Acknowledgments

Executive Summary

1: Introduction

• The Context: Transition from Print-based to Electronic Publishing
• Developing a Study of Electronic Content
• Scope of Study
• Methodology
• Data Collection
• Data Analysis
• Study Outcomes

2: Conceptual Frameworks

• Scientific Communication in the Paper World
• Impact of Social Factors on Scientific Communication
• Diffusion of Innovations Theory
• Ideas about Scientific Communication in the Electronic World
• Review of E-publishing Developments in Early 1998
• Measuring the Impact of Early Electronic Publishing

3: Selecting a Journal

• Journal Selection Decision Elements
• A Model of the Journal Selection System
• Decision-Making Patterns Among Authors
• The Role of Social Relationships

4: The Meaning of Electronic Journals

• Functions of Electronic Publishing
• Pros, Cons, and Concerns
• Validity of Patterns Among Informant Groups

5: Journal System Structure: Quality, Audience, and Peer Review

• The Roles of Journal Identity and Peer Review
• A Three-Tiered Model of System Structure
• Peer Review in Electronic Publications
• Alternate Models of Future Electronic Publishing

6: The Integrating Function of the Publishing System

• Integration of Published Research Artifacts
• Integration of the Ecology Research Community
• Integration of Research and Policy Communities

7: Looking Ahead Toward Electronic Publishing

• The Importance of Community Context
• Comparison of Author Selection and Journal Prestige Models
• Study Implications

Bibliography

Index

Figure and Tables

• Figure 1. A Model of the Journal Selection Process
• Table 1. Number of Informants Mentioning Each Decision Element by Group
• Table 2. Matrix of Referent Mentions by Informants
• Table 3. Ecologists’ Three-Tiered Model of Journal System Structure
• Table 4. Comparison of Ecologists’ and Psychologists’ Journal System Structuring