On Apr 25, 2007, at 5:01 PM, Ted M Coopman wrote:
All,
The "purpose" of journal publication is seeming more closely tied to job acquisition, retention, and promotion than sharing knowledge. Changing the system (in IMO we need to radically revise it) is quite a challenge when there are still significant numbers of scholars who think that an online journal is not as prestigious as a paper one simply because it is online (this is regardless of peer review, rejection rates, readership, or who is on the editorial board). In fact, I remember during our discussion of an potential AoIR publication at the 2003 Brighton conference several people expressed the opinion that anything we did would have to be physically published to be taken "seriously."
If I may toss my own bomb out there, I believe that several things need to happen to keep our work relevant and more accessible in an information rich world.
1. Take the money out of it. Get rid of the publishers and associations that make bank off our writing and editorial work. Go online and make it free and accessible to everyone. Then maybe someone will read it!
and thus cut funding to around 10 graduate students that are friends and colleagues, who make their money from the journal
2. Adopt a (mostly) open review system, although I think it should be restricted to editorial board members and ad hoc reviewers with expertise in that area and be blind. Lay out the process as it develops. I like the idea of a signed review, and often you can tell who the writer is, but personalities and politics are a reality.
thus taking out the level of professionalizing most people put into their review by setting the standard of amateur reviews
3. Allows readers who register to add comments along side an article to stimulate interactivity and allow authors to add new insights or data as it becomes available. You might also allow a rating system on usefulness, innovation, or other criteria.
yeah, i can see this one, for online journals.
Thoughts?
but i think the rest indicates a deep denial of the way the system works and who benefits.