1. If You Can’t Beat ‘Em…Elsevier to Purchase Sci-Hub
Exasperated over ineffectual attempts to shut down Sci-Hub, an illegal article sharing website, Elsevier has decided to purchase the service for an undisclosed sum. The purchase of another open access service by a corporate publishing giant has left some with the taste of bitter chocolate, notes Phil Davis, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): We’ve tried just about everything,” sighed Tom Reller, VP of Corporate Relations at Elsevier. “But, as Abraham Elzevir, the great, great, great grandfather of our company used to say in Dutch, “Als je hen niet kunt verslaan, voeg je dan bij hen!” which translates roughly in English to “If you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em!.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. Open access platforms underutilized
Clinical trial data from more than 3,200 studies are available for review through open access platforms; however, only 15.5% of these trials were sought for reanalysis, according to recent findings published in JAMA. In this post in the Helio.com, Dr. Ann Marie Navar discusses a recent investigation in which Navar and colleagues assessed the number of clinical trials that are available in three open access platforms (ClinicalStudyDataRequest.com, the Yale University Open Data Access Project and the Supporting Open Access for Researchers Initiative) and how often data from the trials are utilized.
The blog post says (quote): In response, multiple pharmaceutical companies have created mechanisms for investigators to access patient-level clinical trials data. Reasons for underutilization of clinical trials data may include lack of knowledge about these resources, possibly due to lack of publication of results from proposals, or lack of funding to support analyses.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. Context is King in Research
In 2015, ProQuest conducted a study on researchers’ use of news resources. This is the third in a five-part series focused on the study results and use of news resources in research. This post in the ProQuest Blog looks at news content as an important gateway, helping researchers’ bridge theory with practice.
The blog post says (quote): Research that does not connect to real life issues is at risk of becoming obscure and underutilized. Researchers, therefore, have an important role to play in educating other professionals and the public by linking theory and real world events. News stories offer the opportunity to connect ideas and issues, not only locally but also globally. Indeed, a ProQuest study on usage trends demonstrated that researchers are increasingly relying on international news sources to explore topics, conduct comparative analyses, and expand the scope of their study areas.........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. How Readers Discover Content in Scholarly Publications
A new survey looks at the ways readers discover scholarly publications. Due to methodological limitations, scholarly information professionals should practice caution in interpreting the findings and considering potential business responses. Ultimately, it is impressive that researchers have taken on such a large-scale study, which adds some additional context to our understanding of discovery, especially in its diversity, notes Roger C. Schonfeld, in his post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): Search is important, of course, but it is by no means the only way that researchers discover scholarly content. The report finds that search accounts for approximately 40-45 percent of discovery of the last journal article the respondent accessed, a figure that varies only slightly by sector. While the report emphasizes that “search is dominant,” for me, the headline finding here is that the other means of discovery specified - everything from personal recommendations and social media to alerts and citations - collectively add up to drive more traffic than search. This will vary quite a bit by content provider, but it emphasizes the importance of not just seeing Google Scholar as one’s discoverability strategy..........(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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