The role of “unpublished” research in the scholarly communication of scientists: Digital preprints and bioinformation databases. Sponsored by SIG STI, SIG BIO, SIG PUB

Abstract

AbstractThe advent of the Internet has stimulated the emergence of novel methods of scientific discourse that have the potential to alter traditional communication channels. On a larger scale, new digital information resources have the capacity to change both the way scientists work and the core of scientific knowledge. Historically the hallmark of scientific communication has been the publication of research findings in a peer‐reviewed journal. On its route to the journal, the research may be communicated in many other forms, including conference proceedings, technical reports, and preprints. Recently, models of scientific communication have been updated to include electronic submission of manuscripts, virtual conferences, e‐mail, and online journal publication. In fact, electronic preprints have become a primary mode of information dissemination in physics and astronomy. In contrast, biomedical scientists are reluctant to accept the electronic preprint as a viable mode for their scholarly communication due to the lack of peer‐review and the uncertain permanence of electronic storage. These same scientists, however, are willing to share their DNA and protein sequence data by depositing it in a variety of the more than 200 publicly available web‐based databases including GenBank and the EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Database.The panelists in this session will discuss the current and potential impact of these large, dynamic, yet not peer‐reviewed, information warehouses on the scholarly communication of scientific researchers. Their insights will provide a fresh prospective on the ways scientists in a range of disciplines are coping with the 21st century digital information flood.