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You Cannot Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Problems with Journal Rankings

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  • Alan Sangster

Abstract

Journal rankings lists have impacted and are impacting accounting educators and accounting education researchers around the world. Nowhere is the impact positive. It ranges from slight constraints on academic freedom to admonition, censure, reduced research allowances, non-promotion, non-short-listing for jobs, increased teaching loads, and re-designation as a non-researcher, all because the chosen research specialism of someone who was vocationally motivated to become a teacher of accounting is, ironically, accounting education. University managers believe that these journal ranking lists show that accounting faculty publish top-quality research on accounting regulation, financial markets, business finance, auditing, international accounting, management accounting, taxation, accounting in society, and more, but not on what they do in their 'day job' - teaching accounting. These same managers also believe that the journal ranking lists indicate that accounting faculty do not publish top-quality research in accounting history and accounting systems. And they also believe that journal ranking lists show that accounting faculty write top-quality research in education, history, and systems, but only if they publish it in specialist journals that do not have the word 'accounting' in their title, or in mainstream journals that do. Tarring everyone with the same brush because of the journal in which they publish is inequitable. We would not allow it in other walks of life. It is time the discrimination ended.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Sangster, 2015. "You Cannot Judge a Book by Its Cover: The Problems with Journal Rankings," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(3), pages 175-186, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:accted:v:24:y:2015:i:3:p:175-186
    DOI: 10.1080/09639284.2015.1055929
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    Cited by:

    1. Bryce, Cormac & Dowling, Michael & Lucey, Brian, 2020. "The journal quality perception gap," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(5).
    2. Duff, Angus & Hancock, Phil & Marriott, Neil, 2020. "The role and impact of professional accountancy associations on accounting education research: An international study," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    3. Hussain, Simon & Liu, Lana Yan Jun & Miller, Anthony D., 2020. "Accounting as a dichotomised discipline: An analysis of the source materials used in the construction of accounting articles," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    4. Tharapos, Meredith & Marriott, Neil, 2020. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: Research quality in accounting education," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(5).
    5. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M. & Rebele, James E., 2016. "Accounting education literature review (2015)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 20-55.
    6. Argento, Daniela & van Helden, Jan, 2023. "Are public sector accounting researchers going through an identity shift due to the increasing importance of journal rankings?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    7. Emanuel Kulczycki & Ewa A. Rozkosz, 2017. "Does an expert-based evaluation allow us to go beyond the Impact Factor? Experiences from building a ranking of national journals in Poland," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(1), pages 417-442, April.
    8. Gendron, Yves & Rodrigue, Michelle, 2021. "On the centrality of peripheral research and the dangers of tight boundary gatekeeping," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Arquero, José Luis & Jiménez Cardoso, Sergio Manuel & Laffarga Briones, Joaquina, 2016. "Utilidad percibida de la producción académica-contable. Opinión de los profesores universitarios y de los profesionales," Revista de Contabilidad - Spanish Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(2), pages 239-251.
    10. Bonnie Amelia Dean & Stephanie Perkiss & Milica Simic Misic & Karina Luzia, 2020. "Transforming accounting curricula to enhance integrative learning," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(3), pages 2301-2338, September.
    11. Rob Jones, 2017. "Enlightenment through engagement? The potential contribution of greater engagement between researchers and practitioners," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(5-6), pages 414-430, November.
    12. Lyudmyla Shkulipa, 2021. "Evaluation of accounting journals by coverage of accounting topics in 2018–2019," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(9), pages 7251-7327, September.
    13. Marit Terese Balstad & Terje Berg, 2020. "A long-term bibliometric analysis of journals influencing management accounting and control research," Journal of Management Control: Zeitschrift für Planung und Unternehmenssteuerung, Springer, vol. 30(4), pages 357-380, February.
    14. Merridee l. Bujaki & Bruce J. Mcconomy, 2017. "Productivity in Top‐10 Academic Accounting Journals by Researchers at Canadian Universities at the Start of the 21st Century," Accounting Perspectives, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 269-313, December.
    15. Ionela-Corina Chersan, 2017. "Accounting research in Romania: state of affairs, possible causes and deviations," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 15(148), pages 595-595.
    16. Gebreiter, Florian, 2022. "A profession in peril? University corporatization, performance measurement and the sustainability of accounting academia," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).

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