Scientific publication in the digital era

Scientific publication is undergoing a drastic transformation over the last decade. Now there is a trend of digitalization of all forms of communication. Few years ago authors were submitting their manuscripts in hard copies. Now most of the scientific journals are using online platform for the entire publishing process (i.e. manuscript submission, review, revision, proofs, publishing). Many traditional print journals are now using online platform as there is an increase in usage of digital devices (computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone) by scientists and clinicians to search online and read articles in digital form. The key challenge of print based journals is the limited space available. Print journals are limited in space due to the high cost of printing and distributing. Therefore, they include only the minimum information essential to understand the research work. There is always words limit for each type of article and acceptability of article is low. Therefore, rejection rate is very high in high quality print journal. There is a possibility that your paper gets rejected not because of quality of research work, but it may be because of lack of space in the journal. There is a tough competition to get published in the high quality print journal. Graphics and photos are kept to a minimum in print journals, and color is almost rarely used. One of the significant advantages of electronic form of the journal from author's point of view is the speed of publication. It's possible to publish articles rapidly in electronic form of publication. The articles can be posted online as they are ready (as online first) after peer review and proof checking. One element that we all love about digital information is its easy searchability. Accessibility is also very high with electronic form of the journal as your article is available for view and downloads within minutes anywhere in the world. Your article is available anywhere at anytime, you just need an internet connection.