Evolving Standards for Academic Publishing: A Q-R Theory

45 Pages Posted: 28 Jul 2000

See all articles by Glenn Ellison

Glenn Ellison

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Multiple version iconThere are 3 versions of this paper

Date Written: July 2000

Abstract

This paper develops a model of evolving standards for academic publishing. It is motivated by the increasing tendency of academic journals to require multiple revisions of articles and by changes in the content of articles. Papers are modeled as varying along two quality dimensions: q and r. The former represents the clarity and importance of a paper's main ideas and the latter its craftsmanship and polish. Observed trends are regarded as increases in r-quality. A static equilibrium model in which an arbitrary social norm determines how q and r are weighted is developed and used to discuss comparative statics explanations for increases in r. The paper then analyzes a learning model in which referees (who have a biased view of the importance of their own work) try to learn the social norm from observing how their own papers are treated and the decisions editors make on papers they referee. The model predicts that social norms will gradually but steadily evolve to increasingly emphasize r-quality.

Keywords: Academic publishing, journals, social norms, evolution, standards, overconfidence, quality

JEL Classification: A14, D70, C73

Suggested Citation

Ellison, Glenn David, Evolving Standards for Academic Publishing: A Q-R Theory (July 2000). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=235948 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.235948

Glenn David Ellison (Contact Author)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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