The Trouble With Medical Journals
Manufacturer: Royal Society of Medicine Press
It is a turbulent time for STM publishing. With moves towards open access to scientific literature, the future of medical journals is uncertain and unpredictable. It is the only book of its kind to address this problematic issue. Richard Smith, a previous editor of the "British Medical Journal" for twenty five years and one of the most influential people within medical journals and medicine, depicts a compelling picture of medical publishing. Drawn from the author's own extensive and unrivalled experience in medical publishing, Smith provides a refreshingly honest analysis of current and future trends in journal publishing including peer review, and the risk that money can cloud objectivity in publishing. The controversial and highly topical nature of this book will make uncomfortable reading for publishers, researchers, funding bodies and pharmaceutical companies alike making this useful resource essential reading for anyone with an interest in medicine or medical journals.
Lowest Used Price: USD 34.98
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ISBN: 1853156736
Number Of Pages: 292
Original Language: English
Unknown: English
Published: English
Engaging and Thoughtful
This is well written, engaging, and thoughtful book about the role of biomedical journals. The author was for many years the editor of the widely read British Medical Journal (BMJ) and head of the publishing group that puts out the BMJ and a number other journals. Smith presents a thorough discussion of major issues facing biomedical journals. This book has a personal flavor because Smith draws on his extensive personal experience as an editor and because he was personally involved a number of controversies related to biomedical journals. Smith's experience, however, is a bit atypical in 2 ways. As a general journal, the BMJ is somewhat different and more journalistically oriented than the majority of biomedical journals. The BMJ, unlike the great majority of journals, has full time professional editors where most journals are essentially run by volunteer academics.
Smith has a thoughtful discussions of a broad range of important topics such as the need to balance the demands of public interest with scientific issues defined narrowly, the variety of ethical problems facing journals, the tangled relationships between editors and publishers, and between industry and journals, and the changing nature of biomedical publishing.
I found the section on the economics of biomedical publishing to be the most interesting. Smith cites some remarkable data. The dominant biomedical publisher, Reed Elsevier, had profits of approximately 2 billion dollars with an impressively high margin. The largest fraction of these profits come from biomedical publishing. Smith points out the actually stunningly obvious reasons for these remarkable figures. The raw material of journals is submitted manuscripts for which journals have to pay nothing. Most journals are run by volunteer editors and editorial boards. From a publisher's point of view, this is a remarkably low over head business model. Smith points also to an almost complete lack of comptetion, a really impressive example of market failure. Smith has a thoughtful discussion of alternatives, which may come to fruition with some of the ongoing open publishing initiatives.
A new classic
This book is a must read for anyone who practices medicine or conducts, peer reviews or publishes research. While the subject matter is extremely serious, with profound and unavoidable lessons for doctors, researchers, editors, reviewers and publishers, it is also highly entertaining thanks to Smith's wry story telling which makes each chapter a joy to read. The book has a broader remit than its title would suggest. It is as much about the state of medical research as it is about publishing. I predict it will become a classic in medicine. Highly recommended.
