Learning the practice of scholarly publication in English – A Romanian perspective

•Romanian researchers often feel like novices regarding prevailing research reporting conventions.•They encounter linguistic and non-linguistic barriers to publication in prestigious journals.•Linguistic proficiency, methodological versatility and awareness of editors' agendas enhance publication success.•Researchers have developed and refined strategies for improving English language and research writing proficiency.

This study explores the range of factors that motivate Romanian researchers to publish in high-profile English-medium journals, the main linguistic and non-linguistic hurdles they have experienced and the strategies they have developed in respect of managing the publication process and improving their abilities to communicate research in English. As shown in the sixteen accounts provided by lecturers in economics and business – followed by four interviews with the respondents who managed to publish in prestigious international journals – linguistic proficiency is one resource in the complex architecture of expertise required for effective research dissemination, alongside methodological versatility, critical writing abilities, awareness of editors' agendas, participation in wider research networks, and learning the practice of writing by more writing. I argue that development of research writing abilities can be better addressed if pedagogical instruments designed to enable researchers to perform this multi-level task are underpinned by the exploration of the wider set of factors that generate the need to write up research in English.