In the 20th century, an academic had to publish papers to maintain a career. Is this still true? Are there ways beyond publishing in the academic literature that can add value to an academic institution? Perhaps a researcher can develop products and techniques that will turn into patents to help fund the institutions. The researcher could produce content for the internet, such as lectures or science popularization, that can add prestige to the institution.
In Publish or Perish: Publish Your Work or Risk Not Having a Job, author Jon Cohen argues against Publish or Perish mentality, asserts its negative impact on research, and provides alternatives to it. He also lists problems with the current academic publication process and offers improvements to increase productivity while reducing the costs of journals and other academic publishing companies.
Cohen focuses on taxpayer-funded research and the public good taken from it. He explains Publish or Perish mentality, its negative impact on research, and its alternatives. The book also touches upon academic publication process problems and how they can be fixed to increase productivity while reducing costs of academic journals and other publishing companies.
Cohen goes into detail about Publish or Perish culture, which he says has been building for 50 years since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided research support to US institutions that came with strings attached: “If you wanted money from NIH, part of that requirement was that your institution had to track the work you did and ensure that you published the results in professional journals” (Cohen, Publish or Perish 4). It all started with Publish or Perish, a specific policy that was implemented at Harvard University. The success of this policy drew attention, and many other institutions adopted it. As Publish or Perish culture took hold and required more papers to be published, Cohen predicts “few people will argue with the assumption that what we’re left with is mass confusion: not just for scientists but also for the public” (Cohen 6).
The author also outlines problems with the academic publishing industry today – they are highly profitable companies whose profits are subsidized by tax dollars through research grants. Additionally, their costs are passed to scientists who face pressure to publish their work in journals or perish. Authors also face increasing competition because universities require academics who publish more than others and award them with grants and promotions (Cohen 14). Cohen states that Publish or Perish has to lead to professional publications becoming “magazines of ideas, publications where the cost of contributing is almost entirely made up of the scientist’s time in writing and then in having it vetted by colleagues (most often without pay)” (Co Publish 99).
Cohen argues against the Publish or Perish mentality using scientific research as his main point. He also provides solutions to reduce Publish or Perish pressure on scientists. The author starts his book by Publish or Perish culture (Publish or Perish mentality) and explains what Publish or Perish is, how it began, and why academics must publish papers to keep their jobs. Next, he discusses problems with the academic publication process, such as high costs of journals and pressure for scientists to publish more than others. Finally, Cohen provides solutions to increase productivity at universities without increasing the cost of academic publishing companies by changing research grant policy and focusing on peer review rather than publication (Cohen Publish 100).