Scientific journal
For a broader class of journals, see Academic journal.
“Science journal” redirects here. For the journal named
'Science', see Science (journal). For the defunct magazine named 'Science Journal', see New Scientist.
For a broader coverage related to this topic, see Scientific
literature.
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a
Although scientific journals are superficially similar to
professional magazines, they are actually quite different. Issues of a scientific journal are rarely read casually, as one would read a magazine. The publication of
the results of research is an essential part of the scientific
method. If they are describing experiments or calculations, they must supply enough details that an independent
researcher could repeat the experiment or calculation to
verify the results. Each such journal article becomes part
of the permanent scientific record.
The history of scientific journals dates from 1665,
when the French Journal des sçavans and the English
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society first began
systematically publishing research results. Over a thousand, mostly ephemeral, were founded in the 18th century, and the number has increased rapidly after that.[1]
Articles in scientific journals can be used in research and
higher education. Scientific articles allow researchers to
keep up to date with the developments of their field and
direct their own research. An essential part of a scientific article is citation of earlier work. The impact of articles and journals is often assessed by counting citations
(citation impact). Some classes are partially devoted to
the explication of classic articles, and seminar classes can
consist of the presentation by each student of a classic
or current paper. Schoolbooks and textbooks have been
written usually only on established topics, while the latest research and more obscure topics are only accessible
through scientific articles. In a scientific research group
or academic department it is usual for the content of current scientific journals to be discussed in journal clubs.
Academic credentials for promotion into academic ranks
are established in large part by the number and impact of
scientific articles published, and many doctoral programs
allow for thesis by publication, where the candidate is required to publish a certain number of scientific articles.
Cover of the first issue of Nature, 4 November 1869
periodical publication intended to further the progress of
science, usually by reporting new research. There are
thousands of scientific journals in publication, and many
more have been published at various points in the past
(see list of scientific journals). Most journals are highly
specialized, although some of the oldest journals such
as Nature publish articles and scientific papers across a
wide range of scientific fields. Scientific journals contain
articles that have been peer reviewed, in an attempt to
ensure that articles meet the journal’s standards of quality, and scientific validity. If the journal’s editor considers the paper appropriate, at least two researchers preferably from the same field check the paper for soundness
of its scientific argument, and must agree to publish it.
The standards that a journal uses to determine publication
can vary widely. Some journals, such as Nature, Science,
PNAS, and Physical Review Letters, have a reputation of
publishing articles that mark a fundamental breakthrough
in their respective fields. In many fields, an informal hierarchy of scientific journals exists; the most prestigious
journal in a field tends to be the most selective in terms of
the articles it will select for publication, and will also have
the highest impact factor. It is also common for journals
to have a regional focus, specializing in publishing papers
from a particular country or other geographic region, like
African Invertebrates.
1
2
1
Articles tend to be highly technical, representing the latest
theoretical research and experimental results in the field
of science covered by the journal. They are often incomprehensible to anyone except for researchers in the field
and advanced students. In some subjects this is inevitable
given the nature of the content. Usually, rigorous rules of
scientific writing are enforced by the editors; however,
these rules may vary from journal to journal, especially
between journals from different publishers. Articles are
usually either original articles reporting completely new
results or reviews of current literature. There are also
scientific publications that bridge the gap between articles and books by publishing thematic volumes of chapters from different authors.
1
Types of articles
Further information: Scientific paper
See also: Categories of academic articles
There are several types of journal articles; the exact ter-
TYPES OF ARTICLES
tions of important current research findings that are
usually fast-tracked for immediate publication because they are considered urgent.
• Research notes are short descriptions of current research findings that are considered less urgent or important than Letters.
• Articles are usually between five and twenty pages
and are complete descriptions of current original research findings, but there are considerable variations
between scientific fields and journals – 80-page articles are not rare in mathematics or theoretical computer science.
• Supplemental articles contain a large volume of
tabular data that is the result of current research and
may be dozens or hundreds of pages with mostly numerical data. Some journals now only publish this
data electronically on the Internet.
• Review articles do not cover original research but
rather accumulate the results of many different articles on a particular topic into a coherent narrative
about the state of the art in that field. Review articles provide information about the topic and also
provide journal references to the original research.
Reviews may be entirely narrative, or may provide
quantitative summary estimates resulting from the
application of meta-analytical methods.
• Data papers are articles dedicated to describe
datasets. This type of article is becoming popular and journals exclusively dedicated to them have
been established, e.g. Scientific Data and Earth System Science Data.
• Video papers are a recent addition to practice
of scientific publications. They most often combine an online video demonstration of a new technique or protocol combined with a rigorous textual
description.[2][3]
The formats of journal articles vary, but many follow the general IMRAD scheme recommended by the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
Such articles begin with an abstract, which is a one-tofour-paragraph summary of the paper. The introduction
describes the background for the research including a discussion of similar research. The materials and methods
or experimental section provides specific details of how
the research was conducted. The results and discussion
Cover of the first volume of the Philosophical Transactions of the
section describes the outcome and implications of the reRoyal Society, the first journal in the world exclusively devoted
search, and the conclusion section places the research in
to science
context and describes avenues for further exploration.
minology and definitions vary by field and specific jour- In addition to the above, some scientific journals such as
nal, but often include:
Science will include a news section where scientific developments (often involving political issues) are described.
• Letters (also called communications, and not to be These articles are often written by science journalists and
confused with letters to the editor) are short descrip- not by scientists. In addition, some journals will include
3
an editorial section and a section for letters to the editor. While these are articles published within a journal,
in general they are not regarded as scientific journal articles because they have not been peer-reviewed.
countries.[4]
Moreover, electronic publishing of scientific journals has
been accomplished without compromising the standards
of the refereed, peer review process.[4][5]
One form is the online equivalent of the conventional
paper journal. By 2006, almost all scientific journals
2 Electronic publishing
have, while retaining their peer-review process, established electronic versions; a number have moved entirely
Main articles: Eprint, Electronic article, and Electronic to electronic publication. In similar manner, most academic libraries buy the electronic version, and purchase
journal
a paper copy only for the most important or most-used
titles.
Electronic publishing is a new area of information
dissemination. One definition of electronic publishing There is usually a delay of several months after an article
is in the context of the scientific journal. It is the pre- is written before it is published in a journal, making pasentation of scholarly scientific results in only an elec- per journals not an ideal format for announcing the latest
tronic (non-paper) form. This is from its first write-up, research. Many journals now publish the final papers in
or creation, to its publication or dissemination. The elec- their electronic version as soon as they are ready, without
tronic scientific journal is specifically designed to be pre- waiting for the assembly of a complete issue, as is necsented on the internet. It is defined as not being previously essary with paper. In many fields in which even greater
printed material adapted, or re-tooled, and then delivered speed is wanted, such as physics, the role of the journal at disseminating the latest research has largely been
electronically.[4][5]
replaced by preprint databases such as arXiv.org. AlElectronic publishing will exist alongside paper publishmost all such articles are eventually published in tradiing, because printed paper publishing is not expected to
tional journals, which still provide an important role in
disappear in the future. Output to a screen is imporquality control, archiving papers, and establishing scientant for browsing and searching but is not well adapted
tific credit.
for extensive reading. Paper copies of selected information will definitely be required. Therefore, the article
has to be transmitted electronically to the reader’s local
printer. Formats suitable both for reading on paper, and
3 Cost
for manipulation by the reader’s computer will need to be
integrated.[4][5] Many journals are electronically available
in formats readable on screen via web browsers, as well Main article: Academic publishing § Publishers and
as in portable document format PDF, suitable for print- business aspects
ing and storing on a local desktop or laptop computer. See also: Academic journal § Costs
New tools such as JATS and Utopia Documents provide
a 'bridge' to the 'web-versions’ in that they connect the
Many scientists and librarians have long protested the cost
content in PDF versions directly to the WorldWideWeb of journals, especially as they see these payments govia hyperlinks that are created 'on-the-fly'. The PDF vering to large for-profit publishing houses . To allow their
sion of an article is usually seen as the version of record, researchers online access to journals, many universities
but the matter is subject to some debate.[6]
purchase site licenses, permitting access from anywhere
Electronic counterparts of established print journals al- in the university, and, with appropriate authorization, by
ready promote and deliver rapid dissemination of peer re- university-affiliated users at home or elsewhere. These
viewed and edited, “published” articles. Other journals, may be quite expensive, sometimes much more than the
whether spin-offs of established print journals, or created cost for a print subscription, although this may reflect the
as electronic only, have come into existence promoting number of people who will be using the license - while
the rapid dissemination capability, and availability, on the a print subscription is the cost for one person to receive
Internet. In tandem with this is the speeding up of peer the journal; a site-license can allow thousands of people
review, copyediting, page makeup, and other steps in the to gain access.
process to support rapid dissemination.[7]
Publications by scholarly societies, also known as not-forOther improvements, benefits and unique values of electronically publishing the scientific journal are easy availability of supplementary materials (data, graphics and
video), lower cost, and availability to more people, especially scientists from non-developed countries. Hence,
research results from more developed nations are becoming more accessible to scientists from non-developed
profit-publishers, usually cost less than commercial publishers, but the prices of their scientific journals are still
usually several thousand dollars a year. In general, this
money is used to fund the activities of the scientific societies that run such journals, or is invested in providing
further scholarly resources for scientists; thus, the money
remains in and benefits the scientific sphere.
4
6
Despite the transition to electronic publishing, the serials
crisis persists.[8]
Concerns about cost and open access have led to the creation of free-access journals such as the Public Library
of Science (PLoS) family and partly open or reducedcost journals such as the Journal of High Energy Physics.
However, professional editors still have to be paid, and
PLoS still relies heavily on donations from foundations
to cover the majority of its operating costs; smaller journals do not often have access to such resources.
Based on statistical arguments, it has been shown that
electronic publishing online, and to some extent open access, both provide wider dissemination and increase the
average number of citations an article receives.[9]
4
Copyright
Traditionally, the author of an article was required to
transfer the copyright to the journal publisher. Publishers claimed this was necessary in order to protect authors’
rights, and to coordinate permissions for reprints or other
use. However, many authors, especially those active in
the open access movement, found this unsatisfactory,[10]
and have used their influence to effect a gradual move towards a license to publish instead. Under such a system,
the publisher has permission to edit, print, and distribute
the article commercially, but the authors retain the other
rights themselves.
REFERENCES
• Mega journal
• Open access journal
• Publish or perish
• Scientific writing
• San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
6 References
[1] D. A. Kronick, History of Scientific and Technical Periodicals, 2nd ed. Scarecrow, 1976
[2] http://www.jove.com/
[3] "Научный журнал "Видеонаука"".
“Videonauka”.
Scientific journal
[4] Heller, Stephen, R. (1998). “Electronic Publishing of
Scientific Manuscripts”. Encyclopedia of Computational
Chemistry. 02. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 871–875. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
[5] Boyce, Peter B.; Heather Dalterio (January 1996).
“Electronic Publishing of Scientific Journals” (Article available to the public in HTML.). Physics Today.
American Institute of Physics.
49 (01).
Bibcode:1996PhT....49a..42B. doi:10.1063/1.881598.
[6] Pettifer, S.; McDermott, P.; Marsh, J.; Thorne, D.;
Villeger, A.; Attwood, T.K. (2011). “Ceci n'est pas
un hamburger: modelling and representing the scholarly article”. Learned Publishing. 24 (3): 207–220.
doi:10.1087/20110309.
Even if they retain the copyright to an article, most journals allow certain rights to their authors. These rights usually include the ability to reuse parts of the paper in the [7] Swygart-Hobaugh, Rob Kling, Amanda J. “The Internet
and the Velocity of Scholarly Journal Publishing”. scholauthor’s future work, and allow the author to distribute
arworks.iu.edu. Retrieved 2016-10-26.
a limited number of copies. In the print format, such
copies are called reprints; in the electronic format, they [8] Sample, Ian (24 April 2012). “Harvard University says it
are called postprints. Some publishers, for example the
can't afford journal publishers’ prices”. The Guardian.
American Physical Society, also grant the author the right
to post and update the article on the author’s or employer’s [9] Lawrence, Steve. “Online Or Invisible?". NEC Research
Institute.
website and on free e-print servers, to grant permission to
others to use or reuse figures, and even to reprint the ar- [10] Di Cosmo, Roberto (June 2006). “The Role of Public
ticle as long as no fee is charged.[11] The rise of open acAdministrations in The ICT Era” (PDF). UPGRADE: the
cess journals, in which the author retains the copyright but
European Journal for the Informatics Professional. 7 (3):
must pay a publication charge, such as the Public Library
41–8. ISSN 1684-5285.
of Science family of journals, is another recent response
[11] “APS Copyright Policies and Frequently Asked Questo copyright concerns.
tions”.
5
See also
• List of scientific journals
• Academic authorship
• Academic conference
• Citation index
• Copyright policies of scientific publishers
• A.J. Meadows, ed. The Scientific Journal. London :
Aslib, c1979. ISBN 0-85142-118-0
• R.E. Abel et al. “Scholarly Publishing: Books Journals, Publishers, and Libraries in the Twentieth Century” N.Y.: Wiley, 2002. ISBN 0-471-21929-0
• D.W. King et al. “Scientific Journals in the United
States: their Production, Use, and Economics.
Stroudsberg, PA: Hutchinson-Ross, 1981 ISBN 087933-380-4
5
7
External links
• The cost of publishing in a scientific journal, some
examples and recommended reading from OpenWetWare life scientists’ wiki
6
8 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES
8
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
8.1
Text
• Scientific journal Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_journal?oldid=758939941 Contributors: Mav, Bryan Derksen, Robert
Merkel, Timo Honkasalo, The Anome, Koyaanis Qatsi, AstroNomer, -- April, Fnielsen, Jkominek, Roadrunner, Olivier, Michael Hardy,
Tim Starling, Lexor, Looxix~enwiki, JWSchmidt, Kaihsu, Charles Matthews, Ike9898, Philopp, Rls, Wilke, David.Monniaux, Donarreiskoffer, Nurg, Seglea, Jeroen, GreatWhiteNortherner, Duncharris, SanderSpek~enwiki, Edcolins, Papa Lemming, Wmahan, James
Crippen, Piotrus, PhDP, Karol Langner, Icairns, JTN, Noisy, Discospinster, El C, Shanes, RoyBoy, Thisrod, Hooperbloob, Arthena,
Plumbago, Kocio, Wtmitchell, Velella, Vuo, Matthew238, Carcharoth, Ruud Koot, Nobbie, Pharmacomancer, Rnt20, Qwertyus, Rjwilmsi,
BlueMoonlet, Brighterorange, FlaBot, Eubot, Jakob Suckale, Chobot, RobotE, RussBot, Pigman, Rbadri, Snek01, Tsalman, Tomisti,
Petri Krohn, SmackBot, Saihtam, Kjaergaard, Kslays, Edgar181, Flux.books, Chris the speller, Bduke, Miguel Andrade, Modest Genius,
Haas.M, Harnad, Cybercobra, Drphilharmonic, Tbauer, Tesseran, Vgy7ujm, Ben Moore, Ckatz, TheOtherStephan, Iridescent, ChemicalBit, Leevanjackson, Some P. Erson, Krauss, Tawkerbot4, Calvero JP, Thijs!bot, Al Lemos, Headbomb, QuiteUnusual, Danger, JAnDbot,
Karlpearson, Ultracobalt, Hroðulf, Jimjamjak, Adam4445, DGG, Velterop, Epiding, CommonsDelinker, HEL, Nigholith, Ross Fraser,
Bonadea, VolkovBot, Fences and windows, Barneca, Vipinhari, Guillaume2303, Nihiliststar, Steven J. Anderson, Broadbot, Axiomsofchoice, Paradoctor, Joaosampaio, Flyer22 Reborn, Yerpo, Jdaloner, Lightmouse, Mild Bill Hiccup, VAL THE FACTS, Awickert, Rhododendrites, Elrodriguez, Fgnievinski, Mac Dreamstate, BlueQ99, CarsracBot, Chateau Brillant, Xenobot, Yobot, MassimoAr, Raimundo
Pastor, Coffinfly, AnomieBOT, Gutam2000, Undelope32, Raymondsutjiadi, Andreadb, Faramir333, Crzer07, Лев Дубовой, Grantmidnight, Steve Quinn, A little insignificant, Heyclement, Time9, Leonardo.candela, Blind cyclist, Jesse V., RjwilmsiBot, Playmobilonhishorse,
Dcirovic, Nekami, RockMagnetist, Bluebibi, ClueBot NG, Frietjes, Helpful Pixie Bot, Bibcode Bot, BG19bot, Rajcomar, Effulgence108,
OSU1980, N59102, Lugia2453, Passengerpigeon, Dreamism, Randykitty, Tentinator, Salmaodesk, Monkbot, Elmidae, When Other Legends Are Forgotten, Eel-eye-jar eye-bell, Elenamk, RoseGoldFish, Bender the Bot, Bzlnick, Marco0126 and Anonymous: 118
8.2
Images
• File:1665_phil_trans_vol_i_title.png Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/1665_phil_trans_vol_i_title.png
License: Public domain Contributors: Gallica Original artist: Royal Society
• File:Edit-clear.svg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg License: Public domain Contributors: The
Tango! Desktop Project. Original artist:
The people from the Tango! project. And according to the meta-data in the file, specifically: “Andreas Nilsson, and Jakub Steiner (although
minimally).”
• File:Nature_cover,_November_4,_1869.jpg Source:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Nature_cover%2C_
November_4%2C_1869.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: ? Original artist: ?
8.3
Content license
• Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0