GLOBAL: Free help for developing nation researchers

A group of undergraduates is hoping to make a difference in the world by offering a free editing service to help researchers from developing nations get their work published in mainstream English language journals.

SciEdit was launched in February by the Journal of Young Investigators, a peer-reviewed, non-profit science journal run by students around the world and based in the US. The SciEdit service offers free manuscript proof reading and editing in order to increase the likelihood research from scientists in non-English speaking and developing nations will be accepted by English language publications.

Editor-in-Chief Alexander Nikolich Patananan, a doctoral student in the department of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said SciEdit had so far attracted about 10 manuscripts. But, because of their quality, none had actually been reviewed.

Patananan noted that the service had not yet been advertised beyond the Journal of Young Investigators but making a difference was an important goal of the project: "Today, many undergraduate journals are present just for the benefit of their own staff members. At JYI, our philosophy is to strive together in order to make a difference in the lives of others."

"At JYI, we frequently see undergraduate students with excellent research fail to prosper due to a lack of English language mastery. Consequentially, our goal is to assist those that are disadvantaged by the fact that most major journals are English-speaking journals. SciEdit's belief is that as scientists, we should all work together to further society's knowledge."

Patananan also expected that SciEdit would demonstrate that a group of undergraduate students could achieve great things while working together. Though its editors were busy with their own work, they were willing to offer their time for free for the new service because a charge would contradict their desire to serve those who were underprivileged or struggling to convey their knowledge.

"SciEdit subscribes to the philosophy that if scientific breakthroughs in medicine, engineering, and other important fields are to occur, authors must receive the necessary support to convey their knowledge with utmost clarity."

Patananan said SciEdit used the UN definition of Japan, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe as developed countries but would not refuse to help researchers from, say, Italy or Serbia who asked for grammatical assistance for their manuscript.

"In essence, SciEdit treats every author on a case-by-case basis to determine their exact needs and level of assistance."

While the staff at the Journal of Young Investigators were undergraduates and volunteers, all editors went through a 10-week course in reviewing and critiquing scientific manuscripts, he said.

*John Gerritsen is editor of NZ Education Review

john.gerritsen@uw-news.com