Elsevier Says It Will Bring Web-Based Tools to Research Articles

The scientific journal of the future has arrived! Perhaps.

Elsevier, the world’s largest publisher of medical and scientific literature, announced today that its Cell Press division had begun an “Article of the Future” project in which its online presentations will take fuller advantage of Web-based technologies.

That means the articles will include a greater use of graphical illustrations and a hierarchical presentation of text and figures, letting readers click through to increasingly detailed presentations. The format also allows for the possibility of audio and video presentations to accompany peer-reviewed articles from scientists.

It’s part of an effort to develop “new and improved ways to help scientists present and navigate the literature,” said Emilie Marcus, editor in chief at Cell Press.

It’s not immediately clear, however, how much convincing it might take to get scientists to adapt to the new technologies. “That’s a good question,” said Daniel Pollock, vice president and lead analyst at Outsell, a research and advisory company focused on the information, publishing, and education industries.

Some smaller publishers already have made similar attempts, Mr. Pollock said, including the Scitation publishing platform by the American Institute of Physics and the myLWW platform by Wolters Kluwer Health.

And some hurdles are already emerging, Mr. Pollock said. One is that the newer Web-based formats can mean more work for scientists, who may resist. And for publishers, he said, it could bring even more pressure to connect readers with content from a rival company. That’s a change, Mr. Pollock said, that may be especially tough for a larger publishing company to accept. —Paul Basken