Metadiscourse in Digital Communication. New Research, Approaches and Methodologies

Where most work on scholarly (and digital) publication has focused on the experiences and practices of authors in scholarly publication, this volume will shift the focus to the certifiers of scientific knowledge. By bringing together experts in a variety of areas in Applied Linguistics, we intend to address the complex topic of editing and reviewing in writing for scholarly publication. Drawing on auto-ethnographic perspectives, we will bring to the fore personal histories, narratives and first-hand accounts of editors and reviewers and help paint a richer and more nuanced picture of the discourses, practices, experiences, success stories, failures, and challenges that frame and shape trajectories of both Anglophone and English as an additional language (EAL) scholars in accrediting academic output. The book will examine editing and reviewing practices over time and within broader socio-economic, socio-cultural, and socio-political contexts in which those practices are situated. That is, it will trace reviewers and editors’ trajectories toward becoming auditors of academic discourse and showcase how these experts in diverse contexts across the globe develop required genre knowledge and academic literacies, are socialized into their target communities of practice, develop and negotiate their identities in academic review process, arrive at the decisions they make and the criteria they use in certifying academic output as well as envisage the future of this critical enterprise. By bringing a range of international perspectives from editors and reviewers of prestigious academic journals to this topic, the volume aims to address recent calls and the urgent need for more ethnographic approaches to the study of the enterprise of knowledge construction, adjudication, and dissemination. This volume will offer new and useful insights for early-career and established scholars and stake-holders and enrich the field’s understanding of the issues and complexities involved in auditing scholarly publication.