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Yes, my first thought reading through this was surprise that he didn't try any non-physics journals. I think any number of journals devoted to a topic like netw
by mjn 12y ago
Yes, my first thought reading through this was surprise that he didn't try any non-physics journals. I think any number of journals devoted to a topic like network science, internet research, web science, etc., would have found the topic of the study more within their area of interest. They would also be able to provide better peer review of the methodological/modeling choices, which mostly aren't related to physics.
- SilasX 12y agoSo then why didn't the editors suggest it for a more appropriate journal rather than call it unpublishable entirely?
- mjn 12y agoOne guess is that the average physicist, which might include both the journal editors and the author of this paper, have no clue about journals outside of physics. :)
- rflrob 12y agoProbably because the editors are so siloed in their physics mindset that they aren't aware that there are journals in these fields, or if they are aware, they almost certainly don't know which journals are reputable.
- Steuard 12y agoBecause (for example) I, as a physicist, didn't even know enough to immediately suggest topics like "network science, internet research, web science", and instead said the work was "sociological(?)". For all we know from this story, the rejection letters might have suggested trying a non-physics journal. But even then, the result reported here just provides weak evidence supporting an overwhelmingly expected null hypothesis ("time travel doesn't happen"). I wouldn't expect physics journal editors to be good judges of whether a possibly novel method would be publishable in another discipline when it did not lead to a noteworthy result.
- SilasX 12y agoYou don't have to be aware of any of that stuff in order to know the difference between "this can't be published" and "this can't be published in a physics journal". The latter is (perhaps) good judgment; the former, a poor understanding of the limits of one's expertise.
- jckt 12y agoI can't seem to find the claim in the post where the journal editors actually said "this can't be publishable, period". I am pretty sure that when the physics journal editor rejects your paper, she isn't even actually saying "this can't be published in a physics journal", she's really saying "this can't be published in this physics journal" (unless she says otherwise, explicitly, of course).
- grkvlt 12y ago> she isn't even actually saying Why not go with "they aren't even actually saying" rather than the faux-affirmative-action sexism of using "she" there? This really grates with me, even more so when used with traditionally male-dominated roles, such as physicists or system administrators. Yes, you're freaking out the squares with your right-on craziness, but it's really rather childish. If you (100% rightly) want to be non-sexist, use a gender-neutral phrase, such as in my example above.
- jckt 12y agoYou're easily irritated, no? Maybe I'm a girl and, try as I might to say "he" all the time (to avoid comments like yours), the one time it slips and I say "she" the Internet thinks it's all about some "femi-nazi" agenda of mine? Chill out and talk to me about sexism/feminism/SJW when it's actually relevant (clue: not here).
- neurobro 12y agoMaybe. Or maybe your wording was intentional, politically motivated, and equally as out-of-place as the attention it predictably draws.
- dragonwriter 12y ago> So then why didn't the editors suggest it for a more appropriate journal rather than call it unpublishable entirely? Because knowledge of out-of-domain journals to which an out-of-domain paper might be appropriate is neither the role nor general competency of a journal's editors (OTOH, general familiarity with the published work in the area in which you are attempting to publish, which necessarily includes some familiarity with the venues in which works in that field are published, is part of the role and presumed competency of a researcher in any field.)
- SilasX 12y agoI'm not suggesting they should have said, "Resubmit this to the International Journal of Experimental Sociology." Just "Hey, this is more of a question for sociologists; maybe try that kind of journal." Much like how Sokal criticized Social Text for not recognizing when something was a question for physicists.
- bostonpete 12y agoWhy should they have to give less direct feedback or make suggestions like that? To avoid hurting his feelings? To point him in the right direction so he knows what to do next? The author is a tenured university professor, not some high school student.
- andreasvc 12y agoWhy do you say less direct? The impression I get from the article is that none of the article actually gave a specific reason why the paper was not appropriate for the journal.