The scientific article in the age of digitization (original) (raw)

1-1.txt for the inaugural edition. 4 Henshaw 2001. 5 An important source for the history of early e-journals is a survey by Hitchcock et al. (1996), who at the end of 1995 identified over 100 'online' journals in the domain of science, technology and medicine (STM), of which 35 were 'electronic only'. Another early overview is given by Roes (1994), who identified 39 refereed scientific electronic journals, adding the note that 'compared to the over 130.000 printed journals the phenomenon of the electronic journal seems to be insignificant.' 'in the midst of a radical transformation spurred by advances in computer technology ... the next century may well witness the extinction of the original scientific 'paper' appearing on paper. ... And the long-term effect of electronic preparation and publication of manuscripts may be as profound as when the scientific article evolved from scholarly letter writing and books in the seventeenth century'. 11 The idea of an electronic revolution in scientific communication is related to ideas about the 'liberation from print' and the explosive effects of electronic text. Lanham argues that electronic text will 'disempower the force 9 For a comprehensive review of predictions and speculations regrading the future of academic libraries see Sapp and Gilmour 2002, 2003. 10 Lu et al. 2002. 11 Harmon and Gross 2003, session 5, in marked contrast with the author's more cautious and critical outlook in Gross et al. 2002, p. 231-234: '... whether in the form of ink on paper or pixels on a computer screen, the scientific article will remain the medium of choice for establishing new knowledge claims ...'. ' ... each discipline has very deep rooted reasons for the way it is constructed and the way scholarly activity is undertaken. Fundamental change will only come when the scholars are satisfied it will be in the interests of the discipline. The form of change will be determined from within the discipline rather than from outside sources ...' 22 So while there are many claims for a 'revolutionary' role of the electronic journal, empirical studies seem to indicate a more limited role predicated on conservative mechanisms and traditional cultures of practice within scientific communities. 'However, the communication systems of science (and other social systems) are much older than the computer age, and have, through centuries, developed important characteristics such as source criticism, principles of rhetoric, standards for publishing, and so on. All this represents production, dissemination, and use of information, which is the declared object of research in information science. The understanding of this social system is a precondition for establishing computer-based systems to make the system more efficient.