Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
2. Academic publishing requires a long and tedious learning curve. Because
novice writers are less familiar with the rules and norms, they are less likely to
pass the initial hurdles of academic publishing. Established scholars are famil-
iar with the system, and are often simultaneously the referees, the gatekeepers,
and the enactors of direction.
3.4.3 Publication Cycle Time
Cycle time includes the time from submission to decision and the time from deci-
sion to publication and distribution (
Fig. 2
).
Since the early 1990s, electronic submissions of manuscripts and electronic com-
munications among editors, reviewers and authors reduced some of the publications
cycle time. For example, MIS Quarterly reduced its review time considerably by us-
ing electronic submissions and e-mail for communication
[60]
. Yet, some journals
still take several years from submission-to-distribute. These time lags result from
the cumulative effects of such legitimate functions as refereeing (often the major
culprit), editing, revision (authors often let manuscripts sit for long periods of time),
backlogs, space limitations, and the need to combine articles into issues. Some of the
delays are due to time constraints and workload of the referees, editors and the edito-
rial staff
[60]
. These are human related factors and are extraneous to the publication
medium.
Paper journals tend to create a backlog because the number of accepted articles is
larger than the space available in the next issue and/or due to the need to maintain a
steady and consistent stream of publications. For example in their July 2004 editors'
report,
13
the editors of the
Comparative Technology Transfer and Society
journal
stated that “The metric here is to place the journal on a solid footing by building a
one-year backlog
of accepted articles—somewhere between 12 and 15 articles.” With
a fixed number of pages in an annual budget, paper journals do not vary significantly
in size from one issue to the next, since a long issue results in later short issues and
F
IG
. 2. The publication cycle.
13
[last
accessed
June
16,
2005].
