Me and my colleagues are looking rather sleepy today. We have just returned from a four-day training conference that we organized for our Chinese journal partners, 50 in total. Theme: ‘how to create an international top title?’
With current publishing incentives heavily in favor of international publications, Chinese journals do not face the easiest of times. Even if their editorial standards are just as good as international titles, they still are at a disadvantage. Top authors prefer to submit internationally, and with millions of funding at stake, who can blame them?
And yet, local journals have no shortage of papers. Rejection rates of 75% are not uncommon, and many titles have expanded their page budget. The reason for this is simple: authors need a place to publish.
Rather than just absorbing less prestigious papers, many Chinese journals want to become accepted as international titles. They want to adopt similar practices, expand their author base, raise their impact, and be available to readers worldwide. Elsevier is honored to be an active partner in this process.
It is not an easy task, as most journals are either in positive or negative spirals. If a journal has a good reputation, it will attract great authors, allowing it to increase impact, and attract even better authors. But if nobody knows your journal, it will be considered ‘second chance’, attract less great authors, who probably don’t see a need to prepare very well, decreasing impact and going downwards from there.
All of the above would be true if we would live in a stagnant world. Actually, the reality shows that in today’s fast-changing environment, anything is possible. Famous journals can get lazy and arrogant; enthusiastic new titles can build a close network of supporters and become significant players within only a few years.
I always think of it in terms of Sun Tzu’s Art of War. One can always use the environment to one’s advantage, no matter if you are small or outnumbered. Currently, the academic environment is not very favorable to Chinese journals. However, by focusing on quality, and by bringing content readers want to read, the future can surely be bright.
Arnout Jacobs
Director of Publishing Development China
Elsevier Science & Technology
中国期刊合作计划研讨班会场-----怡生园国际会议中心
中科院院士方荣祥与爱思唯尔科技部中国区总裁卢飒、副总裁安诺杰
会议特邀专家、《欧洲药理学》期刊主编、荷兰Utrecht大学药理学和病理生理学系主任Frans P. Nijkamp在演讲后与参会人员交流