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The future of academic publishing

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From Nature Human Behaviour

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Academic publishing is the backbone of science dissemination –– but is the current system fit for purpose? We asked a diverse group of scientists to comment on the future of publishing. They discuss systemic issues, challenges, and opportunities, and share their vision for the future.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urban Design and Infrastructure Studies, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, Wa, Ghana

    Abubakari Ahmed

  2. Faculty of Dentistry, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

    Aceil Al-Khatib

  3. Institut Pasteur de Bangui, 9HFF+GFH, Bangui, Central African Republic

    Yap Boum II

  4. Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Science, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Yap Boum II

  5. Instituto de Patología Vegetal – Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias – Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (IPAVE-CIAP-INTA), Córdoba, Argentina

    Humberto Debat

  6. Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg

  7. University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA

    Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe

  8. Conservation Biology, Society for Conservation Biology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Frith Jarrad

  9. Independent scholar https://www.experimental-history.com/

    Adam Mastroianni

  10. xcorr consulting inc., Montréal, Quebec, Canada

    Patrick Mineault

  11. School of Psychology, Aston University, Birmingham, UK

    Charlotte R. Pennington

  12. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada

    J. Andrew Pruszynski

Authors
  1. Abubakari Ahmed
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  2. Aceil Al-Khatib
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  3. Yap Boum II
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  4. Humberto Debat
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  5. Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg
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  6. Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe
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  7. Frith Jarrad
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  8. Adam Mastroianni
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  9. Patrick Mineault
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  10. Charlotte R. Pennington
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  11. J. Andrew Pruszynski
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Abubakari Ahmed, Aceil Al-Khatib, Yap Boum II, Humberto Debat, Alonso Gurmendi Dunkelberg, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Frith Jarrad, Adam Mastroianni, Patrick Mineault, Charlotte R. Pennington or J. Andrew Pruszynski.

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Competing interests

A.M. is the author of Experimental History, a blog with science that includes both free and subscription content. P.M. owns all equity in xcorr consulting inc. He was the founding CTO of Neuromatch, a 501(c)3 non-profit, and remains in an advisory role. C.R.P. is a ‘Recommender’ for Peer Community In Registered Reports. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Ahmed, A., Al-Khatib, A., Boum, Y. et al. The future of academic publishing. Nat Hum Behav 7, 1021–1026 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01637-2

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