Online submission makes it easier for people in developing countries to submit their scientific manuscripts

Posted on December 20, 2008 by | 1 Comment

Changes in publication statistics when electronic submission was introduced in an international applied science journal:

In a refereed journal in the food and agriculture sector, papers were tracked over a five-year period during the introduction of electronic submissions. Papers originated in the Americas and Pacific region and were processed in Canada. Acceptance times for revised papers were reduced (P < 0.001) to 59% of the original, from 156.5 ± 69.1 days to 92.8 ± 57.5 days. But the start of electronic submission coincided with a change in the geographical origin of papers, with papers from Anglophone countries changing from a 61% majority to a 42% minority. It is possible that submissions from non-Anglophone sources were facilitated, thus creating challenges to the traditional Anglophone reviewer population.

This entry was posted in Open Science. Bookmark the permalink.

One response to “Online submission makes it easier for people in developing countries to submit their scientific manuscripts”

  1. mudphudder | December 20, 2008 at 8:35 pm |

    I think the use of the internet has clearly helped to disseminate both information and access around the world. From open access articles/journals to an increasing number of ways for people to contribute to the scientific literature, I hope the trend continues. More specifically in regard to this point about online submissions, I hope journal websites continue to improve their online submission sites and servers for handling the submissions–some of them look and act like they are from 10-15 years ago–sheesh!