Please consider submitting a proposal for a paper presentation at the 25th Annual Ethnographic & Qualitative Research Conference (EQRC). The proposal deadline is March 20, 2013. For more details, visit the conference website.

The keynote speaker at the conference is a very interesting choice, not the usual qual research personality. Here is the description of his address on the conference website:

Avoiding the Peril of Publishing Qualitative Scholarship in Predatory Journals
Jeffrey Beall, M.S.L.S.
Scholarly Initiatives Librarian
University of Colorado Denver

Publications have historically been the moorings of higher education. Journals, in particular, have served two invaluable purposes. One is to engage scholars as research and theories are generated and disseminated for debate, further exploration, peer-review, and replication. Additionally, journals serve as a permanent archive for scholarship so that future generations can historically trace research findings and paradigms, building from what is known and has come before.

Printed journals have been the longstanding mainstay for publishing in higher education. With the advent of the internet, however, some journal publishers have moved to new publishing models. Whether the shift is a boon or bane, of course, remains to be seen as the move is one currently in progress. As with many facets of higher education, it may prove in time to be some of both.

Within this context, Mr. Beall will present his current scholarship regarding one particular facet of the current open access publication movement: predatory journals. Due to the burgeoning nature of on-line journal publications, Mr. Beall will focus his presentations on publication companies, rather than on specific journals that propagate vanity publications. Among other scholars in this field, Mr. Beall has gained cogent notoriety for taking the steps of (a) comprising a list of publishers that he considers to be predatory and (b) generating criteria that he believes helps scholars to distinguish high quality from predatory journal publishing.

Qualitative researchers at all phases of their academic careers will find Mr. Beall’s presentation to be valuable (junior through senior faculty). Departments within institutions typically set criteria by which scholars earn tenure, promotion, and financial raises. These standards expect certain levels of academic rigor to be demonstrated by the respective faculty. Mr. Beall will help scholars to recognize on-line predatory journals, differentiating them from those of advanced quality. Any participant who someday will serve on tenure & promotion committees, or participate in similar departmental processes involving peer-evaluation, will find the presentation particularly useful.

Qualitative researchers sometimes find it challenging to locate journals without biases toward scholarship that does not specifically apply the traditional scientific method. Mr. Beall will help conference participants, however, avoid the temptation trap of succumbing to predatory journals. The so-called green and gold models of open access may someday become the way of future publication, according to some academic futurists, and current qualitative scholars must be adequately informed regarding the issues, making good current publication decisions in a field that is rapidly changing.

The conference is affordable and centrally-located in Ohio, making it readily accessible to all by driving or flying. Note that all interactive poster and lecture presentation conference papers are invited for submission, review, and potential publication in a printed, peer-reviewed periodical, the Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research (JEQR).

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