March 2023 – Page 4 – DigitalKoans

"Do Altmetric Scores Reflect Article Quality? Evidence from the UK Research Excellence Framework 2021"

Altmetrics are web-based quantitative impact or attention indicators for academic articles that have been proposed to supplement citation counts. This article reports the first assessment of the extent to which mature altmetrics from Altmetric.com and Mendeley associate with individual article quality scores. It exploits expert norm-referenced peer review scores from the UK Research Excellence Framework 2021 for 67,030+ journal articles in all fields 2014–2017/2018, split into 34 broadly field-based Units of Assessment (UoAs). Altmetrics correlated more strongly with research quality than previously found, although less strongly than raw and field normalized Scopus citation counts. Surprisingly, field normalizing citation counts can reduce their strength as a quality indicator for articles in a single field. For most UoAs, Mendeley reader counts are the best altmetric (e.g., three Spearman correlations with quality scores above 0.5), tweet counts are also a moderate strength indicator in eight UoAs (Spearman correlations with quality scores above 0.3), ahead of news (eight correlations above 0.3, but generally weaker), blogs (five correlations above 0.3), and Facebook (three correlations above 0.3) citations, at least in the United Kingdom. In general, altmetrics are the strongest indicators of research quality in the health and physical sciences and weakest in the arts and humanities.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24751

Released: "GPT-4"

We’ve created GPT-4, the latest milestone in OpenAI’s effort in scaling up deep learning. GPT-4 is a large multimodal model (accepting image and text inputs, emitting text outputs) that, while less capable than humans in many real-world scenarios, exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks. For example, it passes a simulated bar exam with a score around the top 10% of test takers; in contrast, GPT-3.5’s score was around the bottom 10%. We’ve spent 6 months iteratively aligning GPT-4 using lessons from our adversarial testing program as well as ChatGPT, resulting in our best-ever results (though far from perfect) on factuality, steerability, and refusing to go outside of guardrails. . . . We’ve been working on each aspect of the plan outlined in our post about defining the behavior of AIs, including steerability. Rather than the classic ChatGPT personality with a fixed verbosity, tone, and style, developers (and soon ChatGPT users) can now prescribe their AI’s style and task by describing those directions in the "system" message.

https://openai.com/research/gpt-4

Systems & Discovery Librarian at Union College

Improves and sustains a variety of staff-facing and public-facing library systems to ensure reliable and efficient access to the Library’s collections and resources. These systems include the library services platform (LSP; currently Alma), discovery layer (currently Primo VE), and off-campus authentication services (currently EZProxy and Shibboleth). Provides leadership in the development and enhancement of staff- and public-facing systems and collaborates with colleagues in Content & Digital Library Systems, Digital Scholarship & Public Services, Special Collections & Archives, and UCPC/Mandeville Gallery departments to coordinate, assess, and improve LSP and discovery experiences.

bit.ly/3J6KLAM

Paywall: "Characterizing Data Practices in Research Papers Across Four Disciplines"

In this paper, we focus on the five most common types of RDP — collecting data, processing data, analyzing data, representing data, and publishing or citing data. First, we compared the distributions of the five types of RDP across disciplines and observed noticeable differences between disciplines. In addition, we examined the characteristics of each type of RDP under different disciplinary contexts, by developing discipline-specific RDP vocabulary employing the tf-idf approach. Based on the common terms as well as the discipline-specific ones, we found that the five types of RDP can be distinctly conceptualized, while each type of RDP varies by disciplines in terms of their action, object, and instrument.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28035-1_26

Digital Services Librarian at Ohio Northern University

The Digital Services Librarian serves a key role in this environment by implementing, maintaining, and enhancing library systems and applications in conjunction with the Technical Services Team. As a part of this collaborative team, the Digital Services Librarian provides support for systems that form the foundation for all library services and is principally responsible for the Institutional Repository, website, and improving cross-platform integration of online resources and services.

https://jobs.onu.edu/postings/11136

Paywall: "Trustworthy Digital Repository Certification: A Longitudinal Study"

To understand the impact of certification on repositories’ infrastructure, processes, and services, we analyzed a sample of publicly available TDR audit reports (n = 175) from the Data Seal of Approval (DSA) and Core Trust Seal (CTS) certification programs. This first longitudinal study of TDR certification over a ten-year period (from 2010 to 2020) found that many repositories either maintain a relatively high standard of trustworthiness in terms of their compliance with guidelines in DSA or CTS standards or improve their trustworthiness by raising their compliance levels with these guidelines each time they get recertified.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28032-0_42

Web Services Coordinator at American University

The Web Services Coordinator is responsible for Library website and is the primary resource for developing and supporting end-user interfaces that create or enhance access to library resources and other services. As part of the Library Systems unit, this position oversees and collaborates on integrated web services and evaluation of the user experience as it pertains to the website and discovery service. The incumbent will implement, customize, and integrate web applications for the Library website and other web services platforms. Develops or supports applications to optimize discoverability of third-party research content. Develops systematic processes for website usability testing. Ensures that websites are responsive and accessible.

bit.ly/3mJxCWZ

Building a Community of Assessment: Final Report of the Research Library Impact Framework Pilot Initiative

The RLIF provides a structure to examine library services, operations, impact, and alignment with institutional mission and goals across four critical areas: Research and Scholarly Life Cycle; Teaching, Learning, and Student Success; Collections; and Physical Space. The full framework includes 185 potential research questions across these critical areas. However, the framework is also meant to be flexible and modular, allowing for modifications and adjustments based on salient issues facing research libraries. In this way, the framework serves as a tool to organize and prioritize research efforts.

bit.ly/3mOhqE0

Pauline A. Young Resident, OER Publishing Librarian at University of Delaware (Term)

Reporting to the Head, Digital Initiatives and Preservation (DIP), the Resident will be able to learn from a diverse team committed to providing support to students, faculty and staff in teaching and scholarly research. DIP handles a range of types of work, including digitizing and preserving collections materials for research and teaching; and helping students, faculty, and staff navigate questions about digital publishing.

bbit.ly/3YI7Hw3

Data Services Librarian for the Sciences at Harvard University

As a functional liaison, the Data Services Librarian for the Sciences (DSLS) will work with relevant stakeholders in developing guidelines and workflows of data management services to ensure good research practice, protection of intellectual property, proper storage and security of research data, compliance with relevant regulations, and appropriate access to research data. New outreach and programming developed by the DSLS will demonstrate an understanding of relevant subject data repositories, the research landscape, the role of campus partnerships, and the capabilities and limits of library support.

bit.ly/3yATsPb

Paywall: "Participatory Web Archiving: Multifaceted Challenges"

There has been increasing interest in participatory web archiving in recent years. Indeed, it is widely regarded as a necessary step in the development of web archives. . . . Through a critical literature review, this paper addresses the need to analyse participatory web archiving practices, the mechanisms and power relations within them through political theories of power and participation.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28035-1_7

"Transparency in Conducting and Reporting Research: A Survey of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors across Scholarly Disciplines"

Calls have been made for improving transparency in conducting and reporting research, improving work climates, and preventing detrimental research practices. To assess attitudes and practices regarding these topics, we sent a survey to authors, reviewers, and editors. We received 3,659 (4.9%) responses out of 74,749 delivered emails. We found no significant differences between authors’, reviewers’, and editors’ attitudes towards transparency in conducting and reporting research, or towards their perceptions of work climates. Undeserved authorship was perceived by all groups as the most prevalent detrimental research practice, while fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and not citing prior relevant research, were seen as more prevalent by editors than authors or reviewers. Overall, 20% of respondents admitted sacrificing the quality of their publications for quantity, and 14% reported that funders interfered in their study design or reporting. While survey respondents came from 126 different countries, due to the survey’s overall low response rate our results might not necessarily be generalizable. Nevertheless, results indicate that greater involvement of all stakeholders is needed to align actual practices with current recommendations.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0270054

Director, Emory Center for Digital Scholarship at Emory University

Reporting directly to the Enterprise CIO and Senior Vice Provost for Library Services, the Director consults with faculty to facilitate and host digital projects in collaboration with information technology, library, university, and other academic partners.

Leads a Digital Scholarship Governance body to support focused, innovative projects of significant scope which require dedicated resources. Collaborates with the Center for Faculty Development and Excellence (CFDE) on the university’s overall strategy regarding online education as well as faculty development and digital publishing.

Advises in developing course proposals for online learning, and offers foundational training and expertise to allow faculty to teach Coursera or 2U classes.

Provides the framework for digital publishing in corporation with other university entities to host projects, and evaluate and select projects for publication.

Partners on the development of a digital asset management strategy that encompasses data acquisition, metadata creation and management, secure and persistent data storage, and effective user access tools.

bit.ly/3JcKKLP

"ChatGPT and a New Academic Reality: Artificial Intelligence-Written Research Papers and the Ethics of the Large Language Models in Scholarly Publishing"

The history and principles behind ChatGPT and similar models are discussed. This technology is then discussed in relation to its potential impact on academia and scholarly research and publishing. ChatGPT is seen as a potential model for the automated preparation of essays and other types of scholarly manuscripts. Potential ethical issues that could arise with the emergence of large language models like GPT-3. . . and its usage by academics and researchers, are discussed and situated within the context of broader advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing for research and scholarly publishing.

https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24750

Digital Initiatives Librarian at University of Idaho

Reporting to the Dean, this position will work within the Digital Scholarship and Open Strategies (DSOS) unit and closely collaborate with other library units such as Special Collections and Archives and Research and Experiential Learning. This position will work with the Head of DSOS to oversee the day-to-day operations of the digital initiatives laboratory and will work closely with members of the DSOS unit and Special Collections & Archives department to maintain and monitor the functionality of the libraries many online representations, including the library website, digital collections, open educational resources, and the many digital scholarship projects created and made accessible via the Center for Digital Inquiry and Learning (CD?L). This position will also play a role in the administration, promotion, and development of the CD?L, working with CD?L fellows and collaborators on a variety of digital scholarship and open publishing projects.

https://uidaho.peopleadmin.com/postings/39916

Scholarly Communications Librarian at Jefferson (Philadelphia University + Thomas Jefferson University)

The Scholarly Communications Librarian develops and implements library initiatives in support of scholarly publishing and digital scholarship by the Jefferson University community. The Scholarly Communications Librarian works closely with other Jefferson Library and Academic Commons (AC) staff to facilitate the use of Library and AC resources and services for scholarly publishing and digital scholarship creation by faculty and students on the East Falls campus. They conduct workshops and other programming on scholarly publishing and the promotion of published works, digital scholarship and data management best practices to students, faculty, and academic departments, specifically as it pertains to the East Falls Archives, Special Collections, and other East Falls academic departments.

https://cutt.ly/d8CpoYp

"Advancing Software Citation Implementation (Software Citation Workshop 2022)"

Software is foundationally important to scientific and social progress, however, traditional acknowledgment of the use of others’ work has not adapted in step with the rapid development and use of software in research. This report outlines a series of collaborative discussions that brought together an international group of stakeholders and experts representing many communities, forms of labor, and expertise. Participants addressed specific challenges about software citation that have so far gone unresolved. The discussions took place in summer 2022 both online and in-person and involved a total of 51 participants. The activities described in this paper were intended to identify and prioritize specific software citation problems, develop (potential) interventions, and lay out a series of mutually supporting approaches to address them. The outcomes of this report will be useful for the GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums) community, repository managers and curators, research software developers, and publishers.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2302.07500v1

Head of Library Technology Services at Washington University in St. Louis

Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Digital Scholarship and Technology Services, the Head of Library Technology Services provides leadership and expertise in the selection, development, and implementation of library technologies, infrastructure, and technology services for Libraries staff and users of the Libraries. The incumbent directs a professional staff of software developers, end user support specialists, and other information professionals to develop, implement, and manage sustainable operations and strategic initiatives collaboratively in support of the Libraries’ technology priorities.

https://cutt.ly/e8CpXdJ

Better World Books and the Internet Archive: "Saving 4 Million Books From Landfill"

The service that BWB provides is an important one for libraries. BWB collects used books from libraries, booksellers, colleges, and universities in six countries, which are then either resold online, donated or recycled. To date, Better World Books has donated over 35 million books worldwide, has raised close to $34 million for libraries and literacy, and has saved more than 450 million books from landfills. Through the partnership with the Internet Archive, BWB has donated more than one million books each year for preservation and digitization, totaling 4 million books to date.

https://cutt.ly/X8CaoCv

Associate Chief Librarian, Digital Services, Digital Scholarship and Information Technologies at University of Toronto

Reporting to the University Chief Librarian of the University of Toronto Libraries, the Associate Chief Librarian for Data Services, Digital Scholarship and Information Technologies has leadership , management, policy, planning and implementation responsibilities for data, digital scholarship, and information technology services in the Central Libraries, and collaborates with colleagues in the University of Toronto community and beyond to serve the research and academic mission of the University. . . . he Associate Chief Librarian for Data Services, Digital Scholarship and Information Technologies is responsible for overseeing the operations of the Information Technology Services department, Map and Data Library, Information Commons, and Scholars Portal.

https://www.kbrs.ca/Career/16899

"Guest Post – Article Processing Charges are a Heavy Burden for Middle-Income Countries"

Perhaps recognizing that publication costs could be a barrier toward inclusive publishing, Plan S includes a provision that the journal/platform must provide APC waivers for authors from low-income economies and discounts for authors from lower middle-income economies. This policy is based on World Bank classifications of national economies and is adopted by companies such as Springer Nature (including Nature Portfolio and BMC journals) and Taylor & Francis. It sounds good in principle, but in practice is very limited . . . It is easy to see that many (if not most) countries widely recognized as developing, in which research investments are significantly lower than in the US or most of Europe, are not included by this waiver and discount recommendation. Indeed, no Latin American country qualifies for full APC waivers, since all are technically at least lower middle-income economies; only a handful qualify for partial discounts.

bit.ly/420W4Df

Systems and Web Services Librarian at Wright State University

Reporting to the Head of Library Technology Services, the Systems and Web Services Librarian provides management and coordination of the University Libraries’ web presence including the website, catalog, and other end-user platforms, and maintains library web services interfaces to ensure usability, accessibility, and brand consistency.. . . The Systems and Web Services Librarian is responsible for the Libraries’ authentication systems, working with vendors and the Computing and Telecommunications department to ensure uninterrupted access to licensed library electronic resources.

https://jobs.wright.edu/postings/18148

"Evolution of Research Data Management in Academic Libraries: A Review of the Literature"

The study is qualitative in nature and based on an extensive literature review survey. The analysis of the reviewed literature reveals that the idea of RDM has emerged as a new addition to library research support services. The more recent literature clearly established the pivotal role of libraries and librarians in developing and managing RDM services. However, data sharing practices and the development of RDM services in libraries are more prevalent in developed countries. While these trends are still lacking among researchers and libraries in developing countries.

https://doi.org/10.1177/02666669231157405

Digital Initiatives Coordinator at Rice University

As Fondren Library expands digital scholarship partnerships, the digital initiatives coordinator will help to devise strategies for supporting and sustaining such projects, conduct outreach, perform consultations, and develop and implement project plans in collaboration with researchers and technical staff. In addition, they will provide technical support by determining project specifications, creating and cleaning up metadata, helping to manage digital platforms, overseeing ingests of digital objects, and performing quality control.

https://cutt.ly/e8K7aOM

"Evaluating the Ability of Open-Source Artificial Intelligence to Predict Accepting-Journal Impact Factor and Eigenfactor Score Using Academic Article Abstracts: Cross-sectional Machine Learning Analysis"

Objective:

We sought to evaluate the performance of open-source artificial intelligence to predict the impact factor or Eigenfactor score tertile using academic article abstracts.

Methods:

PubMed-indexed articles published between 2016 and 2021 were identified with the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms "ophthalmology," "radiology," and "neurology." Journals, titles, abstracts, author lists, and MeSH terms were collected. Journal impact factor and Eigenfactor scores were sourced from the 2020 Clarivate Journal Citation Report. The journals included in the study were allocated percentile ranks based on impact factor and Eigenfactor scores, compared with other journals that released publications in the same year. All abstracts were preprocessed, which included the removal of the abstract structure, and combined with titles, authors, and MeSH terms as a single input. The input data underwent preprocessing with the inbuilt ktrain Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) preprocessing library before analysis with BERT. Before use for logistic regression and XGBoost models, the input data underwent punctuation removal, negation detection, stemming, and conversion into a term frequency-inverse document frequency array. Following this preprocessing, data were randomly split into training and testing data sets with a 3:1 train:test ratio. Models were developed to predict whether a given article would be published in a first, second, or third tertile journal (0-33rd centile, 34th-66th centile, or 67th-100th centile), as ranked either by impact factor or Eigenfactor score. BERT, XGBoost, and logistic regression models were developed on the training data set before evaluation on the hold-out test data set. The primary outcome was overall classification accuracy for the best-performing model in the prediction of accepting journal impact factor tertile.

Results:

There were 10,813 articles from 382 unique journals. The median impact factor and Eigenfactor score were 2.117 (IQR 1.102-2.622) and 0.00247 (IQR 0.00105-0.03), respectively. The BERT model achieved the highest impact factor tertile classification accuracy of 75.0%, followed by an accuracy of 71.6% for XGBoost and 65.4% for logistic regression. Similarly, BERT achieved the highest Eigenfactor score tertile classification accuracy of 73.6%, followed by an accuracy of 71.8% for XGBoost and 65.3% for logistic regression.

Conclusions:

Open-source artificial intelligence can predict the impact factor and Eigenfactor score of accepting peer-reviewed journals. Further studies are required to examine the effect on publication success and the time-to-publication of such recommender systems.

https://doi.org/10.2196/42789