Giving People What They Paid For
Many scholars are becoming aware of a change in the tide of public support for their work, reflected in proposed budget cuts for many federal science funding agencies, and are struggling to decipher the reason for this shift. Some researchers feel that political groups are targeting their work for its… Read More
Pre-search to Research: How One Library is Using Credo as ‘Academic Google’
Niketha McKenzie branded Credo Online Reference Service as ‘Academic Google’ to help change the way students interacted with the library website, and to give them a process that made sense to them. The response was overwhelmingly positive. ‘Students have been less frustrated during the process once Credo became our background… Read More
Academic Publishing is Big Business, And How Blockchain Can Make A Difference
While the current scientific publishing industry is one of the most lucrative worldwide, the current scholarly publication process has several problems that affect the research community, such as high publication costs, copyrights held by publishers instead of authors, biased publication and peer review processes, lack of rewards and recognition for… Read More
Watch dogs: Scientific integrity at Science Advances
As a AAAS/Science-family journal, Science Advances is committed to publishing innovative, original research that significantly advances the frontiers of science. Their success in this mission to date is anchored in part in the commitment of their authors to adhere to the highest levels of integrity in the conduct and reporting… Read More
The crusade for open access, and what the Library is doing to help, explained
The UC Libraries published its seminal Pathways to Open Access toolkit - a detailed explanation of the various potential strategies and starting points for achieving open access on campuses across the UC and beyond. When it comes to open access funding models, one crucial question is: Who will front publication… Read More
The Conundrum of Open-Access Publishing
The complexity surrounding the future funding of research publications is not exactly a frequent topic of conversations among students, but it represents a significant issue for many academic staff members at universities the world over. In a climate of ‘publish or perish’ among researchers, the battle for a spot in… Read More
Scientists defrauded by hijacked journals
Scientific progress is being hindered by the emergence of a relatively new kind of fraud – the hijacked scientific journal, according to researchers from Iran and Poland. They describe the problem and its detrimental effects on science in the International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning. According to Mehdi Dadkhah of… Read More
Putting Scientific Peer Review in the Courtroom
Courts in the United States process huge quantities of scientific information. Every day, they must determine the validity of expertise ranging from acoustics to zoology, in matters ranging from civil slip-and-fall cases to criminal prosecutions that may result in prison sentences or even execution. In federal courts and in virtually… Read More
The Import Trends Driving the Chinese Academic Publishing Boom
The Chinese academic publishing industry is booming. In recent years, China has paid more and more attention to academic publishing, with companies publishing works that feature new ideas and old traditions. Indeed, the Chinese government itself has recognised that the quality of academic publishing reflects the country’s technological development as… Read More
A Venerated Medical Journal Finds Itself Under Attack
The New England Journal of Medicine is arguably the best-known and most venerated medical journal in the world. Studies featured in its pages are cited more often, on average, than those of any of its peers. And the careers of young researchers can take off if their work is deemed… Read More
