The SciELO Program will celebrate its 25th anniversary of regular operation in the week of 25-29 of September 2023, as an open science research communication infrastructure program. … Read More →
Reproduction and replication in scientific research – part 2
In this second note on the subject, we will address the guidelines proposed in 2019 by NASEM. We will analyze how replicability is understood in different scientific disciplines, mainly in the experimental sciences, based on a computational paradigm. Likewise, we will look at opinions from other disciplines related to social sciences and medicine, which do not participate in the same epistemological paradigms. … Read More →
Walking the walk: open communication and review in a congress on open science
The first Iberoamerican Congress for Open Science took place on 23 and 24 November 2022, as a forum for Iberoamerican dialogue on the right to science and to promote change in how we understand science, from an inclusive, open, participatory, and responsible perspective. … Read More →
Reproduction and replication in scientific research – part 1
Replicability is a central issue when discussing the reliability of scientific research that renews itself in the promotion of open science. A second researcher’s attempt to replicate an earlier study is an effort to determine whether applying the same methods to the same scientific question yields similar results. … Read More →
Mapping output in content analysis in SciELO Brazil indicates a technique that is caught in a time warp
A scientometric review on the use of content analysis in SciELO Brasil showed a notable concentration of citations from Laurence Bardin’s manual, whose use continues to grow. As the work has not had updates in the last two decades, we can say that the use of the technique may be caught in a time warp. … Read More →
VHL 25 Years: Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities
In 1998, the Latin American and Caribbean Health Information Network approved the Declaration of San José “Towards the Virtual Health Library”. 25 Years of the VHL development have gone by as a health information management framework for LA&C. There were many achievements and challenges that turned into opportunities thanks to coordinated network working and the availability of common methodologies and systems. We experience the advancement of digital collections, cloud storage, open science, open data, institutional repositories, open software, etc. Now, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at our doorstep and, more than a challenge or threat, it is an opportunity to renew the VHL model and celebrate its 25th Anniversary. … Read More →
It takes a body to understand the world – why ChatGPT and other language AIs don’t know what they’re saying [Originally published in The Conversation in April/2023]
Large language models can’t understand language the way humans do because they can’t perceive and make sense of the world. … Read More →
Rethink peer review to make it sustainable
A recently published article discusses the need for a profound overhaul of peer review, as the current model proves to be no longer sustainable. Journal editors have difficulties finding reviewers willing to evaluate submitted articles, researchers discuss greater recognition or even remuneration to act as reviewers. Among the numerous proposed alternatives, the opening of peer review is presented as the most feasible alternative. … Read More →
Preprint review should be part of doctoral and postdoctoral training programs
Considering the significant growth of preprints in scholarly communication, as well as the emergence of preprint servers in all areas of knowledge, Richard Sever, assistant director of CSHL Press, proposes that (post-publication) evaluation of preprints be used to complement doctoral and postdoctoral training at academic institutions. … Read More →
SciELO MarketPlace – commercialization platform for scholarly communication products and services
Based on the experience of certifying companies and consultants providing support services for journal production for more than ten years, the SciELO Program launches in 2023 the SciELO MarketPlace as a web platform to manage the supply and demand of national and international scholarly communication products and services that meet the requirements of SciELO methodologies with the objectives of expanding and strengthening the research communication infrastructure and professionalism of journal production according to the state of the art at accessible costs. SciELO MartePlace is the outcome of a partnership with the company Bradoo specialized in customizing resource management via the Odoo system. … Read More →
Lack of sustainability plans for preprint services risks their potential to improve science [Originally published in the LSE Impact blog in March/2023]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, preprint servers became a vital mechanism for the rapid sharing and review of vital research. However, discussing the findings of a recent report, Naomi Penfold finds much of the infrastructure supporting non-commercial preprint publications is precariously governed and at risk of being acquired by commercial publishers. … Read More →
Shuffle the cards and deal again
Research must be well planned, carried out correctly and reported in a clear and transparent way, as the reliability of the results depends on the rigor of the experimental design. However, in the published reports, there seems to be a lack of commitment by those responsible for assessing the quality of the research. Experts pointed out that the current incentive structures in research institutions do not sufficiently encourage researchers to invest in solidity and transparency, instead encouraging them to optimize their aptitude in the fight for publications and grants. Over the past decade, large-scale replication studies have shown that reproducibility is far from favorable in many scientific fields, and questionable research practices are becoming more prevalent. Clearly something is not working in the scientific enterprise. … Read More →
SciELO joins OA Switchboard with over 300 open access journals in the SciELO Brazil collection
SciELO Brazil is now live and connected to OA Switchboard to support widespread visibility and access to SciELO journals. … Read More →
Researchers engaging with policy should take into account policymakers’ varied perceptions of evidence [Originally published in the LSE Impact blog in January/2023]
There is often an assumption in evidence based policy, that evidence means the findings of quantitative studies or randomised control trials. However, in practice evidence is often understood differently. Drawing on a study of Welsh policy actors, Eleanor MacKillop and James Downe highlight four different approaches to evidence in policymaking and suggest how researchers and policy organisations might use these findings to engage differently with policy. … Read More →
Funders support use of reviewed preprints in research assessment [Originally published by eLife in December/2022]
Funders and other research organisations are embracing reviewed preprints as an alternative way to assess researchers, and call on others to do the same. … Read More →
Why is it important to support open infrastructure for preprints?
The importance of preprints in scholarly communication has been increasing, as well as their credibility and use in every discipline. However, the preprint ecosystem is not yet financially sustainable, and most preprints are not shared using open infrastructure. A report by the Invest in Open Infrastructure initiative examines the current preprint landscape in detail and makes important recommendations that aim at making a system for open infrastructure services for preprints viable, robust, and reliable. … Read More →
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