1999 TheDeconstructedJournal

Subject Headings: STM Publication.

Notes

The limitations ofexisting proposed and operationalpublishing models intended to replacethe academic journal are brieflyreviewed. Three ‘insights’ aredescribed, the first is into the‘means/end’ confusion of muchcurrent net-based publishing activity,the second is that it is the purpose, notthe form, that is the important aspectof the traditional academic journalmodel, and the third is thatsatisfactory net-based publishingmodels need not contain a centralpublisher. From this new viewpoint isdeveloped the Deconstructed Journal(DJ) model which it is suggested is abetter model for network basedacademic publishing. It also solvessome of the problems of the currentmodel. Although the main focus of theDJ model is the replacement of theSTM journal it has implicationsfor all areas of academic journalpublishing

I have chosen to make the STM (Scientific, Technical and Medical) journal the main focus of this article. The STM journal has a moreclearly defined role for its authors andreaders which makes it easier for me to compare the old and new models discussed. So from this point on I will usethe phrase ‘STM journal’ rather than the more general ‘academic journal’
The current model of the STM journal is the result of many years of evolution. Thefact that it has retained its present general structure for nearly two centuries impliesit must be doing something right, i.e., it must be playing a real role.
This is the essence of the third insight– the realisation that it is possible to have a model for STM publishing that can satisfy the needs of the STM community without a central publisher/co-ordinator. This can be achieved by involving a collection of co-operating actors or agencies.

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	Author	volume	Date Value	title	type	journal	titleUrl	doi	note	year
1999 TheDeconstructedJournal	John W. T. Smith			The Deconstructed Journal - a new model for academic publishing			http://kar.kent.ac.uk/1415/1/DJpaper.pdf