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The Downside of Scale for Journal Publishers: Quality Control and Filtration

The Downside of Scale for Journal Publishers: Quality Control and Filtration

Scale can be achieved by broadly outsourcing the editorial process. Does this lead to a loss in quality control, and is this acceptable?

Academic Publishing is a Goddamned Exploitative Farce — Age of Awareness

Academic Publishing is a Goddamned Exploitative Farce — Age of Awareness

Peer review and criticism is an essential part of academic discourse, and it is why journal articles are of such high quality and rigor. But you don’t get paid for it.

From Little Science to Big Science

From Little Science to Big Science

The number of researchers doubles every ten to fifteen years. In his manuscript, Gottfried Schatz highlights the problems which growth creates for science. He explains the difference between knowledge and science and the reason why less knowledge and more science should be taught in our kindergartens, schools and universities.

Weaving the Internet of Data

Weaving the Internet of Data

High level European policy meeting on funding research data to support open innovation, 6 April 2016, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

On pastrami and the business of PLOS

On pastrami and the business of PLOS

Last week my friend Andy Kern (a population geneticist at Rutgers) went on a bit of a bender on Twitter prompted by his discovery of PLOS’s IRS Form 990 – the annual required financial filing of non-profit corporations in the United States.

Be part of the European Commission Expert Group on Open Science!

Be part of the European Commission Expert Group on Open Science!

Be part of the European Commission Expert Group on Open Science! - Digital Economy & Society

Would the preprint movement revolutionize the life sciences for better or worse?

Would the preprint movement revolutionize the life sciences for better or worse?

Many in the scientific community praise preprints as a means of overcoming the high costs and lengthy peer review process of elite journals, which some argue thwart progress.

Collaboration with IBM Watson Supports the Value Add of Open Access | The Official PLOS Blog

Collaboration with IBM Watson Supports the Value Add of Open Access | The Official PLOS Blog

In this massively data rich world, the equilibrium between information and knowledge has increasingly shifted from knowledge toward information. Advanced text and data mining (TDM) is not yet ubiquitous and even if it were, not all content is structured enough to leverage TDM potential. In developing the supercomputer Watson with the ability to process, analyze and extract information from natural language such as PLOS article text, IBM is beginning to shift the equilibrium back to knowledge. Understanding Relationships PLOS and IBM Watson are collaborating to bring quality Open Access biomedical literature to healthcare entrepreneurs and innovators, and to do so in a way that provides full article content and context including PubMed citation information from the National Library of Medicine. The collaboration is “not just about PLOS or Open Access,” says PLOS Chief Technology Officer CJ Rayhill, “it’s about improved healthcare through immediate access to relevant clinical,

If you could change one thing about science, what would it be?

If you could change one thing about science, what would it be?

Share your ideas here!

Utilization of the Crowd for Medical Research

Utilization of the Crowd for Medical Research

Recently, some have begun to explore the utilization of the crowd for various purposes in medical research, including fundraising as well as crowdsourcing for intellectual analyses and insights.

French woman aged 91 gets PhD after 30 years

French woman aged 91 gets PhD after 30 years

Colette Bourlier, who awarded a high distinction for her thesis on immigrant workers, said it took so long because she ‘took breaks’.

Saving Science from the Scientists, Part 2

Saving Science from the Scientists, Part 2

Alok Jha examines the practices and cultures that can undermine the integrity of science.

Credit where credit is due

Credit where credit is due

When a commercial publisher re-uses images from your blog without permission or attribution.

As Wearables in Workplace Spread, So Do Legal Concerns

As Wearables in Workplace Spread, So Do Legal Concerns

As wearable devices in the workplace spread, so do the legal concerns. Companies can now use the devices to monitor their employees’ health and track their locations. How should such technology be used to avoid legal problems?

Science vs. Science News: (Un)Warranted Distrust

Science vs. Science News: (Un)Warranted Distrust

Our reverence for science has led to a culture of "new findings" and sensationalistic headlines.

Help us integrate GitLab and the Open Science Framework

Help us integrate GitLab and the Open Science Framework

The Center for Open Science (COS) is funding the development of an integration between GitLab and the Open Science Framework (OSF).

The 20 best science images of the year?

The 20 best science images of the year?

From multicoloured scans of the human body, to vivid photos of creatures up close - the finalists of the annual Wellcome Image Awards.