Why researchers publish in non-mainstream journals: Training, knowledge bridging, and gap filling
通过对哥伦比亚农业科学、商业管理、化学领域研究者的访谈，发现非主流期刊承担培训新手、桥接国际与本地知识、填补主流期刊空白的功能，其价值不应仅以低质量研究论处。
• Training function is the usage of non-mainstream journals as ‘transit stations’ to publish in mainstream journals. • Knowledge bridging function of non-mainstream journals links an ‘international’ research community with local communities. • Knowledge gap-filling function of non-mainstream journals allows publication of new knowledge on subjects underrepresented in mainstream journals. • Reveals that ‘low quality research’ does not explain sufficiently why researchers publish in non-mainstream journals. • Recognition of non-mainstream journals can motivate the production of research with potential to address social and environmental demands. In many countries research evaluations confer high importance to mainstream journals, which are considered to publish excellent research. Accordingly, research evaluation policies discourage publications in other non-mainstream journals under the assumption that they publish low quality research. This approach has prompted a policy debate in low and middle-income countries, which face financial and linguistic barriers to access mainstream journals. A common criticism of the current evaluation practices is that they can hinder the development of certain topics that are not published in mainstream journals although some of them might be of high local relevance. In this article, we examine this issue by exploring the functions of non-mainstream journals in scientific communication. We interviewed researchers from agricultural sciences, business and management, and chemistry in Colombia on their reasons to publish in non-mainstream journals. We found that non-mainstream journals serve the following functions: 1) offer a space for initiation into publishing ( training) ; 2) provide a link between articles in mainstream journals and articles read by communities with limited access to them ( knowledge-bridging) ; 3) publish topics that are not well covered by mainstream journals ( knowledge gap-filling) . Therefore, publication in non-mainstream journals cannot be attributed only to ‘low scientific quality’ research. They also fulfil specific communication functions. These results suggest that research evaluation policy in low and middle-income countries should consider assigning greater value to non-mainstream journals given their role in bridging and disseminating potentially useful and novel knowledge.