Nobelist And Editor Of Open-Access Journal Boycotts Top Science Journals

Randy W. Schekman, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who was one of three winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has declared a boycott of top science journals such as Cell, Nature, and Science, The Guardian reported.

Mr. Schekman, who is editor in chief of a competing publication, an open-access journal called eLife, wrote a commentary in The Guardian criticizing the three prominent journals.

He accused the three journals of artificially limiting the number of papers they accept, which he said stokes demand “like fashion designers who create limited-edition handbags or suits.” He also called the impact factor, a measure reflecting the average number of times a journal’s articles are cited by subsequent research, a “gimmick,” arguing that the score has become an end in itself and has damaged science.