Our study Scientific and Medical Journals on the Web has evolved since 1998. Originally, it addressed whether or not Scientific, Technical and Medical (STM) publishers needed to have an online version of their journal, while in 2001 it shifted to what form that online journal should take, focusing on usability. This year's report now explores how readers' expectations have changed as well as new developments that are threatening the foundation on which traditional scholarly publishing rests. The Internet is a very different place than it was just a couple of years ago, and readers' expectations are constantly evolving. As the features of online journals grow in complexity, it is even more critical for publishers to design Web sites that create value. This 2005 report will help you determine if your online journal has kept pace and where tactical upgrades can be made. Based on a 33-question survey of more than 1,900 scientific and medical professionals, this report re-examines readers' expectations, preferences and needs as they relate to the use of Web-based journals. It reveals trends in the ways online journals are found and accessed, readers' perceptions of the most important features, and the most acceptable ways to pay for access to online journals-from commercial advertising to various subscription levels. It also details readers' satisfaction with 5 leading journals in terms of types of content, information features and searching capabilities. These benchmarks will help publishers identify those core elements that contribute positively to the leading journals' overall brand perception and understand where they are performing relative to both their competitors and customer expectations. Additionally, by providing insights into why readers submit articles to specific journals, this report will also help you attract authors. Since 2001, new developments such as open access publishing have raised even more questions for publishers. In order to facilitate broader dissemination of information, open access publishing would eliminate subscription fees collected by publishers and instead require authors to pay publishing costs. As a result, the report includes discussions of this alternative model from the author's perspective-including whether authors should be expected to pay a fee to publish their work, the effect of receiving payments on open access publishers' acceptance rates and copyright issues. It also examines other business models such as a pay-per-view option for users who are interested in downloading only a particular article and do not want to pay for a long-term subscription, and technological initiatives like CrossRef-a service that allows researchers to navigate online literature at the article level. Overall, the results of this study indicate that STM publishers can gain a competitive advantage in the online journal market by focusing on customer value, and this report will be an invaluable step for them to gain a better understanding of their readers. Report Highlights Scientific and Medical Journals on the Web contains over 100 charts and/or tables and more than 20 cross-tabulations for the 33 survey questions. Below is a glimpse of the key findings derived from just a few of the survey questions: • Scientific and medical professionals typically learn about new online journals from citations in other journals (50%), searching bibliographic databases (46%) and entering keywords into a search engine (46%).
• More than half of the survey respondents make it a point to read or browse between two and five journals each month.
• Approximately one-quarter of the scientific and medical professionals surveyed believe that it is not at all important to receive the print edition of a journal if they have access to the online version.
• When asked about open access publishing, more than a quarter of the respondents indicated that they strongly believe that the general public should be allowed to download, copy, redistribute or view a given work without restrictions.
• 36% of survey respondents are not at all familiar with CrossRef, although many believe it would be useful in their research.
• Nature, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Biological Chemistry and New England Journal of Medicine are the online journals most frequently read by scientific and medical professionals. (electronic copy includes one print copy) | 
