1. BMC Mechanical Engineering is now open for submissions!
The new journal BMC Mechanical Engineering further expands the scope of the BMC series beyond biology and medicine and into engineering. Alexandros Houssein, in his post in the BMC Research in Progress Blog, discusses more about this exciting new launch.
The blog post says (quote): Mechanical engineering is an inherently multidisciplinary field that combines principles from physics, mathematics, informatics, thermodynamics and materials. It aims to develop and construct mechanical systems that will find applications in a wide range of industries. BMC Mechanical Engineering embraces this diversity of subjects and comes to support a large and international research community. With a focus on championing Open Access research, it aims to advance scientific discovery by making research freely accessible across the world. It envisions contributing towards Springer Nature’s Grand Challenge Programme with a focus on global health and sustainability, by facilitating research in mechatronics, robotics, fuel consumption, automotive engineering, transportation and more. To cover such a wide array of scientific principles and applications, the scope of BMC Mechanical Engineering is broad and is divided into eight sections, led by eight Section Editors………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
2. OpenAPC - transparent reporting on article processing charges reveals the relative costs of open access publishing
OpenAPC compiles a dataset aggregating all available institutional reporting on article processing charges paid for open access publications. Dirk Pieper, in his post in the LSE Impact of Social Sciences Blog, describes how this openly available data can provide greater transparency and context to discussions around the overall costs of academic publishing, and also potentially set in motion cost-limiting mechanisms.
The blog post says (quote): Transparency around the costs per article can set in motion cost-limiting mechanisms, with APCs for journals of similar standing able to be compared within particular academic disciplines or subject categories. The OpenAPC dataset provides an essential basis for such an analysis, with 190 academic institutions and libraries reporting their open access publishing costs at the level of individual journal articles. Cost data for more than 55,000 journal articles, amounting to more than €105m, is currently available. Though this represents only part of all APC-funded open access articles worldwide, OpenAPC will become increasingly statistically relevant and valid as the dataset grows. The data already allows for a number of interesting insights into the market for paid open access journal articles………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
3. Dear Reader, Are You Reading?
What is reading, and what is happening to reading? These are critical questions for researchers, data analysts, editors, publishers, librarians - in short, for scholarly communications, says Karin Wulf, in her post in the Scholarly Kitchen Blog.
The blog post says (quote): For scholarly communications these are not small questions. The fate of the scholarly e-book (for another post, author’s travails of attempting to even acquire, let alone to "read" the mangled bits of text that appear on screen, regurgitated through the teeth of various vendor platforms) and the ways they have consciously designed it not to be read, but to be searched, and stripped suggests they have a notion already about what they want the digital to deliver. The JSTOR project to "Reimagine the Digital Monograph" contended with many of these challenges. Mostly the conclusion seems to be that print and digital will each have their place, that they will add new technology (digital) and not take away the old (print). Yet there are resource implications and investment decisions being made all the time that for the most part are emphasising digital transition. Digitising long form has meant creating small, searchable pieces for extracting information/data, rather than for ease of reading. Or even for encouraging reading………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
4. Considerations for Using Open Access Content at Work
Everyone wants simple access to scientific literature at a reasonable cost, but there are some special considerations when using open access content in a corporate setting. Professionals in corporations using tools like PubMed and Google regularly find Open Access content. In her post in the CCC Blog, Christine McCarty discusses few best practices to get the most from OA.
The blog post says (quote): The advice of 'buyer beware' applies to OA consumers as well as OA authors. It would be wise to follow a similar path of vetting when using open access content in a corporation, like checking a journal title's record in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). When offering research to support a patent submission, a regulatory filing or a key business decision, no one wants to accidentally cite papers full of incorrect or misleading science. Some OA consumers may prefer to avoid content published in the "Green OA" model, in which an article is published in a traditional journal, but the author is also allowed to post it on a personal blog or in an OA repository. The copies posted on blogs or in OA repositories may not be the exact same as the final published version of the article………(unquote)
The full entry can be read Here.
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