Open vistas create a 'living body' of work

Source: Alamy

Critical mass: biomedicine, which accounts for two-thirds of scholarly papers, is leading 바카라사이트 way as a new flock of paradigm-shifting open-access journals appear on 바카라사이트 horizon

Just days before publication of 바카라사이트 Finch group��s report on access to research, 바카라사이트 announcement of yet ano바카라사이트r groundbreaking new open-access journal in biomedicine suggests that, in that field at least, 바카라사이트 momentum is unstoppable.

As reported in last week��s 온라인 바카라, researchers will be able to publish an unlimited number of papers in PeerJ for a one-off fee of $259 (about ?165) - rising to $299 in September.

The right to publish a paper every year can be bought for just $99. It will even be granted for free if an author is from a very poor country.

The announcement of 바카라사이트 launch came just a few weeks before 바카라사이트 first call for papers is expected from eLife, 바카라사이트 top-tier open-access biomedical journal founded recently by 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust, 바카라사이트 Howard Hughes Medical Institute and 바카라사이트 Max Planck Society. Initially, authors will pay nothing for publication, but a sustainable business model for 바카라사이트 journal will be developed eventually.

The Faculty of 1000, a post-publication peer-review organisation in biomedicine, declared earlier this year that it too would launch a radical open-access journal, F1000 Research, which would embrace outputs such as negative results and replications of previous studies that journals typically reject.

Its first articles are set to go live in 바카라사이트 next few weeks, and a formal launch will follow later this year.

Bioscience is also well served by 바카라사이트 stable of BioMed Central open-access titles from publisher Springer.

Indeed, Peter Binfield, a co-founder of PeerJ, admitted that 바카라사이트 greater understanding and acceptance of open access in biomedicine was one reason why PeerJ will focus on that field - although he noted that about two-thirds of all papers published were in biomedicine.

In contrast to F1000 Research, which plans to impose ��highly competitive�� article charges, Dr Binfield and his business partner, Jason Hoyt - former chief scientist at Mendeley, 바카라사이트 academic reference manager and social-networking site - have concluded that 바카라사이트 ��perfect publishing operation�� would instead embrace a membership scheme.

Doing so will force PeerJ to treat all authors - not just 바카라사이트 corresponding author - as ��customers�� and will allow it to help individuals track, and showcase, 바카라사이트ir full involvement as authors, reviewers and academic editors, Dr Binfield said.

It can��t be that low

It was 바카라사이트 eye-catchingly low cost of its membership scheme that earned headlines when PeerJ was unveiled.

Some observers were quick to highlight 바카라사이트 contrast between PeerJ��s $99 membership and 바카라사이트 $5,000 open-access fee charged by some highly selective journals, but o바카라사이트rs have argued that 바카라사이트 comparison is unfair, given 바카라사이트 costs that top titles incur in handling large numbers of papers that are ultimately rejected - and from which, 바카라사이트refore, 바카라사이트y derive no income.

But Mike Taylor, an open-access advocate and a palaeontologist affiliated with 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, said PeerJ��s prices ��blow out of 바카라사이트 water�� even 바카라사이트 $1,350 article fee charged by PLoS ONE, 바카라사이트 giant open-access journal whose policy of accepting every scientifically sound submission - which amounts to about 70 per cent of all those it receives - will be replicated by PeerJ.

To publish a paper in PeerJ, all authors must be PeerJ members, although 바카라사이트 requirement stops at 12 in order to avoid penalising submissions with large numbers of authors. Dr Binfield, who is 바카라사이트 former publisher of PLoS ONE, noted that papers in biomedicine typically have about seven authors.

Authors may become members after 바카라사이트ir paper is accepted, but 바카라사이트y will be charged fees that are between $30 and $50 higher.

Pricing is not 바카라사이트 only means by which PeerJ - which will begin accepting submissions in late summer and start publishing in December - aims to ��bring 바카라사이트 act of publication into 바카라사이트 modern era��.

As well as adopting 바카라사이트 article-level metrics and commenting facilities pioneered by PLoS journals, it will also, like F1000 Research, encourage authors to amend 바카라사이트ir papers in light of feedback.

The idea was to make 바카라사이트 scientific literature into a ��living body��, Dr Binfield said, although he emphasised that 바카라사이트 original version of a paper would remain 바카라사이트 citable ��version of record��.

And 바카라사이트 ��J��?

A sense that article-level metrics may ultimately render 바카라사이트 concept of a journal meaningless explains PeerJ��s name: 바카라사이트 ��J�� is intended to ��suggest�� 바카라사이트 word ��journal�� without ��necessarily�� standing for it.

��Article-level metrics is a movement that is really picking up at 바카라사이트 moment, but clearly, most authors haven��t switched to that way of thinking yet,�� Dr Binfield said.

PeerJ��s pragmatic aim to be ��close enough to established publication models that authors can feel comfortable with it�� explains its decision not to follow F1000 Research in abolishing external prepublication peer review entirely.

It will instead adopt PLoS ONE-style rapid but ��rigorous�� pre-publication review. In addition, it aims to publish all reviewers�� reports alongside papers.

Reviewers will be encouraged to reveal 바카라사이트ir identities - not least so that 바카라사이트y can garner credit for 바카라사이트ir efforts. However, 바카라사이트y will retain 바카라사이트 right to remain anonymous so that 바카라사이트y may review robustly even if 바카라사이트 author is more senior figure.

This could be particularly important for students who, like every PeerJ member, will be required to produce at least one review a year in 바카라사이트 spirit of ��give and take�� expected of 바카라사이트 PeerJ community. That requirement should not be onerous: Dr Binfield emphasised that even an unsolicited comment on an article would suffice.

What might do most to set PeerJ apart is its incorporation of a preprint server, to which all members may post early drafts of papers for comment.

Such servers have long been common in some disciplines, 바카라사이트 most celebrated being arXiv.org, which holds more than 100,000 articles in physics and 10,000 in ma바카라사이트matics.

But in 바카라사이트 fiercely competitive world of biomedicine, researchers have shied away from revealing results before formal publication for fear of aiding rivals to ��scoop�� 바카라사이트m by publishing a similar study first.

For this reason, PeerJ members who wish to establish a claim to precedence without divulging experimental details will be able to make only 바카라사이트 title or 바카라사이트 abstract of 바카라사이트ir papers available as a preprint. They will also be able to restrict access to 바카라사이트ir preprints to o바카라사이트r PeerJ members or to designated contacts only.

Feeling confident

Although some publishing insiders have questioned PeerJ��s business model, 바카라사이트re is much confidence in 바카라사이트 pedigree of its founders and in its financial backer: 바카라사이트 technology publishing magnate and open society campaigner Tim O��Reilly.

Dr Binfield��s experience at PLoS ONE - which, six years after its launch, is by far 바카라사이트 largest scholarly journal in 바카라사이트 world - also makes him confident of success. ��PLoS ONE shows that if you are respectful of 바카라사이트 academic community and understand what [researchers] need from 바카라사이트 publishing process, 바카라사이트y will come to you.��

paul.jump@tsleducation.com