Are Institutions Paying Fair Prices for Academic and Scientific Journals?
Well, some might say that the obvious answer is no and has been for a very long time. Institutional subscription rates for scholarly journals are, after all, notoriously high as a general rule, but a recent study indicates that more troubling trends are revealed by comparing electronic journal prices and value among publishers and universities. A brief article in the Guardian outlines some of the results and provides a link to the original PNAS article for full details of the study.
The study examines the cost of subscription bundles for electronic academic and scientific journals and measures value for money by a (somewhat questionable) cost-per-citation formula, but also considers other factors in relation to pricing, such as a university’s research activity and annual enrolment, as well as the number of PhDs it grants. Prices for subscription bundles tend not to be publicly disclosed by the large journal-publishing firms, and ‘explicit “nondisclosure”’ clauses in contracts prevent universities from revealing how much they are paying, so Freedom of Information Act requests had to be used to obtain copies of the contracts between publishers and a number of universities in the United States. These contracts reveal that major for-profit journal-publishing firms are providing less value (sometimes far less value) for money than non-profit publishers of journals are, especially in bundle subscriptions purchased by the larger research universities. The prices charged for these bundle subscriptions vary from institution to institution, as do annual increases for subscriptions (which can be incredibly high). Sometimes the discrepancies make sense: the large journal-publishing companies, for example, reduce their prices for smaller low-research institutions much more than the non-profit journal publishers do. At others, however, the differences seem illogical and unfair: in some cases, for instance, universities with a high enrolment that grant many PhDs pay significantly less than universities with lower enrolment and fewer PhDs, although the bundles purchased are identical. It is clear that certain universities have successfully bargained for better prices and lower annual increases, while others were unaware they were able to do so, which, as the authors of the PNAS article suggest, may well explain why some publishers want to keep contract terms confidential.
It comes as no surprise that the large journal-publishing companies are reporting significant annual profits, and scholarly recognition of their journals as ‘the right ones’ to publish in for career advancement ensures that they will continue to do so in the present system, but at what cost to the academic and scientific communities? Many university libraries are now choosing less than full access to electronic journals to cut costs, thereby limiting the resources available to their students and faculty. Meanwhile, tuition rates are rising, classes are growing larger and students are graduating with huge debts. Universal open access to scholarly journals, boycotting journals published by for-profit firms in favour of those provided by non-profit publishers, and even charging commercial publishers for the reviewing and editing work done by university faculty have been suggested as possible solutions, but these seem unlikely to occur quickly. For the present, perhaps something as simple and attainable as publicly disclosed reasonable prices applied in a consistently fair manner would help balance the financial scales a little and better promote what remains for many academics and scientists the central purpose of scholarly journals – to share research.
Why Scholarly Writing Should Always Be Carefully Proofread
Many authors fail to understand the importance of taking the time to proofread and polish their writing before they share it with readers. Even the simplest prose is much improved when its author reads it critically, reflects on how effectively it communicates what he or she intended, and then revises to correct errors and improve clarity and eloquence. With scholarly prose, which usually exists to present complicated information and therefore tends to become somewhat convoluted at times, this process is even more essential. ‘Should I proofread?’ is not a question an accomplished academic or scientist asks as a draft is completed. ‘When will I find the time to proofread?’ is far more common, and that time can be notoriously difficult to locate, but Proof-Reading-Service.com can help. A member of our professional academic and scientific team would be delighted to proofread your writing for you.
Before we tell you exactly what we do when we proofread for our clients, a few persuasive reasons why scholarly writing should always be proofread may prove inspiring.
· For one, accuracy and clarity are vital when communicating academic and scientific research in writing. Errors and ambiguities in language can confuse or even mislead readers, an unfortunate situation that tends to compromise opportunities for publication as well as careers. Accuracy and clarity are more effectively assessed when returning to a text as its critical reader than when drafting it as its author.
· References are often dreaded by scholarly authors, but precision, thoroughness and consistency are necessary in order to provide readers with accurate and adequate information about the sources consulted during a research project. These qualities are also required to follow guidelines and acknowledge the authors and researchers whose work has been cited. Yet errors creep with frustrating frequency and virtual invisibility into source documentation, and such errors can misrepresent a scholar’s work and that of his or her predecessors. In the worst of scenarios, an intellectual slight or accusation of plagiarism may be the result, so references of all kinds should always be proofread and corrected with great care.
· Formatting is an essential aspect of communicating detailed information with absolute precision, which is no doubt why the author instructions of so many scholarly journals and publishers are so very particular about the formatting of almost every aspect of academic and scientific documents, from the levels of heading used to organise a paper to the kinds of lines allowed in its tables. This vital element of scholarly writing is most effectively addressed when a paper is proofread with a critical eye alert to every detail.
At Proof-Reading-Service.com we pride ourselves on the exceptionally dedicated team of academic and scientific professionals who provide our editing and proofreading services. Our editors and proofreaders are highly educated native speakers of English who have undergone rigorous training in expert editing practices, and their fields of study and specialisation range so widely that we are able to help our clients improve and polish research manuscripts of all kinds for successful publication. Many members of our research paper editing and proofreading team focus on journal editing, manuscript editing, dissertation proofreading services, thesis editing services and phd thesis proofreading, assisting authors with articles that will be submitted to scientific and academic journals by ensuring that the formatting and references in their manuscripts conform to the relevant guidelines with precision and by correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling and typing errors to enable the clear and accurate communication of original research that acquisitions editors expect in publishable papers.
Our scientific editing services, medical editing services,and journal article editing services for authors of scientific and academic papers are especially popular, but we also excel at book editing and have the experience and expertise to proofread and edit papers of all kinds across every scholarly discipline. Some of our carefully trained editors and proofreaders work exclusively on PhD thesis editing, master’s dissertation proofreading, bachelor’s dissertation proofreading, thesis editing, dissertation editing, thesis proofreading and dissertation proofreading, applying their education and instructional skills in providing thesis editing and dissertation proofreading services that help advanced students to improve the formatting and language of their theses and dissertations and thereby increase their chances of degree success. Whether you are preparing a conference or class presentation, putting the final touches to a professional report for colleagues or tackling the challenging task of editing any kind of academic or scientific document for publication, a qualified member of our outstanding proofreading and editing team will be delighted to provide proofreading and editing services and boost your confidence in your written work.
If you are in the process of preparing an article for an academic or scientific journal, or planning one for the near future, you may well be interested in a new book, Guide to Journal Publication, which is available on our Tips and Advice on Publishing Research in Journals website.