When i was introduced to give a keynote, the moderator mentioned that I had been ranked top in the world.
I was embarrassed, bc I never set out to earn the top spot, I had set out to write interesting papers with my students.
During the Q&A, the final questioner was a student. He asked how I felt about #googlescholar.
He mentioned that he had heard me speak, two years before, & I had expressed my contempt for the impact of googles cholar & #journallists.
I paused, embarrassed, bc the past two years, I had been ranked or tied for first for productivity in my field's "top journals."
I unleashed a torrent of candor & emotion, that surprised me.
I expressed my loathing for google scholar, for lists in general, and for the list in my field in particular.
While I held the top spot, I felt that journal lists harmed my scholarship & the future of academe.
When I finished, the audience paused then applauded. The moderator encouraged them to stand & applaud - it felt genuine - the clapping continued.
After the talk, I contacted my student in the audience.
I asked if the rant was too much. He replied "It was the best part of the keynote!"
I was relieved.
So what did I say?
First, I expressed my loathing for journal lists & rankings.
They encourage normal science, not studying interesting or challenging problems.
They stifle creativity. They are a pox on academe.
Second, I worried that journal lists limit academic freedom.
They encourage certain types of scholarship & ignore others. They give disproportionate power to editors & to cliques that control them.
I gave an example of how my own work had been negatively impacted - & the sadness it caused me.
Third, I am concerned that early career faculty will suffer due to lists.
They will be forced to publish to journals lists & earn citations to prove their worth - in outlets that don't value their work - so they change what & how they study - to meet the bar for tenure - leading to less rich careers.
Fourth, I fear would never know the joy of creative ideation.
Journals tend to have scripts, of topics & methods, they ascribe to. They constrain the range of ideas authors can investigate.
Where, in my early career there were no lists, for this group, lists will define what is possible. And it is a pity.
I worry we will lose the free thinkers - like my friends who left academe & my student thinking about leaving - bc they refuse to conform.
Finally, I called on the senior faculty to join me - in fighting against quantified academe.
With tenure comes responsibility, not just for students, but for the next generation of scholars.
I invited the senior faculty to join me, in fighting against lists & citation counts, & for early career faculty to be free to study what they want.
We can do this, if everyone joins in,, we can build a better academe.
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