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The whole problem of scientific publishing is entangled with what I call the evaluation problem: just as it is easier to set an exam and sort students by the gr
by albertcardona 18y ago
The whole problem of scientific publishing is entangled with what I call the evaluation problem: just as it is easier to set an exam and sort students by the grade they get (despite being nearly void of actual meaning), it's also easier to assign a value to each published paper (the infamous impact factor of the journal that swallowed it) and then sort applications for a professorship position by their "score".
Of course direct interviews can tell you a lot more of the real capabilities of both student and applicant, but the inherent laziness and carelessness of bureaucratic systems (like universities and ministries of science and the like), added to the excess of applicants for any given position (in most cases), leads us to the present situation in publishing: abuse of power. Scientific publishers do what they do, unchallenged, because they can.
PLoS and BMC are a first attempt to create real competition in scientific publishing. They are succeeding: both got rated high, and are respectable and well-known. Are you a scientist? Consider sending your paper to these two publishers. All your readers will get free access to your publications.
The catch, though, is that publishing has a cost. Both PLoS and BMC charge anywhere between $500 and $1500 for a published paper. Then they don't charge the readers. All other journals charge subscription fees (for libraries, the fees are in the tens or even the hundreds of thousands of dollars per year), while not charging the authors one single dime (most subscription-based for-profit journals, at least in biology, do not charge for publishing). So researchers are enticed to send their papers there and be done with it, not draining grant money for the purpose.
When looking at tax dollars spent, though, those researchers who publish in subscription-based for-profit journals are committing a disservice to the public that funds their research.