Scholarly communication and electronic journals: An impact study

✍ Scribed by Harter, Stephen P.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 137 KB
• Volume: 49
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-8231
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-4571(19980501)49:6<507::aid-asi3>3.0.co;2-x

✦ Synopsis

With the exception of a few experimental projects, peer-plunging costs for producers and consumers. These have reviewed electronic journals (ejournals) have been in exled to, among other developments, the dramatic explosion istence for only about ten years. The purpose of this of the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. Technolresearch was to study the effects of ejournals, at this ogy increasingly offers the possibility of using computers early point in their lives, on the scholarly communities and communication networks to create alternative electhey are serving. The study addresses the question: To what extent are scholars and researchers aware of, intronic forms of the conventional paper journal, referred fluenced by, using, or building their own work on reto here collectively as the electronic journal, or ejournal. search published in ejournals? To put the question an-The feasibility of electronic journals was tested in the other way: What impact are ejournals having on the proearly 1980s in several studies, notably EIES (Electronic cess of scholarship, research, and the advancement of knowledge? A sample of scholarly, peer-reviewed ejour-Information Exchange System) (Turoff & Hiltz, 1982) nals was drawn and techniques of citation analysis were and BLEND (Birmingham & Loughborough Electronic used to conduct several analyses. The data show, with Network Development) (Shackel, 1983). Real, operaa few possible exceptions, that the impact thus far of tional ejournals are essentially phenomena of the 1990s. ejournals on scholarly communication has been minimal.