Unequal Pathways to Publication: A Large-scale Study of Social Science Conference Papers and Their Publication Outcomes

• In Event: 20412 - New Methods & Data in Inequality Research

Abstract

The most influential sociological research often takes the form of academic publications, yet only a fraction of all research conducted reaches this stage. The journey from research paper to publication can vary significantly depending on the topic, focal subgroups, and characteristics of the authors. Consequently, the body of published work may not fully reflect the diversity of sociological research. In this study, we treat all papers presented at the ASA and PAA annual conferences as a pool of "potentially publishable" sociological and demographic papers. We create the Path2Pub ("Pathways to Publication") database to track whether and when these conference papers were ultimately published. By merging this data with external sources to incorporate a wide range of author-, article-, and institution-specific variables, we examine how factors such as author demographics, institutional affiliations, research topics, methodological approaches, and focal subgroups influence both the likelihood and timing of publication. These analyses will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the inequalities in the production of sociological knowledge.

Authors

• Siwei Cheng, New York University

• Avra Janz, New York University