The China Bull in the Publishing Shop
Benjamin Shaw, Global & China Director Based on: Shaw, B, The China bull in the publishing shop, Serials, 2011, 24(3), 238-­‐244; doi: 10.1629/24238 The Publisher Bull in the China Shop
Benjamin Shaw, Global & China Director Based on: Shaw, B, The China bull in the publishing shop, Serials, 2011, 24(3), 238-­‐244; doi: 10.1629/24238 Publisher Challenges Ø  Understanding local condiLons Ø  Building a network Ø  Establishing a footprint in the market Ø  Poor language quality Ø  Increased volume for producLon Ø  Insufficient number of peer reviewers Ø  Author services & help desk Ø  PublicaLon ethics A typical Chinese Author Meet Dr. Du Shunda
Title: Associate Professor InsLtuLon: Liver Surgery Department, Peking Union Medical College Hospital PublicaLon track record: Ø  More than 10 arLcles in Chinese Ø  Only one arLcle in English as the first author, and two as co-­‐author Ø  Four English arLcles currently under peer review A typical Chinese Author Meet Dr. Du Shunda
Language barriers Grants and incen6ves? Why publish? “I “I uhsually wgrite moy mis anuscript in Chinese ave two rants, ne from the hospital for 50,000 CNY; gthe ther is from the into NaLonal Natural Science then et oit translated English. However, Fund or ant 200,000 CNY. Mcy an colleagues in our hospital “If tIranslaLon fw
to be promoted from an associate the o
^en not perfectly deliver have grants wto ith aa p
mounts ranging from just 1p
0,000 -­‐ professor rofessor, t
hen I
m
ust ublish the same mto eanings n Chinese. 20,000 CNY tens of miillions of yuan. sufficient arLcles and obtain grants. Geeng published wnglish ill bae lso ive mbte hen in moy f my “If I write a case If report, it w
ill En
ot supported y vaisibility grant.” I write in mgyself because field.” knowledge and skills in English wriLng, limited “Our hospital does currently have a policy rewarding arLcles published in SCI I journals. I am not sure how long his policy c annot Hsowever, aLsfactorily express the ktey will last; maybe messages it will be canceled ext year.” of my arLcle.” and unniqueness Author Challenges Culture / Experience
Author Challenges Journal Selection
Author Challenges Journal Selection
How do you choose a journal? Publica6on goals “I will list all the professional journals on hepatology firstly, anking rom top tto “When I write an arrLcle I hthem ope tfo submit o bofom by IF. If waith ll oaf n them or 1a.0, re not an SCI journal IF of raeject t least suitable or bm
arLcle, I w
seek a more which wfill e y useful for mill e.” comprehensive journal that is sLll related with hepatology.” Author Challenges Language
Language
barriers
Publisher AdaptaLons Be on the ground
Ø Be aware of how your brand is perceived Ø Meet people face-­‐to-­‐face Ø Make use of journal editors as goodwill ambassadors Ø Team up with a Chinese partner journal or society Publisher AdaptaLons Reach out
Ø  Communicate in Chinese Ø  Make use of online plahorms such as ScienceNet and DXY Ø  Use Chinese social media channels such as Weibo Ø  Monitor your online reputaLon (with assistance from Google Translate) Publisher AdaptaLons Promote a positive culture
Double-­‐edged sword of the pressure to publish “The pressure to publish unavoidably leads to improper ethics. But on the other hand, the pressure is also what is encouraging Chinese authors to publish in the first place.” Promote a posi6ve culture Ø  Educate authors about why they should publish Ø  Training and educaLonal materials are greatly appreciated Ø  Connect Chinese authors to their peers globally Ø  Educate authors to look beyond the Impact Factor Ø  Learning is a two-­‐way street -­‐ don’t forget to listen Publisher AdaptaLons How does Open Access fit in?
Ø  Chinese authors are aware of OA but publishers have a long way to go in educa6ng them Ø  Price sensi6vity might be a barrier APCs “I tMisconcep6ons hink 1,000 -­‐ 10,000 CNY is acceptable; but if the publicaLon Perceived advantages fee “OA e“ArLcles xceeds 20,000 CNY e ill tjurn to tohey ther journals. I f wthere journals have no w
SiCI IF. aybe ill ave saome published n w
O
A M
ournals mw
ay rheach ider is another Slater, CI journal hat asks Hfowever, or less or even they no phublicaLon years but ntot now. since ave no SCI fee, I audience.” may to that journal ubseless ecause 20,000 IF, turn they are basically for us.” yuan is roughly equal to 2 -­‐ 3 months of my salary, which is really too expensive for me.” Publisher AdaptaLons Focus on the value of peer review
Quality and consistency Speed “The criteria of review comments may vary among journals. For “I wish peer review For U
example, one of my example, I submifed an acould rLcle bte o f[aster. a famous S medical journal], underwent peer review 4 m
onths, that which and oarLcles ne month later they gave me a fror eply staLng my waas rLcle ong.” was nreally ot fit tfoo or tlhe journal. The editor did not provide any helpful comments, they just said it was "unfit”. Ø  Must consistently be professional, polite and helpful Ø  Educate authors about the value of peer review Ø  Encourage more authors to parLcipate as reviewers Publisher AdaptaLons Make the process easier
for authors
Clearly eaxplain nd realisLcally advise Clearly h
ow s
ubmissions Use language screening bsut Consider Have atranslaLng uthors reer ate yjournals, our yeview ou ite Befer Re-­‐invent Encourage d
ifferenLate h
p
ow re-­‐submission p
r
if Make tbeware he awill uthor s
hould r
e-­‐submit Automate a video f
a
ormaeng
ims &
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cope
boe e
valuated, f nd iats lonvenience
imitaLons comments enquiries re structured e.g., bon y c
learly s
taLng L
melines to d ecision s
peed into a
C
hinese
c
equired, e.g., s
upporLng e
vidence r
or find a different journal how novelty is determined What publishers are already doing
What Edanz is doing
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