Reviewers,Orthodoxy,and the Passion to Publish

Abstract

Reviewers, their judgments, and their qualifications vary. However, there are good reasons for emphases on reviewer diversity. Social work’s mission and content areas demand a range of reviewers from diverse groups. Excessive emphasis on publication in specific journals may promote orthodoxy in the literature. Whether reviewers’ publication records affect their reviews—positively or negatively—is not clear. The requirement that faculty members publish may limit the quality of submitted articles. The focus of scholarship ought to be on facts, ideas, and the passion to share them with the profession, not that faculty publish or face dismissal.