A recently released major survey of UK Academics examines the attitudes of researchers and practitioners working within higher education. It sheds light on their behaviours, including their reliance on digital technologies, the Internet and open access.
The survey, funded and guided by Jisc and RLUK and conducted on their behalf by the not-for-profit research organisation Ithaka S+R, received 3,498 responses, (a response rate of 7.9%). The survey covers a range of areas from how academics discover and stay abreast of research, to their teaching of undergraduates; how they choose research topics and publication channels, to their views on learned societies and university libraries, and their collections.
Overarching themes are an increasing reliance on the Internet for their research and publishing activities and the strong role that openness is playing in their work. Findings of the survey reveal that while 86 percent of respondents report relying on their college or university library collections and subscriptions, 49 percent indicated that they would often like to use journal articles that are not in those collections.
Additionally, if researchers cannot find the resources or information they need through their university library, 90 percent of respondents often or occasionally look online for a freely available version. 40 percent of researchers surveyed said that when beginning a project they start by searching the Internet for relevant materials, with only 2 percent visiting the physical library as a first port of call.
The findings suggest that the majority of researchers track the work of colleagues and leading researchers as a way of keeping up to date with developments in their field.
Further, the findings show that e-journals have largely replaced physical usage for research, but that contrasting views exist on replacement of print by e-publications, where print still holds importance within the Humanities and Social Sciences and for in-depth reading in general.
Higher education leaders will gather at a workshop in London on May 20 to discuss the survey results and consider the ways in which their organisations can align their efforts more closely with what academics say they need.
The IP&Science business of Thomson Reuters, US, has announced the release of a life sciences report, 'An Outlook on U.S. Biosimilar Competition.' The report seeks to provide a comprehensive view of the challenges facing companies entering the US biosimilar drug market and key players predicted to break into this developing pharmaceutical space.
While the US continues to take steps toward entering the global biosimilar market, it reportedly lags behind other nations in this space. The report compares US and EU regulations to underscore the significant differences between these regions and explore ways the US can compete more effectively, in addition to reviewing emerging regulatory developments in India and China. It also identifies potential leaders of the US market, including Amgen, Hospira and Sandoz, among the top three pharmaceutical companies with the most potential to dominate the early stages of biosimilar medications entering the US.
'An Outlook on U.S. Biosimilar Competition' was created by Thomson Reuter's experts in generic drug and API intelligence. The team utilised Newport Premium, the industry's leading tool for identifying and evaluating generic drug development and licensing opportunities, to compile the report.
A rapid rise in science funding is transforming Brazil's research landscape, according to a new report published on behalf of the Brazilian Physical Society by IOP Publishing.
Brazil invested $25 billion in scientific research in 2010 - up four-fold on its spend in 2000 -which has propelled the country to number 13 in the global rankings for published articles in scholarly science journals.
The report is said to offer an in-depth analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing the Brazilian science community. The exclusive coverage reportedly emerged from extensive research and face-to-face interviews with physicists at some of Brazil's leading scientific institutions.
Key themes explored in the report include the rise of experimental physics, increased investment in large-scale research facilities, and the challenges for science education in Brazil. Particular focus is also given to some core strengths for Brazilian physics, such as quantum information, theoretical physics and technology solutions for agribusiness.
The report on physics in Brazil forms part of the science impact series, a new programme of partner publications from IOP Publishing.
STM publisher Elsevier, Netherlands, has announced the outcomes of a comparative study of Dutch researchers' international performance, based on Scopus data and using Elsevier's SciVal research performance measurement tools. The study showed that, in a comparison that includes the top 10 R&D spending nations in the world, the Netherlands ranked No. 1 in publication impact per article and number 1 by level of international collaboration.
Furthermore, within this group the Netherlands ranks number 1 in the world in citations generated per unit of R&D spending and number 2 in publications generated per unit of R&D spending. The figures were presented at the Impact of Science Conference held in Amsterdam.
Two factors are seen to contribute to the success of the Netherlands: international collaboration and a geographically mobile research base. Of the articles written by a Netherlands-based researcher, 48.7 percent are written in collaboration with a researcher outside the country. This is a higher proportion than any of the top 10 R&D spending nations in the world. International collaboration is generally acknowledged as a positive force driving research impact and prestige.
The second factor, the mobile research base, relates to what is called 'brain circulation', or cross-border mobility of researchers. The Netherlands has a history of allowing people to move in and out, also in the science world. For example, no less than 74 percent of authors affiliated with Dutch institutions have also published at an institution in another country at some point in their careers.
Information services provider Wolters Kluwer Health, US, has announced that a study on the value of library and information services in patient care found UpToDate was the most used clinical decision support resource, second only to research studies. WK Health made the announcement at 'MLA '13, the 2013 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Medical Library Association.
The study, titled 'The value of library and information services in patient care: results of a multisite study', was published in the Journal of the Medical Library Association (JMLA) and was conducted by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Over 16,000 clinicians at 56 library sites serving 118 hospitals in urban and rural areas were asked to report on a recent incident in which they had sought information for patient care. The study found that, following research studies, UpToDate was the clinical decision support (CDS) resource used most by physicians and residents, while online journals (#1) and Ovid MEDLINE (#8) ranked in the top 10 list of resources. UpToDate was used significantly more than all other CDS tools listed among the 20 choices available.
The study is seen to complement the growing medical literature demonstrating that UpToDate contributes to increased time savings, lower mortality rates as well as the avoidance of adverse events including misdiagnosis, adverse drug reactions, medication errors and ordering of unneeded tests. To read the study, click here http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3543128/.
To learn more about how UpToDate is helping medical librarians around the world, please visit the Wolters Kluwer Health booth # 205 at the 2013 Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Medical Library Association (MLA '13), held May 3-8, 2013 in Boston, MA.
