SamL replied:
> Just 2 cents on submitting electronically. I think it is grand when a
> journal accepts my paper for publication, and asks for an electronic
> version. That can greatly reduce the incidence of errors, making it
> easier to catch the few remaining ones in later checks.
>
> What is *not* so much fun is that journals are starting to ask me to
> submit the original in electronic format. As I (and I would wager most
> people) submit far fewer papers than I review, what this eventually means
> is that the journals ask me, the reviewer, to print out the otherpeople's
> papers. This has the following structure--"Hey, Potential Reviewer, will
> please review this paper, and, do us the favor of printing out the 50
> pages on your own dime?" This, for a dozen to two dozen papers a year?
>
> Journals are not the only people off-loading chores associated with the
> favors they are asking onto the people they are asking to do the favor.>
Students e-mail me dissertation prospectuses--often at the last minute,
> with some kind of basically inconsiderate just-in-time delivery
> philosophy. I could go on.
>
> I have no hope this trend will abate. But I did want to take this
> moment, occasioned by Clive's last e-mail, to give a final cheer to all
> those journals who still request and accept paper submissions, and all
> those people aware that when they ask someone to do them a favor, they
> should make it cost the favor-doer as little as possible, and perhaps, if
> possible, only the time to do the favor, and not time needed to set
> themselves up so they *can* do the favor. Hip-hip-hooray!
With Marcello's dispensation, I'll reply to this!
I accept that the duties and tasks of journal reviewers _must_ be taken
into consideration when papers are submitted (indirectly) to them, such as
following the guidelines for a start: although frankly, you would have
thought that this would be a given on the part of contributors. Maybe it
isn't. I can't speak for friends and colleagues: I've yet to test their
goodwill.
I take no issue with journals who ask for paper submissions, but at the
very least, all should offer a choice between submitting by paper and
submitting electronically. At Kit Baum rightly said in his last post here,
there really is now no excuse for not learning how to produce good
camera-ready documents that can be submitted online (using LaTeX, of
course!). Still, most do now offer that choice, as I detailed, so this
isn't too much of a bind, but if one of those paper-only journals happens
to be one of the top journals in the field, the submitter has a choice to
make.
In any case, LaTeX-produced articles can always be printed off and
submitted to journals, of course. I must say, with some UK academics, I'm
not sure they would be able to tell the difference between a paper
document produced using LaTeX and one produced using MS Word. Either way,
it's the content that's most important.
CLIVE NICHOLAS |t: 0(044)7903 397793
Politics |e: [email protected]
Newcastle University |http://www.ncl.ac.uk/geps
Whereever you go and whatever you do, just remember this. No matter how
many like you, admire you, love you or adore you, the number of people
turning up to your funeral will be largely determined by local weather
conditions.
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