1. Openness and The Two Cultures
What will happen to social research on aging (gerontology), if funding and openness is increasingly sidelined. Is this in fact a path to a deepening divide of the "two cultures"? In his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog, Robert Harington addresses openness, and the widening divisions in the "Two Cultures" - which C. P. Snow would likely be appalled to find are as apparent as they ever were.
The blog post says (quote): Open access models, and indeed openness as a concept, rely on funding for success. The reality of openness is that one can not equate the word open with free. Someone along the way has to pay for the research and the publication of that research, recognising the real costs involved in a thriving information ecosystem. Unfortunately, in a world driven by science, where rich private funders and governments are prepared to pay for science, other cultures - the humanities, social science and math research - are largely left out of the loop. In the world of mathematics, there is a good deal of willingness to consider openness, and in fact through the long-term acceptance of the preprint server arXiv, one could say that early versions of research are shared, with publication of that research in a final recorded form still a marker of success. But apart from a vocal minority, mathematicians will tell you that what they care about is being able to do their work, and that openness, and indeed open access, is way down on the priority list of concerns.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. Weighing the Benefits of Library Vendors Versus Online Retailers
There is no doubt that a large online retailer like Amazon can handle orders for everything from personal care items to home electronics. A post in the EBSCOpost Blog discusses that online retailers can fall short, compared to library vendors, when it comes to library collection development and acquisitions.
The blog post says (quote): While a large portion of libraries order print titles via retailers like Amazon, there are clear limitations to their e-book offerings. Only 5 percent of librarians who responded to the Library Journal survey indicating that they used online retailers for print purchases said that they buy e-books from these sources. While Amazon offers Kindle eBooks, the underlying model is a single, individual user, which is different from the single user model available through library vendors such as ebrary, EBSCO, etc. Library vendor models offer single and multiple user access models that can be shared across the library community while Amazon is built on individual, single owner consumption.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. A brief history of research impact: how has impact assessment evolved in the UK and Australia?
Over the last couple of decades there has been an international push around the assessment of the wider societal impact of research. In their post in the LSE Impact of Social Sciences Blog, Kate Williams and Jonathan Grant document the evolution of research impact assessment in the UK and Australia, and how policies in the two countries have been seemingly interdependent, a back-and-forth process developed through international learning.
The blog post says (quote): Although the UK is widely considered the leader in research evaluation, it is clear the evolution of impact assessment has been a back-and-forth process between Australia and the UK. Each country’s policy development has been developed through international learning. Continued political commitment to impact assessment in both countries, with the core debate centred around reducing the costs and burden through the use of impact metrics. Australia is more likely to take the lead on the development of lower-cost, metrics-based systems, because their assessment is not associated with direct financial incentives. The costs of assessing research impact in the UK can be justified given the high level of funding that follows, but this justification is more difficult in Australia.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. Guest Post: New Platform Facilitates International Research Collaboration to Help Solve our Biggest Global Challenges
Researchers in the Global South face multiple barriers to engaging with international partners. AuthorAID’s new 'collaboration space' aims to help overcome this, notes Andy Nobes, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen blog.
The blog post says (quote): In response to the findings, they have further developed the AuthorAID online platform with a new forum area. This includes a 'Research Collaboration Space' that offers an opportunity for researchers to post details of their research projects and put out a call for collaborators. The new platform is intended as both a collaboration hub and a support network. It sits alongside a forum for research communication discussion and support, which is moderated by experienced volunteer mentors and facilitators. It also sits alongside a forum for finding and sharing funding, scholarships, and other opportunities, which is crowd-sourced by the AuthorAID community. There are also sub-forums for women researchers, librarians and journal editors.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
5. Building trust through badging
Anisa Rowhani-Farid and Adrian Barnett recently published the second version of their Research Article in which they compared data-sharing in two journals and whether badges was associated with increased sharing. In her guest post in the F1000Research Blog, Anisa Rowhani-Farid talks about badges for data and what motivated her research.
The blog post says (quote): A potential policy for encouraging researchers to practice open research is using badges. A badge can act as a powerful tool; it is a physical representation of an abstract concept. Badges have been used for centuries to represent achievements or the adherence to certain standards. For instance, badges awarded to scouts when they learn a new skill, or badges given by the Food and Drug Administration to products that comply to regulations. Not only does a badge stimulate trust in the public, it rewards its recipients with a sense of integrity as it recognises their efforts to comply with best practice. The type of badge that author researching is a digital badge that symbolises the verification of science.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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