Scientific literature

Scientific literature encompasses a vast body of academic papers that spans various disciplines within the natural and social sciences.

These papers serve as essential sources of knowledge and are commonly referred to simply as "the literature" within specific research fields.

Patents and technical reports, which cover minor research results and engineering and design efforts, including computer software, are also classified as primary literature.

[citation needed] According to James G. Speight and Russell Foote, peer-reviewed journals are the most prominent and prestigious form of publication.

The value of publication as a preprint or scientific report on the web has in the past been low, but in some subjects, such as mathematics or high energy physics, it is now an accepted alternative.

[4] Papers that carry specific objectives are:[4] The following two categories are variable, including for example historical articles and speeches:[4] The actual day-to-day records of scientific information are kept in research notebooks or logbooks.

[6] Consequently, scientists with poor English writing skills are at a disadvantage when trying to publish in these journals, regardless of the quality of the scientific study itself.

[citation needed] In scientific publishing, a number of key issues include and are not restricted to:[13] The first recorded editorial pre-publication peer-review occurred in 1665 by the founding editor of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg.