CAREERS IN PRINT - BOOKS, JOURNALS, AND SCHOLARLY REPUTATIONS

Academic reputation rests on publication. But unlike many fields, soci ology recognizes both journal articles and books, thereby complicating the relation of publication to reputation. Drawing on the sociology o f science and organization theory to analyze elite sociology journals and books nominated for a major prize, the authors show how genre stru ctures scholarly fields and shapes the reception of texts. Method and evidence, not subject matter, distinguish articles from books. Private universities ''prefer'' books, while scholars trained at public unive rsities are more likely to publish articles. Gender and rank are assoc iated with choice of genre, while citation rates increase with authors ' prior publication records. Books generate conversations across subfi elds and disciplines; articles serve as a currency of evaluation withi n sociology.