this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2024
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Science Memes

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[–] Gork@lemm.ee 180 points 1 month ago (7 children)

Isn't it a bit ridiculous for researchers to have to pay a publisher to publish the content that they themselves make money from?

They're double dipping, and also triple dipping with the peer reviews done on a volunteer basis.

A racket, I say.

[–] leisesprecher@feddit.org 32 points 1 month ago (4 children)

I'm still not sure, what exactly the journals are actually doing.

Like, in all seriousness, what service do they provide? Just hosting the platform for anonymized reviews and basically a blog for the actual articles? That should cost maybe a few millions each year, yet this sector makes billions in revenue.

[–] Soleos@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

They offer reputation. Career advancement is highly dependent on publication history and impact. Getting into a prestigious publication means your work will more likely be read and cited. Because highly reputable journals can charge high publication fees (because it's in such high demand), they get to set the industry norm, which other less reputable journals/publishers get to follow. It does cost money to develop and maintain that reputation for rigour and impact (i.e. good science). But yeah it's exploitative AF. There are attempts for less profit-motivated publications... But making those rigorous while still being democratic is hard

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