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What Do Researchers Want from Publishers?
Former scientist, turned publisher, turned research program director, Milka Kostic is uniquely placed to look at publishing from a researcher and a publisher perspective. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on both.
Research Culture: One Year on
One year ago, the Royal Society hosted the Research culture: Changing expectations conference. The conference ended with a call to action for attendees to consider how they could improve research culture in their own institutions. In this blog we report back on a snapshot of the work of some of these individuals and organisations.
How Journals Are Using Overlay Publishing Models to Facilitate Equitable OA
How Journals Are Using Overlay Publishing Models to Facilitate Equitable OA
In the overlay publishing model, a journal performs refereeing services, but it doesn’t publish articles on its website. Rather, the journal’s website links to final article versions hosted on an online repository. Some editors share why they chose to publish their journals via the arXiv overlay model and how they believe overlay journals will contribute to greater equity in OA.
Discussion Paper: New Indicators for Open Science and Open Innovation
Discussion Paper: New Indicators for Open Science and Open Innovation
Established indicators for research and innovation processes do not sufficiently capture the nuances of open science and open innovation. As a result, their opportunities and risks often remain obscure. A new discussion paper therefore makes proposals for the expansion of existing indicators and the development of new ones.
The Industrialization of Scientific Research
Over the last few years, I have spent a lot of time thinking, speaking, and discussing about the reproducibility crisis in scientific research. An obvious but hard to answer question is: Why has reproducibility become such a major problem, in so many disciplines? And why now?
Chinese Professor Accused of Spying, Barred from Entering Schengen Area
Security services in Brussels say Song Xinning, former head of Confucius Institute at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, worked as a recruiter for Chinese intelligence services.
The Publishing Costs at EMBO
EMBO and EMBO Press are making their journals' finances public to provide transparency and clarity about what it costs to publish articles in high quality, selective journals.
Citation Contamination: References to Predatory Journals in the Legitimate Scientific Literature
Citation Contamination: References to Predatory Journals in the Legitimate Scientific Literature
How many articles from predatory journals are being cited in the legitimate (especially medical) literature? Some disturbing findings.
Is Crispr the Next Antibiotic?
In nature, the gene-editing tool Crispr protects bacteria against viruses. Now it's being harnessed in the fight against superbugs and the flu.
NSF Tallies 16 Cases of Alleged Harassment by Grantees in First Year of New Rules
Universities worry about protecting privacy as they confront the growing problem of harrassment.
Introducing Innovation Leaders 2020
We invite you to join our mentorship programme designed for innovators in open science and research communication.
What Hypocrisy, I Think Guiltily, As I Jet off to Academic Conferences Far and Wide
German University Finds 'severe' Misconduct by Researcher Who Promoted Questionable Cancer Blood Test
German University Finds 'severe' Misconduct by Researcher Who Promoted Questionable Cancer Blood Test
Court prevents publicity for investigations into Heidelberg University Hospital cancer test scandal
Block on GM Rice 'has Cost Millions of Lives and Led to Child Blindness'
Block on GM Rice 'has Cost Millions of Lives and Led to Child Blindness'
Eco groups and global treaty blamed for delay in supply of vitamin-A enriched Golden Rice
"Flipping" to (more) Open when You're Already Open
With most of the OA conversation now dominated by the notion of a transition to OA, what does this mean for those native OA publishers, like PLOS, who are already OA, and have been for years?
Healthcare Algorithm Used Across America Has Dramatic Racial Biases
The U.S. health care system uses commercial algorithms to guide health decisions. A study found evidence of racial bias in one widely used algorithm, such that black patients assigned the same level of risk by the algorithm are sicker than white patients.
Facing Unbearable Heat, Qatar Has Begun to Air-Condition the Outdoors
Facing unbearable heat, Qatar has begun to air-condition the outdoors"><meta name="description" content="For Qatar, global warming is an engineering problem. But while it may be able to cool outdoor malls and stadiums, it cannot cool the entire country.
Ask The Chefs: Beyond the APC
It's Open Access week so this month we asked the chefs: What's next for OA? What lies beyond the APC as a funding model? Let us know your thoughts!
India Will Skip Plan S, Focus on National Efforts in Science Publishing
India Will Skip Plan S, Focus on National Efforts in Science Publishing
The government's "directions will be entirely determined by the interests of Indian academia and of India", according to K. VijayRaghavan, the principal scientific adviser to the Government of India.
Internalizing "Open for Whom?": Unpacking the Connection Between Equity & Open
As this year's Open Access Week kicks off, we at SPARC continue to grapple with the question: "Open for Whom?" The questions of who is included and whose interests are prioritized are central to the process of how to reach a fully open access system of sharing knowledge.
Blockchain: How It Could Make Research More Open and Transparent
by Birgit Fingerle The study "Blockchain in Higher Education - Fundamentals - Potentials - Boundaries" (Study in German language "Blockchain in der Hochschulbildung - Grundlagen - Poten
Decrypting the Big Deal Landscape
Based on the data collected for the 2019 Big Deals Survey Report, this publication aims to deliver additional transparency of the dynamics of the scholarly publishing market by providing insights and indicators on the costs, publication volumes and timelines of Big Deal contracts.
Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations
Dissecting Racial Bias in an Algorithm Used to Manage the Health of Populations
The U.S. health care system uses commercial algorithms to guide health decisions. Obermeyer et al. find evidence of racial bias in one widely used algorithm, such that Black patients assigned the same level of risk by the algorithm are sicker than White patients (see the Perspective by Benjamin). The authors estimated that this racial bias reduces the number of Black patients identified for extra care by more than half.
The State of Open Data Report 2019
The State of Open Data 2019 report is the fourth in the series and includes survey results and a collection of articles from global industry experts.It is now the longest running longitudinal study on the subject, which was created in 2016 to examine attitudes and experiences of researchers working with open data - sharing it, reusing it, and redistributing it. This year's survey received a record number of survey participants with around 8,500 responses from the research community. While most trends are encouraging around the adoption and acceptance of open data, the research community is now demanding more enforcement of the mandates that have been adopted by many governments, funders, publishers and institutions around the world.The majority of researchers want funding withheld and penalties for a lack of data sharing.
Building Trust to Break Down Barriers
Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, Publisher, Open Research, PLOS Note: the following perspective was published as part of Digital Science's annual survey and report, The State of Open Data 2019 , to coincide with global celebrations around Open Access Week. The biggest barrier to research data sharing and reuse seems to be a matter of trust, and in particular trust in what others may do with researchers' data if it is made openly available. The 2019 State of Open Data survey revealed that more than 2,000 respondents had concerns about misuse of their research data. Concerns about data misuse represent a multitude of issues; fears that errors could be found in their work, or that the data could be misinterpreted or research participant privacy be compromised. Researchers might also be concerned that their data will be reused for purposes they did not intend, such as commercial exploitation, or for misleading or inappropriate secondary analyses.1 The 2019 survey provides insights from one of the
Engaging Researchers with Data Management: The Cookbook
Effective Research Data Management (RDM) is a key component of research integrity and reproducible research, and its importance is increasingly emphasised by funding bodies, governments, and research institutions around the world. However, many researchers are unfamiliar with RDM best practices, and research support staff are faced with the difficult task of delivering support to researchers across different disciplines and career stages. What strategies can institutions use to solve these problems? Engaging Researchers with Data Management is an invaluable collection of 24 case studies, drawn from institutions across the globe, that demonstrate clearly and practically how to engage the research community with RDM.