Tag Archives: publishing

Can you publish too many papers?

Can you publish too many papers?

Competition for jobs and grants in academia has never been tougher. The constant drive to “publish or perish” can make you feel like your career will end unless your output is superhuman. Sometimes, it’s even before graduation as some programs demand publication before awarding a PhD. Adding to those worries are people whose output is […] … learn more→

Publishing in top ranked journals

Publishing in top ranked journals

Doctoral and emerging researchers often believe that they must, from the very get go, publish in highly ranked journals. Where does this idea come from. Well sometimes word of mouth. Sometimes universities may try to point researchers in the top ranked journal direction. Some universities actually offer clear instructions about what journals to choose via […] … learn more→

When is a paper published?

When is a paper published?

When a paper is published could seem obvious but this is not a trivial question. For some time now, a research article can display several different dates that can prove confusing when trying to work out when a scholarly publication is actually released. In the hardcopy print era, before the Web shook up the academic […] … learn more→

Making Australian research free for everyone to read sounds ideal. But the Chief Scientist’s open-access plan isn’t risk-free

Making Australian research free for everyone to read sounds ideal. But the Chief Scientist’s open-access plan isn’t risk-free

Chief Scientist Cathy Foley is leading an open access strategy for Australia. Foley estimates the Australian government invests A$12 billion a year of public money in research and innovation only for most of the publications that eventuate to be locked behind a paywall, inaccessible to industry and the taxpayer. At the same time, Australian universities and […] … learn more→

Open access at no cost? Just ditch academic journals

Open access at no cost? Just ditch academic journals

Plan S is clear: science must be public and publicly funded research must be accessible by anyone. Like many colleagues, I am keen to see this happening. How to make it happen is, however, a different story. In an effort to liberalise the market, Plan S asked the publishers to disclose the price for open access […] … learn more→

Another journal rejection? Put on your helmet

Another journal rejection? Put on your helmet

I had two papers rejected this week: one by a psychiatry journal, the other by a business ethics journal. The former was a “desk rejection”, communicated via the usual cut-and-pasted paragraphs from an “associate editor”, whatever that is. The latter enclosed two reviews: one lukewarm, the other distinctly chilly. That paper had been rejected before. […] … learn more→

Nature’s OA fee seems outrageously high – but many will pay it

Nature’s OA fee seems outrageously high – but many will pay it

On 24 November, Twitter exploded with outrage at the announcement that the publisher Springer Nature plans to introduce an open access (OA) option for its Nature research journals, with an article processing charge (APC) of a whopping €9,500 (£8,290 or $11,390). Particular scorn was heaped on a subsidiary pilot scheme called “guided OA”, whereby authors can pay €2,190 in […] … learn more→

Kinder publishing practices should become the new normal

Kinder publishing practices should become the new normal

The impact on teaching of the forced closure of university campuses around the world has understandably dominated institutional and press attention, with lecturers scrambling to learn new technologies and pedagogies so that disruption is minimised. But the implications of the coronavirus-related shutdown on research is also huge. Limited or no access to labs and research […] … learn more→

Academic publishing must better serve science and society

Academic publishing must better serve science and society

Writing has always been the storehouse of human knowledge and the backbone of civilisations. To this day, it carries our best hopes for building a better future. Within it is the potential to curb climate change, stave off drought and famine and cure diseases. However, the flow of information is stifled by the very means […] … learn more→