1. The Measure of All Things: Some Notes on CiteScore
Elsevier’s new CiteScore service is a carefully thought-out element in the company’s competitive strategy. However, it reinforces the widespread error that bibliometrics can be used as proxies for the quality of a publication, notes Joseph Esposito, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): As a competitive strategy, though, CiteScore is simply brilliant. Giving the scores away for free must have gotten the attention of librarians wondering where to cut expenditures. CiteScore further reinforces Scopus, upon which it is built, and its presence in library collections, reducing libraries’ discretion in which services to keep, which to toss out. For some libraries facing difficult budgetary decisions, Scopus with CiteScore might be “good enough” to justify cancelling a Clarivate subscription to the Journal Citation Reports if not Web of Knowledge itself. But perhaps the more immediate implications of CiteScore is that it radically changes downward the measurements of some very prestigious publications............. (Unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. Twitter can help with scientific dissemination but its influence on citation impact is less clear
Researchers have long been encouraged to use Twitter. But does researchers’ presence on Twitter influence citations to their papers? In his post in The Impact Blog, José Luis Ortega explored to what extent the participation of scholars on Twitter can influence the tweeting of their articles and found that although the relationship between tweets and citations is poor, actively participating on Twitter is a powerful way of promoting and disseminating academic outputs, potentially indirectly influencing the scholarly impact and improving prospects of increased citations.
The blog post says (quote): Logically, merely having a Twitter account is not enough. So, specifically, what author activity on Twitter most influences the mention of their papers? To answer that question, number of tweets, followers and followings of 76 Twitter users were extracted and time-normalised. Next, a linear regression analysis was performed to detect the variable that most influences the mention of articles. Results showed that the number of followers explains 34 percent (R2=.341) of the tweets received by their publications, claiming that a 1 percent increase in followers would generate 0.31 percent of new tweets. This result demonstrates that the number of followers is an important factor for the spreading of messages on Twitter. However, the effect of this variable is small because an author needs three times more followers to gain only one mention more............. (Unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. Intellectual Craftsmanship and Scholarly Engagement - JSTOR’s Ideas for Redesigning the Digital Monograph
There's not a need to re-design the scholarly monograph itself. There's a need for tools that can better facilitate a connection between author and reader, says Jill O'Neill, in her post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): One of the dozen design principles that was referenced in the JSTOR Labs report (in fact the primary principle heading the list) was the centrality of great writing to the monograph. There may be automated functionalities that can amplify or otherwise be appended to a linear narrative, but monographs rely upon the ability of the author to express his or her findings logically and effectively via text. If we’re to redesign the monograph then, it is key to avoid blocking the connection that can made between author and reader. In Reimagining the Digital Monograph, the contributors seem to suggest that providers should be focused on enhancements to navigation and collaboration. The anticipated future of the book may not be about augmenting chapter titles or associated metadata, but neither is it about eliminating anything. It’s about the author’s text............. (Unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. The real power of an inclusive digital strategy
The Scottish Parliament is putting the final touches to a resolution that further education (FE) colleges must publish an inclusion strategy. It is just the latest development in a key strand in UK and Scottish government education policy, focused on the need to widen participation and ensure that everyone has equal access to educational opportunities, notes Julia Taylor, in her post in the Jisc Blog.
The blog post says (quote): Jisc accessibility and inclusion subject specialists are working daily with members across the FE, skills and HE sectors to help them find practical, effective ways to support non-traditional learners in the widest sense. That includes people with physical and/or mental health difficulties, returners, people from poorer socio-economic backgrounds and others such as carers, whose personal responsibilities have so far limited their learning and employment options. The approach to promoting inclusion emphasises the use of digital technologies, and this is very much in line with government intention. It is clear from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) guidance, and from the UK government guidance that supports last autumn’s changes to the Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA), that digital technologies are expected to provide the key that unpicks the lock on the inclusion door............. (Unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
5. Here's another way digital could complement print
The publishing industry needs to get beyond the current “print or digital” mindset and instead explore ways for one to complement the other. Plenty of industry stats show that most readers are comfortable with either format and many prefer the convenience of switching between the two (e.g., reading the news digital but mostly sticking with print books), discusses Joe Wikert, in his post in the Digital Content Strategies Blog.
The blog post says (quote): There would obviously have to be limits to the amount of highlighted or excerpted content you could convert with this type of service. Google, Amazon and Apple are uniquely positioned to offer that print-highlight-to-digital conversion since they already have all the content in their content management systems. As you upload those pictures of print pages with highlights they could quickly identify the source title, automatically adding the cover and metadata to the converted results. A social element could be integrated, enabling you to share some number of highlights with your friends and followers, powering better digital discovery of print content............. (Unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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