Developing a picture of electronic publishing: a qualitative study of the ecology community

There is widespread recognition that scientists acting as the producers of the raw material of electronic publications will, to a large extent, drive the ultimate adoption process of electronic publishing. However, there has been little research focusing on the interests and perceptions of scientists acting as authors and editors. At the same time, it should be recognized that various scientific communities are pursuing different paths in the development and adoption of electronic publication and dissemination of research results. This variation in developmental approaches may well reflect different needs and interests of the communities involved. To date the physics community and some biomedical communities have received greatest attention for their early work in developing new modes of publishing. However, these communities may well have unique practices and history that are shaping developments in ways that may not be indicative of subsequent electronic publishing in other disciplines. The article reports preliminary results of a qualitative study of authors and editors of two new journals serving the environmental science community, a community that is relatively new to the arena of scientific publishing. One journal is entirely electronic, while the other provides both paper and electronic formats. Some of the questions investigated include how the participants in these ventures perceive electronic publishing and its impact and how their individual encounters with electronic publishing shape those perceptions.