This article aims to demystify some of the realities of graduate education for the next generation of professors in the humanities and social sciences. Its "tell it like it is" orientation is designed to ensure that graduate students have a firm understanding of the institution they are entering, and will hopefully help them avoid any number of…

Productivity differences between sociology PhD's were examined controlling for both human capital and life style differences. Productivity was defined in two ways. First, we looked at differences in article productivity to date. Next, differences in the average productivity of faculty (defined as total articles to date divided by years of…

Discovering that women are more heavily represented as journal authors than as members of graduate-program departments, questions whether funding might account for these patterns. Examines acknowledgment of support in published articles, finding no significant relationships among author gender, article topic, and notation of internal funding.…

This paper explores article production by the entire population of US undergraduate sociology departments. The available literature suggests that undergraduate programs publish little, that this is concentrated among relatively few--mainly liberal arts--departments, and that publication rates are increasing. We argue There are reasons to expect…

Notes the complexity of preserving anonymity in data presentation. Observes that procedure has been to disguise names and identity of research subjects as protection, but asserts this also prevents them from receiving credit. Claims that circumstances may exist when disguise of research subjects is undesirable, particularly with informed consent.…

Discusses ethical issues that arise when serving as an editor of a scholarly journal. Suggests treating these issues using paradigm-based decisions; decisions based on personal sociological predilections and commitments; and reasonable referee-assignment policies. Notes how conflicts of interest inevitably accompanying such a position. (NL)

Traces the experiences surrounding the editorial review of a paper submitted to the journal, "Social Problems," that was later rejected, with the author claiming the review was not fair. Attempts to specify ethical dilemmas surrounding such an experience. Explains the ambiguity of the process from the editor's perspective. (NL)

Arguing that social scientists must write in an interesting and readable manner, Fine presents 11 propositions to lighten and brighten sociological writing. Suggests that sociologists write often, proofread their work, allow others to review it, make revisions, develop individual styles, use humor, and write for the readers. (GEA)

Posits the disciplinary context is the locus of legitimate and illegitimate activity in science and scholarship. Compares structural features of sciences and social sciences that influence malpractice rates, type, and detection. These features include research activity, replication and replicability, coauthorship, plagiarism, locus of creativity…

Discusses ethical issues of acting as review editor and as referees for scholarly journals. States that referees have ethical responsibilities to review manuscripts promptly, write constructive comments for authors, be tactful in their comments, and to avoid sectarian bias. Includes a list of ethical rules for refereeing. (NL)

Examines the feminization of the sociological profession through a content analysis of leading sociology journals. Findings show that, although females are publishing more, they do so as junior co-authors with males, whereas males publish alone or with male authors. Females were underrepresented in six sample years studied by year and by journal.…

Reports on research designed to assess the effects of the American Sociological Association's (ASA) commitment to increased participation in ASA by faculty in two-year and four-year colleges. Discusses whether increased participation is understood better in absolute or relative terms. (CFR)

Suggests a dilemma confronts sociologists in the review and publication of their works. Claims that relying on peer review impedes the practice of open and fair judgments because social networks bind people to one another. Observes that peer review can limit new and critical thinking. Urges that manuscripts be judged on their own merits. (NL)

Reports on a study of the extent of advocacy in research articles appearing in the journal "Social Problems" from 1953 to 1992. Finds that political advocacy has increased sharply over the time period and discusses implications of the findings. (CFR)

Utilizes citation analysis to examine issues of author attribution in academic scholarship. Although widely credited to W. I. Thomas, the "Thomas Theorem" appears in a book written in collaboration with Dorothy Swaine Thomas. Citations routinely ignored Dorothy Thomas's contribution until the 1970s, when gender issues became prevalent.…