The pursuit of science fuels new levels of cross-sectoral innovation, while drastically improving the way we live, communicate and work. Given the critical importance of scientific research to sustained human progress, it is vital that scientists are given the support to research, discover and innovate. This starts with a remodeling of the scholarly publishing industry to empower scientists and challenge the oligopolistic status quo.
Leveling the Playing Field of the Publishing Industry
The independent and anonymous peer reviewing process of the current academic publishing sector is quite problematic; as of today, the success of one’s academic career is ultimately at the mercy of anonymous peer reviewers.
In addition, the lucrative nature of certain research topics results in studies being published for profit instead of scientific advancement, a trend which harms the credibility of some elite journals. In the past few years, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of studies rescinded due to these kinds of issues.
The prevalence of a “bizarre triple-pay system,” as described in a 2005 Deutsche Bank report, is also holding the industry back. The triple-pay system takes the following form: Scientists, funded by governments out of taxpayers contributions, write articles under their own direction and give them to publishers for free. Although publishers pay scientific editors to review those articles, most of the work, such as checking scientific validity and evaluating experiments, is completed by other volunteering scientists. Publishers then sell the articles to government-funded institutions and universities at exorbitant prices, to be read by scientists, who are the ones who created those articles in the first place. This is indicative of a flawed industry landscape, largely controlled by an oligopolistic status quo.
In 2013, five academic publishers were responsible for over half of all scholarly papers released that year. The limited competition in the publishing industry affords publishers such as Elsevier too much control over subscription fees, positioning them as the undisputed leader of the scientific publishing industry. The profit margins of Elsevier even eclipse those of huge technology companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple. Let that sink in.
Undoubtedly, the oligopolistic nature of the industry breeds several problems that affect the research community: high publication costs, copyrights being held by publishers instead of authors, biased publication and peer review processes, lack of rewards and recognition for reviewers, and a proliferation of low-quality journals. However, blockchain technology could be the enabler of change the industry sorely needs.
Blockchain allows us to build an infrastructure that enables open, trustworthy, decentralized and collaborative environments. Using this technology, people can submit entries into the public record and the community of users can control how those records are amended and updated.
Harnessing the power of blockchain technology and instilling the properties of transparency and security into the scientific publication industry represents an unprecedented opportunity to return the control of science to researchers. It also opens the door to more discoveries through the empowerment of scientists.
There are some publication platforms that have made it their mission to return the benefits of science back to society by leveraging the unique and seamless integration of cutting-edge technologies to create platforms to process, validate and disseminate research data and results. These actors want to establish a transparent, comprehensive and competitive business model to obtain and increase revenue while supporting global research.
However, a more concerted effort among all actors in the academic publishing space to improve the quality and efficiency of the publishing process will help deliver a fairer, more transparent and competitive market controlled by the entire community, free of biased oligopolies and hidden interests.
Previously a lofty ambition, blockchain technology can level the playing field between the Davids and Goliaths of the publishing industry–empowering the individual as well as giving researchers and research institutions full control over the life cycle of publications.
I envision a future where researchers are free to establish the terms and prices for the rights to print, redistribute, download, translate or re-use their work. With blockchain enabling more efficient and groundbreaking scientific research, we are on the cusp of a new, dynamic and transparent academic publishing landscape. Exciting times lie ahead.
The post David and Goliath – The Story of Academic Publishing and How Blockchain Can Help appeared first on CryptoSlate.
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