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Research and Markets: Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

Posted on: Wednesday, 5 April 2006, 12:00 CDT

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c35142) has announced the addition of Scientific and Medical Journals on the Web to their offering.

Scientific and Medical Journals on the Web has evolved since 1998. Originally, it addressed whether or not Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publishers needed to have an online version of their journal, while in 2001 it shifted to what form that online journal should take, focusing on usability. This year's report now explores how readers' expectations have changed as well as new developments that are threatening the foundation on which traditional scholarly publishing rests.

Based on a 33-question survey of more than 1,900 scientific and medical professionals, this report re-examines readers' expectations, preferences and needs as they relate to the use of Web-based journals. Specifically, it reveals trends in the ways online journals are found and accessed, the most acceptable ways to pay for access to online journals and why readers submit articles to specific journals. It also benchmarks readers' satisfaction with 5 leading journals in terms of types of content, information features and searching capabilities. To explore new developments, the report includes discussions of open access publishing from the author's perspective--including whether authors should be expected to pay a fee to publish their work, the effect of receiving payments on open access publishers' acceptance rates and copyright issues.

Report Highlights

Scientific and Medical Journals on the Web contains over 100 charts and/or tables and more than 20 cross-tabulations for the 33 survey questions. Below is a glimpse of the key findings derived from just a few of the survey questions:

-- Scientific and medical professionals typically learn about new online journals from citations in other journals (50%), searching bibliographic databases (46%) and entering keywords into a search engine (46%).

-- More than half of the survey respondents make it a point to read or browse between two and five journals each month.

-- Approximately one-quarter of the scientific and medical professionals surveyed believes that it is not at all important to receive the print edition of a journal if they have access to the online version.

-- When asked about open access publishing, more than a quarter of the respondents indicated that they strongly believe that the general public should be allowed to download, copy, redistribute or view a given work without restrictions.

-- 36% of survey respondents are not at all familiar with CrossRef, although many believe it would be useful in their research.

-- Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Biological Chemistry and New England Journal of Medicine are the online journals most frequently read by scientific and medical professionals.

Overall, this report will provide scientific and medical publishers with an invaluable step in gaining a better understanding of their readers and achieving online success.

The major objectives of this report are as follows:

-- Determine frequency of use and the ways in which scientists and clinicians find and access online journals.

-- Reveal the factors which scientists consider when deciding where to submit their papers.

-- Understand--from the user's perspective--their level of satisfaction with various attributes associated with online journals.

-- Reveal the attributes of online journals deemed to be most important by scientists and clinicians.

-- Determine the most acceptable and effective ways to generate revenue from online journals through advertising and subscriptions.

-- Gain insights into how scientists and clinicians believe online journals should continue to evolve, including issues such as open access publishing and the use of CrossRef.

Sections covered include:-

Section 1. Analysis and Interpretation of Survey Results

Section 2. Study Methodology and Demographics

Section 3. Presentation of Survey Data

Web Usage

Experience With Online Journals

Paying for Online Journals

Searching Online Journals

Content of Online Journals

Section 4. Profiles of Leading Journals

Section 5. Appendices

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c35142

Source: Business Wire

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