TY - JOUR
T1 - Publish and still perish? Learning to make the ‘right’ publishing choices in the Ghanaian academy
AU - Chatio, Samuel Tamti
AU - Tindana, Paulina
AU - Akweongo, Patricia
AU - Mills, David
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 HERDSA.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Publication in ‘reputable’, peer-reviewed and indexed journals has become a key requirement for promotion and career advancement in African universities. There is little research into how bibliometric measures of journal reputation are shaping the publishing strategies and practices of Africa-based researchers. This study, drawing on 43 in-depth interviews, explored the publishing choices, tactics and discourses of early-career academics at two different public universities in Ghana. Most participants felt under constant pressure to publish, and more than half invoked the ‘publish or perish’ aphorism unprompted in conversation. They were also very aware that one could ‘publish and perish’ by choosing the ‘wrong’ journals, such as those not on university-approved lists or in the main global citation indexes. Some regretted the journal choices they had made at the start of their careers, and had since learnt to make every publication ‘count’. Many invoked a moral and spatial dichotomy of low-quality ‘local’ journals versus reputable ‘international’ journals. Most participants felt that more training, supervision and mentorship would help them make the ‘right’ publishing choices. In a global research economy that sustains geographical inequalities and reputational hierarchies, journals published from Africa are increasingly viewed as the ‘wrong’ choice.
AB - Publication in ‘reputable’, peer-reviewed and indexed journals has become a key requirement for promotion and career advancement in African universities. There is little research into how bibliometric measures of journal reputation are shaping the publishing strategies and practices of Africa-based researchers. This study, drawing on 43 in-depth interviews, explored the publishing choices, tactics and discourses of early-career academics at two different public universities in Ghana. Most participants felt under constant pressure to publish, and more than half invoked the ‘publish or perish’ aphorism unprompted in conversation. They were also very aware that one could ‘publish and perish’ by choosing the ‘wrong’ journals, such as those not on university-approved lists or in the main global citation indexes. Some regretted the journal choices they had made at the start of their careers, and had since learnt to make every publication ‘count’. Many invoked a moral and spatial dichotomy of low-quality ‘local’ journals versus reputable ‘international’ journals. Most participants felt that more training, supervision and mentorship would help them make the ‘right’ publishing choices. In a global research economy that sustains geographical inequalities and reputational hierarchies, journals published from Africa are increasingly viewed as the ‘wrong’ choice.
KW - Ghana
KW - Publish and perish
KW - publication practices
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85168884438&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/07294360.2023.2246396
DO - 10.1080/07294360.2023.2246396
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85168884438
SN - 0729-4360
JO - Higher Education Research and Development
JF - Higher Education Research and Development
ER -