ANU Law research papers on SSRN top 100,000 downloads
The ANU College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series is an open-source repository where web users can download papers by current and past scholars at the College.
The Australian National University (ANU) College of Law is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, but recently it notched up another impressive milestone: 100,000 research paper downloads at the international journal and repository SSRN, formerly known as the Social Science Research Network.
Edited by senior lecturer Dr Darryn Jensen, the ANU College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series has more than 800 papers dating back 20 years authored by current and past College scholars. Dr Jensen, a legal theorist and private law researcher, curates the series' online editions emailed monthly to subscribers.
In this Q&A, Dr Jensen reveals how the series has grown into an online hub for legal scholars around the world who collectively make around 10,000 unique visits per month.
Dr Darryn Jensen has been editor of the research paper series since mid-2018.
Can you share a brief overview of our SSRN research paper series and your role as editor?
The research paper series is an opportunity to showcase a sample of recent research outputs within the ANU College of Law. My job as editor is to select a representative sample of recent research by colleagues for feature in each monthly issue of the series.
What does it mean to have 100,000 downloads of papers, and what has been most rewarding for you since becoming editor in mid-2018?
Well, it has not really been my achievement. The series was started some years before I took on the editorship, although there as a hiatus before I took over. In any event, the production of papers to be featured in the series is the achievement of the entire College.
Personally, I have found that editing the series has given me a greater awareness of the range of research that is being done within the College and who is doing what. Unfortunately, as academics, we sometimes get totally absorbed by our own projects and lose sight of what is going on around us.
One of the most impressive insights is the global reach of the series. What has driven such interest?
ANU Law has a strong international reputation. I would like to think that legal scholars around the world are subscribing to our series alongside the SSRN legal research papers series from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, Sydney and Melbourne.
““Knowing what your colleagues are working on and identifying possible connections with your own work are important.””
And finally, what benefits does our research paper series offer our scholars?
The series offers an insight into the range of research being produced in the College. Knowing what your colleagues are working on and identifying possible connections with your own work are important. Of course, it is a chance to get some publicity for your own recent work. Ideally, some people will even read it and then cite it in their own work.
Subscribe to the ANU College of Law Legal Studies Research Paper Series here.
