Abstract

To the Editor: In the rapidly changing world of scientific publication, the new system is complex, and there are many changes.1 Many variables, such as current trends, challenges, and technological developments, lead to various changes in the processes or contents of scientific publications. Understanding these changes is crucial for academic productivity. In contrast, some of these changes may have positive effects, while others may have negative effects. In this context, in this letter, we wanted to emphasize the need to have an idea about the impact on academic processes and the many changes we face and are likely to face in the future. The first, perhaps the best known, is open-access publishing and preprint servers. In the literature, the impact of open-access publishing and preprint servers has long been debated. The general consensus is that both situations have positive effects.2,3 In contrast, predatory journals and their negative effects, which are associated with the misuse of the open-access publishing system and that exploit the author-pay model, are another important topic of discussion.4,5 Another situation that may be encountered is clone journals. These are fake copies of real journals that deceive authors with identical names, logos, and designs.5 Thus, technological developments allow for positive effects, such as open-access publishing and preprint servers, but also negative effects, such as predatory or clone journals. Another issue is the impact of challenging conditions on academic publications. Major global events can often have a dramatic impact on science.6 Undoubtedly, the most prominent example of this is the COVID-19 pandemic. This pandemic has severely affected academic productivity and the content of articles. Although the quarantine processes slowed down the research and experimentation phases of scientific studies, academic adaptation began to be achieved with the use of online communication platforms, which increased in effectiveness around the same time.6 In the same time period, it is known that there is an increasing trend in studies that do not require ethics committee approval and do not require experimentation, such as bibliometric7, altmetric analyses8, assessing the quality and reliability of the YouTube videos9,10, etc., where web-based information analysis is performed. Alternative solutions are, therefore, possible even in challenging conditions on a scale that will affect the world. Another important example is artificial intelligence tools, one of the most prestigious topics of recent times. As in every field, artificial intelligence tools have had very important effects in the academic field, especially in the last year, and it is thought that these effects will continue for a long time. Thanks to these tools, it is possible to produce academic publications in a shorter time and with higher quality. In contrast, the use of artificial intelligence tools has also raised ethical issues such as data security, patient privacy, scientific accuracy, scientific responsibility, or the acceptance of false information as truth.11,12 In conclusion, it is possible to encounter different and even unique situations in every period of academic productivity. In addition, these situations can have both positive and negative aspects. One of the most important tricks for an ideal academic is to understand the situation well, adapt quickly, take advantage of the positives, and avoid the negatives.