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Filling an Unmet Neet
In today's fast-paced electronic information age, traditional venues for academic publication often prove inadequate to the need. By the time the print hits the page, it is no longer news but history. Furthermore, much worthy work — such as research in areas not currently "hot", or the third confirmation of a new finding, or a report of negative experimental results — often cannot find a venue at all. The resulting publication shortfall hurts both would-be authors and their potential audience. Download Academic is here to fill this growing gap between need and reality.
We are dedicated to helping professionals — both within and outside of academia — make their work available to colleagues and students in a quick, convenient and potentially profitable manner.
Download Academic in no way desires to set itself in opposition to traditional academic publishing, but sees an opportunity to contribute in areas where traditional publishing's inherent structure limits its ability to satisfy today's vast demand. We wish to complement, not comptete with, the existing system, and indeed are not equipped to fulfill all the functions which traditional publishers provide. Our role is important, but different.
Criteria and Standards
Submitted material can be either research or instructional in nature, as well as general expositions of a particular field. The authors can be affiliated with an academic or medical institution, or in industry or a profession, or working independently, or retired. We accept both new material and work which has been published elsewhere first. Research need not be peer-reviewed, and there are no a priori restrictions on subject matter. Furthermore, the length can be as short as the shortest research paper or as long as the longest book. The medium can be downloadable (eBook) , CD-ROM or hard copy (paper).
Despite this openness, there are some boundaries. Authors are expected to have credentials or some basis for authority in their field, whether formal or not, which would be recognized as reasonable by a majority of their colleagues in that field, even if those colleagues might disagree with the views expressed. Furthermore, those views should be based on evidence and logic, taking reasonable account of the full scope of relevant knowledge and opinion in the field, even if that evidence and logic is somewhat flawed in its particulars. And while the subject matter can be anything, and its presentation can be practical, pointed, pleasant or even playful, the focus must be the communication of knowledge, rather than, for example, polemic, promotion or entertainment. In addition, the target audience should be primarily colleagues, practitioners and students in the field. This is not the place for cookbooks, self-help books and books to improve your golf swing, however authoritative they may be.
The concept behind these criteria is that it is no longer so simple to draw a sharp line between academia and the outside world. For example, many scientists and other scholars now work in industry, while industry has become a major funder of academic research. Industry (in the broadest sense, including medicine and other applied professions) is a major consumer as well as producer of new knowledge. Similarly, one cannot draw a sharp line between academic and non academic publication venues, or between acceptable and non acceptable credentials — but at the same time, these distinctions are not meaningless. The guidelines spelled out above are meant to draw informal and flexible yet realistic and meaningful boundaries around the hard-to-pin-down territory of modern "academia". It should be clear on which side of the line the vast majority of potential submissions happen to fall. For those on the edge it will be a judgment call...and then we'll make the call.
A crucial concern — for our authors, our readers and ourselves — is that the information on our site is accurate, trustworthy and meets our standards. Readers are encouraged to report any violations to us, and authors know that upon our confirmation of such reports, they are subject to immediate removal of their works as well as the loss of all rights and privilages at Download Academic. This strict policy is designed to maintain an environment in which academic professionals feel comfortable displaying their works, and purchasing the works of others.
Who We Are
Download Academic is currently a division of Download Press, a Massachusetts-based American company located at 1 Henry Street, North Billerica, MA 01862, USA. Any agreement, transaction or communication with Download Academic constitutes an agreement, transaction or communication with Download Press. |
