Category: Publishing

"Open Access Monographs in the UK: A Data Analysis"

Universities UK has released Open Access Monographs in the UK: A Data Analysis.

Here's an excerpt:

In 2018, fullstopp GmbH was commissioned to carry out an analysis of open access books. Specifically, we were asked to capture the specific challenges and barriers (perceived and real) from a range of stakeholders including (but not limited to): learned societies and subject associations, Pro-Vice-Chancellors (Research), research librarians, publishers (commercial, new university presses and academic-led presses) and funding organisations. In response to these concerns, we were also asked to (where possible) address these challenges by conducting a quantitative analysis of data available from publishers, funding organisations and HEIs (including libraries).

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Moving Peer Review Transparency from Process to Praxis"

Emily Ford has published "Moving Peer Review Transparency from Process to Praxis" in Insights.

Here's an excerpt:

Scholarly publications often work to provide transparency of peer-review processes, posting policy information to their websites as suggested by the Committee on Publication Ethics' (COPE) Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Publishing. Yet this falls short in providing peer-review transparency. Using examples from an interview-based qualitative study, this article argues that scholarly publications should move from peer-review process transparency to a praxis of transparency in peer review. Praxis infers that values inform practices. Scholarly publications should therefore use clear communication practices in all matters of business, and bolster transparency efforts, delineating rights and responsibilities of all players in peer review. Moreover, the scholarly publishing community should offer improved and society-led referee and editor training, rather than leaving the commercial publishing industry to fill the gap which results in peer review as a service to industry’s needs&emdash;turning an efficient profit&emdash;and not the scholarly community’s needs for human-to-human discourse.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Subscribe to Open: A Practical Approach for Converting Subscription Journals to Open Access"

Raym Crow et al. have published "Subscribe to Open: A Practical Approach for Converting Subscription Journals to Open Access" in Learned Publishing .

Here's an excerpt:

  • OA business models must be sustainable over the long term, and article processing charge payments do not work for all; Subscribe to Open (S2O) is proposed, and being tested, as an alternative model.
  • The S2O model motivates subscribers to participate through economic self-interest, without reliance on institutional altruism or collective behaviour.
  • The S2O offer targets current subscribers, uses existing subscription systems, and recurs annually, allowing publishers to control risk and revert to conventional subscriptions if necessary.
  • An Annual Reviews pilot is currently testing the S2O model with five journals.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"The Diverse Niches of Megajournals: Specialism within Generalism"

Kyle Siler et al. have self-archived "The Diverse Niches of Megajournals: Specialism within Generalism."

Here's an excerpt:

We analyze how megajournals (PLOS ONE, Scientific Reports) are represented in different fields relative to prominent generalist journals (Nature, PNAS, Science) and 'quasi-megajournals' (Nature Communications, PeerJ). Our results show that both megajournals and prominent traditional journals have distinctive niches, despite the similar interdisciplinary scopes of such journals. These niches—defined by publishing volume and disciplinary diversity—are dynamic and varied over the relatively brief histories of the analyzed megajournals. Although the life sciences are the predominant contributor to megajournals, there is variation in the disciplinary composition of different megajournals.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Scientific Sinkhole: The Pernicious Price of Formatting"

Allana G. LeBlanc et al. have published "Scientific Sinkhole: The Pernicious Price of Formatting" in PLoS ONE.

Here's an excerpt:

To our knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the cost of manuscript formatting in scientific publishing. Our results suggest that scientific formatting represents a loss of 52 hours, costing the equivalent of US$1,908 per researcher per year. These results identify the hidden and pernicious price associated with scientific publishing and provide evidence to advocate for the elimination of strict formatting guidelines, at least prior to acceptance.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

"Plan S Point–Counterpoint: Discussing the Plan Together"

Rick Anderson and Micah Vandegrift have self-archived "Plan S Point–Counterpoint: Discussing the Plan Together."

Here's an excerpt:

At the ISMTE 2019 North American Meeting, Rick Anderson, Associate Dean for Collections & Scholarly Communication at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah and Micah Vandegrift, Open Knowledge Librarian at North Carolina State University Libraries, discussed their different opinions regarding some of the finer points of Plan S. They prepared responses for 10 questions for the meeting but were only able to respond to some of them in person. The following is the full Q&A that they prepared for the meeting, with references added.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

Briefing Paper on Open Access to Academic Books

Science Europe has released the Science Europe Briefing Paper on Open Access to Academic Books.

Here's an excerpt:

This briefing paper identifies the key issues at stake in implementing a policy of Open Access to academic books, and outlines a number of recommendations to facilitate and accelerate such a policy.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap

Accelerating Scholarly Communication: The Transformative Role of Preprints

Knowledge Exchange has released "Accelerating Scholarly Communication: The Transformative Role of Preprints."

Here's an excerpt:

Knowledge Exchange, a group of national organisations from six European countries, commissioned and co-designed this study as part of their work on digital infrastructures to enable open scholarship. This report investigates the preprints landscape: it highlights current thinking in this dynamic area and makes recommendations for future work.

Research Data Curation Bibliography, Version 10 | Digital Curation and Digital Preservation Works | Open Access Works | Digital Scholarship | Digital Scholarship Sitemap