Academic Electronic Journals: Past, Present, and Future - Advances in Computers - page 144

charge. We describe these business models further in Section 5.1.1 , where we dis-
cuss the cost/benefits of electronic journals.

4 . 2 T h e T h r e e Ty p e s o f E l e c t r o n i c J o u r n a l s

Most studies of e-journals do not differentiate among the various types of
e-journals. Our discussion addresses only e-journals that are distributed via the Inter-
net using the WWW. In this section, we describe three different forms of e-journals
and how each addresses the challenges facing academic publishing.
These forms and the drivers for their adoption were initially described in Hovav
and Gray [24] . Each form solves a different set of challenges but also introduces new
concerns. Table I compares the three types.

4.2.1 Paper Replacement E-Journals
We term the first form of electronic publishing a “paper replacement.” These
e-journals have the look and feel of paper journals (p-journals). Paper replacement
e-journals usually arise when financial resources or audience are limited. The need
to reduce production and distribution costs leads publishers to undertake e-journals
rather than p-journals. To gain the acceptance of e-journals by academicians, tenure
committees and gatekeepers, paper replacement e-journals make low use of elec-
tronicity. These e-journals use the Internet only as a delivery mechanism. In paper
replacement e-journals, the material remains the traditional research paper. Articles
are page numbered sequentially so they can easily be printed and presented in paper
form. In addition, articles are bundled into issues or volumes and delivered peri-
odically to reduce information overload and to allow traditional referencing. Some
paper replacement e-journals are broader in scope because they use the added space
available to publish unorthodox material alongside traditional work.

4.2.2 Hybrid E-Journals

We term the second form a hybrid e-journal. A hybrid e-journal publishes both
an e-version and a p-version. The e-version is usually identical to the p-version.
However, in some cases the e-version contains more details than the p-version. For
example, Information Science Research allows authors to present detailed proofs and
long data sets in the e-version.
Publishers may offer hybrid journals if one or more of the following conditions
occur:

By offering an e-version, publishers increase the ease of access to the material;