The Quality of the Journal in the Electronic Environment

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The Quality of the Journal in the Electronic
Environment

• Floyd E. Bloom
• The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA

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My Background

• 1972-now Editl Board Brain Research
• 1994-now (with W.G.Young) Developers of
  SMARTWorks
• 1995-2000 Editor-in-Chief, SCIENCE
• 1999-now Editor Brain Research Interactive,
  Convener BRI Conferences
• 1/01 Editor-in-Chief , Brain Research

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The Threat

• The transition from print to electronic
  publication will adversely affect the quality of
  the peer review process and consequently the
  quality of the corpus of scientific literature.

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Behind the Threat

• Internet makes paperless publishing possible
• Los Alamos Preprint Server
• PubMed/Central/Public Library of Science

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My View

• High quality journals disseminated in print and
  online (synergistically) will remain the
  preferred scholarly venue for author's best works
• BUT only if the performance of Editors and
  Reviewers can be improved and appropriately
  rewarded.

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The Challenge

• How can we as Journal Editors improve our
  performance?
• How can we attract high(er) quality authors?

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Why Do Authors Pick Their Journal of Choice?

• Peer Appreciation
• Timeliness of Decisions and Publication
• Quality in Appearance
• Readership Citations
• Impact

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The Conventional Peer Review Process
How Does This Change in the Digital Era?
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(No Transcript)
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Authors Are Rewarded by Excellence in Publishing.
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Grateful Anonymity
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Electronic Manuscript Submittal Review
SMARTWorks

• Scientific Manuscript Authoring, Reviewing and
  Transmittal
• BRIs 1998-2001
• Author Options
• Editor Options
• Reviewer Options Issues

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Other Options

• SCIENCE Online/Express
• ScholarONE
• Elsevier Science Online Submissions (Akyildiz)
• ? Others

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Reviewers The Achilles Heel of Peer Review

• Wisdom Is Finite
• Wise Reviewer Pool Shallow
• Journal Allegiance Limited
• Pressures Numerous
• Journals Striving to Rise Need Extra Efforts
• Delays Counterproductive Regardless of Reasons

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Electronic Distribution of Manuscripts for Peer
Review Remains Problematic

• Insufficient Peer Reviewer Pools
• Some Wise Reviewers Are Digitally Challenged or
  Unwilling
• Old Habits Dont Readily Die
• All Old Issues Remain Open-ness Age/ Past
  Records / Activity
• Editorial Boards Show, not Go
• Journal Allegiance/History

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Other Critical Impediments

• Authors Instructions
• Formats / Software/ Graphics
• Reviewers Pressures Responding
• Heightened Expectations of Participants in the
  Process

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Improving Journal Quality

• Encourage Reviewer Performance
• Define Review Criteria
• Shape Reviewers
• Attract Authors via Reviewing
• Enhance Reviewer Prestige
• Reward Reviewers Info// ?
• Elsevier Science Author Feedback Program

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The Quality of the Journal in the Electronic
Environment

• Floyd E. Bloom
• The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA