More than 40 healthcare editors from the journals NeuroImage and Imaging NeuroScience have resigned due to the allegedly high amounts of money their publishers require for a study to be published.
The charges, known as article-processing charges (APCs), are what publishers use to cover their publishing services and make money, in some cases, according to a report in Nature. According to the editors who resigned, APCs are unethical.
The APCs are used as an alternative to pay-to-read subscriptions, making some journals free for anyone to access and read. The APC for NeuroImage is $3,450, while NeuroImage costs $900, which will double to $1,800 from 31 May, Nature reported. Some journals charge much more, and these fees are often paid by researchers from their grant funding.
“Scientists and authors increasingly feel that it is wrong for publishers to make such high profits, particularly given that the publishers do not fund the original science, or the writing of articles, or payments to reviewers, and pay minimal editorial stipends,” wrote the academics in their resignation April 17. “As a result, authors and reviewers are increasingly refusing to work with high-profit journals.”
The editors also stated they have attempted to get Elsevier, the publisher of the journals, to lower the publication fee, but have been unsuccessful.
“Our editorial teams wish to be clear that we take this action with great regret,” the editors wrote. “We love our field…”
NeuroImage, which launched in 1992, began charging an APC of $3,000 when it became open access in 2020. The editors asked for the APC to be lowered to $2,000 last year.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."