博文
The Challenge for Chinese Scientific Journals
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Since the early 1980s, Chinese scientists have made tremendous scientific advances in areas from paleobiology to material science. However, this is not an easy time for science in China. Furthermore, the phrase "publish or perish” has taken on new meaning in China, where the system of scientific publication is being strained both by the high volume of papers and an artificial reliance on foreign rating systems.
According to an official report, 4294 scientific journals are being published in China. Every university, institute, and professional society has at least one and frequently several publications. It is not possible for a system with limited resources to support this many journals. This partly explains the fact that Chinese scientific journals are lagging behind those of the rest of the world, especially as measured by the most commonly used rating system produced by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in Philadelphia. This organization continuously records scientific citations and has developed from them a number called the journal impact factor (IF). The IF is of critical importance to Chinese scientists. Grant renewal and promotion usually depend on publication in a journal with high impact factor.
Chinese scientists are acutely aware of the low IFs. Recent statistics based on ISI's Science Citation Index database show that, despite an increase in the number of research papers written by Chinese scientists in mainland China from 3475 in 1983 to 10 033 in 1997, the percent published in Chinese journals decreased from 43.2% to 17%. We see the low prestige of Chinese journals as a major factor causing this drain of high-quality papers. Chinese policy-makers and administrators will need to realize the meaning and limitations of the IF and to use it correctly to encourage scientists to publish in Chinese journals.
Why do we see publication in Chinese journals as critical? Because of the cost of foreign scientific journals, many Chinese scientists do not even see the results of their colleagues' work. Furthermore, a domestic scientific journal can be seen as a window to the outside world, and its performance helps to determine the status of the science being done in that country.
There has been an increasing effort recently to find ways to solve this problem. Many Chinese scientists and editors have proposed that the number of the journals should be reduced to one-third of the present number, and Chinese scientific journals should, in effect, be subject to “birth control.” In a hopeful development, the NSFC and the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) have decided to provide financial support of 6 million yuan per year to approximately 100 Chinese scientific journals that have high academic standards. This should help to improve these journals and to increase their international influence.
We believe that with close attention and energetic support from the scientific and technical establishment in China, the academic level and international influence of our scientific journals will be greatly improved in the near future. This can only benefit the progress of science in our country.
相关论文：Ren S L, Liang P, Zu G A. The challenge for Chinese scientific journals. Science, 1999, 286: 1683
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