1. How institutional repositories support the transition to open research - and reduce admin burden for librarians
Author: John Kaye and Liz Bal
Publisher and funder mandates and the desire to embrace best practice in open research, reproducibility and research integrity means universities now need to carefully manage, store and share their digital research outputs. Storing research outputs in an institutional repository ensures that the published work of scholars is available to the academic community in the long term. According to a qualitative study from the University of Oxford into academic engagement with open access and their institutional repositories, many researchers and repository managers struggle with a tedious and difficult administrative task that may require many iterations to complete. Recognising the sector’s frustration, Jisc has developed a new research repository. The service has been developed in partnership with the UK research sector and lifts some of the administrative burden of open access publishing carried by librarians.
The full entry can be read: Here.
2. Guest post — In pursuit of scholarly publishing relevance
Author: Jennifer Regala
Scholarly publishing fundamentals like peer-review, quality and serving specific communities stay the same, but the way of working is constantly evolving. One can meet career professionals who have morphed their own roles within their organisations to stay relevant and critical to their organisations. There are multiple action items that can be considered to future-proof careers, as Scholarly Kitchen refer the idea of the pursuit of individual relevance.
The full entry can be read: Here.
3. Beyond mandates: For open science to become a norm, it must be recognised and rewarded
Author: Maria Cruz and Hans de Jonge
Calls to align incentives in academia to promote open research practices are not new. However, in recent years research funders are increasingly implementing policies and schemes designed to promote open science practices amongst researchers. In this blog, Maria Cruz and Hans de Jonge outline details of the Dutch Research Council’s (NWO) new Open Science Fund, which they suggest is the natural next step towards a culture of open science in Dutch research. Funders increasingly expect and mandate researchers to pursue open science, but researchers remain poorly rewarded for these efforts. In fact, spending too much time making research open and transparent may even act against their individual interests, as career progression remains linked to publication in high-profile subscription journals.
The full entry can be read: Here.
4. The SSP Generations Fund: Investing in the promise of our future
Author: Julia Kostova
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) has long invested in future generations of scholarly communications professionals, and has championed the values of inclusion, diversity, and equity through its programs. The SSP Generations Fund is an endowment that will provide permanent, sustainable funding for programs designed to cultivate the next generation of leaders. The Generations Fund will offer protection from financial vicissitudes to SSP programs that are crucial to cultivating the next generation of innovative, diverse leaders and a thriving publishing community. With the Generations Fund, SSP cements and extends its commitment to fostering an inspired and diverse talent in scholarly publishing for years to come.
The full entry can be read: Here.
5. How we revamped student assessments for a digital-focused world
Author: Katie McClarty
Academic assessments play a major role in providing high-quality education. They provide information on the performance of students and groups of students, give guidance on how teachers should customise their practice to improve learning and – in light of the current education landscape – can also help educators understand and address gaps in education that have been made worse by the coronavirus pandemic. Student assessments are best when they are ongoing, consistent, and provide critical feedback to learners. Technology provides an opportunity to continually create, publish, and administer assessment content in digital-forward world. The key to creating the best assessments lies in leveraging the right technology.
The full entry can be read: Here.
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