The aim of the Applied Economics Research Bulletin is to foster free and extremely rapid dissemination of papers. We see ourselves as a rapid alternative to journals like Economics Letters, Marketing Letters, Economics Bulletin, or the Review of Marketing Science....
- Immediate dissemination: While readers want to have immediate access to the latest research, it typically takes years before an article can appear in a journal. Even an outlet like Economics Letters takes several months to a year. At the Applied Economics Research Bulletin, the manuscript gets published in days, sometimes even within hours of submitting the manuscript. Our publication lag is limited only by the time it takes our AEs [Article Editors] to read your manuscript and convey an accept/reject decision. We strive to give you a decision in 24 hours (however, given that we intend to publish manuscripts of very high quality, we expect only a small proportion of submitted papers will be accepted).
- Review process: We are a selective outlet with a unique review process that facilitates rapid acceptance/rejection of submitted manuscripts. The Associate Editors immediately put the papers you submit into the hands of eminent researchers who serve as what we call Article Editors (AE). The function of the AE is to assess the contribution of the manuscript and convey an immediate accept/reject decision. The AE assumes complete responsibility for the manuscript. In many cases, we will adopt a three-tiered review process, with the first AE checking for obvious flaws and errors in the manuscript, the second AE assessing the probability of the research being subsequently published in other leading journals (or assessing the paper's contribution) and one of the Associate Editors signing off on it. The manuscript will not be accepted for publication in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin unless both AEs give it a thumbs up and one of the Associate Editors ratifies it.
- Public record: We expect that manuscripts published in the Applied Economics Research Bulletin will form the foundations for more refined works that will subsequently be submitted to other leading journals. However, immediate publication of your manuscript in the Bulletin helps create a public record of when and where the research idea originated. This limits plagiarism that can plague working papers and also impedes unintentional duplication of research by fellow academics. At the same time, it opens up opportunities for dialog and collaboration with other researchers.
- No manuscript style: All journals have specific requirements on manuscript length, format, style in which references or tables are laid out, etc....We trust your judgment and in the interest of prompt dissemination of ideas, we have absolutely no such requirements. No 6- or 8-page limits either....
- No subscription costs: ...
- You retain the copyright: ...In contrast [to conventional journals], the Applied Economics Research Bulletin allows authors to retain all rights and we merely ask that we be permitted to disseminate your research as widely as possible....
- Experimentation and innovation: We are a very flexible outlet that is always open to new suggestions and innovative ideas. For instance, we would be open to publishing a manuscript that has already been published elsewhere, if you can convince the AEs that your work needs renewed visibility (it would be your responsibility to get the necessary copyright clearance). In the future, we plan to experiment with more innovative approaches to publishing, for example, we may pay the AEs for their services. We believe all journals, especially commercial journals, need to move in the direction of paying reviewers for their time....
Posted by
Peter Suber at 5/30/2007 09:55:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
