Publishing

On Amélie Rorty’s Use of a Pseudonym

Retraction Watch has posted an article on Amélie Oksenberg Rorty‘s use of a pseudonym and recent correction notices issued by the University of California Press regarding two chapters she wrote. (more…)

A Desk Rejection Scorecard (guest post by Antti Kauppinen)

The following is a guest post * by Antti Kauppinen, currently an Academy of Finland Research Fellow at the Department of Philosophy at the University of Tampere, and soon to be (as of 2018) Professor of Social and Moral Philosophy at the University of Helsinki. It’s about improving desk rejection: the practice of editors at academic journals rejecting papers without ..

Bypassing The Journals

In the lively and still ongoing discussion of “The Publication Emergency,” a few commenters suggest the use of an online archive for posting papers. See this comment from Jc Beall. In a related comment written at about the same time as Beall’s, jdkbrown says: (more…)

An Anonymous Peer-Reviewed Philosophy Journal?

Are some philosophical positions so controversial that we should have a journal that publishes peer-reviewed essays about them anonymously?

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Should Graduate Students Referee?

Should graduate students be called upon to serve as referees for journals? I was stunned a few years back to learn of the growing use of graduate students to serve as referees—stunned until I remembered the (arguably) over-publishing practice of our profession. But now the practice of enlisting grad-student referees—to my limited and aging eyes—appears to be g..

Statement From Hypatia Board Regarding Tuvel Controversy

The following is a guest post * from the Board of Directors of Hypatia, the non-profit corporation that owns Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy, in regards to the controversy surrounding the journal’s publication of “In Defense of Transracialism” by Rebecca Tuvel, an assistant professor of philosophy at Rhodes College.

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What Philosophy Journal Decisions Look Like

Sometimes a picture is worth a million words, or at least a number of numbers. Writer Natasha M. Frost has created a visual representation of publication decisions made at a number of academic philosophy journals, as reported by authors at the Blog of the APA’s new journal survey site: (more…)

Systematic Discrimination in Peer Review: Some Reflections (guest post by by Kyle Powys Whyte)

“As these issues of peer review and editorial review continue to arise every year, I hope people increasingly address the systematic problems—taking into consideration the ongoing history of discrimination and the thorough reforms that need to take place in the world of academic publication.”

The following is a guest post * by Kyle Powys Whyte, Timnick Chair in ..

Before We Go Forward (guest post by Alison Suen)

“…the conversation should have been about the issues, rather than the individual. Unfortunately, it did not begin that way.”

The following is a guest post * by Allison Suen, assistant professor of philosophy at Iona College.

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Citation Patterns Across Journals (guest post by Brian Weatherson)

“Anything can happen in a small sample, but it was enough to suggest to me a hypothesis: There is no such thing as a generalist philosophy journal.”

The following is a guest post * by Brian Weatherson, Marshall M. Weinberg Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan. It originally appeared at his blog, Thoughts, Arguments, and Rants.

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Plagiarism In Philosophy: How Publishers Respond

How do publishers respond to cases of plagiarism in philosophy? Michael V. Dougherty, professor and Sr. Ruth Caspar Chair in Philosophy at Ohio Dominican University, looks into the matter in a new article in Metaphilosophy, “Correcting the Scholarly Record in the Aftermath of Plagiarism: A Snapshot of Current-Day Publishing Practices in Philosophy.” (more…)..

New Philosophy Journal Survey Project

The Blog of the APA is launching a new project to collect and share data on the experiences philosophers have had with academic journals, including information about each journal’s “average review time, time to publication, acceptance rates, comments per submission” and related qualities. (more…)

Should Journals Publicly Grade Submissions?

Jonathan Weisberg, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and managing editor of Ergo, notes that by the time a paper is published in one journal, it has likely made the rounds at a few others, and hence has been reviewed by several people whose opinions on it are not publicly available. These people have already “thought about strengths and..

German Publisher De Gruyter Fires Philosophy Editor, Eliminates Philosophy Dept (Updated)

Walter De Gruyter, the large German academic publishing firm responsible for a variety of philosophical publications, including the Kant and Leibniz Academy editions, the complete works of Nietzsche, and authoritative editions of many other canonical authors, along with many journals, has fired its longtime philosophy editor, Dr. Gertrud Grünkorn, and has eliminated..

How Bad Is Reviewer 2, Actually? Data from a Philosophy Journal

Does Reviewer 2 deserve that terrible reputation? (more…)

When It’s Reasonable To Think Something’s Awry With Your Submitted Manuscript

When you suspect something has gone awry with the manuscript you submitted to an academic journal, when is it appropriate to contact the journal about it? And what are the clues that something has gone awry?

In response to that second question, here are some possibilities: (a) you have not received any acknowledgment that your manuscript has been received, (b) th..

Philosophy On The SciRev Journal Reviewing Site

SciRev is a multidisciplinary website for researchers to share their experiences with various journals so they can select not just appropriate but also efficient venues for their work. It is run by a pair of economics professors. They describe the aim of the site this way: (more…)

Best Non-Philosophy Books for Philosophers 2015-2016

The website Five Books asks Nigel Warburton, whom many readers will know as part of the Philosophy Bites crew, to pick and discuss his favorite philosophy books of 2016. Warburton does a lot to popularize philosophy, and his choices reflect that. They are: (more…)

Productive in Publishing 2: Reply to Brennan (guest post by David Enoch)

Yesterday, I posted an outline of Jason Brennan’s advice to graduate students on how to be productive in publishing (when you read that, do note the further details Brennan supplies in response to some of the comments). In what follows, David Enoch, the Rodney Blackman Chair in the Philosophy of Law in the Faculty of Law and the Philosophy Department at Hebrew Unive..

Productive in Publishing (guest post by Jason Brennan)

Jason Brennan received his Ph.D. in philosophy in 2007. Since then, he has authored or co-authored seven books, and has two more books currently in progress. He has also written a good number of peer-reviewed articles, reference entries, and pieces for popular consumption. He’s currently Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Chair and Provost’s Distinguished Assoc..

Publishing Scam Mimics Legitimate Philosophy Journal

When Chris Kramer, associate professor of philosophy at Rock Valley College in Illinois, learned that a paper of his had been accepted to the International Journal of Philosophy and Theology, he was excited. And then suspicious. (more…)

Acknowledging Commentators

It’s normal for versions of a paper to be presented as talks or conference presentations a few times before the final version is published. At some of these talks and presentations, you may have, in addition to comments from the audience, an official commentator delivering prepared remarks on your ideas. What are the norms governing acknowledging commentators in the..

Not Refereeing the Resubmitted Paper You Recommended for Revision

Here is something that happens in the world of academic philosophy publishing: (more…)

Referees With Attitude Problems

Everyone involved in the academic journal publishing process, it seems, is overworked. It’s true of the editors, of course, but also of the referees who say yes. And when people are overworked, they often become especially concerned with how their time is used up, by themselves and others, and frustrated when they feel their time is wasted. (more…)

The Costs of Publishing Principia Mathematica (guest post by Landon D. C. Elkind)

The following is a guest post * by Landon D. C. Elkind, a PhD student in philosophy at the University of Iowa. At the Bertrand Russell Society‘s 2016 annual meeting it was noted that Russell and Whitehead each paid to publish their jointly authored Principia Mathematica, and the discussion turned to how much, in today’s dollars, they laid out. (more…)