We’ve all heard the saying, “publish or perish”. But what does that really mean in today’s world of academic publishing?

Scientific publishing has been shaping knowledge since the 17th century. Today, it’s bigger, and more complex, than ever. Yet, for many inside the world of science, it remains a maze of confusion. For those outside of it, it’s practically a black box.

In a special three-part series, The Random Sample will take you behind the scenes to explore the realities of the publication process. This episode is the first in this series.

We’ll begin by answering some fundamental questions:

• How does academic publishing really work?
• What factors influence the decision on where to publish?
• And what happens when a journal reviews a submitted paper?

Our guest is University of Melbourne mathematician Distinguished Professor Peter Taylor, who shares his perspective as both an Academic and editor-in-chief of two applied probability journals.

Our host is Dr Sevvandi Kandanaarachchi, a Senior Research Scientist with CSIRO.

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Part two of this series will explore the challenges of research and publishing work that crosses disciplinary boundaries. Our guest is Professor Xiao-Li Meng, Founding Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Data Science Review.

Part three of this series will examine some of the harsh realities and pitfalls of the current system. Our guest is QUT statistician Professor Adrian Barnett.

Make sure you join us for these next two episodes in this important series!