Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody can buy

Re:Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody ... by patio11 on Sunday September 06, 2015 @05:39AM (#10177206)

I don't think we disagree very much about the likely level of subject-specific due diligence these publishers will do. I think we disagree very much about the likely level of subject-specific due diligence done by any publisher on any title picked at random from a university library.

Peer review is, like Santa, a story we tell to motivate little children; academics (particularly in the humanities) are their own QC departments.

And many scientific publishers will happily publish books on any obscure topic, if you pay for printing.

I feel like I have to say "I do not understand the relevance of this fact to the claim that the academic press is a staunch bulwark against incorrect facts receiving its imprimatur."

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody ... by jakobegger on Sunday September 06, 2015 @07:25AM (#10177357)

I agree that a lot of low quality work is published even with peer review. But I don't think publishers should be gatekeepers; it's generally impossible to judge the quality of academic work without being heavily invested in the field yourself.

So I don't have a problem with publishing rubbish as long as you pay for it yourself.

What I do have a problem with is that these people try to collect anything that they can get their fingers on, put an ISBN on it, and then sell it to libraries at horrendous prices.

This is not about making knowledge accessible, this is solely about scraping a bit off library budgets with the least amount of effort.

(Edit: language)

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody ... by Steuard on Sunday September 06, 2015 @10:38AM (#10177760)

Even if you're cynical about peer review, there is a world of difference between a publisher that sends manuscripts to subject experts that it identifies on its own and a publisher that (as in the article) asks the author if they have any friends who could take care of the reviewing.

I've served as a reviewer for textbook chapters before. Maybe I'm the exception, but I took that responsibility seriously (and sent at least one back with a "don't even think of publishing this without a complete rewrite" response).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody ... by jordanpg on Sunday September 06, 2015 @09:42AM (#10177605)

I think it's pretty clear from context that the author is referring to junk scholarship, or something pretty close to it.

If a book really is written and then forgotten by the world, it was never a serious part of the discussion. And a discussion, however small, is what academia is.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Academics are being hoodwinked into writing books nobody ... by librvf on Sunday September 06, 2015 @09:37AM (#10177586)

I don't think we disagree very much about the likely level of subject-specific due diligence these publishers will do

Which publishers? If this is a real problem, there might be real solutions but those won't be found if we are busy debating narratives without digging down into the details.

[ Parent | on HN ]