Mastodon996 t1_iy7zd5t wrote on November 29, 2022 at 12:51 PM

Some research articles are free, and others are behind paywalls. Why? Because it costs money to operate. If you see a research paper you'd like to read that's behind a paywall, any public or university library should be able to get you a copy, because most of them have subscriptions.

rubseb t1_iy80scp wrote on November 29, 2022 at 1:05 PM

University libraries, yes, but generally only for students or staff. Public libraries rarely have subscriptions to scientific journals, AFAIK (I've never seen this).

Mastodon996 t1_iy82isu wrote on November 29, 2022 at 1:22 PM

Most public libraries by now should participate in interlibrary programs that give them access to just about anything, as long as you're willing to spend a few days waiting. At least in more populous states. You'll definitely need a library card though.

DavidRFZ t1_iy819gp wrote on November 29, 2022 at 1:10 PM

It wasn’t that long ago (1990s) that scientists themselves would have to go to the library and photocopy their own journal articles (or I guess if you were a prof, you probably had an assistant do it).

I don’t understand the current business model of journals existing as PDF files mailed around. The purchase price of $35 per article is absurd and no one ever pays that. Big schools do subscribe to the journals their research teams publish in. So that’s how scientists get themselves get access.

If they don’t have to actually print as many physical copies of the journal, it should be cheaper than it was before, but it can’t be free. There are still administrative costs. I don’t know how much the senior editors get paid.

Loki-L t1_iy83nj0 wrote on November 29, 2022 at 1:33 PM

Note that the people doing the research and the people doing the peer review are not the ones who pocket all the money made by these scientific journals.

The companies operating the journals make the profits.

This made more sense in the days when everything was still on paper.

One of the people who turned scientific journals into what they are today was Robert Maxwell. He is dead, but his legacy lives on.

You may have heard of his daughter Ghislaine who apparently takes after her father when it comes to ethics and morals.