During the closing ceremony of the summit on November 12, Wu Chuanyu, vice chairman of the Zhejiang Association for Science and Technology, Wang Zhenyong, deputy mayor of Wenzhou Municipal People’s Government, and Miriam Maus, chief publishing officer of the British Institute of Physics Publishing, jointly signed a new memorandum of cooperation. The memorandum aims to further enhance the comprehensive, wide-ranging, and multi-level cooperation between the two parties based on past friendly cooperation, and seek new opportunities for future development. This memorandum mainly covers the contents of jointly organizing academic exchange activities, showcasing outstanding research results from publication activities, and promoting joint activities on their respective social media channels. Miriam Maus also received an interview with the reporter, stating that scientific publishing houses are the guardians of scientific records, and providing some advice for young scientists in publishing academic papers.
Interviewee
Miriam Maus, chief publishing officer of the British Institute of Physics Publishing
Reporter: Given the unique position as a publisher of an academic society, what contributions has the British Institute of Physics made to the scientific community through this model?
Miriam: First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about the work our Institute of Physics Publishing does to support the scientific community. Scientific publishers are the guardians of scientific records, and our contribution is to document compelling and credible science. The Institute of Physics Publishing has rigorous internal management and peer review processes, ensuring the strictest standards are used to evaluate submissions. We strive to enhance the dissemination of research findings, making them more accessible for audiences to benefit from the knowledge.
In recent years, the credibility of scientific management in the publishing industry has been continuously challenged, as evidenced by the increasing cases of publishing fraud. As a publishing house, addressing this issue is imperative. Our team always keeps up with the times through undergoing training in workflow and technological applications that can help us detect issues early. We aim to ensure that all scientific studies we publish be absolutely free of any integrity issues, and meet the highest standards of integrity. However, it is undeniable that we do make mistakes at times, but our processes are transparent. When articles are retracted, we clearly state from where and why these articles are retracted. Publishing fraud is an industry-wide issue, but thanks to collaboration within the publishing industry, we and our peers are working together to address the common challenge of publishing fraud. Intensive management over the credibility of scientific research requires significant investments of time, money, and skills. We are making these investments, and we are happy to do so.
Reporter: Do you have any advice for young scientists regarding publishing papers in the academic realm?
Miriam: I would say, first and foremost, for a young scientist, publishing their first paper may be a daunting process. Therefore, for all scientists at the early stages, my advice is to choose the right journal, ensuring you understand the scope, themes, audience covered by the journal, and the acceptance standards of the journal. Of course, the impact factor is an important indicator, but it is not the sole determining factor.
If you are unsure about a journal and whether it is suitable for your research, contact the journal’s editors, as they are always willing to discuss these matters with authors, even specific submissions. Wasting time submitting to a journal that is not right for you can be daunting. Also, consider whether to publish in an open-access journal or a traditional subscription-based journal. It is well known that open-access journals increase the discoverability and citation rates of papers, and now there are many open-access journals available for all types of papers. However, for those authors who cannot choose open-access journals, some of our reputable journals still offer subscription publishing models (non-open access) that can also disseminate your research widely. Once a paper is submitted, scientists at the early stages, or any scientist, must actively engage in the peer review process. A good journal often employs a fair and timely peer review process. Authors must take peer review feedback seriously, which is crucial. If a paper is rejected, do not be discouraged; there are so many publishing houses to choose from worldwide, and you can select a more suitable one.
My final advice for young scientists starting to publish papers is to become a reviewer. Understanding how a journal selects papers as a reviewer will give you a profound insight into publishing. We often invite those interested in reviewing to contact us, and we can provide training and support for scholars who are less familiar with the peer review process.
Reporter: Do you have any suggestions for improving diversity and inclusivity in the field of science?
Miriam: Our Institute of Physics Publishing is dedicated to the field of physics and physical sciences. Currently, many emerging fields are rapidly evolving or seeing very interesting studies. For publishers, ensuring that the studies we publish are discoverable and reach as wide an audience as possible is crucial. Currently, we see that open-access journals can accelerate information exchange, making research more discoverable and shareable. Authors can benefit from open-access content, and open-access papers also receive more citations. Therefore, the next step is not just sharing articles but also sharing data and code. We strongly support this, as articles created using artificial intelligence without experimental support will not have a chance to appear online.
We hope to collaborate with the entire scientific community to find more opportunities to share scientific research. Inclusivity and diversity are significant challenges for publishing and research, and we will work with researchers, editors, and colleagues to truly promote inclusivity, making it easier for global researchers to publish their latest research in our journals.
Finally, I would like to say that a major change and trend in the academic publishing field is artificial intelligence, especially generative AI or large language models. In the past six months to a year, we have encountered more situations than ever before. This brings both challenges and opportunities for us. Therefore, we must truly leverage the opportunities that artificial intelligence has brought to our industry while actively addressing the challenges it poses, to ensure that the scientific research we publish is authentic and credible.