Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Many universities do not have clear policies regarding publishing in electronic
outlets. Authors often engage in a “guessing game” when they elect to publish in an
e-journal
[51]
.
One of the main differences between for profit publishers and other type of pub-
lishers is the investment in marketing, brand naming, competitive stance and protec-
tion of content
[7]
. These marketing mechanisms aim to promote the publisher and
the journal but they are essential for the future of the contributing scholar. Produc-
tivity is partially measured by the prestige of the journals. Scholarly reputation is
also measured by the number of times work is cited (impact factor). If an e-journal
is indexed, recognized and is cited, authors can feel more confident that it will be
recognized as a valid scholarly outlet.
6.2.4 Additional Work
Depending on the e-journal, articles may require additional work by the author.
Universities rarely reward authors for these extra efforts. Added space (Section
6.2.1
)
allows authors to include additional material, even in hybrid journals. However, that
material has to be prepared, written, and edited. The quality of the article is improved
but at a cost to the author. In departments that simply count the number of articles,
the incentive is to write a lot of short articles. Similarly, departments that value high
impact articles do not necessarily encourage length or added material.
Sometimes electronic journals assume that authors should be responsible for some
of the formatting (similar to what is expected of a conference paper) and some of the
copyediting (proofreading). This is due to the fact that manuscripts are written in
digital form, and due to the availability of spelling and grammar checks in word
processors (e.g., Microsoft Word). Other journals (e.g., FIS) provide authors with a
formatting template. The extensive reliance on proofing using a word processor is
a dangerous business. If a word is recognized by the word processor, it is accepted
whether it is correct or not. For example, an author wanting to say read who types
red would see no error. The limited administrative staff employed by some e-journals
and the lack of a finality of the digital product (compare with a paper product) can
result in a poorly edited manuscript.
In the case of advanced electronicity e-journals, authors are often expected to im-
plement new formats or use new media. This expectation causes added work for the
authors who may not have the technical skills necessary. For example, a highly rep-
utable, interactive e-journal in the area of Management Information Systems (MISQ
Discovery) found it difficult to attract submissions. In an interview with the editor,
lack of incentives and lack of rewards were cited as the main reasons. Authors were
not receiving added benefit from submitting to that journal but had to invest more
time in constructing the articles. Similarly, the idea of living scholarship (for ad-
ditional discussion see Section
6.5.3
) requires added work by the author with little
