Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-m6dg7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T09:22:50.920Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Publish or perish: The myth and reality of academic publishing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2012

Icy Lee
Icy Lee*
Affiliation:
The Chinese University of Hong Kongicylee@cuhk.edu.hk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

While writing for scholarly publications is considered a crucial dimension of academic work, the ‘publish-or-perish’ system in our field has increasingly caused anxiety and induced stress among not only young academics but also more established scholars. Using my own publishing experience as a point of departure, I challenge the assumption that knowledge contribution should be solely or mainly gauged on the basis of the venue of publications. By comparing the perspectives of twelve Asia-based scholars based on data collected from email interviews, I propose that ‘scholarliness’ should be defined by knowledge dissemination and advancement in our field, rather than indexes or journal impact factors. Using the game metaphor, I conclude by offering some tips to survive ‘publish or perish’.

Type
Plenary Speeches
Information
Language Teaching , Volume 47 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 250 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bence, V. & Oppenheim, C. 2005. The evolution of the UK's research assessment exercise: Publications, performance and perceptions. Journal of Educational Administration and History 37.2, 137–155.Google Scholar
Braimoh, D. & Alade, E. B. 2005. Research and publishing in academia: A prerequisite for assuring quality in higher education. US-China Education Review 2.9, 5–13.Google Scholar
Brandon, J. M. 1996. ‘Publish or perish’ in academia: On its way out? A study examining recent popular and academic trends concerning the issue, with a focus on possible effects for theatre pedagogy. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Speech Communication Association, San Diego, 23–26 November, 1996.Google Scholar
Deem, R., Mok, K. H. & Lucas, L. 2008. Transforming higher education in whose image? Exploring the concept of the ‘world-class’ university in Europe and Asia. Higher Education policy 21, 83–97.Google Scholar
Hobbs, G. 2001. Academic journal publishing: Past, present and future. Journal of Education for Teaching 27.3, 215–219.Google Scholar
Klein, D. B. & Chiang, E. 2004. The social science citation index: A black box – with an ideological bias? Econ Journal Watch 1.1, 134–165.Google Scholar
Kwan, S. C. K. 2010. An investigation of instruction in research publishing offered in doctoral programs: The Hong Kong case. Higher Education 59, 55–68.Google Scholar
Leydesdorff, L. 2008. Caveats for the use of citation indicators in research and journal evaluations. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 59.2, 278–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGrail, M. R., Rickard, C. M. & Jones, R. 2006. Publish or perish: A systematic review of interventions to increase academic publication rates. Higher Education Research and Development 25.1, 19–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Min, H.-T. 2011. Participating in academic publishing in the inner circle: A Taiwan perspective. Plenary paper presented at the Symposium on Second Language Writing, Taiwan, 9–11 June, 2011.Google Scholar
Sullivan, S. 1996. Scholarly publishing: Trash or treasure? Australian Academic and Research Libraries 27.1, 40–46.Google Scholar
Sweeney, A. E. 2001. E-scholarship and electronic publishing in the twenty-first century: Implications for the academic community. Educational Media International 38.1, 25–38.Google Scholar
Togia, A. & Tsigilis, N. 2006. Impact factor and education journals: A critical examination and analysis. International Journal of Educational Research 45, 362–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Varian, H. R. 1997. The future of electronic journals: Some speculations about the evolution of academic electronic publishing. Paper presented at the Scholarly Communication and Technology Conference, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, April 1997.Google Scholar