The Research Information Network (RIN) and the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) have published the findings of a new report titled ‘Communicating knowledge: how and why UK researchers publish and disseminate their findings’. The report shows how researchers are concerned by what they perceive as mixed messages about the channels they should use to communicate their research findings. It highlights the need for more consistent and effective guidance from funders and higher educational institutions. If they wish to encourage researchers to disseminate their work through a variety of channels as well as in high-status journals, they must give stronger and more positive messages about how those channels will be valued when it comes to assessing researchers’ performance, says the report.
The rise in investment in research over the past 10 years has been accompanied by an increasing emphasis on measuring, assessing and evaluating research, its outputs and impact, it has been observed. This report investigates how researchers’ perceptions of how they are being assessed affects their decisions on when, where and how to publish and disseminate their findings. It seeks to demonstrate the significant variations between researchers in different disciplines not only in the dissemination channels they use, but also in their patterns of collaboration (and how they acknowledge the contributions that members of a team have made); and in how they decide cite the work of others.
All these patterns of behaviour are changing, in part as a result of technological developments, it is observed. There are signs that the citation practices, for instance, of younger researchers are different from those of their more senior colleagues. The readiness with which outputs in the form of scholarly journal articles can be assessed and measured is seen to have underpinned their increasing dominance over all other forms of publication and dissemination. Researchers’ perceptions and understanding of the messages they receive from funders and from universities may often be mistaken, but they influence what researchers publish and how, and they give rise to real concerns. Many researchers see a damaging tension between their desire to communicate via channels which enable them to reach and influence their intended audiences – often beyond academia – as rapidly as possible, and the pressures to publish in high-status journals. Changes in assessment procedures, whether via the Research Excellence Framework (REF) or from other sources, will change researchers’ behaviour further. Many are already considering citing their colleagues’ work more often.
The report provides evidence for funders and policy makers, as well as for the research community, in the continuing consultations about the future mechanisms for assessing research performance. It also shows that it is necessary for this to be an ongoing process to keep monitoring the changes in technology and research practices. It is important that changes in those mechanisms are based on a detailed understanding of both the behaviours and the motivations of researchers across the full range of disciplines and subjects.
STM publisher Elsevier, Netherlands, has announced a collaboration with the Thai Research Fund (TRF), to establish a Scopus Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB). Scopus claims to be the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature and quality web sources.
As research becomes more interdisciplinary and global, researchers face the challenge of finding relevant information for their research. Scopus has committed itself to helping researchers to overcome problems they face in their daily work. As part of this commitment, Scopus has established a content strategy that puts the research community’s voice at its core by developing the independent Content Selection & Advisory Board (CSAB). The partnership with TRF is part of this ongoing mission.
To honor this collaboration, Elsevier and the Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI) Center recently organised a two-day symposium. Close to 200 representatives from the academic, corporate and government sectors attended the symposium in Bangkok. Of the attendees surveyed, the majority saw an immediate benefit to the introduction of a local CSAB, including improved quality of existing Thai journals as well as the potential for greater visibility of Thai research. Almost all attendees (94%) approved of the approach of the local CSAB, providing additional validation to the selections.
The TRF appointed Professor Dr. Narongrit Sombatsompop, Head of Thai-Journal Citation Index (TCI) Centre to implement and oversee the evaluation and selection process of locally published journals. During the symposium, attendees were exposed to Scopus’ vision regarding a local CSAB and explore how main CSAB processes can then be mirrored in Thailand. The symposium was designed to be educational in nature to the CSAB’s systematic and impartial journal selection process. For journals selected, full text of articles can be in the local language while all titles and abstracts have to be in English.
Academic publisher SAGE has launched a new journal - Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology. The journal publishes latest research and reviews on systemic cancer treatments including chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, biological therapy and immunotherapy. Charles Coombes will serve as the Editor-in-Chief of the new journal.
Publishing bi-monthly, Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology(http://tam.sagepub.com) is the sixth title in SAGE’s Therapeutic Advances (TA) series, following successful launches in cardiology, respiratory disease, neurology, gastroenterology and urology. All the titles, including this one, will be freely available on the SAGE Journals Online platform for the first three years of publication.
The journal is currently seeking submissions for reviews, perspectives and original research articles.
Search for more such Oncology related books/journals in K-Store
Electronic research databases provider EBSCO Publishing, US, has announced the release of Food Science Source for those looking for food-related scientific information. Designed for food industry experts and information professionals of all types, this collection provides full-text coverage of information relevant to many areas integral to the food industry.
Food Science Source encompasses sectors such as food science, food service, processing, packaging and shipping. It offers cover-to-cover content from hundreds of publications, including journals, monographs, magazines, and trade publications all dealing directly with food industry-related issues. Researchers will also have access to more than 1,000 key food industry and market reports as well as tens of thousands of additional highly-relevant articles, benchmarks, and best practices selected from thousands of trade and industry publications.
The release of this new resource marks another addition to the collection of scientific and technical databases offered via EBSCOhost. FSTA- Food Science and Technology Abstracts provides over three quarters of a million records with retrospective coverage from 1969 to the present. Academic Search R&D is a full-text database, geared specifically toward addressing the needs of research and development. Food Science Source further complements these resources and provides users with extensive coverage on one platform.
Open access (OA) publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS) has announced that its peer-reviewed online publication PLoS ONE has been presented with the 2009 award for Publishing Innovation during the 2009 annual awards of the Association of Learning and Professional Society Publishing. This award is made annually in recognition of a truly innovative approach to any aspect of publication.
Applications were judged on their originality and innovative qualities, together with their utility, benefit to their community and long term prospects. Any area of innovation is eligible.
The innovations that PLoS ONE has implemented have ranged from their innovative editorial criteria. All submissions are judged based purely on whether they deserve to join the scientific literature, and not on some subjective measure of 'impact' or 'quality; their innovative features and functionality (such as Commenting, Note Making and Rating functionalities); their innovative outreach to the community (via, for example, their blog, twitter stream, facebook page, FriendFeed presence and employment of an online discussion expert); and their continuing innovation (for example, their article-level metrics programme).
PLoS ONE is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access, online publication. The journal features reports of original research from all disciplines within science and medicine. By not excluding papers on the basis of subject area, PLoS ONE facilitates the discovery of the connections between papers whether within or between disciplines.
Online reference library Credo Reference, UK, has announced that just after a year since it released its new platform, it has substantially expanded the academic content available on the platform. These are available at no additional cost for Credo Unlimited customers.
Some of the highlights of the augmentation of Credo’s content in the past year are: 173 new subject encyclopedias and dictionaries; 10 new publishers; and coverage of 15 core undergraduate subjects. Currently more that 150 Credo titles are found in Choice’s list of ‘must-have’ titles for US colleges and universities (Resources for College Libraries). More than 25 existing titles were updated at no expense to customers.
Credo Reference has been offering completely customisable reference collections for libraries since 1999. Its General Reference and Specialist Reference services seek to combine content from multiple publishers with cross-referencing technology, delivering authoritative answers to millions of researchers worldwide.
Text Analytics solutions provider TEMIS, US, has announced that its Information Intelligence solution Luxid has captured its second major industry award of 2009. KMWorld Magazine, premier publisher of the content, document and knowledge management markets, has designated TEMIS’s flagship software solution Luxid the prestigious award ‘Trend-Setting Product’ of 2009.
The KMWorld award is granted to software and systems innovations that have expanded the reach and effectiveness of information management. KMWorld’s Trend-Setting Products awards began in 2003. This year, more than 800 products were assessed by the judging panel which consists of KMWorld expert editors, analysts, system integrators, vendors themselves, line-of-business managers and end-users.
Luxid is a collaborative corporate solution for analyzing and discovering strategic Information. This scalable platform gives immediate access to non obvious information and delivers industry-specific knowledge from internal and external data sources. It brings long-awaited answers to the challenge of information discovery and knowledge extraction from unstructured data, which represent 80% of all data available in the Enterprise for decision-making processes.
In June, Luxid as awarded with the most innovative Software award at the iExpo/KM Forum 2009 in Paris. This award is organized by GFII (Association for Professionals of the Information Industry) and recognises leading software vendor of the information industry for its innovative capabilities and user interfaces.
The latest edition of blogspeak is now online. Featured are Kent Anderson (Google Makes Nice with News Publishers); Philip Davis (Cornell Open-Access Publication Fund); and John Blossom (An Adless Recovery? The Rise of Social Media as a Major Marketing Investment). A service of Knowledgespeak.com, Blogspeak includes blog posts relevant to the publishing industry, particularly STM publishing. Subscribers are invited to participate in the latest edition of blogspeak Here
Researchers’ perceptions of research assessment affect publishing channel: report
Elsevier and the Thai Research Fund partner to form Scopus Content Selection & Advisory Board
SAGE launches new journal - Therapeutic Advances in Medical Oncology
Latest edition of blogspeak now online