It is no surprise to the readers of this blog that (a) I am for open source publishing, (b) open review process and (c) for online only journals. InsideHigherEd informs us of an experiment (that is fairly successful, as of now) in moving away from the traditional paper based scholarly publication towards online only, open source publication, which is peer reviewed:
Without costs associated with “ink and postage,” most costs go away at such journals, he said, because authors and peer reviewers aren’t paid. He periodically has hired copy editors or purchased art for the old and new models, so those costs stay the same. Obviously, Indiana’s library built up the infrastructure that allows him to place the journal online, but with those costs established, Jackson said he spent “about $20″ last year to publish a journal reaching many more people.
Then there’s the question of quality. Here Jackson said that he is showing quality control to be possible because he’s recruiting the same types of people (or the same people) for peer review for both journals. He initially noticed that some online comments from peer reviewers came back along the lines of “what’s it going to hurt to publish one more article.” While in a cyberspace way, it wouldn’t hurt at all, as there is no shortage of room or additional paper cost, Jackson said that he wants to be cognizant of people’s time. Readers of the online journal need to feel a high comfort level in the quality of the journal, he said. “Just because we can doesn’t mean we want to publish an infinite amount.”
Once that’s explained, he said, peer reviewers apply the same rigor as the past. So to Jackson, the new model has obvious appeal in that he’s reaching more people, has a close relationship with his publisher, and faces no costs. The quality of submissions is similar, he said, although he has noticed that there are still some pre-tenured scholars who want to be in print because they aren’t sure the more senior professors who will be judging them on tenure fully appreciate the online publishing world.
At some point, I do hope that they make the reviews also open, and, that many senior professors begin appreciating the online publishing world.
February 28, 2008 at 7:21 pm |
Hi Guru,
Eppadi irukkeenga? Visited ur blog through orkut.. Glad to know updates about u from ur orkut profile.. How are ur (ex)labmates and friends from IISc?
March 6, 2008 at 11:58 am |
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