The October 2021 issue of Learned Publishing has now been published, with yet another bumper crop of articles.

ALPSP members: Login to access the latest version online (Volume 34, Issue 4) .

Editor's Choice for this issue are as follows:

1. Home country bias in academic publishing: A case study of the New England Journal of Medicine – this is a fascinating analysis of where articles come from, and provides evidence that there is home country bias in the journal – something we may all be guilty of, but should be attempting to eradicate.
2. Introducing a data availability policy for journals at IOP Publishing: Measuring the impact on authors and editorial teams – this was a great case study tracking the impact on publishing staff when new requirements are introduced: we need more of this type of research.
3. Is rapid scientific publication also high quality? Bibliometric analysis of highly disseminated COVID-19 research papers – this study reveals that the papers produced during the first 6 months of the pandemic were low quality, small-study papers which often failed to adhere to reporting standards. The findings reinforce the need to editorial excellence even when under pressure for speed.
4. Article processing charge (APC) expenditure in Chile: The current situation – this study provided a balanced perspective of the impact that APC-based OA has on less well funded regions of the world, and the unsustainability of such models: definitely a finding that funders need to take account of if we are to avoid dividing the world of research.

Choosing the top four was difficult since the issue contains a wealth of important and interesting papers on a wide range of topics: early career researchers, authorship and ethics, journal hijacking, gender and OA, discipline attitudes to publishing models and requirements, ranking and evaluating journals, publishing models and their effects, and a great deal more. Well worth a read!

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