Why Publish?

Abstract

This essay explores the accelerating trends of academic publishing, and the increasing number of academic journals, in terms of the trade-offs and paradoxes they present to academics. As more gets published, less gets read. Expectations for ‘productivity’ (defined as more publications) continue to rise. Proxy measures of quality, like impact factors, take on greater significance. This essay explores the consequences for authors, on the one hand, and journal editors, on the other hand, of coping with this regime; and asks whether there is any realistic alternative aside from continuing on the treadmill of publishing more and more.