Pathways to Effective Communication: The Best Papers are the Boldest

Why do scientists bother to publish? A disinterested member of the public or a member of government might be forgiven for thinking that science exists to advance society’s needs. While “making the world a better place” is both an aspiration and an outcome of scientific activity, in my view, it is not the major motivation for scientists to publish. In a recent survey of biological and medical scientists, about half said they publish “to communicate knowledge”, while rather fewer responded with “to demonstrate productivity” or “to establish prestige”. Published by the Ecological Society of America, www.frontiersinecology.org.

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