Scientific writing and publication in social work: issues and concerns

[Extract] As early as 2001, Alter and Adkins, in their interesting article in Journal of Social Work Education, referred to the declining ability of social work students to write proficiently as a 'writing crisis' and reported the outcome of 'Writing Counts' a writing assistance programme at a graduate school of social work. This is one of the most serious issues with which the social work profession in India, especially in the context of the 'not so good' status of the profession in the country even after its successful existence for over 75 years. The western academia's dictum of 'publish or perish' has somehow not yet fully caught up with the social work academic community in India. However, in recent times, owing to stiff competition for entry into faculty positions and thanks to the stricter guidelines of the apex higher educational body namely. The University Grants Commission insisting on Academic Performance Indicators (API) scored on various parameters including publications, social work faculty members and aspirants have started showing interest in getting their research articles and books published. There has been a phenomenal increase in the number of ISSN classified journals and ISBN classified books during the last few years. Even though much remains to be desired with regard to the quality of publications, it is heartening to see the upsurge in interest to publish among social work faculty, doctoral and pre-doctoral (M.Phil) students and even MSW trainees