Re: [xmca] Publish and/or Perish

From: David Preiss <davidpreiss who-is-at uc.cl>
Date: Fri Jul 04 2008 - 16:05:39 PDT

I certainly agree, Mike. But my experience with journals indexed in
ISI suggests that has a larger variety than expected by a distant
view (so not just existing mainstream) and that MCA deserves to be
part of that garden variety. Indeed, it might be a very good idea to
take a closer look to the ISI list just to find brother and sister
journals to MCA such as Discourse processes or Cultural Psychology.
Any others?

On Jul 4, 2008, at 6:04 PM, Mike Cole wrote:

> The BIG down side is total assimilation to the existing mainstream,
> David.
>
> I personally suggest a multi-valenced approach that includes ISI
> highly
> rated journals and
> deviant ones, like MCA.
>
> Michael left out part of the GOOD news. MCA has a rating that
> should win it
> ISI inclusion by year's end.
>
> I assume the PLAY article for discussion made it to everyone.
> People reading
> this weekend?
> mike
>
> On Fri, Jul 4, 2008 at 1:50 PM, David Preiss <davidpreiss@uc.cl>
> wrote:
>
>> As a young scholar, I totally ENDORSE this petition, Michael.
>> Indeed, I
>> have always thought that MCA`s influence and intellectual appeal
>> is not
>> commensurate to its lack of inclusion in ISI. Alas, ISI! No chance
>> but to
>> play according to its rules, I guess.
>> david
>>
>>
>> On Jul 4, 2008, at 4:39 PM, Wolff-Michael Roth wrote:
>>
>> Hi all,
>>> Mike and I have had a conversation off line. He suggested I
>>> should write
>>> to the list. It concerns the increasing pressure on all of us to
>>> publish in
>>> "good" journals, and universities increasingly use as a measure
>>> the presence
>>> and impact factor ranking in ISI Web of Science as a measure.
>>> This is
>>> especially true for Asian countries and other countries. With my
>>> graduate
>>> students, we always make selections based on this criterion,
>>> because I want
>>> them to be successful in their home countries and careers.
>>>
>>> In the sciences, this has long been common practice; now the social
>>> sciences are swept up by the same trend. I have recently been
>>> bombarded by
>>> publishers whose journals have increased in their impact factor.
>>> Furthermore, there are a number of companies that make the
>>> rankings of their
>>> journal a key bit of information on the website.
>>>
>>> (Some of) You may be asking what this has to do with you. Well,
>>> since I
>>> have been editing journals (besides MCA, I also do CULTURAL
>>> STUDIES OF
>>> SCIENCE EDUCATION and FQS: FORUM QUALITATIVE SOCIAL RESEARCH), I
>>> have been
>>> asked by new faculty members about rejection rates, rankings,
>>> etc. And I
>>> have been asked by department heads and deans as well.
>>>
>>> Some may decide to opt out, which would come with dire
>>> consequences for
>>> many, who might find themselves in the position of not being
>>> tenured or
>>> promoted.
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, we (MCA) currently are not in ISI Web of Science,
>>> which
>>> places those of you who publish in the journal in an unfortunate
>>> situation.
>>>
>>> One of the ways in which you, the community as a whole can be
>>> proactive
>>> producing the conditions that would convince ISI to make MCA one
>>> of the
>>> listed and ranked journals is to make it a habit to cite RECENT
>>> articles you
>>> have been reading in MCA. Here is why:
>>>
>>> The impact factor for 2007 (which is what was made available just
>>> a few
>>> days ago), for example, is calculated using the following formula:
>>>
>>> Number of citations in 2007 referencing
>>> articles
>>> published in 2005 and 2006
>>> impact factor =
>>> --------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> -----------------------
>>> Number of citable articles
>>> published
>>> in 2005 and 2006
>>>
>>> (They may not take into account self-citation, but I am not sure)
>>>
>>> So the impact factor is 1 when a journal had 60 references from the
>>> outside while having published 60 articles (over 2005 and 2006).
>>>
>>> You see, as a community, you can help yourself by citing MCA work
>>> in other
>>> journals. With high rankings, MCA will be included in ISI and
>>> then you and
>>> your peers will be rated higher at your institution because it is
>>> part of
>>> ISI.
>>>
>>> Have a nice weekend all of you,
>>> Sincerely,
>>> Michael
>>>
>>>
>>> Wolff-Michael Roth, Editor-in-Chief
>>> MIND, CULTURE, AND ACTIVITY
>>> Email: mroth@uvic.ca
>>> Journal: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/1074-9039
>>> Submissions: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/mca
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> xmca mailing list
>>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
>>>
>>
>> David Preiss, Ph.D.
>> Subdirector de Extensión y Comunicaciones
>> Escuela de Psicología
>> Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
>> Av Vicuña Mackenna - 4860
>> 7820436 Macul
>> Santiago, Chile
>>
>> Fono: 3544605
>> Fax: 3544844
>> e-mail: davidpreiss@uc.cl
>> web personal: http://web.mac.com/ddpreiss/
>> web institucional: http://www.epuc.cl/profesores/dpreiss
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca
>>
> _______________________________________________
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> xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
> http://dss.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/xmca

David Preiss, Ph.D.
Subdirector de Extensión y Comunicaciones
Escuela de Psicología
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Av Vicuña Mackenna - 4860
7820436 Macul
Santiago, Chile

Fono: 3544605
Fax: 3544844
e-mail: davidpreiss@uc.cl
web personal: http://web.mac.com/ddpreiss/
web institucional: http://www.epuc.cl/profesores/dpreiss

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Received on Fri Jul 4 16:06 PDT 2008

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