Get 23,000 for publishing an article! All 42 journal editors resigned in protest: Publishers are too greedy and their profit margins are higher than those of Google and Amazon.

Top Journal of NeuroscienceNeuroimage, 42 scientists on the editorial boardall resigned in protest.

The journal adopts an open access model and charges scholars who publish papers rather than readers.

To publish an article above, you need to pay more than 3450 USD (23,000 RMB) (APC, Article Processing Charge).

The entire editorial board, including professors from Oxford University, King's College London and Cardiff University, resigned after the publisher refused to reduce fees.

They called the charges "unethical" and had nothing to do with the costs involved.

Publishing profits are higher than those of Google and Amazon

According to the Observer, a subsidiary of The Guardian, the publishing house behind the journal claims to publish 25% of the world's scientific papers, and its revenue increased by 10% last year. %, reaching 2.9 billion pounds (25.3 billion yuan).

The financial data for 2019 shows that its profit margin is as high as 40%, which is higher than Google and Amazon.

Academics, whose research is often funded by charities and the public purse and not associated with publishers, are outraged. Academic editors review each other's papers for free or receive only a small stipend.

Next, either universities will pay high subscription fees, or scholars who publish papers will be charged high publishing fees.

The head of brain stimulation at Cardiff University and one of the resigned professors

Chris Chambers said:

Publishers are plundering the academic world Food, making huge profits, but adding little value to science

Former editor-in-chief of Neuroimage and professor of biomedical engineering at Oxford University

Stephen Smith said:

Academics as a whole really don’t like the situation, but as individuals we feel powerless to make big publishers more ethical.

A spokesperson for the publishing house also responded:

We value our editors very seriously and are disappointed with [this resignation], especially after We have been engaging constructively with them over the past few years.

A spokesman for the publisher also said that the journal's publishing fees are "below the market average relative to quality" and "lower than those charged by the closest comparable journals in its field."

The original team founded a new journal

After discussion, the resigned editors decided to start a new journal at MIT Press, a non-profit publishing organization.

The new journal, named

Imaging Neuroscience, focuses on imaging of the brain and spinal cord in humans and other species, and also includes neurophysiology and stimulation methods.

The new journal also chooses the open access model and aims to replace NeuroImage as the leading journal in the subject.

According to the official website statement that has been launched, the page fee target of the new journal is half or even lower than NeuroImage

.

At the same time, publication fees will be waived for low- or middle-income countries.

#Professor Stephen Smith continues to serve as the editor-in-chief of the new journal.

He believes that researchers in the past have tolerated high fees precisely because they wanted to publish in prestigious journals to help their careers and ensure that their work was widely read and Quote.

Now that he has taken away the entire editorial department, the reputation he established will also be transferred to the new journal.

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