Journals Reach New Readers With Popular Summaries
The internet has moved physical access to science journals beyond the exclusive confines of academic library shelves and to within a few clicks of everyone's desktop. Now for professionals, educators, students and the inquisitive public, the remaining barrier to reading any content in most journals is comprehending the unusual terminology.
Partial screenshot of a synopsis
in PLoS Biology [2].
Major Journals Lead the Way
Several journals have successfully broken through the jargon barrier to expand their audience. Nature, PLoS Biology and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) regularly publish plain-language summaries of notable papers.
"Selected PLoS Biology research articles," explains the journal's website, "are accompanied by a synopsis written for a general audience to provide non-experts with insight into the significance of the published work." [1]
Most science journals, however, are still not fully exploiting the opportunities of online publishing.
Multiple Advantages For Journals
Public-friendly content pulls visitors to a journal's website thereby raising a publication's profile and expanding journal readership.
Developing a strong online presence is an important priority these days for many scholarly societies that publish research journals, according to a 2008 survey of 118 organizations [3]. The groups acknowledge that they need to provide more web-based content and support professional development, steps they view as crucial to recruiting and retaining members. Accompanying peer-reviewed papers with straightforward summaries is one simple way for scholarly societies to enhance online visibility, serve professionals and broaden membership.
Science Stories Attract Traffic
Article summaries open the door for journal editors to reach the millions of science enthusiasts that are already online, reading about research. Large science news websites receive anywhere from 3 million to 14 million unique visitors a month [4,5,6,7]. A typical story about the environment posted by BBC News is viewed 20,000 to 200,000 times every 24 hours [8]. Additionally, many smaller, niche science sites see a steady stream of visitors who are sent by search engines and links on other websites [9].
How Editors Can Add Value
Working with a science writer who specializes in translating peer-reviewed articles for non-experts is an efficient way for editors to acquire high-quality summaries. As testimonials and samples demonstrate, Liz Osborn effectively conveys to a broad audience the key messages from journal papers on biology, the environment and natural resources. Learn more about how she can help add value to your publication by contacting Liz at info@currentresults.com.
References
- Public Library of Science. PLoS Biology article type descriptions. http://www.plosbiology.org/static/descriptions.action#synopsis (accessed June 30, 2009).
- O'Day KE. Conspicuous chameleons. PLoS Biology 2008, 6(1):e21. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0060021.
- Sage. Meeting the challenges: Societies and scholarly communication, Results of a survey to understand the needs of scholarly societies in the 21st century. November 2008. http://www.uk.sagepub.com/repository/binaries/pdf/Meeting-the-challenges.pdf.
- NewScientist.com has over 3 million unique visitors a month. New Scientist Media Center | New Scientist online. http://www.newscientist.com/data/html/ns/mediacenter/us/intro_online.jsp (accessed June 19, 2009).
- ScienceDaily.com receives over 3 million unique visitors a month. ScienceDaily: About this site. http://www.sciencedaily.com/about.htm (accessed June 19, 2009).
- The Imagnova Network's collection of science sites, including LiveScience.com, attracts over 7 million unique visitors a month. Imaginova.com - Advertise with us. http://www.imaginova.com/advertise-with-us/ (accessed June 19, 2009).
- With 14 million individuals visiting monthly, NationalGeographic.com ranks among the internet's 1,000 busiest websites, drawing over 0.1% of internet users throughout the world. Nationalgeographic.com - Traffic details from Alexa. http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/nationalgeographic.com (accessed June 19, 2009).
- Ripplinger S. BBC environment correspondent sounding alarm bells over online coverage. Science Journalism Research Group, University of British Columbia (November 20, 2007). http://www.sciencejournalism.net/bbc_environment_correspondent_sounding_alarm_bells.html.
- For instance, CurrentResults.com receives tens of thousands of page views each month. Google Analytics site traffic data for www.currentresults.com.