The SCOPUS Diaries and the (il)logics of Academic Survival

Now that academics are required to be teachers, managers, media catalyzers, analysts, fundraisers, and social media animals: How do you strike a good balance between what is expected from you and what you want to do? What conferences to attend? How to find the money to go there? Is it worth it to act as a peer reviewer? What publishers are best to target? Is publishing a chapter in an edited book worth the work? This book is intended to help scholars to design and think strategically about their own career. Beginning with “How to get published in good journals,” it explores a number of questions that most academics encounter at various stages of their careers.

Abel Polese: scholar, development worker, writer, and wannabe musician (with his children at Multea Music YouTube channel). He works at Dublin City University and has, to date, published 15 books, over 100 peer-reviewed chapters and articles and designed capacity building and training programs on the Caucasus, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America (funded by, inter alia, the EC, UNDP, Erasmus National Agencies, Irish Aid). In addition to “The Scopus Diaries” he has been working on the blog (and future book) “the guide to everywhere,” suggesting an approach to travel that can make people “read” new countries and cultures even when one encounters them for the first time.

“Polese’s demystification of peer review and the high-stakes gambit of academic publishing is well overdue. He lifts the lid on both overall strategies and the no less important nitty-gritty aspects.”—Jeremy Morris, Aarhus University “There have recently been several depictions of the precarity of contemporary academic life, but the Scopus Diaries stands out among these. What is refreshing in Polese's book is that it moves beyond mere diagnosis—it not only identifies key problematics but also productively engages in their potential solution.”—Martin Demant Frederiksen, University of Copenhagen “This is a must-read if you are in academia and do not yet have a tenured position. Even more urgently, it is a must-read for everyone who wants to or should have to reflect on the complex and sometimes counter-productive logics of today's (social) science production.”—Heiko Pleines, Professor of Comparative Politics at the University of Bremen, Germany “The Scopus Diaries is an indispensable guide for early researchers who often find it difficult to balance academic life with their non-academic passion. If offers a vision of work-life balance from one of the best in the field. A must-read primer for non-Western scholars interested in learning about the academic strategies in the West.”—Rajan Kumar, Jahawaral Nehru University India “The book is a welcome attempt to start a candid, unapologetic discussion about the 'black box' of being an untenured academic. The issues Dr. Polese brings into focus using his rich personal experiences will resonate with many colleagues with longer or shorter academic careers due personal experience or that of colleagues. His conclusions, whether one agrees with them or not, will certainly provide food for thought both for experienced as well as aspiring academics.”—Borbála Kovács, Central European University, Budapest "The neoliberalised university thrives on metrics, performances, citations, and research income. Modern academics have to reluctantly navigate these waters and this can be a daunting task, particularly for those at the early stages of their careers. The Scopus Diaries will help them in this endeavor through a series of precious tips and strategies that most researchers wished they knew about when they started a PhD."—Filippo Menga, University of Reading and Scopus Early Career Researcher UK Award Winner for 2018 (Social Sciences) "Abel Polese has acquired an unrivalled understanding of how academia works and has now distilled his insights to provide an indispensable guide to navigate through the maze. The only mystery is why he has decided to share this precious insider information. My advice is to grab a copy before he reconsiders."—Donnacha Ó Beacháin, Dublin City University

“However, the book is more than just a set of useful guidelines. Polese offers fresh impulses to the ‘publish or perish’ debate, and you should not miss this contribution. It is well a written, easy-to-read, pragmatic and sometimes cynical view of the life of scholars.”—Politologický ?asopis (Czech Journal of Political Science, No. 3, Vol. XXVI)

"In The Scopus Diaries and the (Il)Logics of Academic Survival, Abel Polese helps to demystify many of the inner workings of academia for researchers and the challenges that these present through a FAQ format that readers can dip in and out of to explore topics ranging from organising a panel at a conference to arranging your bibliography and writing good abstracts. This is a useful eye-opening guide for new academics that emphasises the value of setting one’s own goals and personal boundaries when navigating academia"—Hind Hussein, LSE Book Reviews