Faculty aren’t the only users of the scholarly communication system. Students also depend on it for their education, research, and to disseminate their own ideas. And students, like faculty, have taken action to broaden access to the academic literature and maximize the value of this important resource….
How students participate in the scholarly communication system
1. Students are users of journal literature. The research paper is a staple of student life…and broad access to the literature enhances the student’s education.
[S]tudents are frequently assigned journal literature as class readings in addition to, or in place of, textbooks….[I]n classes that rely on large numbers of journal articles, students often are required to purchase a coursepack or sourcebook containing the readings…The cost of these coursepacks can rival the cost of textbooks. Unlike textbooks, however, coursepacks often have no resale value….
2. Students are authors of journal literature. Some students, particularly graduate students, will have the occasion to publish their work in a scholarly journal, often coauthored with a faculty mentor….
3. Students are editors of scholarly journals….In addition to student journals, students also edit professional scholarly journals. Law reviews, for example, are frequently wholly student-edited….
4. Students are constituents of the scholarly communication system. Students are a constituency of university governance—often formally, such as through a student government or graduate student council….
Finally, students are also citizens and taxpayers, who have an interest in maximizing the public investment in science, just like any other taxpayer.
PMR: For me the most exciting aspect is that students can change the scholarly communication system. Our OSCAR system, seen in part in the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Experimental Data Checker, was developed by undergraduate students, some in their second year. Students have the power to change the way that chemistry is ommunicated and I expect that, given support and not opposition from faculty, they will make important contributions. But I am sure many faculty undervalue the public creativity of their students.