Posted on the USA Africa Dialogue blog is the report of an international survey which documented the sharp rise, in recent years, of predatory, open access, scholarly publishing. The publication, which originated from research conducted by the Henken School of Economics in Finland, narrates a frightening upsurge in predatory publishing, illustrated by its growth from 53,000 articles in 2010 to almost half a million last year. More disturbing is the fact that Nigeria has the highest ratio of research published in these journals relative to those published in regular international journals. On this latter ranking, Nigeria’s ratio is 1,580 per cent that of India, which comes second, in 277 per cent, Iran, 70 per cent, and the United States, seven per cent.
What this implies is that the output of our academics is increasingly expressed through the vehicle of what, for want of a better word, can be described as black market, international journals. Black market, in the sense that a majority of them, bypass established quality control standards, such as peer review, charge processing fees that reportedly range between hundreds to thousands of dollars per article, aggressively solicit for prospective contributors, sometimes through unorthodox practices. Initially created to bridge the digital and information divide between resource-rich countries and developing ones, open access publishing is slowly wearing an ugly and reprobate face, in view of the steep rise in dubious transactions.
A few years ago, for example, a graduate student at Cornell University in New York, deliberately sent to one of these journals, computer-generated nonsense as a hoax. The journal, so-called, promptly accepted and published the article after the required processing fee was paid. That incident raised the alarm globally, and led to attempts to purify and standardise this increasingly degraded variety of scholarly communication. That notwithstanding, and despite the production by Jeffrey Beal of a blacklist of some of the worst offenders, protests about the toxic effects of these outlets on scholarship continue to be raised. One of the issues connected to this unwholesome traffic of substandard scholarship, is that the cumulative nature of knowledge is such that scholars accept the output of these journals at the risk of exchanging science for fakery, and the collapse of integrity.
Before proceeding with the analysis, this writer craves the reader’s indulgence to enter two short takes. The partial list of ministerial nominees released recently has, unsurprisingly, generated controversy. Although it is hard to think of a list that will not raise contention in any quarters, this one has been faulted, and in my view correctly, for taking a long time to arrive at an almost predictable or humdrum conclusion. Saturated with party men, and comparatively few women, (three out of 21) the prospective team signals much less than expectations of a new Nigeria. To be sure, it is not a bad list; only an ordinary one, which does not show that serious headhunting was done. There are credible names and technocrats in the mix though.
One can, for instance, justify the inclusion of Gen. Abdulraman Dambanzau, who holds a doctorate in criminology, as an effort to shore up the nation’s anti-insurgency efforts. Similarly, Babatunde Fashola, until his recent debacle, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Chief Audu Ogbeh, if we ignore his age, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu and Amina Usman come in the mould of technocrats. The same cannot be said however, for several other nominees, some of who are either jaded or have unresolved issues of alleged corruption hanging around their necks. Indeed, it is amazing that partisanship or party preferences appear to have driven the loudly proclaimed anti-corruption war to the backburner, in not a few of cases. It is surprising too, that Nigerians in the Diaspora did not figure prominently, despite the fact that some of them are capable of offering fresh perspectives and generating international goodwill. At the end of the day, and whatever the coloration of the second or third list of nominees, the buck stops on the President’s table. It is he that must take responsibility and bear the brunt of his choices and omissions.
The second take concerns Monday’s celebration of the World Teachers’ Day, and the continuing undervaluation of teachers in our national reward system. It came to light for example, that teachers, in several states, in Kogi State, for example, had not been paid for several months. This reminds one of the refrain of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in the 1990s. It goes thus: “My boss is a comedian, he pays me starvation wages.”
Writing about teachers brings up a poignant, personal reminder. My primary three school teacher, my mother, Mrs Grace Olukotun, passed on at 84 in August. Her commitment to duty and character building approach to education were typical of teachers of her generation. Teachers are truly the foundation on which Nigeria must erect a proper educational edifice.
To get back to the snowballing racket in scholarly publishing, it should be observed that Nigerian academics labour under harrowing conditions. They, like academics the world over, are expected to publish or perish. Yet, in many respects, they do not have the requisite infrastructure to compete globally. And, so, with characteristic hustle and bustle, they create ways around the problem. Having over-exploited the Volume 1, Number 1 syndrome of starting journals which die after the originators have been promoted, some of them move over to the international arena, finding ready allies in the emergent, open access journals where lax and sharp practices are frequent.
In order not to cast an umbrella slur on a profession to which this writer belongs, it is important to restate that the majority of our academics are still doing decent work, and soldiering on in heroic circumstances. What has happened overtime, however, is that the number of those cutting corners to beat members of the Appointment and Promotion Committees, who insist on international publications, is rising. There is the point also, that many international journals prefer to publish African scholars based in the Diaspora or European and American scholars. As a young academic, I can confirm that even after establishing my bona fide in the profession, an article of mine which eventually appeared in a leading African journal based in the United States had been snubbed previously by three international journals, two of which did not even acknowledge receiving it. Between completing the article, and getting it published in a top journal, took a space of two years. This hard grind is totally at variance with the quick fix and instant prosperity mindset of the average Nigerian perpetually in search of a soft landing.
It is in this context that Nigerian academics are increasingly patronising black market outlets for international scholarly publishing, or alternatively, setting up journals which do not undertake peer reviews, or are willing to pass on classroom lecture notes as journal articles.
What then is to be done? Universities must maintain a healthy awareness of the ongoing debate concerning that status of the mushrooming, open access journals, in order to strengthen their quality control procedures. Finally, our universities should pay renewed attention to research and dissemination of its output in acceptable channels. At any rate, we cannot afford to further devalue the system by encouraging controversial outlets of scholarly communication.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: editor@punchng.com
from The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper http://ift.tt/1L9JUc5
via IFTTT
0 comments:
Post a Comment