Peer review process best method to determine scientific funding, study finds
While everybody these days has an opinion about science that affects all, the wisest approach involves consulting with key experts in the field. That also applies to funding research, according to a new article affirming that peer review is the most effective method of helping government agencies predict what ideas… Read More
Will others follow China’s switch on academic publishing?
The March 1 edition of University World News brought two important articles on the Chinese government notice on academic publication and research funding. China is second in the world for research papers published in international journals, behind the United States. Now, after years of demanding researchers publish in international journals,… Read More
Hundreds of scientists have peer-reviewed for predatory journals
Hundreds of scientists who post their peer-review activity on the website Publons say they’ve reviewed papers for journals termed ‘predatory’ — although they might not know it. An analysis of the site has found that it hosts at least 6,000 records of reviews for more than 1,000 predatory journals. The… Read More
Artificial intelligence is selecting grant reviewers in China
China’s largest funder of basic science is piloting an artificial intelligence tool that selects researchers to review grant applications, in an attempt to make the process more efficient, faster and fairer. Some researchers say the approach by the National Natural Science Foundation of China is world-leading, but others are sceptical… Read More
Flaws in Academic Publishing Perpetuate a Form of Neo-Colonialism
Academic publishing is the backbone of science. Publishing papers is one of the primary ways in which scientists disseminate findings to peers as well as the general public. Academia has been plagued by the ‘publish or perish’ ethos, such that the number of publications they have determines important career events… Read More
Making Monographs Open
The University of North Carolina Press is leading an experiment to significantly lower the cost of producing scholarly books - an important step toward a sustainable open-access publishing model for monographs. Many university presses have experimented with open-access monographs, but few have transitioned away from charging fees for most work,… Read More
Open Access Publishing is the Future
Open Access (OA) literature is published on the internet, free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. There are OA journals for new research and OA repositories to store published work. By allowing anyone with an internet connection to read and learn from a work, its impact is maximised. Anything less… Read More
New age of academic publishing
There is a digital revolution underway. It is changing how many things are done – including scholarly publishing. The way that academic research is published, and its availability, has shifted over time. Academic and scholarly journals used to be available only in hard copy. Then came fairly ubiquitous internet access.… Read More
How the open access model hurts academics in poorer countries
The rise of open access publishing should be applauded. Scientific research and literature should be made available to everyone, with no cost to the reader. But there is a catch: nothing is actually free and someone has to pay. The open access model merely changes who pays. So rather than… Read More
Questioning the drug firms-scientists nexus
The US Center for Science in the Public Interest has questioned medical journals for not revealing the financial relationship the authors hold with drug companies for the studies that may potentially benefit the companies. . Scientists whose researches are funded by drug companies often publish their reports in prestigious scientific… Read More
