1. Better Together
Scholarly communications - like the wider world - is increasingly divided. Supporting researchers - making them the center of all they do - is the key goal for everyone working in scholarly communications. Finding common cause in the scholarly communications community is vital if they are to provide researchers with the support they need to solve the world's problems, notes Alice Meadows, in her post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): Research, of course, is built on collaboration, which is itself built on trust. Standing on the shoulders of giants and building on their efforts; working in (often global and/or cross-disciplinary) teams; sharing research results with peers, inviting their feedback, and refining work accordingly - all are central to science and scholarship. Likewise, scholarly communications is at its best when working together. As Kristen Fisher Ratan of the Collaborative Knowledge Foundation said in her inspirational keynote at FORCE2018 conference, it's time to stop squabbling and start collaborating to make research more effective. The recently published UN special report on climate change and dire warnings from their biodiversity chief make it abundantly clear that, if humans have any hope of surviving, they need to take action - and they need to do so now………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. Tips for negotiating the peer-reviewed journal publication process as an early-career researcher
Early-career researchers are subject to higher levels of scrutiny than ever before, with publication in academic journals essential to how they are funded and evaluated, and how their careers will be built. Margaret K. Merga, Shannon Mason and Julia E. Morris, in their post in the LSE Impact of Social Sciences Blog, share insights from their own experiences of navigating the journal submission and publication process as ECRs, emphasising the importance of being strategic about journal selection, understanding which suggested revisions will actually improve a paper, and knowing what is the right moment to contact the editor for guidance.
The blog post says (quote): Many factors can be taken into account when choosing the best journal to target. Research suggests that ECRs typically follow a simple strategy: publish as many journal articles in the best quality journals as they can. However, the more papers they put out for review, the more they became aware of the additional considerations that should guide the journal selection, which can increase the chances of having the paper accepted. Some of the questions they might ask are: what kinds of voice do they like? What conversations are they promoting? Are they only publishing research that was conducted in the USA? Are they only publishing certain methods? In addition, there can be great differences in the length of the publication process from submission to publication………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. Shiny new guidelines to celebrate International Data Week
Posted by Hollydawn Murray in the F1000 Research Blog, this post introduces the newly overhauled data guidelines. These guidelines have been rolled out across the F1000 platforms including: Wellcome Open Research, Gates Open Research, HRB Open Research, MNI Open Research, and AMRC Open Research.
The blog post says (quote): The data guidelines have been refreshed to reflect the FAIR principles for data sharing. The guidelines are now framed around each of the four principles and demonstrate best practises in the field. At the same time, the guidance is now more instructive and breaks the practical work required by authors into 3 steps: prepare your data, select a repository, and add a data availability statement to your manuscript. The driving force behind these changes is to improve the quality of data being shared while reducing the time and effort required to do so. And whilst the new guidelines are intended to provide prospective authors with the knowledge needed to share their data in accordance with F1000's policies, they recognise that there may be cases where researchers need additional help. F1000's editorial team will continue to actively support researchers in sharing their underlying data and code………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. Addressing the Crisis in Academic Publishing
Academic journals play an important role in knowledge dissemination. No one knows how many journals there actually are, but several estimates point to around 30,000, with close to 2 million articles published each year. We must find ways to ensure that equal respect, recognition and reward is given to excellence in teaching, research and service by institutional leaders, governments, publishers, university ranking and accreditation schemes, notes
Hans De Wit, Phillip G. Altbach and Betty Leask, in their post in the Inside Higher Ed Blog.
The blog post says (quote): Academic excellence, diversity and educational quality are intertwined. Nationally and internationally they need to ensure that universities and systems take into account the students and communities they serve. This requires differentiated academic missions that demonstrate excellence in different ways. University missions are too often driven by external pressures such as rankings. This trend can only be reversed by government agencies and other bodies such as research grant councils and accreditation agencies, working together to value and support diverse academic communities. Likewise, academic publishing requires diversification. The field remains dominated by a small number of publishing companies in the developed world-mainly in the US, UK, The Netherlands, and Germany. Editors and editorial board members are predominantly from the US, European countries and Australia. Diversity is largely ignored………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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