This seminar provides interested parties with a general overview of scientific publishing and scientific publishing houses.

The aim of this seminar is to give interested parties a general overview of the world of scientific publishing and its key players. How does the individual student, doctoral candidate or advanced scientist [at Clausthal University of Technology] relate to this market?

Practical questions such as 
(a) how do I best publish? or 
(b) what options does today's common open science model offer me? will be addressed.  
But questions such as: Does this publishing world offer me a possible career or even a relevant field of science? will also be examined.

The first part of the seminar will provide a concise overview of the key players, i.e. scientific authors, reviewers, readers and editors, in the broader context of publishing with its scientific publishers and societies, universities with their libraries, and (inter)national research societies.

In the second part of the seminar, Dr Wahls outlines the development of science policy frameworks over the last 25 years, with a particular focus on the paradigm shift from the former subscription-based publication model [‘the user pays’] to the new open science model [‘the creator pays’] and its influence on the protagonists mentioned in the first part.

In the third, interactive part, Dr Wahls explores the practical and often very complex question faced by every young researcher: how and where, for example, is the best place to publish their work? What publication formats are available, and under what peer review conditions? Which copyright model should be chosen?

At the end of the seminar, Dr Wahls attempts to outline both media studies and professional options within the academic publishing world.