Something You Don't See Every Day (Anymore)
23/11/10 15:43 Filed in: GenomeWeb Daily Scan
Submitted by S. Pelech - Kinexus on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 15:43.
One of the aspects of reprint requests by mail that I miss the most is the postage stamps from all around the world that I used to receive. Reprint requests also provided me with some sense of how many people out there found my published work, at least from the title and abstract, interesting. There was extra satisfaction that came when the reprint requests originated from scientists that I recognized from the research literature that were leaders in my field. However, direct feedback was somewhat lacking.
The availability of photocopying probably had the first major marked effect on the number of reprints requests that others and I got in the 1970's and 1980's. However, with the Internet and the opportunity to download pdf copies of publications directly from open sources and journals, the direct connection between researchers has been reduced to a trickle by this route. As it turns out, nowadays many academic libraries don't carry printed copies of major scientific journals anymore, so the photocopy option is also disappearing. Environmentally, this is a good thing, as less paper is consumed and less garbage ultimately generated.
The Internet has provided for the extremely rapid exchange of electronic files in various formats including MS-Word, html and pdf documents for dissemination of scientific articles, blogs, private e-mails and more. Instead of waiting weeks for receipt of copy of a scientific article by post from a reprint request, it can be obtained in electronic format within seconds. The $20 to $30 price that many journals charge for a pdf copy is pretty outrageous, but fortunately more scientists are being less concerned about the prestige of the journals that they submit their manuscripts to and opting more for open source publishing. Once it it possible for colleagues to directly add their comments to a greater number of biomedical publications, it will become much easier to judge the impact of one's work to the broader community. In any event, the increased pace and wider dissemination of new scientific knowledge has been a huge boost to biomedical pursuits that will benefit everyone.
Link to the original blog post.
One of the aspects of reprint requests by mail that I miss the most is the postage stamps from all around the world that I used to receive. Reprint requests also provided me with some sense of how many people out there found my published work, at least from the title and abstract, interesting. There was extra satisfaction that came when the reprint requests originated from scientists that I recognized from the research literature that were leaders in my field. However, direct feedback was somewhat lacking.
The availability of photocopying probably had the first major marked effect on the number of reprints requests that others and I got in the 1970's and 1980's. However, with the Internet and the opportunity to download pdf copies of publications directly from open sources and journals, the direct connection between researchers has been reduced to a trickle by this route. As it turns out, nowadays many academic libraries don't carry printed copies of major scientific journals anymore, so the photocopy option is also disappearing. Environmentally, this is a good thing, as less paper is consumed and less garbage ultimately generated.
The Internet has provided for the extremely rapid exchange of electronic files in various formats including MS-Word, html and pdf documents for dissemination of scientific articles, blogs, private e-mails and more. Instead of waiting weeks for receipt of copy of a scientific article by post from a reprint request, it can be obtained in electronic format within seconds. The $20 to $30 price that many journals charge for a pdf copy is pretty outrageous, but fortunately more scientists are being less concerned about the prestige of the journals that they submit their manuscripts to and opting more for open source publishing. Once it it possible for colleagues to directly add their comments to a greater number of biomedical publications, it will become much easier to judge the impact of one's work to the broader community. In any event, the increased pace and wider dissemination of new scientific knowledge has been a huge boost to biomedical pursuits that will benefit everyone.
Link to the original blog post.