Career Professional now working as a Professor and being pressured to publish - Where does one start?

This is either an abuse of an adjunct (I doubt they are paying you enough for this!) or they're grooming you to bring you properly on board.

If it's the latter, or if your interest is coincidentally piqued, I suggest you start with two things:

  1. Find a mentor. This person doesn't have to be in your department, and doesn't have to be an expert in the same area as you. If you don't find one quickly by yourself, have whoever is pressuring you suggest someone.

  2. Go to Google Scholar and type in some key words from your area. Just start reading. Don't read anything you don't find interesting. After some reading, find out a bit more about the features of Google Scholar (for example, once you find an article you're really excited about, click where it says "Cited by").

    It all starts with "I wonder...."

    Have fun!


Read. Talk to people.

Publications don't appear out of nowhere. They are informed by what current research topics are, and you will only learn about these if you start reading the current literature and talking to others who know what is happening. Reading and talking is a big part of what active researchers do anyway, and it's that much more important for you if you're not yet familiar with where the research currently is.

I think that there is great value in practical experience and knowing what happens in industry. It will inform how you approach asking the right questions, and it gives you a perspective many others don't have. It will lead you to ask other questions than what career academics ask, because you know that some things are just very important in practice, and that's a perspective that is worth bringing into papers you write.

Also pair up with others who have experience in writing publications. They can teach and mentor you in the process, and working with others is more fun anyway than trying to do research by yourself.