Editing 1847: Dubious Study
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This comic alludes to the growing industry in {{w|Predatory open access publishing|disreputable academic journals}}, many of whom accept articles of dubious merit for publication without rigorous peer review | + | This comic alludes to the growing industry in {{w|Predatory open access publishing|disreputable academic journals}}, many of whom accept articles of dubious merit for publication without rigorous peer review on payment of a fee. In an attempt to sound legitimate (and thus attract submissions), many such publishers publish journals whose names sound mistakably close to (if not identical to) established titles. Here, the ''National Academy of Proceedings'' is a play on the highly regarded academic title {{w|Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America| |
+ | ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA}} | ||
− | The title text implies that this (at present) fictional journal has a dubious online presence in the faded internet site {{w|Myspace|MySpace}}, where the publishers make claims that may be true but are misleading: "peer-viewed" sounds similar to "{{w|peer review|peer-reviewed}}", the community-led process of establishing a paper's scientific integrity prior to publication, but in fact means only that scientists have viewed the content (as [[Cueball]] is now). Likewise, some journals might be "published biannually", whereas "downloaded biannually" implies that the journal is ''read'' | + | The title text implies that this (at present) fictional journal has a dubious online presence in the faded internet site {{w|Myspace|MySpace}}, where the publishers make claims that may be true but are misleading: "peer-viewed" sounds similar to "{{w|peer review|peer-reviewed}}", the community-led process of establishing a paper's scientific integrity prior to publication, but in fact means only that scientists have viewed the content (as [[Cueball]] is now). Likewise, some journals might be "published biannually", whereas "downloaded biannually" implies that the journal is ''read'' every other year. Single articles in high-profile journals such as ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' would expect to receive [http://palgrave.nature.com/nchem/journal/v7/n5/nchem.2243/metrics hundreds to thousands] of views in their first year of publication. The fictional journal publisher no doubt hopes that an inexperienced scientist may mistake these claims for meaningful statements of authority, and thus submit a paper (and eventually pay a fee for its publication). |
''The National Academy of Proceedings'' in fact sets itself apart from certain predatory journals by ensuring that the claims on its website are in fact factually accurate (if phrased to mislead article authors, particularly those with English as an additional language); some journals are [http://www.nature.com/news/predatory-journals-recruit-fake-editor-1.21662 openly dishonest] on their websites. | ''The National Academy of Proceedings'' in fact sets itself apart from certain predatory journals by ensuring that the claims on its website are in fact factually accurate (if phrased to mislead article authors, particularly those with English as an additional language); some journals are [http://www.nature.com/news/predatory-journals-recruit-fake-editor-1.21662 openly dishonest] on their websites. | ||
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
+ | [Megan is standing behind Cueball who is at a computer desk.] | ||
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:Megan: Are you sure this study is legit? | :Megan: Are you sure this study is legit? | ||
:Cueball: Sure, it says it was accepted for publication. | :Cueball: Sure, it says it was accepted for publication. | ||
:Megan: Where? | :Megan: Where? | ||
:Cueball: Hmm... ''The National Academy of Proceedings''. | :Cueball: Hmm... ''The National Academy of Proceedings''. | ||
+ | :Caption: If something is if formatted like a serious scientific paper, it can take me a while to realise it isn't one. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
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