| The value-added services of sci-tech journals emerged in the digital publishing era, enabling users to get more information and higher value than traditional print journals. It’s important for journals to provide value-added services in the digital publishing era because it allows users to fully utilize resources and satisfy users’ personalized requirements.But so far, most domestic press have not mastered advanced digital publishing technology, and do not have enough money to supply value-added services. Instead, they simply place paper contents online. The services that they provide are not mature and cannot satisfy users’ requirements. More specifically, domestic press primarily fails to satisfy their users’ requirements in the following ways: ①The forms of content in most domestic sci-tech journals are very monotonous, and there is very little extended content on the websites. ② Users want to read personalized content that relates to their specialty and that they’re interested in, but most current journals do not provide personalized services. ③ Users’ reading habits have changed, but until now many sci-tech journals have not designed mobile reading content adapted to mobile terminal characteristics and matched to the mobile terminal format. ④ The way of reading has changed from unidirectional reading to the multidirectional interactive reading, but many journals do not provide an interactive and communicative platform for users.This study does literature research and survey research in order to understand what domestic and foreign journals supply services for users and deeply analyzes the differences from an objective point of view. This article takes medical journals as an example: we selected the top 10 domestic and the top 10 foreign medical journals, then surveyed the value-added services found on their websites. For the foreign medical journals, we selected the top 10 comprehensive medical journals from the SCI JCR subject classification table. The top 10 domestic medical journals are selected from “The Table of Comprehensive Medical Core Journals”, mainly based on the “A Guide of the Chinese Core Journal(2011 Edition)” and the “Table of Comprehensive Medical Journals”, “Table of Journal of Medical University”, mainly based on the “Chinese Sci-Tech Journal Citation Reports(2012 Edition)”. We investigated the Journals’ websites based on the following aspects: ① The extension of content forms such as multimedia application, including audio, video, and slide show/interactive images. ②Personalized and push services including RSS and E-mail Alerts. ③ Changes to the content carrier, i.e. mobile terminal reading services. ④ Supplying an interactive and communicative platform for users, including providing a comment platform, knowledge testing interactive platform, and new media platforms such as blogs and microblogs. ⑤ Information extension service, i.e. supplementary materials that are not be published on printed journals because of limited space. ⑥Deeply process the contents(XML structured typesetting).The survey results show that: ① For multimedia application services: Among the 10 foreign medical journals, there are 8 journals(80%) that provide multimedia services. 8 of them(80%) provide video services, 8 of them(80%) provide audio/podcast services, 6 of them(60%) provide slide show/interactive images. Among the 10 domestic medical journals, there is 1 journal(10%) that provides multimedia services. None of them(0%) provide video services and none of them(0%) provide audio/podcast services. Only 1 journal(10%) provides slide show/interactive images. ② For personalized and push services: All of the 10 foreign medical journals(100%) provide personalized and push services. 9 of them(90%) provide RSS feeds services and all of them(100%) provide E-mail Alerts services. 3 of the 10 domestic medical journals(30%) provide personalized and push services. 3 of them(30%) provide RSS feeds services and none of them(0%) provide E-mail Alerts services. ③For mobile terminal reading services: 7 out of the 10 foreign medical journals(70%) provide APP services, but only 2 out of 10 domestic medical journals(20%) provide APP services. ④ For supplying an interactive and communicative platform: All of the 10 foreign medical journals(100%) provide interactive and communicative platform services. 6 of them(60%) provide a comment platform, 3 of them(30%) provide a knowledge interaction platform, and all of them(100%) provide a blog and microblog, which are new media platform. Among the 10 domestic medical journals, there are 2 journals(20%) that provide interactive and communicative platform services. 2 of them(20%) provide a comment platform, but there is no domestsic journal(0%) that provides a knowledge interaction platform, and only 1 domestic journal(10%) provides a new media platform(blog and microblog). ⑤ For information extension services: 6 of the 10 foreign medical journals(60%) provide information extension service, but there is no domestic journal(0%) that provides such services.⑥For structuring contents: All of the 10 foreign medical journals(100%) to utilize structured typesetting based on XML to process their contents. And Among the 10 domestic medical journals, 6 of them(60%) to process their contents based on XML.The results show that the digital publishing platform of foreign medical journals have powerful service functions. Domestic medical journals should learn from top-class foreign journals, and take into account unique features of the situation in China, then take measures to gradually improve their service capability. Specifically domestic journals should: ① Purchase XML typeset software or commission a technology corporation in order to utilize structured typesetting based on XML as soon as possible to process their contents and lay a foundation for value-added services. ② Provide personalized and push services for users by using E-mail Alerts and RSS feeds, and segment the push contents in order to satisfy users’ personalized requirements, including: TOC(table of contents) alerts/feeds, ASAP(as soon as publishable) alerts/feeds, topic alerts/feeds, specialties alerts/feeds, most-accessed articles alerts/feeds, search alerts/feeds, and citation alerts/feeds. ③ Promote mobile terminal reading services and launch an independent or shared APP based on the Apple or Android system that provides users with full text or abstracts, journal guidance through popular scientific language, and scientific letters that reflect the latest in research and development. ④ Enhance their multimedia service by encouraging authors to provide multimedia resources, including audio resources such as the authors’ experiment explanations, video resources of operations, and interactive images that reflect authors’ research ideas and results. Publishers should also develop multimedia resources such as audio summaries by the managing director of the journal or organizers of the topics for the current issue, video resources consisting of interviews of authors or professors, and slide shows for the current issue ⑤ Provide users with interactive reading services by providing a comment platform, knowledge testing interactive platform, and some kind of new media platform(blog or microblog). This would build community communication platforms for users, expand the academic communication among users, and also provide a fun interactive experience. ⑥ Provide information extension services such as supplemental materials for content(e.g. methods, charts, etc.), detailed statistical calculation processes, additional references, authors’ public statements about potential conflicts of interest, CONSORT(Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) for articles involving randomized controlled clinical trials, and attached audio and video. |
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