Independent Thinking on Publishing's Future
Introduction The traditional academic journal is under pressure from open access, publisher consolidation, slow peer review, preprints and the culture of metrics. This article looks at each of these forces and at the new models growing up alongside the journal, with updates on what has changed since it was first published. Key points Academic journals … Read more
Introduction Academic publishers are paid twice for research they neither fund nor write: once by libraries for access and, increasingly, again by authors for open access. This article explains how that model works, why it is so profitable and why resistance has been slow. Key points There’s a bizarre paradox at the heart of academia: … Read more
Introduction The phrase “publish or perish” in academic publishing has become a kind of mantra—ominous, omnipresent, and seemingly unshakable. It encapsulates a reality where scholarly output is no longer just a means of sharing knowledge but a metric for academic survival. For early-career researchers and tenured professors alike, the pressure to churn out publications is … Read more
Introduction Impact factors, h-indices and citation counts were designed to describe journals and literature, not to decide careers. This article argues that their misuse now distorts how research is done and judged, and looks at the reforms, from DORA to CoARA, that aim to put expert judgement back at the centre of research assessment. Key … Read more
Introduction The European academic publishing landscape has undergone seismic shifts in recent years, with open access (OA) reform taking center stage. Plan S is at the forefront of this transformation, a bold initiative launched in 2018 by cOAlition S—an international consortium of national research funders and charitable foundations. Its mission? To make all publicly funded … Read more