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Article published In: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics
Vol. 45:1 (2022) ► pp.98–122

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Journal publication productivity, impact, and quality among Applied Linguistics and TESOL academics in the Group of Eight Australian Universities

ORCiD logo with link | Macquarie University
 | Macquarie University
 | Macquarie University
Published online: 5 October 2020
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.20007.ria
Abstract
This article reports on a study in which journal publication performance of Applied Linguistics and TESOL (AL/TESOL) academics in the Group of Eight (Go8) Australian universities was examined for each academic rank (Lecturer to Professor) and across apparent genders (females and males). Journal publication performance was defined in terms of productivity (number of articles), academic impact (number of citations to those articles), and quality (journal impact factor and quartile rankings). To this end, journal publications of 65 Go8 AL/TESOL academics were identified over 19 years (2000–2018 inclusive). Normative research profiles are provided for each academic level and across two genders and are discussed in light of the literature. Where appropriate, a critical view has also developed concerning issues such as “publish or perish” and “gender gap” in academic publication. Results and discussion of results can contribute to a better understanding of AL/TESOL journal article production in Go8 universities as a reference group.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background to the study
    • 2.1Academic publishing
    • 2.2Academic publishing and professionalism
    • 2.3AL/TESOL journal publication outlets
    • 2.4Gender and academic publication
  • 3.Purpose of the study and research questions
  • 4.Methods
    • 4.1The sample of the study
    • 4.2Data collection procedures
  • 5.Results
    • 5.1AL/TESOL staff journal article productivity in Go8 universities
    • 5.2Academic impact (journal article citation patterns)
    • 5.3Journal quality for the published articles
  • 6.Discussion
    • 6.1RQ1: What is the overall pattern of journal article productivity among AL/TESOL academics in the Go8 Australian universities?
    • 6.2RQ2: What is the overall academic impact (citation patterns) of the published articles?
    • 6.3RQ3: What is the quality (quartile rank) of the journals in which AL/TESOL academics in the Go8 Australian universities published their articles?
  • 7.Limitations
  • 8.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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