Comments on: “Let’s Write a Paper” http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/ Economics of organizations, strategy, entrepreneurship, innovation, and more Sat, 19 Jul 2008 23:14:58 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Bo http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69256 Bo Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:04:58 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69256 While I do agree with Nicolai in principle, I think this is less of a problem in reality. It would seem that we all have different preferences, tolerances and, accordingly, strategies for writing and publishing papers. Some (like myself) seem to find it difficult to say no to work on new (to me potentially interesting) ideas, whereas others have no problem simply saying NO (at least to working with me...). I know of several professors who simply work on 2-3 papers at the time and do not take on new projects before these papers are "under review". So which strategy is better? It depends on the person, of course, but perhaps also on the stage of the career of the researcher. I know of several PhD students who work on multiple projects (some even outside their dissertation topic) concurrently and then wonder why they do not seem to be able to finish on time, let alone publish anything before they submit...Tenured faculty are in unique positions to work on multiple (and wacky) ideas even if they do not get published, whereas junior faculty may need to be more pragmatic about the process... While I do agree with Nicolai in principle, I think this is less of a problem in reality. It would seem that we all have different preferences, tolerances and, accordingly, strategies for writing and publishing papers. Some (like myself) seem to find it difficult to say no to work on new (to me potentially interesting) ideas, whereas others have no problem simply saying NO (at least to working with me…). I know of several professors who simply work on 2-3 papers at the time and do not take on new projects before these papers are “under review”. So which strategy is better? It depends on the person, of course, but perhaps also on the stage of the career of the researcher. I know of several PhD students who work on multiple projects (some even outside their dissertation topic) concurrently and then wonder why they do not seem to be able to finish on time, let alone publish anything before they submit…Tenured faculty are in unique positions to work on multiple (and wacky) ideas even if they do not get published, whereas junior faculty may need to be more pragmatic about the process…

]]> By: Peter Klein http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69253 Peter Klein Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:13:27 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69253 In the past many of these brief items would end up in the comments-and-replies section of the appropriate journal. Unfortunately these sections are slowly disappearing (along with the book-review sections) in many of the leading social-science journals. In the past many of these brief items would end up in the comments-and-replies section of the appropriate journal. Unfortunately these sections are slowly disappearing (along with the book-review sections) in many of the leading social-science journals.

]]> By: Joe Mahoney http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69252 Joe Mahoney Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:06:17 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69252 Nicolai, I think you underestimate the importance of lunch. Nicolai, I think you underestimate the importance of lunch.

]]> By: Alf Rehn http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69251 Alf Rehn Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:24:51 +0000 http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2008/01/22/lets-write-a-paper/#comment-69251 I fully sympathize with this sentiment, and although one at times weeps over the number of drafts, scribbles, outlines and so on that one can find in the drawers, I don't think this is wasteful. All writers, regardless if they write science fiction, woolly social theory, comics or hardcore economics, have these kinds of ephemera and unfinished drafts around. But there is an interesting difference. For fiction writers, these various minor texts can be published in a number of venues -- magazines, literary reviews, anthologies and so on. For academics, the venues are more limited (journals or edited books), and the demands for form in these is usually pretty homogeneous (even though a book chapter can be somewhat more "free-form" than a journal article). Obviously, one can publish things in a blog or on a website (or in a working paper series), but these are often seen as less-than-serious. Maybe there should be more venues where short notes, random ideas, the odd formula or even research design could be published? Maybe the problem isn't that we don't finish everything we start, but that we believe that the unfinished doesn't have any value? I fully sympathize with this sentiment, and although one at times weeps over the number of drafts, scribbles, outlines and so on that one can find in the drawers, I don’t think this is wasteful. All writers, regardless if they write science fiction, woolly social theory, comics or hardcore economics, have these kinds of ephemera and unfinished drafts around. But there is an interesting difference.

For fiction writers, these various minor texts can be published in a number of venues — magazines, literary reviews, anthologies and so on. For academics, the venues are more limited (journals or edited books), and the demands for form in these is usually pretty homogeneous (even though a book chapter can be somewhat more “free-form” than a journal article). Obviously, one can publish things in a blog or on a website (or in a working paper series), but these are often seen as less-than-serious.

Maybe there should be more venues where short notes, random ideas, the odd formula or even research design could be published? Maybe the problem isn’t that we don’t finish everything we start, but that we believe that the unfinished doesn’t have any value?

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