Arbitrary limits to scholarly speech: Why (short) word limits should be abolished

Abstract

Most journals in political science and sociology set stringent word or page limits, a fact of which every author is keenly aware. By all reports, researchers expend a good deal of effort trying to work within these limits. This might involve revising successive drafts until the final version slips just under the ceiling, moving sections of a paper into online appendices, splitting up a subject into "minimal publishing units," shopping around for a publication venue with less stringent limits, or trying to negotiate special terms with an editor.