Merit Before Profit: Representing Underrepresented Research

With each passing day, there are more and more trending research topics that are considered popular and highly profitable as they are at the forefront of the academic community’s focus. However, there are even more research topics that are considered less mainstream, in fact quite niche, but no less important. Giving these narrow or lesser-known topics a proper publication platform to grow and prosper, is not only considered risky by many larger conglomerate publishers, but something they won’t even consider.

It is our mission at IGI Global to publish timely, innovative knowledge. This knowledge comes in many different forms, and more often than not, exceeds the idea of profit. Certain topics that are not currently at the forefront of popular research are necessary and crucial to publish and disseminate. Niche topics that many other publishers reject for fear of losing profit are welcomed at our publishing house.

During the proposal review process, we consider books from all subject areas with the same level of care and scrutiny. Whether the topic is niche or not, the Executive Editorial Board focuses on the weight of the topic and the importance of the information for the academic community and global society.

IGI Global’s editorial and marketing teams are adept at assisting authors and editors with finding a niche that the book can fit into in the research community. We understand the significance of these topics and will do everything in our power to assist the book as it is being developed and as it is then shared with the academic community.

We hold the merit of the research ahead of profit and therefore take all subjects under review seriously when determining the credibility and reputability of the research. Our double-blind peer review process assures that all research presented in our collections is reputable. Rigorous review is performed on every research work that we publish. We care for the quality of the research and its benefit in filling an existing gap in the current body of literature, over its popularity or profitability.

We understand the importance of representing a wide array of research from every region of the world. Just as important as allowing even the most niche research areas to make their mark on the academic research community, researchers at all stages of their career should also be given the platform to share their advanced research results. We pride ourselves in our ability to provide diverse insight in our collections. During our 30+ years in publishing, we have worked with more than 150,000 academicians from over 200+ countries. Of that count, 40% of our contributors come from non-western regions of the world. Further, we hold an established network of reviewers from 140+ countries. This diversity is a value that we hold at the core of our business operations, knowing that limiting research to only western countries is restrictive of the amount of quality research works and, therefore, global knowledge.

It is essential to give equal opportunity to all quality academicians, no matter the career-level, region, first language, or institution. We offer these essential resources for all our contributors:

• Resources to help increase international collaborations and overcome cultural barriers.
• Educational materials and workshops to help mentor early career researchers and those who face language barriers.
• Enhanced author services, including English language copy editing, scientific and scholarly review, and more.

We consider contributions from early career researchers and well-established academicians equally; each proposal that we receive is vetted with the same level of care and analysis. Early career researchers are just as capable of presenting innovative and creative new approaches deserving of publication as well-established academicians. Despite it not being the most profitable option, we find it crucial to prevent the limitation of quality research works based on career-level or institutional status.

Do you have a new and exciting, or possibly underrepresented research area that you are interested in publishing about? We are still accepting new book project proposals for the 2022 copyright year (published between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022) and have recently opened the acquiring period for new book project proposals for the 2023 copyright year (published between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023). IGI Global prides itself on being at the forefront of innovation no matter how niche the topic. We are always happy to take the time to speak with any researcher interested in submitting a proposal about their latest research activities and book concept ideas.

We are currently seeking proposals on these research topics; however, we would be happy to review topics beyond our research areas of interest. If you are interested in submitting a proposal for consideration, we kindly ask that you please fill out and submit the online book proposal form. Currently, after a proposal is submitted for consideration, a final decision from the Executive Editorial Board will be emailed to you in less than two (2) weeks.

If you should happen to have any questions about the proposal form, our publishing processes, or if you would like to discuss your book concept idea with us, our Acquisitions Team would be happy to assist you. We welcome you to contact us at acquisition@igi-global.com.