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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic journal | 1/5 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academic_journal | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T09:52:46.563930+00:00 | kb-cron |
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the dissemination, scrutiny, and discussion of research. Unlike professional magazines or trade magazines, the articles are mostly written by researchers rather than staff writers employed by the journal. They nearly universally require peer review for research articles or other scrutiny from contemporaries competent and established in their respective fields. Academic journals trace their origins back to the 17th century, with the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society being established in 1665 as the first scientific journal. As of 2012, it is estimated that over 28,100 active academic journals are in publication, with scopes ranging from the general sciences, as seen in journals like Science and Nature, to highly specialized fields. These journals publish a variety of articles including original research, review articles, and perspectives. The advent of electronic publishing has made academic journals more accessible.
== Content ==
Content usually takes the form of articles presenting original research, review articles, or book reviews. The purpose of an academic journal, according to Henry Oldenburg (the first editor of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society), is to give researchers a venue to "impart their knowledge to one another, and contribute what they can to the Grand design of improving natural knowledge, and perfecting all Philosophical Arts, and Sciences." The term academic journal applies to scholarly publications in all fields; this includes journals that cover formal sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, which differ somewhat from each other in form and function. Academic journals in the formal and natural sciences are often called scientific journals. Most journals are highly specialized, although some of the oldest journals such as Science and Nature publish articles and scientific papers across a wide range of scientific fields. Although academic journals are superficially similar to professional magazines (or trade journals), they are quite different. Articles in academic journals are written by active researchers such as students, scientists, and professors. Their intended audience is others in the field, meaning their content is highly technical. Academic articles also deal with research, and are peer reviewed. Meanwhile, trade journals are aimed at people in different fields, focusing on how people in those fields can do their jobs better. Active academic researchers are expected to publish their work in academic journals, and public funding bodies often require research results to be published in academic journals. Academic credentials for promotion into academic ranks are established in large part by the number and impact of scientific articles published. This places pressure on researchers to publish articles frequently – an environment known as publish or perish.
== History ==
In the 17th century, scientists wrote letters to each other, and included scientific ideas with them. Then, in the mid-17th century, scientists began to hold meetings and share their scientific ideas. Eventually, they led to starting organizations, such as the Royal Society (1660) and the French Academy of Sciences (1666). The idea of a published journal with the purpose of "[letting] people know what is happening in the Republic of Letters" was first conceived by François Eudes de Mézeray in 1663. A publication titled Journal littéraire général was supposed to be published to fulfill that goal, but never was. Humanist scholar Denis de Sallo (under the pseudonym "Sieur de Hédouville") and printer Jean Cusson took Mazerai's idea, and obtained a royal privilege from King Louis XIV on 8 August 1664 to establish the Journal des sçavans. The journal's first issue was published on 5 January 1665. It was aimed at people of letters, and had four main objectives:
review newly published major European books, publish the obituaries of famous people, report on discoveries in arts and science, and report on the proceedings and censures of both secular and ecclesiastical courts, as well as those of universities both in France and outside. Soon after, the Royal Society established Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in March 1665, and the Académie des Sciences established the Mémoires de l'Académie des Sciences in 1666, which focused on scientific communications. By the end of the 18th century, nearly 500 such periodicals had been published, the vast majority coming from Germany (304 periodicals), France (53), and England (34). Several of those publications, in particular the German journals, tended to be short-lived (under five years). A.J. Meadows has estimated the proliferation of journals to reach 10,000 journals in 1950, and 71,000 in 1987. Michael Mabe wrote that the estimates will vary depending on the definition of what exactly counts as a scholarly publication, but that the growth rate has been "remarkably consistent over time", with an average rate of 3.46% per year from 1800 to 2003. In 1733, Medical Essays and Observations was established by the Medical Society of Edinburgh as the first fully peer-reviewed journal. Peer review was introduced as an attempt to increase the quality and pertinence of submissions. Other important events in the history of academic journals include the establishment of Nature (1869) and Science (1880), the establishment of Postmodern Culture in 1990 as the first online-only journal, the foundation of arXiv in 1991 for the dissemination of preprints to be discussed prior to publication in a journal, and the establishment of PLOS One in 2006 as the first megajournal. Peer review did not begin until the 1970s, and was seen as a way of enabling researchers who were not as well-known to have their papers published in journals that were more prestigious. Though it was originally done by mailing copies of papers to reviewers, it is now done online.
== Scholarly articles ==