Strelski-Waisman Neta, Waisman Dan
Harefuah. 2005 Sep;144(9):634-8, 676, 675.
Scientific publication in the electronic media is gaining popularity in academic libraries, research institutions and commercial organizations. The electronic journal may shorten the processes of writing and publication, decrease publication and distribution costs, and enable access from any location in the world. Electronic publications have unique advantages: it is possible to search them, to create hyperlinks to references and footnotes, as well as to information on the web and to include graphics and photographs at a very low cost. Audio, video and tri-dimensional images may also be included. Electronic publishing may also speed up review and publication processes and enable the writer to receive immediate feedback through the web. However, in spite of the advantages, there are certain points that must be considered: accessibility to previously published material is not guaranteed as databases are not always stable and coverage may change without notice. In addition, the price that commercial publishers charge for their services may be very high or be subject to the purchase of a packaged deal that may include unwanted databases. Many issues of copyright and the use of published material are not yet finalized. In this review we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the electronic scientific publication, the feasibility of keeping appropriate quality and peer-review process, the stability and accessibility of databases managed by the publishers and the acceptance of the electronic format by scientists and clinicians.
电子媒体中的科学出版物在学术图书馆、研究机构和商业组织中越来越受欢迎。电子期刊可能会缩短写作和出版过程，降低出版和发行成本，并使人们能够从世界任何地方访问。电子出版物具有独特的优势：可以对其进行搜索，创建指向参考文献、脚注以及网络信息的超链接，并能以非常低的成本包含图形和照片。音频、视频和三维图像也可以包含在内。电子出版还可以加快评审和出版过程，并使作者能够通过网络立即获得反馈。然而，尽管有这些优势，但仍有一些要点必须加以考虑：由于数据库并不总是稳定的，且覆盖范围可能会在未通知的情况下发生变化，因此无法保证对先前发表材料的访问。此外，商业出版商对其服务收取的费用可能非常高，或者需要购买包含不需要的数据库的套餐。许多版权问题以及已发表材料的使用问题尚未最终确定。在本综述中，我们讨论了电子科学出版物的优缺点、保持适当质量和同行评审过程的可行性、出版商管理的数据库的稳定性和可访问性以及科学家和临床医生对电子格式的接受程度。
