I have been offered to write a book chapter (a well-known publisher). What are the basic differences between a Book chapter and a review article? Is writing a book chapter helpful for a Doctoral student?
One major thing to consider is how the effort to write a book chapter compares to other research activities you might pursue. In particular, book chapters usually get less recognition (e.g., citations) than articles in journals. So, if writing a chapter would cut into the time you have for other publications, it might not be the best choice.
Review chapters can be an exception, however, because people are likely to use (and cite) them to keep up with current research. So, if it would appropriate to write a review of recent research for your chapter, that might be a good choice.
One major thing to consider is how the effort to write a book chapter compares to other research activities you might pursue. In particular, book chapters usually get less recognition (e.g., citations) than articles in journals. So, if writing a chapter would cut into the time you have for other publications, it might not be the best choice.
Review chapters can be an exception, however, because people are likely to use (and cite) them to keep up with current research. So, if it would appropriate to write a review of recent research for your chapter, that might be a good choice.
The paper is always better, if in good journal, but the chapter is easer to publish. But some universities accept chapters es well. This is according to the university you are going to defend your thesis and the reviewers they appoint. As a doctoral student you should have a promoter. They cannot help you?
A review article in a prestigious, high-profile journal will generally out-perform a book chapter in terms of citations. On the other hand, a chapter in a book edited by outstanding academics and published by a reputable international publisher is very useful publicity. I would suggest putting aside questions of abstract career impacts and ask how the choice will affect the type of audience you want to reach. Where do you see your career heading? Are you nurturing a specific national academic system served by a particular journal or journals, treating topics of local or regional interest? Are you trying to influence the thinking of a specific coterie of researchers? Is your topic of general international interest? Who really needs to read the results of your research? Having considered these factors, consider accessibility. Journals are generally more accessible than print publications through online availability, but book chapters can also be rendered accessible via online archives. As a doctoral candidate, at this stage of your career the decision is likely to favour a prestigious journal, as Roman Lewandowski has argued.
I think it depends more on the policy of your university. Review articles usually make you more familiar with a subject area and can be a platform and introduction for other articles. Also, good review articles usually get more citations. Of course, writing a chapter for a good book is worth it. It may be introduced and used as a reference to a topic.
Another argument came to my mind. In most cases, a chapter can be much longer than an article. So if you want to describe your research in more detail, a chapter might be a good solution. As Ali Najafi wrote, this could be a reference to the topic you are discussing in later papers.
I think this depends on both your discipline and university policies.
In certain fields, book publications in the form of edited series are very common, and important work is published in such books. But the editors of these books are usually well-known in the field and perform an editorial review. But what I've seen a lot recently are edited series with little to no review (even published by well-known publishers). In most disciplines, a journal publication will be much more impactful because it is subject to peer-review.
And depending on the university regulations, you might not be able to use a book chapter for your dissertation. At my school for example, they only accept publications in peer-reviewed journals.
I agree with the comments raised by my colleagues. But I should stress that, in the first place, you should think about your career. What do you want to publish and why do you want to publish it? The offer to write something does not necessarily mean that the invitation should be accepted.
The Doctoral student stage seems to be a bit early to write a review paper or a book chapter unless you are going to write about the frame in which your research work is being carried out. That is the equivalent of the "State of the art" in your Thesis. This will help you to put your work into context and to think deeply about your work (that, in my opinion, should be your major goal).
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