Information about science is published in several different formats with different levels of authority.
Opinion sites
Blogs and opinion sites allow casual comment in relatively unsophisticated form, from people who may or may not be knowledgeable in the subject at hand. They are usually moderated to sieve out acrimonious comments from trolls and other dialogue-wreckers. The Queensland Science Network does not run an opinion page at present. One is planned, but it awaits recruitment of a team of volunteer moderators.
Newsletters
Most member groups of the Queensland Science Network produce regular newsletters. Some of these are readily available on their websites, some are available free of charge or for a small fee by signing up to a subscription list; some are distributed only to members.
Examples classified by availability of access
Open Access: The Moreton Bay Foundation and the Royal Geographical Society Bulletin.
Subscription Access (free or paid): Queensland Fire And Biodiversity Consortium and Nurture, a monthly newsletter of Healthy Land and Water.
Members only: The Royal Society Of Queensland
Specific examples, including all the superseded QSN Newsletters
A sample of publicly accessible newsletters appears on a separate page. The page includes links to the ten QSN Newsletters, now superseded by the QSN LinkedIn feed.
Magazines
Magazines publish articles of a popular or semi-popular nature. A few are available in newsagents; otherwise by subscription.
For Cosmos, enter that name in the search box.
For 20 years, Cosmos Magazine inspired curiosity and made science accessible to everyone. It was a trusted source of fact-based content that attracted a large audience from across the globe. […] Wildlife Australia is a national quarterly magazine published by QSN member Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland and is Australia’s oldest surviving wildlife and nature magazine, founded in 1963 https://wildlife-australia.org.au/ Related […]
Cosmos magazine and CSIRO ConnectSci News
Wildlife Australia
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates: see the colour magazine Metamorphosis Australia published in March, June, September and December.
Journals
As scientific knowledge is recorded, it builds on past knowledge. Knowledge expands exponentially and indefinitely. Publication after verification by other experts in the field is central to the advance of scientific knowledge.
The first scientific journal was published in 1665 by the Royal Society in London and titled “Philosophical Transactions, Giving some Account of the present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in many considerable parts of the World”. (In that era the word ‘philosophy‘ included intellectual enquiry of all kinds). The first editor wrote: “We must be very careful as well of regist’ring the person and time of any new matter, as the matter itselfe, whereby the honor of the invention will be reliably preserved to all posterity”. Wikipedia recounts the story.
This journal featured many functions of the scientific journal that are important to this day – global not parochial in scope, registration (date stamping and provenance), honour to first discoverer, certification (peer review), dissemination and archiving.
Publication in a peer-reviewed journal gives a paper scientific status and ensures that it is indexed in international search engines like Google Scholar, Scopus and Informit. It establishes precedence and validates findings through review by others expert in the field (commonly, two anonymous referees). However, the criteria for acceptance by journal are often restrictive and difficult for a citizen scientist to satisfy. Also, fieldwork of primarily local or Queensland significance may not satisfy the editors of an international journal.
Peer-reviewed journals of QSN member groups
The Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland has been published almost annually since 1884. It succeeded the Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Queensland, published in three volumes from 1859. It publishes scholarly research articles, short communications, abstracts of students’ dissertations and opinion pieces. All articles are peer-reviewed. It focuses on the natural sciences and related themes. Full-text search capability is available. Articles prior to 1956 and from 2020 can be downloaded free of charge. Five volumes were published in 2020, three being themed Special Issues. See the index page for more details.
- Volume 125, The Land of Clouds Revisited (Eungella Rainforests).
- Volume 126, Springs of the Great Artesian Basin.
- Volume 127, A Rangelands Dialogue: Towards a Sustainable Future, papers arising from the July 2019 Rangelands Policy Dialogue.
The Sunbird is published by Birds Queensland. The Society’s aim is to promote the scientific study and conservation of birds, with particular reference to the birds of Queensland, and in this it is the sole ornithological journal devoted specifically to birds of Queensland and adjacent northern regions of Australia. The scope of the journal covers all aspects of ornithology, e.g. life history, taxonomy, distribution, behaviour and ecology.
The Entomological Society of Queensland publishes Australian Entomologist on behalf of the national entomological fraternity. It is devoted to entomology of the Australian region, including New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the south-western Pacific.
The Australian Journal of Earth Sciences is the official journal of the Geological Society of Australia.
The Queensland Naturalist is the official journal of The Queensland Naturalists’ Club, covering a wide range of natural history subjects.
Occasional Publications
Member groups and their individual members publish scientific material in a wide range of formats, sometimes in print and sometimes only on the Internet. To find them, search using keywords in the search box at the head of this page.