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What History Can Tell Us About the Future of Scholarly Society Journals

What History Can Tell Us About the Future of Scholarly Society Journals

In this interview, Aileen Fyfe, professor of modern history at the University of St. Andrews, shares an abridged history of journal publishing at scholarly societies and her thoughts on how scholarly publishing's past can influence its present.

The MIT Press Receives a Generous Grant from the Arcadia Fund to Develop and Pilot a Sustainable Framework for Open Access Monographs

The MIT Press Receives a Generous Grant from the Arcadia Fund to Develop and Pilot a Sustainable Framework for Open Access Monographs

The MIT Press has received a three-year $850,000 grant from Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, to perform a broad-based monograph publishing cost analysis and to develop and openly disseminate a durable financial framework and business plan for open access (OA) monographs.

Student Teaching Evaluations Are Effective, but Not in the Way You Think

Student Teaching Evaluations Are Effective, but Not in the Way You Think

Opinion piece examining a study that found that the correlation between student evaluations and quality of learning is negative.

What's in the Cards for This Year's Nobel Prizes?

What's in the Cards for This Year's Nobel Prizes?

Past laureates have their favorites and hunches, wrong though they usually are. As one 2018 winner said, "It's not helpful to second-guess these things!"

The Journal Blacklist Surpasses the 12,000 Journals Listed Mark

The Journal Blacklist Surpasses the 12,000 Journals Listed Mark

Just how big a problem is predatory publishing? Simon Linacre reflects on the news this week that Cabells announced it has reached 12,000 journals on its Journal Blacklist and shares some insights into publishing’s dark side.

World Science Day for Peace and Development

World Science Day for Peace and Development

The World Science Day for Peace and Development 2019 will be devoted to the theme of "Open Science, leaving no one behind".

"Excellence R Us": University Research and the Fetishisation of Excellence

"Excellence R Us": University Research and the Fetishisation of Excellence

The rhetoric of "excellence" is pervasive across the academy. It is used to refer to research outputs as well as researchers, theory and education, individuals and organizations, from art history to zoology. But does "excellence" actually mean anything?

How Academic Libraries Can Support Humanities Monographs

How Academic Libraries Can Support Humanities Monographs

Academic libraries have an opportunity to engage in open access publishing to promote and protect the work being done by humanities scholars.

Two-thirds of Researchers Report 'pressure to Cite' in Nature Poll

Two-thirds of Researchers Report 'pressure to Cite' in Nature Poll

Readers say they have been asked to reference seemingly superfluous studies after peer review.

Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.

Eat Less Red Meat, Scientists Said. Now Some Believe That Was Bad Advice.

The evidence is too weak to justify telling individuals to eat less beef and pork, according to new research. The findings "erode public trust," critics said.

Scientists Booted from EPA Panel Form Their Own Group

Scientists Booted from EPA Panel Form Their Own Group

Scientists who were booted from their advisory roles by the Trump administration plan to reconvene their air pollution panel without the backing of the government.

The making of professors: Assessment and recognition in academic recruitment

The making of professors: Assessment and recognition in academic recruitment

How do academics become professors? This paper considers the making of ‘professor’ as a subject position through which academics are acknowledged in both organizational contexts and disciplinary fields.

Meet the Research Impact Canvas

Meet the Research Impact Canvas

Fecher and Kobsda introduce the Research Impact Canvas - a structured guide to plan science communication activities.

Open Access in Finland: How an Open Repository Becomes a Full Service Open Publishing Platform

Open Access in Finland: How an Open Repository Becomes a Full Service Open Publishing Platform

To foster open access in Finland, universities have decided to join forces and develop a full service platform for open publishing.

$100M Health Initiative Aims to Democratize Data Science

$100M Health Initiative Aims to Democratize Data Science

Together with partners, the Rockefeller Foundation is working to improve access to data science tools for frontline health workers to prevent 6 million maternal and child deaths in 10 countries by 2030.

India Pushes for Alternatives to Animals in Biomedical Research

India Pushes for Alternatives to Animals in Biomedical Research

Organs-on-a-chip and other technologies are becoming reliable models for testing drug efficacy and toxicity.

Report Cards on Women in STEM Fields Finds Much Room for Improvement

Report Cards on Women in STEM Fields Finds Much Room for Improvement

Data from a four-year study of institutional 'report cards' undertaken as part of the New York Stem Cell Foundation's (NYSCF) Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE) suggest that although a growing number of women are training in the sciences, efforts to promote and maintain women in more senior scientific roles are still largely inadequate. The study is being reported Sept. 5 in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

Do University Rankings Measure Anything at All?

Do University Rankings Measure Anything at All?

There are more university comparisons than ever before, but some argue there is little reliable or actionable information to be gleaned from them.

Scientific Sinkhole: The Pernicious Price of Formatting

Scientific Sinkhole: The Pernicious Price of Formatting

Objective To conduct a time-cost analysis of formatting in scientific publishing. Design International, cross-sectional study (one-time survey). Setting Internet-based self-report survey, live between September 2018 and January 2019. Participants Anyone working in research, science, or academia and who submitted at least one peer-reviewed manuscript for consideration for publication in 2017. Completed surveys were available for 372 participants from 41 countries (60% of respondents were from Canada). Main outcome measure Time (hours) and cost (wage per hour x time) associated with formatting a research paper for publication in a peer-reviewed academic journal. Results The median annual income category was US$61,000-80,999, and the median number of publications formatted per year was four. Manuscripts required a median of two attempts before they were accepted for publication. The median formatting time was 14 hours per manuscript, or 52 hours per person, per year. This resulted in a median calculated cost of US$477 per manuscript or US$1,908 per person, per year. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the cost of manuscript formatting in scientific publishing. Our results suggest that scientific formatting represents a loss of 52 hours, costing the equivalent of US$1,908 per researcher per year. These results identify the hidden and pernicious price associated with scientific publishing and provide evidence to advocate for the elimination of strict formatting guidelines, at least prior to acceptance.

Research on Research is Needed Now More Than Ever

Research on Research is Needed Now More Than Ever

Marking the launch of a new research on research institute, James Wilsdon reflects on the challenges of making good research and development policy. One surprising thread of continuity between Boris Johnson’s government and that of Theresa May, is its enthusiasm for research and innovation.

Turkish Scientist Gets 15-month Sentence for Publishing Environmental Study

Turkish Scientist Gets 15-month Sentence for Publishing Environmental Study

Bülent Şık went to a newspaper after the government sat on a study of a cancer cluster in polluted region