Page 23 - index

The establishment and success of scholarly journals as we know them was largely the product

of the 19th century, when science publishing grew as a result of increased global participation in

scholarly and scientifc research, as did the proliferation of discipline-specifc journal publications.

• It includes original research or intellectual inquiry that disruptive change (described as a “sustaining
along with citations for all sources used; and innovation” by Clay Christensen in his seminal book, Te
• It usually involves a peer-review process prior to Innovator’s Dilemma, 2003) has not occurred as in other
publication. communications industries, such as in the newspaper
industry (Clarke, 2010).
According to the aforementioned authorities, the
fundamental purposes (or functions) of scholarly Findings from a survey commissioned by Canadian
journals have stayed the course of time to the present Science Publishing titled, Canadian Researchers’
day and include: Publishing Attitudes and Behaviours: A Phase 5 Report
(March 7, 2014), confrmed the fndings from other
• Registration: establishing an author’s primacy as the international surveys of researchers—“that there is a
originator of their scholarly work, disconnect between researchers’ apparent agreement with
• Dissemination: communicating the fndings to its the principle of open access (i.e., that research should be
intended audience, freely available to everyone) and their publishing decision
• Certifcation: ensuring quality control through peer criteria” (p.5). Results from the study indicated that the
review and rewarding authors, and most important journal features were “peer review” for
quality assurance and “visibility” in relation to the ability
• Archival record: preserving a fxed version of the paper of a journal to “reach” the intended audience as well as
for future reference and citation. “discoverability” with major indexers.
Given the proliferation of scholarly journals in recent Ware and Mabe (March, 2015, p.160), leading thinkers
years, some industry experts have suggested that other on the future of scholarly publishing and authors of
related purposes should be added to the list, such as (a) the 2015 STM Report: An Overview of Scientifc and
services to assist in navigating or fltering the massive Scholarly Journal Publishing (4th ed.), have posited
volumes of published material (e.g., key word search that the traditional functions of scholarly journals will
tools), (b) building a collective knowledge base on new likely remain much the same in the future given the
ideas generated, and (c) fostering knowledge communities entrenchment of the publishing enterprise within the
on topics of common interest (Schafner, 2009; Ware and academic culture and systems underlying faculty tenure,
Mabe, 2015). promotion, and grant funding; but the means by which
Since the early 1960s, publication of articles in scholarly journals are published will continue to evolve. In relation
journals has become and continues to be used as a prime to the latter, the following select excerpts (abridged) from
indicator of professional recognition and standing for the 2015 STM Report—a leading industry publication
the scientifc community, as well as a factor in award produced for the International Association of Scientifc,
decisions of research funding organizations (Ware and Technical, and Medical (STM) Publishers—paint a high-
Mabe, 2015). level portrait of the kaleidoscope of issues at the forefront
of debate within the scholarly publishing industry:
II. EMERGING ISSUES
Researchers’ Behavior and Motivation
With the explosion of technological advances, particularly
since the introduction of the Internet in the early 1990s, • Despite a transformation in the way journals are
a plethora of potential innovations to the scholarly published, researchers’ core motivations for publishing
publishing system have been proposed and, in some appear largely unchanged, focused on securing [grant]
cases, piloted; yet the pace of widespread change has funding and furthering the author’s career [as a
been reportedly more incremental than revolutionary requirement for tenure and promotion] (p. 7).
(Moxham, 2015; Clarke, 2010). Indeed, some industry • Multiple surveys have [sic] shown that the main factors
experts have observed with considerable amazement afecting author choice of journal are the journal’s

LEADERSHIP Vol. 21.2 Fall 2015 21

Client: The Chair Academy Job: CHAIRAcademy_Journal_21.2 spring/summer 2015 Final size: 8.5” x 11” Colors: CMYK Bleeds: Yes
Created by: Goldfsh Creative - Laura Dvir • 602.349.2220 • goldfshcreates@q.com