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.

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

  1. mudphudder's avatar 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!