[jox] research threads instead of special issues
- From: Toni Prug <tony irational.org>
- Date: Sun, 28 Feb 2010 18:16:07 +0000
hi all,
If it's not too late for this sort of proposal, i'd like to propose to
replace special issues with research threads. The idea comes from the
work on implementing aspects of open-process in another journal.
I find that calls for special issues annoy me often, since i frequently
find the ones i like, but cannot interrupt what i am at that moment
working on and write for the special issue, although the topic intrigues
me, and i'd love to write on it in near future (happened to me twice
only in the past few months). I know i'm not alone in this ambiguous
feeling toward special issues, few other colleagues i spoke to regularly
have the same problems.
Here's the reasoning: a call for special issues often goes out 9-12
months in advance, sometimes longer. By the time an author hears about
it, the author can be faced with few months until the deadline - this
frequently seems to be the case - unless authors is already part of
circles through which she/he will get informed directly (this also seems
to be the pattern). Researching and writing a good academic article
requires several months, often much longer.By the current dynamics of
special issues, many authors that do think they have something to
contribute and are willing to write on the topic, end up missing the
opportunity to write and submit.
From the reader perspective, special issues are more of collection of
articles of existing clusters/mini-networks of academics, rather then
collections of best work that is being done on the given topic at given
moment in time.
I don't believe that special issues, as a form, are suitable any more
for the best possible production of knowledge.
Instead, i propose a model of _research threads_, with two distinct
features:
1) deadlines are minimum of two, perhaps even three years ahead;
2) submitted articles are published within a research thread as soon as
they are accepted and peer reviewed, in order to present new research as
soon as possible, to make the research thread alive and to not make
authors wait for a long time before their accepted article gets published.
I speculate that research threads primary benefit would be higher
quality of submissions from wider range of academics.
Additional benefits would be:
a) no need any more to have special issues waiting in a queue;
b) several parallel research threads running simultaneously would give
the journal a distinct identity and a sense of constant development
through the current research threads;
c) clusters of researchers with common interests might be formed through
this more open and wider participatory model
regards,
toni
----
Posted also on my blog at:
http://hackthestate.org/research-threads-to-replace-special-issues-v0-2/
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