Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
MIS Quarterly (MISQ). Their data given in the government mandated annual
Statement of Ownership showed that their respective circulation in 2005 was
approximately 1500 (ISR), 1000 (JMIS), and 3000 (MISQ) per issue.
Academic publishers must concern themselves with priority claims for being
first to make a discovery,
5
with journal ratings, and with perceived reputation
and quality
[11]
.
Academic publishing, while not paying authors directly, offers scholars rewards
in prestige, advancement, and funding
[11]
.
In addition, Odlyzko
[40]
lists four economic factors unique to academic publish-
ing that may influence the cost, pricing, and fee structure of the scholarly publishing
industry:
1.
Decreasing markets
. Not only is the circulation of most academic journals rel-
atively small, the number of subscribers is decreasing at an estimated rate of
about 4.5% a year
[20]
, or a 50% reduction over 16 years
[39]
(see
Fig. 1
).
6
This is partially due to the decrease in individual subscribers
[52]
. Accord-
ing to Tenopir and King
[53]
, the number of individual subscribers has halved
between 1980 and 2000. To maintain marginal profitability publishers raise
subscription prices at a rate higher than inflation. The estimated price increase
for North American publishers is about 10.3% a year. Of the 10.3% increase,
about 2.8% account for inflation and 3% emanate from page increase. The
F
IG
. 1. Estimated reduction in journal subscriptions (based on Odlyzko
[39]
).
5
Because journals claim to publish new work, they need to make certain that contributions are new. In
effect they warrant that, to the best of their knowledge, the content is previously unpublished. Plagiarism
is a major transgression.
6
A 4.5% yearly decrease equals to a 50% decrease over 16 years
[39]
. This is similar to the 50%
decrease over 20 years estimated by
[53]
.
