Government grant-funded research should not be published in for-profit journals (experimental-history.com)

Article summary

The article discusses the issue of government-funded research being published in for-profit journals, which can lead to taxpayers paying multiple times for the same research. The author argues that this system is flawed and that government grants should stipulate that research cannot be published in for-profit journals. The article also explores the history of for-profit scientific publishers and how they have become a problem in the scientific community. The author suggests that a solution to this problem is for the government to require that research it funds be published in open-access journals.

Main themes

• For-profit scientific publishing
• Government funding of research
• Open-access journals
• Academic publishing reform
• Scientific community critique

What commenters say

• The current system of for-profit scientific publishing is flawed and needs to be reformed to prioritize open-access journals.
• Requiring government-funded research to be published in open-access journals could be an effective solution to the problem of for-profit publishing.
• The prestige and reputation of top journals are a major obstacle to changing the current system, as many researchers feel pressure to publish in these journals to advance their careers.
• Some commenters argue that the problem is not just with for-profit journals, but with the entire system of peer review and academic publishing, which can be slow, biased, and ineffective.
• Others suggest that open-access publications like arXiv already exist, but are not considered credible citation sources, highlighting the need for a more comprehensive solution.
• There is disagreement about the role of peer review in ensuring the quality of research, with some arguing that it is essential and others claiming that it is often flawed and ineffective.
• Some commenters propose alternative solutions, such as paying reviewers for their work or reversing the economics of publishing to incentivize high-quality reviews.
• The issue of for-profit scientific publishing is complex and multifaceted, and there is no easy solution, but many commenters agree that reform is necessary to promote greater accessibility and transparency in scientific research.