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Revision as of 20:33, 22 March 2006
This guideline, sometimes referred to as the professor test, is meant to reflect consensus about the notability of academics as measured by their academic achievements.
Criteria
If an academic/professor meets any one of the following conditions, they are definitely notable. If an academic/professor meets none of these conditions, they may still be notable, and the merits of an article on the academic/professor will depend largely on verifiability.
- The person is regarded as an expert in their area by independent sources.
- The person is regarded as an important figure by those in the same field.
- The person has published a large quantity of academic work (of at least reasonable quality).
- The person has published a well-known or high quality academic work.
- The person is known for originating an important new concept, theory or idea.
- The person is known for their involvement in significant events relating to their academic achievements.
- The person is known for being the advisor of an especially notable student.
- The person has received a notable award or honor, or has been often nominated for them.
Examples
Some examples of applications of this guideline follow.
- An academic who has published a book of general interest, a widely-used textbook, or non-academic articles in periodicals with significant readership is notable as an author, regardless of their academic achievements.
- An academic repeatedly quoted in newspapers or newsmagazines may be considered to meet criterion 1. A small number of quotations, especially in local newsmedia, is not unexpected for academics and so falls short of this mark.
- An academic meeting criterion 2 will probably meet other criteria as well. Nonetheless, in theory, an academic meeting only criterion 2 would certainly be notable.
- It is hard for those not in an academic's own field to judge criteria 3 and 4: researchers in some areas publish many more papers than in other areas: in some cases, books are the standard form of publication. Nonetheless, numbers of publications can be judged quantitatively to a degree. The importance of a paper can often be deduced from the number of citations of it.
- A caution about Google scholar: Google scholar works well for fields that are (1) paper-oriented and (2) all (or nearly all) respected venues have an online presence. Most papers written by a computer scientist will show up, but for less technologically up-to-date fields, it's dicey. Thus, Google scholar should rarely be used as proof of non-notability.
- If an academic is the originator of an idea or concept that is significant and important within its area, they meet criterion 5, however, the originator of an idea that is similar to previously existing ideas may not meet criterion 5.
- Criterion 6 is a bit of an unusual case. If a professor meets this criterion (such as Ward Churchill does), they will probably be notable beyond their academic career. Nonetheless, an event may be important within an academic field, and a professor associated with it may be notable for that reason.
- One of the measures of importance in academia is the achievements of one's students (normally PhD students, but exceptions are possible). A professor with a particularly well-known student may be notable for this reason alone: such an academic meets criterion 7. However, merely having a notable student is not sufficient: (1) the student should be extremely notable, and (2) the academic should be a primary influence on that student.
- Receiving full professorship at a prestigious university, or receiving a named professorship at a reputable university, may be considered an award or honor under criterion 8.
Caveats
Some caveats to this guideline follow.
- Note that if a professor is notable only for their connection to a single concept, paper, idea, or event, it may be more appropriate to include information about them on the related page, and to leave the entry under the academic as a redirect page.
- Note that as this is a guideline and not a rule, exceptions may well exist. Some academics may not meet any of these criteria, but may still be notable for their academic work. It is important to note that it is very difficult to make clear requirements in terms of numbers of publications or their quality: the criteria, in practice, vary greatly by field. Also, this proposal sets the bar fairly low, which is natural: to a degree, academics live in the public arena, trying to influence others with their ideas. It is natural that successful ones should be considered notable.
See professor for more information about academic ranks and their meanings. Note that academic ranks are different in different countries.