your subject area? Contact the press if you’d like to set one up. 

Many student publications at other universities only showcase submissions from their home institution. However, some journals accept submissions from students at any university, including these UK journals:

Undergraduate Science Journal

Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research

Oxford University Undergraduate Law Journal

Inquiries Journal

This list offers some US publications, collated by discipline.

Blog posts may not have room for much detail, but can have a wider reach than a longer written report. Many blogs will be interested in shorter and more creative articulations of your research, including alternative formats (have you considered a podcast, short film, or visual articulation?). Check whether any LSE blogs (including your departmental blog), or externally-hosted blogs in your discipline, accept student submissions.

Increasingly there are scholarly communities on social media platforms; if your work is available online, consider reaching out (politely) to journals, conferences, or scholars to increase its reach.

Postgraduate projects in your field may be particularly interested, as they are closer to your experience.

If you’ve had a supervisor for your research, you could ask them for advice on disseminating your work further. They may know either student-oriented platforms, or specific disciplinary venues where you could submit. 

LSE LIFE is a further great source of support for student researchers at all stages of the research and 'writing up' process.  In addition to the skills training which they offer, LSE LIFE has held workshops in advance of the LSE Festival, for example, for prospective applicants to display, to talk through and to welcome feedback on works in progress.

For more detailed advice on disseminating your research, contact Lucy Lambe, the LSE Library’s Scholarly Communications Officer, who offers a publishing advice service, which undergraduates are very welcome to make use of.

When planning the dissemination of your research, try asking these three questions:

Who do you want to reach? The public, academics, peers, politicians, businesses? What specific groups or individuals within those categories? Do you want them to be able to respond, or enter into a dialogue with you? Social Science research is increasingly interested in public engagement; this ranges from communicating the findings of research in an accessible way, through to conducting research in collaboration with the public.

What format will you use to present your work? Which form/format does your research lend itself to? How is your argument, or your findings, best presented? Can you create something which communicates with clarity, which is also memorable or engaging?

And bringing these two concerns together: In which form/format does your intended audience usually digest research?  (Short articles; reports; blog posts; journal articles; presentations; posters; films?)  Where will your audience go looking for it?  How long will they have to digest it?