What are some good science journals?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around identifying reputable science journals and magazines for keeping up with science and technology. Participants share their experiences and preferences regarding various publications, including their accessibility and readability.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that "Science" and "Nature" are highly reputable journals, while "Scientific American" is recommended as a less technical and more accessible option.
  • One participant notes that "Scientific American" is a magazine rather than a journal and provides a link to a master list of respectable journals.
  • Concerns are raised about the challenges amateurs face in publishing in reputable journals, with specific mention of "Physics Review Letters" and "Physics Review Series" as examples of journals that do not accept amateur submissions.
  • There is a suggestion that university libraries often carry "Science" and "Nature," making them accessible for reading without a subscription.
  • Open source journals are discussed, with one participant mentioning BioMedCentral and its peer-review system, while noting that groundbreaking research may not be found there.
  • Some participants express interest in the editorial content of "Science" and "Nature," suggesting a desire for more affordable subscription options for those sections.
  • One participant mentions using ArXiv to track interests and access papers, highlighting the importance of identifying peer-reviewed articles.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the reputability of certain journals like "Science" and "Nature," but there is no consensus on the best options for casual readers versus those seeking more technical content. The discussion also reflects differing views on the accessibility of reputable journals for amateur readers.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the reputability of specific journals and the challenges of accessing high-quality research without subscriptions. The discussion includes references to the varying impact factors of journals and the implications for readers.

Saladsamurai
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I was wondering what are some good science journals (by good, I mean reputable).

I hear that Science is a good one. Is that the name of it? Just Science? And is something I can subscribe to like a magazine?

I basically just want to keep up with science and technology but don't want to look at all the crap they put in Pop Mechanics and the like.

I used to subscribe to Science News and liked it because it was pretty small and readable, but I have know idea how reputable it was?

Any thoughts?

Casey
 
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Saladsamurai said:
I was wondering what are some good science journals (by good, I mean reputable).

I hear that Science is a good one. Is that the name of it? Just Science? And is something I can subscribe to like a magazine?

I basically just want to keep up with science and technology but don't want to look at all the crap they put in Pop Mechanics and the like.

I used to subscribe to Science News and liked it because it was pretty small and readable, but I have know idea how reputable it was?

Any thoughts?

Casey

If you are amateur, to publish your document in reputable journal is impossible.
They reject all of amateurs' submission without reviewing.
Physics Review Letters and Physics Review Series are reputable journals.
I have not found amateurs' article in those journals.
Journals do not openly declare that, but that is real editorial policy.
 
Jang Jin Hong said:
If you are amateur, to publish your document in reputable journal is impossible.
They reject all of amateurs' submission without reviewing.
Physics Review Letters and Physics Review Series are reputable journals.
I have not found amateurs' article in those journals.
Journals do not openly declare that, but that is real editorial policy.

That's good to know; but I am not interested in being published, just in reading those who have :smile:
 
Saladsamurai said:
That's good to know; but I am not interested in being published, just in reading those who have :smile:

Almost every reputalbe journal is difficult to read.
Nature must be a reputable journal which can be considered.
I heard that science has some difficulty in personal buying.
 
Most libraries in university science departments would carry Science and Nature. If you live near a university, you could make a habit of visiting there every week or two and reading those journals, as well as others.
 
Proton Soup said:
does anyone have an opinion on open source journals?

http://www.doaj.org/

BioMedCentral (BMC) is a publisher that pioneered the open source publishing, they follow a strict peer-review system so there is screening at the door. They have an impact factor of about 5, so I think you can call that average. You won't find the ground breaking research in there, but the articles are not bad.

I like the editorials of Science and Nature, I wish that they'd had paper subscriptions on only that part (thus cheaper than the whole journal). You should keep in mind that Science in Nature do not have the highest impact factor, a journal like Cell for instance scores higher, but they do cover a wider ground.

Ah! I almost forgot: visit the sites of the different journals and subscribe to their podcasts, those are really fun to listen to (they interview the researchers that have published interesting articles about their findings).
 
  • #11
How about the Annals of Improbable Research?
http://improbable.com/"
Their swimsuit issue is worth the subscription.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #12
One way to track your interests is to look at on-line e-prints of papers on ArXiv.
http://arxiv.org/

As you open the PDFs of the papers, look at the headers. Papers that have been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal will be identified in the headers. Papers that have only the author(s) name(s) and no "Accepted for Publication" statement probably have not been peer-reviewed.

Some journals have some pretty heavy subscription fees, and this is the only way to see their papers (usually pre-publication) without trekking to a good library or paying a lot of money. Interestingly, if your paper is accepted by Springer for one of its journals, Springer will request that you submit the final draft to ArXiv. They will also transmit the paper electronically to their subscribers AND in print form, later.
 

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