Academic freedom and a critique of 'top quality' accounting research

Abstract

The retraction of articles, suspected to be fraudulent in their nature, in so-called 'top quality' accounting research journals is a reason the quality of accounting research should not be judged, and never should have been judged, by the mere reputation of the journal in which the published article appears. Instead, accounting research articles should be judged, and always should have been judged, by the content of the article published regardless of where it is published. Judging the quality of research by mere reference to the journal in which it is published is irrational. And, more importantly, making faculty personnel decisions based, at least in part, on the judged 'quality' of someone's research, much less on the mere 'quality' of the journal in which it is published, is a denial of the academic freedom to which all faculty are entitled in their research and teaching.