Putting China’s science surge in proper perspective
Reports of China’s rising scientific dominance over the US and West should be taken with a big grain of salt.
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Biomedical Paper Retractions Have Quadrupled in 20 Years - Why?
Unreliable data, falsification and other issues related to misconduct are driving a growing proportion of retractions.
What Can Be Done About Scholarly Communication's Diversity Problem?
Drawing on findings from a new survey of equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging policies in European academic publishing, Lynne Bowker, Mikael Laakso, Janne Pölönen, and Claire Redhead outline the intersectional nature of scholarly communication’s diversity challenge and present new resources for actors across the system to implement changes.
Scientists Urged to Collect Royalties from the 'Magic Money Tree'
By joining a collecting society, researchers can ensure they are paid when copyrighted book content and papers are reproduced.
Wiley announces pilot of new AI-powered Papermill Detection service
From the London Book Fair, Wiley today unveiled plans for its new AI-powered Papermill Detection service.
More than 2 Million Research Papers have Disappeared from the Internet
An analysis of DOIs suggests that digital preservation is not keeping up with burgeoning scholarly knowledge.
eLife Introduces the Global South Committee for Open Science
New model aims to learn directly from peers in the Global South on how best to promote equitable collaboration and inclusion in scientific publishing.
High-profile Effort to Tackle Academia's Fake-paper Problem
Paper mills are polluting the literature - a group will study them in detail to stem the flow of bogus research.
Open Access Research Outputs Receive More Diverse Citations
The goal of open access is to allow more people to read and use research outputs. An observed association between highly cited research outputs and open access has been claimed as evidence of increased usage of the research, but this remains controversial.
Surge in Number of 'Extremely Productive' Authors Concerns Scientists
Some researchers publish a new paper every five days, on average. Data trackers suspect not all their manuscripts were produced through honest labour.
Female Researchers Are Less Influenced by Journal Prestige - Will It Hold Back Their Careers?
Female Researchers Are Less Influenced by Journal Prestige - Will It Hold Back Their Careers?
Drawing on a natural experiment that occurred when German institutions lost access to journals published by Elsevier, W. Benedikt Schmal shows how female researchers made significantly different publication choices to their male counterparts during this period.
Editorial: Proudly Nonprofit
It is vital that scientists engage in discussions about open access because publishing is rapidly changing, and at the moment, there are no certain outcomes in the long run.
Riding the Whirlwind: BMJ's Policy on Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Publishing
Riding the Whirlwind: BMJ's Policy on Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Publishing
BMJ will consider content created with artificial intelligence only if the use is clearly described and reasonable
Artificial intelligence (AI) can rival human knowledge, accuracy, speed, and choices when carrying out tasks. The latest generative AI tools are trained on large quantities of data and use machine learning techniques such as logical reasoning, knowledge representation, planning, and natural language processing. They can produce text, code, and other media such as graphics, images, audio, or video. Large language models (LLMs), which are a form of AI, are able to search, extract, generate, summarise, translate, and rewrite text or code rapidly. They can answer complex questions (called prompts) at search engine speeds that the human mind cannot match.
AI is transforming our world, and we are not yet fully able to comprehend or harness its power. It is a whirlwind sweeping up all before it. Availability of LLMs such as ChatGPT, and growing awareness of their capabilities, is challenging many industries, including academic publishing. The potential benefits for content creation are clear, such as the …
Use of AI Is Seeping Academic Journals—and It’s Proving Difficult to Detect
Use of AI Is Seeping Academic Journals—and It’s Proving Difficult to Detect
Ethics watchdogs are looking out for potentially undisclosed use of generative AI in scientific writing. But there's no foolproof way to catch it all yet.
The Murky Waters of Publication Fraud
Scientific fraud has been a problem from the beginning of documented science - but in recent years the issue has exploded.
Replacing Academic Journals
Replacing traditional journals with a more modern solution is not a new idea. Here, the authors propose ways to overcome the social dilemma underlying the decades of inaction.
Secondary Publishing Rights Can Improve Public Access to Academic Research
Secondary Publishing Rights Can Improve Public Access to Academic Research
Secondary publishing rights could facilitate immediate open access to publicly funded research and foster global innovation and discovery.
Scientific Publishing Has a Language Problem
Science is international, but scientific publishing is dominated by English-language publications. This disproportionately benefits native or fluent English speakers. Steps to address the imbalance this creates are taken, and new technology may help.
Open Access 'at Any Cost' Cannot Support Scholarly Publishing Communities
Open Access 'at Any Cost' Cannot Support Scholarly Publishing Communities
Kaitlin Thaney argues the current momentum building for “no pays” academic publishing models and establishing the “reasonable costs” of publication, present opportunities to rebalance the inequities, costs, and power dynamics initially bred by the push towards Open Access “at any cost” over the past two decades.
Revealed: the Millions of Dollars in Time Wasted Making Papers Fit Journal Guidelines
Revealed: the Millions of Dollars in Time Wasted Making Papers Fit Journal Guidelines
For scientists submitting their papers to journals, there’s an all-too-familiar drill: spend hours formatting the paper to meet the journal’s guidelines; if the paper is rejected, sink more time into reformatting it for another journal; repeat. Now an analysis has put a price tag on all that busy work.
China Overtakes United States on Contribution to Research in Nature Index
Data on affiliations suggest that authors from China made the largest contribution to high-quality natural-science research in 2022.
'Too Greedy': Mass Walkout at Global Science Journal over 'Unethical' Fees
Entire board resigns over actions of academic publisher whose profit margins outstrip even Google and Amazon
EU Governments to Rein in Unfair Academic Publishers and Unsustainable Fees
EU Governments to Rein in Unfair Academic Publishers and Unsustainable Fees
Research ministers are nearing the finish line in drafting their position on changes needed in academic publishing, with the latest leak draft revealing the near-final text.
Cambridge University Press Publishes First AI Research Ethics Policy
From a CUP Announcement: The rules are set out in the first AI ethics policy from Cambridge University Press and apply to research papers, books and other scholarly works. They include a ban on AI being treated as an 'author' of academic papers and books we publish.
Leaked: EU Member States Set out to Reform Scientific Publishing
EU countries want to ensure the scientific publishing industry is fair and sustainable as it moves towards open access models, according to the first draft of council conclusions seen by Science|Business.
Hyperauthorship: the Publishing Challenges for 'Big Team' Science
Studies involving hundreds, even thousands, of scientists are on the rise, but how do such large groups coordinate their work?
Our Efforts to Diversify Nature's Journalism Are Progressing, but Work Remains
Our Efforts to Diversify Nature's Journalism Are Progressing, but Work Remains
Two years ago, this journal pledged to report on the diversity of sources in our journalistic content. The first results are now in.
ChatGPT: Five Priorities for Research
Conversational AI is a game-changer for science. Here's how to respond.
Enabling Trustable, Transparent, and Efficient Submission and Review in an Era of Digital Transformation
Enabling Trustable, Transparent, and Efficient Submission and Review in an Era of Digital Transformation
Digital transformation in submission and peer review offers improvements for publications and a better experience for researchers and journal staff.
ChatGPT Listed As Author on Research Papers: Many Scientists Disapprove
ChatGPT Listed As Author on Research Papers: Many Scientists Disapprove
At least four articles credit the AI tool as a co-author, as publishers scramble to regulate its use.
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