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I need some guidance, 24 years ago I started to research a specific topic which slowly developed into my collating related documented evidence that I accessed worldwide. Today, my research is finished and ALL the related historical documentation etc compiled. But now what? I am being told by those interested in my research and findings that I need to publically ensure such is available to others, but how. Unlike those that embarked on a PhD journey, my journey was one of a personal nature that ended up being Thesis style, any suggestions?

ff524
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Derek Morrison
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    An easy, cheap method to get knowledge out into the world is to make a website. – Austin Henley Mar 17 '16 at 05:51
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    It's not clear what your goal here is. Can you [edit] your post to clarify? "What to do" and "how" depends very much on what it is you want. – ff524 Mar 17 '16 at 06:06
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    Would you mind telling us what field this research is in? Science? Math? Humanities? Or something else? – Nobody Mar 17 '16 at 07:16
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    Research is research is research (but only if of sufficient quality). Really, it doesn't matter that you did it on your spare time or as a part of a PhD, if it is good, you can use the usual roads for dissemination. – Davidmh Mar 17 '16 at 10:05
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    Also, and I say this without knowing anything about you or your research: I have seen many cases of independent researchers that devoted years to build a body of research with incredible internal coherence, but no connexion with reality whatsoever. Make sure you are not one of them. – Davidmh Mar 17 '16 at 10:09

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Options that come to mind:

  • Publish a monograph or a book. This requires either paying or somehow getting an academic publisher interested; depends heavily on what others think of your work.
  • Submit article(s) to a peer reviewed journal. This option will likely not work in practice if you have no ties with the academic world.
  • Produce the electronic version of the book, and offer it as a pdf in your own website.
  • Expose the research in blog form.
Martin Argerami
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    Exactly what do you mean by the second point? It seems ambiguous to me. Reviewers should not review an article based on how connected and known the author is, but on the quality, relevance, and importance of the work. In that sense, the point is invalid, at least in principle. However, lack of experience with academia and publishing tends to impede a would-be author's ability to judge these things properly, and write accordingly. In this sense, the point is accurate. – zibadawa timmy Mar 17 '16 at 14:00
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    I meant exactly what you say in the second part of your comment. A person with no ties to academia is very likely to produce both content and format that are not very amenable to what a reviewer might be expecting. This will likely vary a lot for different research areas. – Martin Argerami Mar 17 '16 at 16:08