JoVE stands for “Journal of Visualized Experiments”, and basically that is exactly what it delivers. JoVE is a new concept that tries to marry scientific reporting with video. Think of a typical journal article describing a protocol or experiment, and now imagine you can actually see the researcher perform the experiments on video. This is the format JoVE uses to report scientific research, and since it is also indexed in PubMed, the content really does go beyond your short little YouTube video. The concept also remains true to the layout of a typical research article, including an abstract, an introduction, and a conclusion. However, video articles on JoVE spend a lot of time on the actual experimental protocol, which is a huge benefit in relatively novel fields, such as in the use of zebrafish, or when learning to use new technology.
JoVE publishes articles in a number of different categories, focusing on the life sciences:
- Medicine
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Cellular Biology
- Plant Biology
- Microbiology
- Immunology
- Basic Protocols
Zebrafish fit in all but one of those categories, so there are tons of opportunities to learn about the different types of zebrafish research being done. Best of all, because it is a video based journal, and zebrafish research is relatively new, the opportunity to learn new protocols is also pretty good. When it comes to the Materials and Methods section of a traditional journal, I can rarely say I find it particularly entertaining and most of the time not even really that interesting. However, seeing the experiment being performed on video makes it not only educational, informative, but also particularly entertaining.
JoVE subscription vs free content
The production costs associated with each of the research articles published in JoVE is understandably much higher than in traditional paper publishing. This cost has to be offset somehow, and researchers wanting to publish in JoVE are met with relatively high publishing costs. Aside from this, a lot of the content is only available to viewers who have a membership (which is actually very reasonably priced). The paid content is easily recognized, because you’re met with a video that is locked:
There is quite a bit of content that is open access though, where you can see the complete video journal article for free. Why are some videos not locked? Simple, the authors paid more money to make them open access! Personally, I really appreciate this and I’ve already found a number of very interesting open access zebrafish research articles on JoVE:
- Methods for the study of the Zebrafish Maxillary Barbel
- Live Imaging of the Zebrafish Embryonic Brain by Confocal Microscopy
I really believe this new concept in scientific research reporting is an amazing way of staying on top of the latest (zebrafish) research. What do you think? I’d love to hear your comments!
