Social Work Scholarship and Gatekeeping: Reflection on the Debate

Abstract

This article responds to Pardeck and Meinert’s claim that editorial board members for the journal Social Work lack adequate records of scholarship. Pardeck and Meinert raise a number of compelling points about the qualifications of the journal’s editorial board members. The author argues, however, that Pardeck and Meinert’s results might be different if they broadened their definition of scholarship to include books and anthology chapters, and examined a more substantial time period. Furthermore, the author argues that many qualified editorial board members can be drawn from the ranks of accomplished scholars who are at a point in their careers where they devote more time to administrative and supervisory responsibilities than to writing for publication.