Page 138 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

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must have password access. Papers and articles

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published on these sites are reviewed by editors and peers in the same way that print material is reviewed.

While print has the advantage of peer and editorial review, and provides and distributes multiple versions of the same
information, it is also slow. Another disadvantage is that typogaphical and other errors, once printed, cannot be
corrected. The proof stage is the last chance to catch such errors; after that, they are forever. Several months of
production time may be required to bring an issue to the printer, and distribution through the mail takes another
several days. It may take months to several years for the literature to respond to a scientific paper because peer
interaction via the printed word is slow.

Steven Harnad was one of the first individuals to recognize the potential of the Internet for peer interaction in a
medium he called "electronic skywriting." He is the editor of PSYCOLOQUY, a journal that was transformed in 1989
into a refereed electronic publication sponsored by the American Psychological Association. Its UseNet version,
"sci.psycology.digest," is free to subscribers. To subscribe, send an e-mail message to the following address
<listserv@pucc.bitnet: "sub psyc Firstname Lastname">. Harnad's articles on electronic publishing of scientific papers
can be found at <ftp://ftp.princeton.edu/pub/harnad>.

Archiving Information

Journals have traditionally archived their material as hardcopy print. Now that archiving can also be done
electronically, scholarly publishers are beginning to take responsibility for this area as well. However, due to costs in
time, money, and expertise, archiving is also now being done by third parties, with the publisher supplying the data.

No particular standard currently exists for determining the best way to archive data. Electronic online databases, CD-
ROMs, and magnetic disks that hold large amounts of data are all being used. Decisions about where and how to store
illustrations that are separate from text have yet to be determined. Print has the advantage of portability, but one copy
serves only one reader. Electronic data allow interactive high-level searching for information, with many viewers
accessing the information at one time.

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Self-Publishing Electronically

While you can place your own work on the Internet, either through your own personal site or one maintained by your
university or business, it has no real credibility because it has not received the critical editorial review or peer review
demanded by a scholarly journal. For your work to be considered trustworthy, you will need to seek out the
endorsement or authorization of a reputable organization. This type of endorsement can come from a scholarly
publisher or professional association in your discipline, or from a rigorous peer-review process to which you subject
your own work. When you self-publish, always include your e-mail address and a link to a description of your
background as corroborative information. And certainly be aware that this type of publication is likely to preclude
later publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

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