Analysis: discovery g


scholarly works is not a formal subject in most curricula and you have a compounded problem. The effect is that the writing appears to be traveling ‘all across the universe’ and unable to cohesively convey the thoughts of the author. It is difficult to estimate how much of


these problems affect scholarly publishing, but there is secondary evidence to suggest that it is a big problem. The most common indicator is the high


rejection rate that scholars face when submitting multiple articles to multiple journals. When submitting book-length manuscripts, the role of language and structure comes to the fore easily. It is then up to the author to take action to put this right. Here is what publishers are doing about the problem.


Book-length manuscripts: 1. It is a given that a ‘badly written’ manuscript is summarily rejected


2. Where the author has built up a reputation and the work is below par on language, publishers find means to get the language edited.


3. Publishers are getting more restrictive on how they accept submissions. Automation is filtering out content and the most commonly used filter is


“Lost in translation’ is the most apt phrase to describe this problem”


language and structuring.


4. Providing language-related services to authors is becoming more sought after.


Article-length manuscripts: 1. Journal editorial boards looking for additional ways to help young researchers structure their writing


2. Research institutions bringing language editing and structuring into basic requirements of conducting and writing articles on the research.


The problem, however, isn’t being solved in a hurry. There are signs that research from Asian countries is growing and countries like China lead the pack. The drivers of this growth are clearly in


sync with the provision of article structuring and editing services being experienced by publishers. What was earlier a service publishers shied away from, is now a steady revenue stream for them. But this works where researchers have the money


to pay for these expensive services. In African countries, for example, the sort of funding available doesn’t leave much room for paying for editorial and manuscript structuring services. In Asia, South Korea and China lead the pack in paying for these services and getting research published. The rest of the nations are much lower in paid publishing output. The answer is to visit the problem from


different angles. Publishing in English has acquired the prestige by which academic excellence is measured. But is this a fair way of evaluating research? In a world of thousands of languages


(around 7,0002), why do we measure global research in just one? As the world readjusts to growing economies beyond Europe and the Americas, it is time to review the benchmarks used to measure research.


Vivek Mehra is managing director and CEO of Sage Publishing India


References: 1


Filipović, L. (2018). Speaking in a second language but thinking in the first language: Language- specific effects on memory for causation events in English and Spanish. International Journal of Bilingualism, 22(2), 180–198. https://doi. org/10.1177/1367006916661636


2


https://www.ethnologue.com/guides/how-many- languages


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