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Social Studies of Science, Vol. 34, No. 3, 365-391 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312704041522

Communication Regimes in Competition

The Current Transition in Scholarly Communication Seen through the Lens of the Sociology of Technology

Ingemar Bohlin

Gothenburg University, Ingemar.Bohlin{at}sts.gu.se

Recent advances in information technology have enabled new ways of communicating research reports. A significant innovation in this area is that of ‘eprint’ archives: online repositories in which researchers make their papers freely available to their colleagues. This practice, which is known as self-archiving, poses a serious challenge to traditional academic journals. Publishers have responded with several strategies for remodelling journals in order to make them more attractive to authors and readers. New services, products and initiatives are constantly being launched in this market, and the outcome of the present disruption is uncertain. The present paper employs the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) methodology to analyse the current transformation in scholarly communication. The analysis defines the functions long served by academic publishing, examines the extent to which newly introduced technologies fulfil these functions and explains the dynamics of the stabilization process now underway. A key element of the analysis is the principle of interpretative flexibility. In the present case, interpretative flexibility brings into relief disciplinary variation in the needs and interests of potential users.

Key Words: academic publishing • eprint archives • interpretative flexibility • scholarly journals • self-archiving • social construction of technology


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