On 14/06/2012 22:21, Karel van der Waarde wrote:
> Do you mean that one of the consequences of the Research Excellence Framework (REF*) is that access to vital academic information is delayed?
>
> Does the REF really prevents people from making peer-reviewed information available swiftly, because it must be published in a specific format?
No I think that would be an extreme interpretation of my slightly
mischievous message to Mark.
The problem here is that Mark is unwilling to publish this book without
a suitable peer-reviewed publisher, it also appears that one of his
problems is the need to include good quality images so the material can
be properly recognised and understood. I would completely agree that
format might be essential for effective dissemination.
So the question is not whether he is prevented from using certain
peer-reviewed routes but whether, in the absence of ANY suitable
peer-reviewed routes he might use self-publishing to allow others sight
of his work ahead of peer review.
For most peer reviewed publishing routes, via refereed journals or
conferences, there is no problem in putting a pre-print on the web as a
"working paper". It's very normal practice, as is self-archiving of such
work after publication. For a book however, where new sales must be
sought rather than relying on existing institutional subscriptions, I
can see that publishers would balk at accepting a work that has already
been widely seen on the web.
So he has my sympathy but I thought there might be no harm in nudging
him to consider whether peer review was absolutely essential in this
case. We might even ask whether a self published web "book" supported by
an invitation to members of this community to submit open reviews might
not in time accrue more credibility than many of the production mill
publications that are produced in the pursuit of academic careers.
best wishes from anarchic Sheffield
Chris
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