Book Review:The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing

Abstract

The Handbook of Scholarly Writing and Publishing comprises 21 chapters by 36 emerging and established academics, including 14 women, most from United States (US). It is edited by the current assistant editor and former editor of the ISI journal Human Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ). HRDQ criteria are met by only between 10 and 20 per cent of articles submitted. The specific aim of the Handbook is to ‘enable emerging scholars and anyone else wishing to improve their writing skills to better understand the parts of a manuscript and how they fit together and support each other to create a quality publication’ (p. xiii). Two specialists in adult literacy are co-authors of one chapter, and another is co-authored by a language specialist; but the background of most authors is Human Resource Development (HRD), education, and management. Several are current or former editors of prestigious academic journals with awards for writing. These successful practitioners focus on the ‘how’ of ‘scholarly writing’; the Handbook largely eschews scholarship or controversies about academic publishing, except for a chapter on barriers faced by Asian students. Its main concern is to offer guidance on publishing from the dissertation, though editorials, book reviews and opinion pieces for refereed and non-refereed journals are also discussed...