Social Science Research Network
Encyclopedia
The Social Science Research Network (SSRN) is a website
devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences
and humanities
. SSRN is viewed as particularly strong in the fields of economics
, finance
, accounting, management
, and law
. SSRN was founded in 1994 by Michael Jensen
(a financial economist) and Wayne Marr. Jensen continues to serve as chairman of the company. Gregg Gordon is SSRN's president and CEO.
Academic papers in PDF
can be uploaded directly to the site by authors. Most papers are available for worldwide free downloading, but there are papers available only for a fee. Users can also subscribe to abstracting email
journals covering a broad range of subject matters. These e-journals then periodically distribute emails containing abstracts (with links to the full text where applicable) of papers recently submitted to SSRN in the respective field.
In economics, and to some degree in law (especially in the field of law and economics
), almost all papers are now first published as preprint
s on SSRN and/or other paper distribution networks such as RePEc
before being submitted to an academic journal
.
On SSRN, authors and papers are ranked by their number of downloads, which has become an informal indicator of popularity on prepress and open access sites.
SSRN, like other preprint services, circulates publications throughout the scholarly community at an early stage, permitting the author to incorporate comments into the final version of the paper before its publication in a journal. Moreover, even if access to the published paper is restricted, access to the original working paper remains open through SSRN.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
devoted to the rapid dissemination of scholarly research in the social sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
and humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
. SSRN is viewed as particularly strong in the fields of economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, finance
Finance
"Finance" is often defined simply as the management of money or “funds” management Modern finance, however, is a family of business activity that includes the origination, marketing, and management of cash and money surrogates through a variety of capital accounts, instruments, and markets created...
, accounting, management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
, and law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
. SSRN was founded in 1994 by Michael Jensen
Michael Jensen
Michael Cole "Mike" Jensen is an American economist working in the area of financial economics. He is currently the managing director in charge of organizational strategy at Monitor Group, a strategy consulting firm, and the Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at...
(a financial economist) and Wayne Marr. Jensen continues to serve as chairman of the company. Gregg Gordon is SSRN's president and CEO.
Academic papers in PDF
Portable Document Format
Portable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
can be uploaded directly to the site by authors. Most papers are available for worldwide free downloading, but there are papers available only for a fee. Users can also subscribe to abstracting email
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
journals covering a broad range of subject matters. These e-journals then periodically distribute emails containing abstracts (with links to the full text where applicable) of papers recently submitted to SSRN in the respective field.
In economics, and to some degree in law (especially in the field of law and economics
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
), almost all papers are now first published as preprint
Preprint
A preprint is a draft of a scientific paper that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.-Role:Publication of manuscripts in a peer-reviewed journal often takes weeks, months or even years from the time of initial submission, because manuscripts must undergo extensive...
s on SSRN and/or other paper distribution networks such as RePEc
Řepeč
Řepeč is a village and municipality in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 267 ....
before being submitted to an academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
.
On SSRN, authors and papers are ranked by their number of downloads, which has become an informal indicator of popularity on prepress and open access sites.
SSRN, like other preprint services, circulates publications throughout the scholarly community at an early stage, permitting the author to incorporate comments into the final version of the paper before its publication in a journal. Moreover, even if access to the published paper is restricted, access to the original working paper remains open through SSRN.
External links
- SSRN
- The New Look at SSRN: An Interview with Gregg Gordon, from PrawfsBlawg (August 2008)
- Link by Link - Now Professors Get Their Star Rankings, Too, a New York Times article (June 2008)
- Interview with SSRN's Founder, from Growthology.org (June 2008)
- Creating Scholarly Communities and Fostering Innovation, from PKP Scholarly Publishing Conference Blog (July 2007)
- An Interview with SSRN's Gregg Gordon, from Prawfsblawg (June 2006)
- The Publisher, an article about the origin of SSRN
- SSRN Considered Harmful, an article critical of SSRN policies.