AuthorAID is the name given to a number of initiatives that provide support to researchers from developing countries in preparing academic articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals.
AuthorAID programs engage senior scientists and author’s editors[4] as mentors to help developing country researchers overcome barriers to publication in scientific journals.
The funded AuthorAID program at the International Network for Advancing Science and Policy also organizes workshops in various developing countries,[5] in addition to hosting an online mentoring scheme and e-resources.
[3] An analysis, published in Science in 2005, of 4061 health-related journals from 1992 to 2001 showed a growing gap in scientific publications between low-income countries and the rest of the world.
Frank Gannon,[10] writing as the editor of EMBO Reports,[11] pointed out one worrisome source of bias against researchers from developing countries.
The editors of a guide to publishing in the addiction sciences noted that "US research is primarily (and legitimately) oriented towards that country’s own social and economic priorities, which do not necessarily apply to cultures in the developing world.
"[13] Some writers, analyzing the issues of science information transfer from a sociolinguistic and sociopolitical standpoint, consider this cultural dominance to reflect an "Anglo-American English language hegemony.
"[17] In the early 1990s Gosden surveyed editors if biology, chemistry and physics journals to identify aspects of manuscripts "which may seriously detract attention from judgment of a paper’s essential merits."
He found that journal editors reported several problems encountered by NNS researchers, including inadequate knowledge of the unwritten "rules of the publication game" (for instance, failure to cite sufficient references to earlier research and unfamiliarity with the argumentation style or scientific level of the journal.
"[13] Freeman and Robbins, when developing the AuthorAID concept, summarized what they learned about the problems faced by authors in developing countries as: Editors and other research publication experts might help researchers overcome linguistic challenges and cultural differences, and help them understand the procedural, ethical, and technical intricacies of academic publication.
Freeman and Robbins reported that in developing world research institutions there are simply too few editor/scientist mentors (well-published authors or experienced editors) available to assist in disseminating the work of emerging research talent whose findings might be brought to bear on the world’s major problems.
[18] Editors of international journals reported to Freeman and Robbins that they sometimes reject submissions from developing country authors even when the content shows merit.
Conflicting priorities and lack of resources to provide substantive editing have also been discussed as a potential source of bias by members of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).
[20] At smaller journals in particular, manuscripts are likely to be rejected if they seem to require more editing than the editors or publisher can afford to provide.
Journals proliferate, but editorial resources are often strained, leading to a propensity to accept manuscripts that require less work.
Public health professionals from the federation’s 69 national associations expressed interest in the AuthorAID concept.
The second public presentation of AuthorAID took place in Mexico in November 2004 at the Global Forum for Health Research.
[27] In the wake of this experience, interest focussed on the search for more substantial ways to test the AuthorAID concept.
Ana Marusic,[29] co-editor of the Croatian Medical Journal,[30] organized a special session on AuthorAID.
AuthorAID is not commercial, relying exclusively on volunteer scientific and editorial mentors to help developing world authors.
All AuthorAID projects match mentors (senior scientists with editorial experience often in or near retirement, or experienced science editors) with researchers seeking help to present their work.
The European Association of Science Editors (EASE)[35] invited a presentation of AuthorAID at its 2006 Annual Meeting in Kraków, Poland and subsequently endorsed the concept.
In late 2008 AuthorAID and Scientists without Borders, a project developed by the New York Academy of Sciences,[40] discovered each other and agreed to investigate ways to work together.
In autumn 2009 work began on the development of an organizational profile for the AuthorAID concept and its various projects on the Scientists without Borders website.
[66][67] The hundreds of free e-resources on research communication available on the AuthorAID at INASP site can be used by anyone for non-profit workshops and educational activities.
Work during this phase formed the basis of several articles,[78][79][80] and also resulted in plans for collaborative research between an author's editor at the Clinical Research Development Center of Nemazee Hospital (one of the teaching hospitals affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences) and an AAEM editor in Spain.
Experienced volunteer editors who contribute their time to AAEM are located in several countries and edit research manuscripts at no cost to the authors.
In Iran, the project has provided manuscript editing combined with training in writing, revising, good scientific English style, appropriate referencing and citation, and research publication ethics.
Sets of AAEM advice developed for authors and editors cover aspects of technical editing such as abbreviations, reference formats and identifying sources of materials, as well as aspects of research writing and publication such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism, appropriate secondary publication and choosing the most appropriate journal.
While the next on-site phase of AAEM is being planned, its volunteers continue to provide manuscript editing support via email for researchers in the Eastern Mediterranean region.