Abstract
In this preregistered study we evaluate current attitudes towards, and experiences with, publishing research and propose an alternative system of publishing. Our main hypothesis is that researchers tend to become institutionalized, such that they are generally discontent with the current publication system, but that this dissatisfaction fades over time as they become tenured. A survey was distributed to the first authors of papers published in four recent issues of top-15 Work and Organizational Psychology (WOP) journals. Even among this positively biased sample, we found that the time it takes to publish a manuscript is negatively associated with whether authors perceive this time to be justifiable and worthwhile relative to the amount their manuscript has changed. Review quality and tenure buffer the negative relationship with perceived justifiability, but not for perceived worth. The findings suggest that untenured (WOP) researchers are dissatisfied with the publishing times of academic journals, which adds to the pile of criticisms of the journal-based publication system. Since publishing times are inherent to the journal-based publication system, we suggest that incremental improvements may not sufficiently address the problems associated with publishing times. We therefore propose the adoption of a modular publication system to improve (WOP) publishing experiences.
Highlights
In 2015 the hashtag #IAmAScientistBecause generated a massive response [1]
The findings suggest that untenured (WOP) researchers are dissatisfied with the publishing times of academic journals, which adds to the pile of criticisms of the journal-based publication system
The Open Science movement is a collaborative initiative to make scientific research and data accessible to all by removing paywalls [24], but to date is limited in its effects due to the vested interests and power of academic publishers as well as—what we argue in our paper—scholars who have grown numb to the problems with the current publication system and/or achieved a comfortable position in it
Summary
In 2015 the hashtag #IAmAScientistBecause generated a massive response [1]. Researchers across the globe shared the motivation behind their vocational choice. Two often heard responses revolved around the curiosity to understand and explain what is yet unknown, and to find solutions to problems that are yet unsolved. Such intrinsic motivations are known to be predictive of high levels of job satisfaction, commitment, and health [2]. There are numerous accounts of academics who gave up their jobs. Often-mentioned reasons are hypercompetition, perverse incentives in academia, and incremental science [3,4,5]—factors
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