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Scientific Publications: Free for all?

: One of the confusing things about the Government's two responses to the original report and the Committee's response to the Government's response to the original report is that they have not grasped those issues. They need to consider what research is needed in order to verify a cost base for this type of publishing. To be fair to both the publishing houses and the learned societies, that cannot happen until one does an analysis and makes comparisons with some of the models in the United States, where it is free to publish and free to access, and the whole system is underpinned either by grants or by donations. We need a commercial model that stacks up against the existing system. That can be achieved only by means of trials and proper research. The lack of research and of engagement with the issue is a worry.