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GATEKEEPERS OF KNOWLEDGE GATEKEEPERS OF KNOWLEDGE Journal Editors in the Sciences and the Social Sciences STEPHEN MCGINTY BERGIN & GARVEY Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McGinty, Stephen, 1958– Gatekeepers of knowledge : journal editors in the sciences and the social sciences / Stephen McGinty. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0–89789–664–5 (alk. paper) 1. Authorship. 2. Scholarly publishing. 3. Academic writing. 4. Social science literature—Editing. 5. Scientific literature— Editing. I. Title. PN146.M34 1999 070.5'1—dc21 99–12703 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright 1999 by Stephen McGinty All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99–12703 ISBN: 0–89789–664–5 First published in 1999 Bergin & Garvey, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America TM The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to my parents, Joseph and Margaret McGinty, with gratitude for their support and understanding. Contents Acknowledgments ix 1 Introduction: Editors, Power, and Higher Education 1 2 Getting There: The Path from Junior Scholar to Editor 13 3 Setting Up Shop 31 4 Making Meaning of the Work 49 5 Electronic Journals and the Internet 67 6 Personal Networks, Connections, and Circles 87 7 The Impact of Scholarly Culture on Editors in the Sciences and the Social Sciences 107 Conclusion: Editors and Gatekeeping Today 127 8 Selected Bibliography 139 Index 141 Acknowledgments Special thanks go to Professor Philip G. Altbach of Boston College for his guidance and his encouragement in this work. I would also like to express gratitude to Professor Ted Youn and Professor Karen Arnold, both from Boston College, for their insightful comments as this project came to fruition. My gratitude also goes to the library staffs at O’Neill Library of Boston College and Gutman Library of Harvard University. 1 Introduction: Editors, Power, and Higher Education With the personification of his destiny to guide and aid him, the hero goes forward in his adventure until he comes to the ‘‘threshold guardian’’ at the entrance to the zone of magnified power. Such custodians bound the world in the four directions—also up and down—standing for the limits of the hero’s present sphere, or life horizon. —Joseph Campbell (1968) INTRODUCTION This study examines the professional and personal experiences of scholarly journal editors. My aim is to explore, based on their own perceptions, the careers and the work of journal editors. Interviews that I conducted with thirty-five journal editors from the sciences and the social sciences provided the data for this study. The journal editor acts as a gatekeeper by funneling manuscripts in one direction or another or rejecting material entirely. In this way, the journal editor has an impact on the professional life of every scholar, because the establishment of scholarly credentials is crucial in higher education. This credentialing, a system handed down from the guild tradition of the Middle Ages, carries with it financial and other supporting incentives that allow scholars the freedom to pursue their individual interests