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Journal of Science and Technology in the Tropics (2010) 6: 3
Editorial
PUBLISH OR PERISH
When one chooses a scientific career, it becomes a norm to publish. One has to disseminate one’s
findings and one’s work. It is part of the challenge of being a scientist and it is expected of a scientist.
Some institutions set target for scientists to publish at least two scientific papers in a refereed journal
a year. Such targets are good as there is a propensity for scientists in general not to publish.
There are many forms of publications. The usual is a scientific journal and most professions or
institutions have their own dedicated journals to provide a conduit for their scientific staff to publish.
However, the growing concerns on the environment and the destruction of forests have been used
as an argument to choose electronic publications and the widespread use of the internet allows this.
However, among the more senior scientists, the preference is still the written media. Publishing in
peer-reviewed journals should be encouraged as this will provide a more international audience. The
impact factor of the journal should also be taken into consideration. The number of times that an
article is cited or the citation index is also an indicator of the readership of the article.
The other issue often debated is proceedings of seminars and conferences. Conferences, workshops
and seminars provide excellent channels for the dissemination of research findings and ideas, and
proceedings of such meetings are critically important to record the presentations that would be lost
otherwise.
There is an increasing propensity for joint authorship of papers. While this is inevitable considering
that research is seldom undertaken by an individual but rather by a team, the tendency for the head of
the organization to be the main author should not be encouraged unless he or she was really the main
researcher involved in the project. The main scientist that undertook the major part of the research
and who wrote the article must be the main author.
Some disciplines are more amenable to publications. For example, in taxonomic research it is
much easier to publish when the scientist has completed the study of a certain species of plant or
animal or microorganism. However, in some other disciplines, it is much more difficult and time
consuming. Nonetheless, the key to good research is innovation and such innovative discoveries or
ideas should be published.
Finally there is the fundamental issue of scientific writing. Many scientists have never been taught
the art or science of scientific writing. It is proposed that every young scientist undergo a course on
scientific writing early in their career as this will give them confidence and provide them a good
foundation to publish their findings later.
Dr. Salleh Mohd. Nor and Dr. Mohinder Singh
Co-Chairman, Editorial Board
Jostt vol 6.indd 3 7/22/10 10:08:25 PM