When you submit your research article for publication in a journal, whether it is a traditional journal or an open access journal, you will have to go through the process of peer review. In this process, other professionals in your field will determine whether your article is a good fit for the journal and worthy of publication. Although peer reviewers, as knowledgeable professionals, focus on all aspects of your manuscript, the quality of your written English is something they will consider, which highlights the usefulness of professional proofreading services.
Professional proofreading has a long history, and there is evidence that even some of the most widely-celebrated writers in the English language rely heavily on proofreaders to help improve their work. For this reason, if you are an academic whose aim and specialty is to advance knowledge in your area of expertise, collaborating with a proofreader can allow you to make much more significant progress than you would be able to do alone.
Image: Proofreading goes hand-in-hand with scientific research
There are all sorts of reasons why some researchers favour open access publication compared to traditional journal publication. One of these reasons is visibility, where – if an academic publishes their research in an open access journal – it is much more likely to be seen by others compared to the traditional route. A great deal of evidence has also been emerging which shows that, since educators and the general public do not need to pay hefty fees to read open access publications, the potential audience for a research article is vastly greater in the open access route compared to the traditional route. Therefore, with more eyes looking at your writing and your research, the importance of ensuring it is properly proofread, ideally by using professional proofreading services, is clear.
It is also well-known that many professional researchers, even those who earn high salaries due to their prestige, favour open access publication compared to the traditional route due to the lower cost associated with this pathway. When you publish an article with a traditional journal, you are likely to be charged for each page, and these varying charges per page tends to range from £50-200! Even for short articles, these rates can lead to incredibly steep costs. By contrast, open access journals tend not to charge per page, and instead charge researchers a flat rate known as “article processing fee”. Depending on the journal size, this fee may range from £5 to £5,000, and while the cost can still be steep, it is – on the whole – significantly cheaper. With the savings of open access publishing, therefore, opportunities exist to recruit collaborators, and even professional proofreaders.
Image: The lower cost of open access publishing leaves opportunities for proofreading
Speed is the final commonly-cited reason why many researchers are increasingly favouring open access publishing over traditional journal publishing. Given that professional proofreading frees up researchers to focus on other crucial aspects of their work, including the technical content of their article or any other research initiatives they are participating in, recruiting the services of qualified and experienced proofreader can speed up their work even more. For these reasons, proofreading research articles is an excellent option that goes hand-in-hand with open access publication.
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