Ponderings on Research, Writing, and Peer Review

AI created decorative image: an art deco image of an academic peer reviewing papers in the year 2079

Part III of my 2024 all the thiiiiiings (read that with an echo😁) ponderings, and attempt to wayfind my way out around the academy...

This part deals with researching, writing, and peer review. Some things I've already decided that I am not doing anymore.  Some things I've decided I may be doing a bit of.  And, other things are in limbo...

So let me start with a bold proclamation: I am no longer doing peer reviewing*!  Over the last 15 years, I've been peer reviewing for a variety of journals. Initially, I found the process valuable and I was really happy to contribute to the overall discussion in the field(s) that I am active in. Since COVID I've gotten a lot grumpier with peer review requests.  I've often gotten requests for fields/research that are really peripheral to what I do.  Other times when I review articles (from certain...journals), it's like my review goes into the recycling bin 🚮 and when I get a revised copy of the article for re-review, none of my concerns are addressed. I am not saying that authors need to do what I tell them to do, but at least one would expect commentary back as to why some revision wasn't made, right?🤔. 

Last December was really the final straw, both for peer review and a certain publisher. I reviewed something and (in a very rare review) I outright rejected the paper for serious flaws. You couldn't salvage this paper by adding some more references and expanding on your explanations.  Ten days later I got a request to review an updated version (which, dear reader, it wasn't really🙄). This was also during the holiday break and I was away from the office. I filed the email away as I was on vacation and didn't want to deal with it.  The article was published anyway, and it was hot garbage. I don't like to waste my time, especially for something that I get no benefits from; for example, I am not in a tenured position, so I can't claim this work as a service component for my day job.  

Now, you probably noticed the *️⃣ in my bold proclamation above. I will continue to do some peer reviews for a handful of journals whose editors I know, and I know that they will actually desk-reject something if it's hot garbage.

Turning my attention to writing and research. I've decided that I really like research, and I do want to continue to do it. My "problem" is that I prefer slow research for solo projects, which takes time for something (if anything) to emerge. If I am working with a group of folks, I don't mind faster research with tighter deadlines (e.g., CfP for special issues of journals), because I enjoy being part of an active conversation and an active project. I don't like rushing for the sake of catching a CfP or a trend if it's going to be a monologue (i.e., just my voice).  For solo projects, I have also noticed that oftentimes I lose steam.  Since no one else is depending on me to get work done (and since there's no benefit to me if I produce zero, one, two, or more papers per year), it's easy for these things to go on the back burner as other interests (or life activities) emerge.  

In terms of my own writing, I've been part of group/team projects and I've done some solo work. The solo projects that I've gotten out the door over the past few years were projects that fall into one of two categories. In the first category, I've already done (or mostly done) the work, and the paper is sitting there while I figure out where to submit it; and the universe may provide an alignment through a fortuitous journal or book chapter CfP. In such an instance, I just have to polish up and submit the work.  The other case is where the work was part of a larger endeavor (a SAGE Handbook, for instance) and I felt like I should respect the other author's works and submit my own stuff in a timely manner 😅. Either way, I am externally motivated for my writing projects since increasing my publication count isn't a motivator for me, but helping out colleagues is. I've also come to think of my preferred work style as commission work. If I know that my work will find a home, I'll work on it (alone or in a team).  If I'm working on something that doesn't already have a home, my motivation wanes.

This brings me to large solo (or solo-ish?) projects: three books that I've had in my mind for the past few years. Three book projects are in the back burner (which probably won't happen 😅):

  • A MOOC Eulogy - This has gone back and forth between being an article and being a book. I have a sense that MOOCs are either dead or just floating along and not really innovating these days. My idea was to do a synthesis starting from 2007ish; maybe with Couros' ECI831 - Social Media and Open Education and CCK08 as the kick-off for MOOCs, and coming to 2024. The idea behind it was to analyze the published research (articles, books, book chapters) and the press (news and popular) to do a post-mortem. If I could get interviews from various "big names" in the MOOC sphere that would be a cherry on the top.
  • EdTech, the last 50 years - Not really a catchy title, but I've wanted to work on something that covers educational technology, its pedagogical applications, the innovations that came from it, and what we've learned from these technologies - starting with postal-based learning (the OG DE!). Part of my reason for wanting to do this was to expose new instructional designers, educational technologists, and practitioners to what has come before.  Oftentimes, I come across newbies who think they've invented the next best thing, or get infatuated with the newest hotness 🔥 because it's something that's "unprecedented," or "most unique," or "it's never been done before."  If they knew the history of the field, this is something that would help them curb their enthusiasm a bit and help them get some perspective ;-)
  • Modern Aesop - This was an idea that I tossed around years ago on Twitter with Laura Gibbs. The idea behind it was to use fun and cute animals to tell modern parables about teaching, learning, and technology. This is the kind of book that could be used in educational settings (college, grad, technical, workshops) as a conversation piece.  
  • Bring me a chisel... - The proposed/working subtitle was "The Resistance Manifesto to the Cyborg Takeover of Academia." This isn't my book idea, Lance Eaton suggested this back in 2018 (‼️) and it was going to be an anthology of satirical essays around the field of instructional design, higher education, and teaching and learning in this sphere. This was conceived as a reaction to an opinion piece on IHE "Why I Won’t Teach Online" (LOL... I wonder how this guy did in 2020 😂, but I digress...). I think that this could still be a fun book to contribute to, with made-up footnotes and all!
While I can get myself to do the research (at least for the first two), I often come back to the question of once I write this, then what? 🤔. Self-publish on PressBooks? Try to find a publisher? Post it on my Blog?  Will anyone want to read it?  I realize that some of these things are a bit on the self-doubt side of the equation, but it is a considerable amount of time and effort to risk not amounting to something.  How does one even start a book authoring journey?  Is this another chicken-or-egg dilemma?  And, what value does a completed book have for someone whose job isn't academic? 🤔🧐

Thoughts?🧐

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