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1. Faculty perceptions on conducting research
ICL2016
23rd September 2016
Diane Rasmussen
Pennington, Ph.D.
Lecturer in Information
Science, Department
of Computer and
Information Sciences,
University of
Strathclyde
Efiong Akwaowo,
Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
Forbes School of
Business, Ashford
University
Andree
Swanson, Ed.D.
Associate
Professor,
Forbes School of
Business,
Ashford
University
Paula Zobisch,
Ph.D.
Associate
Professor, Forbes
School of Business,
Ashford University

2. How do YOU decide where to
publish?
Source: Thomson Reuters – Web of Science Journal Citation Reports

3. The underlying problem:
Too much (academic) pressure!
• Published faculty is a competitive advantage in
attracting students (Cerejo, 2013)
• Journals can and do exploit “publish or perish”
(Grech, 2013)
• Academia’s expectations for high-yielding research
as well as the multitude of new researchers entering
the landscape are factors contributing to the rise of
“predatory publishers,” or ill-reputed organizations
that charge authors high publishing fees to publish
their research (Dudley, 2013)

4. Journal publishing models in
context
• “Traditional” publishing
– Journals are published by a commercial vendor (i.e. Elsevier)
– Universities pay for subscriptions/access to the journals
– Universities essentially buy back their own research
• Open access publishing
– Response to skyrocketing vendor costs
– Shift from “reader pays” (university) to “author pays” (researcher)
– Can be reputable and also institutionally encouraged, or even
required
• Predatory publishing
– Author pays a fee to the “publisher” - $300+ in USD
– Can be “sold” to unsuspecting researchers under OA guise
– Fake or no peer review, no impact factor, no validity, no value
– “Predatory journals are threatening the credibility of science”
(http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v534/n7607/full/534326a.html)

5. Email invitation to submit from a
reputable academic publisher

6. Email invitation to submit
to… IJRES?

7. IJRES: a fake journal?
• Possibly,
according to
Beall’s 2016 list of
“potential,
possible, or
probable predatory
scholarly open-
access journals”
https://scholarlyoa.com/individual-journals/

8. Case study: Full-time academics
in American for-profit universities
• For-profit universities have expanded
rapidly in the US in recent years
• Focus on teaching, especially non-
traditional students, rather than research
• Specialise in career training
• Lack of institutional research funding
infrastructure, although some may require
faculty to publish

9. Research questions
• How often do full-time for-profit university faculty
members publish in peer-reviewed publications?
• What do full-time, for-profit university faculty
members know about OA publications?
• How often do full-time, for-profit university faculty
members publish in OA peer-reviewed
publications?
• Where do full-time, for-profit university faculty
members publish their re-search?
• How do full-time, for-profit university faculty
members determine whether a scholarly
publication is reputable or predatory?

10. Methodology
• Online survey implemented in Qualtrics
• Recruited participants through social
media and professional networks
• Distributed in mid-2015

11. Results:
Participant demographics
• Small sample size (n=46) is not
representative, but perhaps indicative?
• 72% women, 28% men
• 2/3 were 46 years+
• 72% had taught at for-profits 3-10 years
• 61% were full-time faculty

12. Results: Peer reviewed and
predatory publications
• 100% said they knew what peer-reviewed
publications are; their definitions confirmed
• 35 (of 46) had recently published research in
a non-peer-reviewed publication
• 76% are not required to publish in peer-
reviewed publications
• 64% knew what predatory publications are
• 7 had recently published in a predatory
proprietary publication

13. Results: OA publications
• 76% knew what OA publications are
• 26 had recently published in an OA journal
• Difference between OA and proprietary?
– Ownership; subscription/cost; accessibility
• Different OA models?
– Almost all did not know
• Only 3 said their university provides
funding to publish in OA journals

14. Results: Where to publish?
• How do you decide whether you would like
to publish in a particular journal?
• Does your university provide guidelines
regarding acceptable journals?

15. Results: How do you
determine whether a journal
is considered reputable?

16. Results: What, if anything,
would set off a red flag in
your mind that a journal is
not reputable?

17. • 62% are not willing to pay out of pocket for
publishing in a peer-reviewed journal
• Who pays for university access to peer-
reviewed journals?
– The library, the students, the university, the
advertisers, the government, unsure
• Why are some freely available while others
must be accessed through the library?
– Editor compensation; quality/reputation; older
mindsets
• Who should pay for publication/access?
– University; students; authors
Results: Paying for publication?

18. • Many are not required to publish, especially
not in peer-reviewed journals
– Some noted a survey design issue: “I have not
published in the past year and there was not any
place to mark zero” so publication frequency is
even lower than reported in the survey
• Universities do not provide financial support
to publish or advice on where to publish
• Recognise the meaning and value of peer
review
• Lack of understanding regarding OA models
and underlying costs of publication
Preliminary observations:
For-profit faculty and publication

19. • Deeper investigation through focus groups or
semi-structured interviews
• What would help you understand your publication
options?
• What are the publication requirements at your
university?
• Where can you publish?
• What can you publish?
• What is considered “research”?
• What could your university do better to support
your research and publication requirements?
Future research

20. Cerejo, C. (2013, November 1). Navigating through the pressure to
publish. Retrieved from http://www.editage.com/insights/navigating-
through-the-pressure-to-publish#
Dudley, M. (2013). The curious case of academic publishing.
Partnership: The Canadian Journal of Library and Information Practice
and Research, 8(1). Retrieved from
https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/perj/article/view/2601/2867#.V
K276GOQ5K0
Grech, V. (2013, September). Publish, but do not perish in the open
access model. Malta Medical Journal, 3. Retrieved from
http://www.um.edu.mt/umms/mmj/showpdf.php?article=392
References