Academic writing and publishing in India: Is quality a touchstone?

Abdul Azeez E.P.

Abdul Azeez E.P. Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Amity Institute of Behavioural and Allied Sciences, Amity University Gurgaon, Gurgaon, Haryana, India.

Keywords: Academic Writing, Publishing, API (Academic Performance Indicator)

Abstract

This paper explores the current trends of academic writing and publishing in India. The recent past has marked the reverberation of journals and other opportunities for publishing scholarly works in numerous platforms. Negative trends have also grown along with this publication boom as far the quality is concerned. Paid publication, publication without a peer review system, plagiarism and unethical practices have become quite common these days. The contest to increase API (Academic Performance Indicator) through publication has done injustice to the system of knowledge dissemination. This analysis is based on an assessment conducted by reviewing a number of research papers/articles and books. The papers for analysis were selected using the criteria developed by Jeffrey Beall for 'Determining Predatory Open-Access Publishers' (This criterion is in accordance with Committee on Publication Ethics). Fifty articles/research papers were analyzed from the field of social sciences and humanities. The probable chances of being reviewed, plagiarism, language, citation, referencing, nature of author's institutional affiliation and other aspects are analyzed.