I want a productivity book for academics that builds in saying yes to things. Our field falls apart if everyone says no, or the only people saying yes are the same people saying yes to other things (typically folks already overburdened by other crap). And it’s in your interest.
Why should you say yes to that review request? You get a chance to see new research. You read someone’s fresh take on the literature. You get to practice your critiquing skills lest they go soft. You force yourself to read an article (great if you’re not keeping up with the lit).
Why should you say yes to that book review request? You get to read new research. You have to read it by a certain time (when were you really going to read it?). You read it at a deeper level bc you have to summarize and critique it. You get a free book. You get a chance at…
making a more creative point about the state of the literature.
Why should you say yes to being a panel discussant? You get to read and hear 4-5 new research papers before they are even submitted. You get to practice your critiquing skills (bonus points for practicing the type of generous critique with a live audience). You might learn about
new methods, new techniques, new literature, new interesting case studies, new ways of doing things that you wouldn’t have known about. You’re guaranteed not to have a conflict at the conference so you can attend those talks that are in your area bc you’re on the program, baby!
Why should you say yes to reading your friend’s paper before they send it out to review. Repeating all the other stuff: see new research before it comes out, might learn something, etc. But also now they owe you the favor and they can read one of your papers.
Oh, something common to all of these, but that I forgot: it’s so much easier to critique something in someone else’s paper than to critique (really, recognize) it in your paper. “This paper is stupid, it does X. Oh, wait, I do X, too. My paper is also stupid. Must fix that.”
The point is, there are lots of self-interested reasons to say yes to service things. Use that self-interest for the good of the field. Don’t be a purely selfish shit that mooches off others’ labor. (Directing this at the actual mooches by choice, not people facing big shit.)
(And by big shit, I mean primary caregiving responsibilities, illness and disability, etc. Legit reasons to be overwhelmed. Big shit is not the “I need the best h-index I can get, so I say no to service” bullshit.)
At my first job, a friend from another department on campus told me they were instructed to keep their door closed and ignore their grad students bc it took time away from the prof’s research. I ran a monthly qual meth working group and was told to stop bc took time away…
This shit is not healthy. You can be perfectly productive working 1-2 hours a day on research and do the rest of your duties for the remaining 5-8 hours (or whatever it is people work).
And ffs, say no to service shit you don’t believe in. There’s a lot of make-work bullshit here.
But if you don’t believe in peer review, book reviews, having discussants and panels, etc., don’t be a hypocrite and benefit from those things.
Ashley T. Rubin 