Friends,

Several queries from recent PhD graduates occasion a warning about two publishing firms that exist primarily to publish PhD thesis projects in a print-on-demand basis while encumbering copyright. These are Lambert Academic Publishing and Verlag Dr Mueller. Lambert is an operation that exists to publish theses under circumstances adverse to the authors. Their business model is so troubling that I personally see it as nearly fraudulent — they trawl the web sites of all universities looking for thesis projects, and they send enthusiastic invitations to every author. VDM has a number of imprints, but none of these gives authors any serious impact or visibility.

The Swinburne Research web site tells the story … We put this up a few years ago as we discovered that every one of our PhD graduates was getting these letters, as were our staff who had recently graduated elsewhere.

http://www.research.swinburne.edu.au/researchers/resources/lap-publishing/

Oddly, I was thinking about LAP just last week. I noticed that the text of our page is missing one important set of facts, so I proposed that we add

"German and European universities that require book publication to confer the PhD generally publish the thesis book within the university as part of the PhD program. The university absorbs the cost and produces the book. In North America, research universities require students to deposit a copy of the PhD thesis with ProQuest Dissertation Publishing. This is deemed to meet the publication requirement. In all cases, the author retains full copyright. These publications involve limited press runs or print-on-demand or microform publication at ProQuest. Journals and academic publishers do not therefore deem these thesis publications to constitute prior publication to the detriment of articles or books. In contrast, publishing with LAP or VDM raises copyright problems, while publishing a title with a commercial press renders the text unpublishable by journals or by other publishers."

While many European universities require that the thesis be published as a book, it is the common practice for almost all universities to maintain a thesis series published under the aegis of the university, or of the faculty, for this purpose. This was difficult or impossibly expensive in the old days of hot-lead type, a fact that delayed the award for many students or made it impossible for poor students. This is no longer the case. Since the shift to photomechanical typesetting and offset printing in the 1960s, universities took this on. Costs dropped even further in the era of desktop publishing and rapid offset print production. Many universities print somewhere between 100 and 300 copies of the thesis. Copies are often given away free to those who attend the PhD defence or disputation in universities where this is a public occasion. This is already a larger press run with greater circulation that either LAP or VDM, and full copyright belongs to the author — with the occasional exception of some forms of funded research.

In North America, all accredited research universities require students to submit a copy of the thesis to ProQuest, the former University Microfilms International UMI. This is deemed to constitute publication for the purposes of university requirements. Students retain full copyright. This is publication of the thesis in final approved form. This is an academic documentation service where only a few copies of the thesis tend to be sold. The microform or digital sales tend to be on the order of the number of units that LAP or VDM might sell - ProQuest won't pay royalties, but at the low level of sales, neither do LAP or VDM. But at ProQuest, the author retains full copyright, and the thesis offprint is not deemed a publication. As a result, these publications do not make it impossible for students to transform the thesis into journal articles or book–length monographs.

There is a bit of debate on these issues at the Chronicle of Higher Education:

http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php/topic,61017.msg1322018.html#msg1322018

http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php?ChronicleUser=6b4v5l6dffo0lpdf5r6fjf7776&/topic,45997.0.ht

As one commentator notes, if you have been published by LAP or VDM, you should take the citation OFF your CV. It doesn't help. Rather, it works against you.

There are many good publishers. One way to look at publishers to evaluate them is by using Norway's national research publishing web site. Go to the advanced search functions on the system at URL:

http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/?search=advanced

Level 1 publishers are ordinary, decent presses. Level 2 publishers are the top presses with a global reputation. You set the "type" box to "publishers," then you play with the other settings by area or discipline or country. You can also search by name. There is a URL with the web site for nearly every publisher in the system:

Here are the 89 Level 2 publishers.

2       AltaMira Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19039&bibsys=>
        2       Ashgate<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18073&bibsys=>
        2       Belknap Press of Harvard University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18087&bibsys=>
        2       Berg Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18088&bibsys=>
        2       Berghahn Books<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18089&bibsys=>
        2       Blackwell Publishing<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13245&bibsys=>
        2       Blackwell Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18099&bibsys=>
        2       Bloomsbury Academic<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=23203&bibsys=>
        2       Boydell & Brewer<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18667&bibsys=>
        2       Brepols<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18108&bibsys=>
        2       Brill Academic Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18109&bibsys=>
        2       C.H. Beck<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18481&bibsys=>
        2       Cambridge University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18118&bibsys=>
        2       Columbia University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18135&bibsys=>
        2       Continuum<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18136&bibsys=>
        2       Cornell University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18138&bibsys=>
        2       D.S. Brewer<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13295&bibsys=>
        2       Duckworth<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18149&bibsys=>
        2       Duculot<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18150&bibsys=>
        2       Duke University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18151&bibsys=>
        2       Edinburgh University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18159&bibsys=>
        2       Edition text + kritik<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=12795&bibsys=>
        2       Edward Elgar Publishing<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18170&bibsys=>
        2       Equinox Publishing<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18177&bibsys=>
        2       Falmer Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13807&bibsys=>
        2       Frank Cass Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18188&bibsys=>
        2       Franz Steiner Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18189&bibsys=>
        2       Harrassowitz Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18212&bibsys=>
        2       Hart Publishing Ltd<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18213&bibsys=>
        2       Harvard University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18214&bibsys=>
        2       Honoré Champion<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18224&bibsys=>
        2       I.B. Tauris<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13393&bibsys=>
        2       IKO - Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18234&bibsys=>
        2       Intellect Ltd.<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18252&bibsys=>
        2       James Currey Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13578&bibsys=>
        2       John Benjamins Publishing Company<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18269&bibsys=>
        2       Johns Hopkins University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18271&bibsys=>
        2       Kluwer Law International<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18283&bibsys=>
        2       Lawrence Erlbaum Associates<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18292&bibsys=>
        2       Librairie Droz<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18298&bibsys=>
        2       LIT Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18582&bibsys=>
        2       M. E. Sharpe<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18308&bibsys=>
        2       Manchester University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13091&bibsys=>
        2       Martinus Nijhoff Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18314&bibsys=>
        2       Max Niemeyer<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18318&bibsys=>
        2       Mentis Verlag GmbH<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18322&bibsys=>
        2       MIT Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18330&bibsys=>
        2       Mohr Siebeck<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18333&bibsys=>
        2       Motilal Banarsidass<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18334&bibsys=>
        2       Mouton de Gruyter<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18335&bibsys=>
        2       Multilingual Matters<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18336&bibsys=>
        2       Ox Bow Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18363&bibsys=>
        2       Oxford University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18364&bibsys=>
        2       Palgrave Macmillan<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18370&bibsys=>
        2       Peeters Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18369&bibsys=>
        2       Pendragon Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19630&bibsys=>
        2       Polity Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19216&bibsys=>
        2       Praeger<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13833&bibsys=>
        2       Prentice-Hall<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18381&bibsys=>
        2       Presses Universitaires de France<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18385&bibsys=>
        2       Princeton University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18388&bibsys=>
        2       Rodopi<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18399&bibsys=>
        2       Routledge<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18402&bibsys=>
        2       RoutledgeFalmer<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18405&bibsys=>
        2       Rowman & Littlefield Publishers<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19194&bibsys=>
        2       Sage Publications<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18411&bibsys=>
        2       Stanford University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18429&bibsys=>
        2       Stauffenburg Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18430&bibsys=>
        2       Suhrkamp<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18431&bibsys=>
        2       Syracuse University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18439&bibsys=>
        2       T&T Clark<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19233&bibsys=>
        2       University of British Columbia Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18457&bibsys=>
        2       University of California Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18458&bibsys=>
        2       University of Chicago Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18459&bibsys=>
        2       University of Hawai'i Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18462&bibsys=>
        2       University of Michigan Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18464&bibsys=>
        2       University of Minnesota Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18465&bibsys=>
        2       University of Pennsylvania Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19617&bibsys=>
        2       University of Washington Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18476&bibsys=>
        2       Universitätsverlag Winter<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18478&bibsys=>
        2       Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18480&bibsys=>
        2       Verlag J. B. Metzler<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18485&bibsys=>
        2       Verso<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=13743&bibsys=>
        2       Wallstein Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19215&bibsys=>
        2       Walter de Gruyter<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18493&bibsys=>
        2       Waxmann Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18496&bibsys=>
        2       Wilhelm Fink Verlag<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18504&bibsys=>
        2       Yale University Press<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=18511&bibsys=>
        2       Zed Books<http://dbh.nsd.uib.no/kanaler/kanalDetalj.do?orgnr=19038&bibsys=>

Beyond this, there are thousands of legitimate publishers.

Please share this information about Lambert Academic Publishing and Verlag Doktor Mueller. This goes around every year as people graduate and the folks at LAP and VDM trawl university web sites looking for naïve and hopeful authors. They rely on the fact that young researchers must publish, and they dangle the lure of a book in front of those too new to the research business to know better. This is a pattern for predatory publishers of all kinds. If you have doctoral students, please warn them about LAP and VDM. If you are a recent graduate, don't get fooled!

It takes real work to transform a PhD thesis into a book. This is even true of a first-rate thesis. I've been following the work of one outstanding researcher at University of Michigan for nearly two decades since he did his master's. He has an important new book in print. He did his PhD at Yale. Then, he took five years from the completion of the PhD to the finished book with a top university press. Along the way, the press invited him to a "new authors" workshop, and he had the full support of a first-rate editor. It still took time. That's the way things work. Other researchers can't restructure the thesis into a book — instead, they generate serious journal articles. That's another way that things work.

Samuel Johnson once wrote, "No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money." Those of us who work in universities don't generally write for the money. There's not much that we produce that has any hope for Hollywood film rights, and Russell Crowe is not going to star with Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman in the big-screen version of "User-Centered Design Methods for Public-Transport Ticket Systems."

The lack of revenue for what we write puts us in the "blockhead" column of Dr. Johnson's equation. The one pay-off that we do get is pride in a job well done. That includes publishing with a serious press and a publisher whose interests align with our own. Researchers who want their work to count should evaluate publishers just as any good publisher will evaluate your manuscript … carefully.

If you receive a sudden invitation to publish your book from a publisher who has not seen the manuscript, met you at a conference, or spoken with you, you should wonder whether something is wrong — or at least a bit off.

Warm wishes,

Ken

Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Mobile +61 404 830 462 | Home Page http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design/people/Professor-Ken-Friedman-ID22.html<http://www.swinburne.edu.au/design>    Academia Page http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman About Me Page http://about.me/ken_friedman

Guest Professor | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China