The NY Times Weighs in on SSRN

In Now Professors Get Their Star Rankings, Too
(New York Times, June 9, 2008), Noam Cohen
remarks on the significance of Social Science
Research Network (SSRN) rankings of
downloads from its popular open access
academic site. Says Cohen, "The research network
raises ...big questions about what is lost and what is
gained by removing the barriers to being heard in the
public square," asking, "Is it good that research that has
not been reviewed by peers can be found so easily and looks
just the same as gold-star approved work?"

The article includes the comments of SSRN founders and law
professors on the value of access to scholarship sans
'gatekeepers.'


Hat tip to Marie S. Newman's post on the
topic at Out of the Jungle.