Research, publication productivity, and applied social science

The recent growth of applied research creates a new context for studying the correlates of publication productivity among academic social scientists. This paper reports a study of the individual and structural characteristics related to publication productivity among academics in one applied field: social work. In a national sample of social work educators, the primary predictors of publication are tenured status (vs. untenured), attainment of a doctoral degree (vs. masters), and primary interest in research (vs. teaching). The article emphasizes the similarities between social work academics and other academic social scientists, and highlights the links between research interest and training, applied research, and publication productivity.