These days, researchers are finding themselves exposed to an avalanche of scientific information which is making it a constant challenge to select what is actually relevant and follow recent developments in a particular field. Studies show that for the first time in 35 years, researchers may have reached a plateau in their capacity to read articles and other sources of scientific information. The concept of reading may even be redefined over the course of time. … Read More →
In the beginning it was just plagiarism – now its computer-generated fake papers as well
Prestigious publishers had to withdraw more than 120 fraudulent articles that had been generated by computer programs and which managed to fool the peer review process. Learn how it is possible to create fraudulent articles in minutes and also how it is possible to detect them. The question that arises is: why can editorial control systems be fooled so easily. … Read More →
Article downloads: An alternative indicator of national research impact and cross-sector knowledge exchange – Originally published on the Elsevier newsletter “Research Trends Issue 36”
Download data can be used in research assessment to offer a different perspective on national research impact, and to give a unique view of knowledge exchange between authors and readers in the academic and corporate sectors. … Read More →
Experts give their opinion on Elsevier’s assault
In reaction to the DMCA requests sent out by Elsevier in December of last year to prevent articles which had been published in its journals from being made available on Web sites, the principal leaders in Open Access made their voices clearly heard. Among them were Steven Harnad, Charles Oppenheim and Richard Poynder where, in Poynder’s famous blog Open & Shut, they explain the different options that exist for an author to publish in repositories using the so called “Harnad-Oppenheim” solution. … Read More →
Reproducibility of research results: on-going initiatives
From Space Sciences to Clinical Medicine, different areas of knowledge are facing research results credibility problems. However, scientific societies, public health institutions and the private sector are engaged to curb this tendency. Those involved believe that increasing the transparency of data by way of publishing primary research data in open access repositories and promoting online forums for comments on published articles are promising initiatives. … Read More →
Reproducibility of research results: the tip of the iceberg
Research on clinical trials with drugs under development is the foundation upon which pharmaceutical companies base the development of their new drugs, thus the reliability of the outcomes of this research is of utmost importance. However studies show that between 60% and 70% of this research may include irreproducible results. It is necessary that the parties involved become aware of the extent of the problem and join together to find a solution. … Read More →
Reproducibility of research results: a subjective view
At a time when discussions about ethics in experimentation and scientific publication are going beyond laboratories and academic environments, and are peaking the interest of society as a whole, another threat is emerging to the credibility of science. Irreproducibility of research results is affecting the different areas of knowledge and is of concern to all. The pressure on researchers for positive and high impact outcomes is bound up with the natural desire of scientists to make groundbreaking discoveries, even if the evidence points to the contrary. … Read More →
Editorial ethics: the detection of plagiarism by automated means
The growth in plagiarism in academic articles requires publishers to have effective plagiarism detection systems, known as PDS, since there are multiple ways that this dishonest practice can be concealed. The issue is of such importance that, since 2004, the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin has been maintaining a specialized site of PDS software evaluations. … Read More →
Scientific Data: Nature Publishing Group moves the communication of scientific data forward with its new online open access publication
The description and communication of research data is an integral part of the opening up of science and one which eScience adheres to; it is one of the specific SciELO action lines. Amongst the many initiatives which are in progress, it is the announcement made by Nature Publishing Group concerning the launch of the publication entitled Scientific Data which stands out. This publication is geared towards communicating the descriptions of scientific data files. … Read More →
The SciELO in Perspective Blogs Space in 2014
2014 will be a decisive year for the development of the SciELO blog space. The priorities will be to strengthen the general blog on contemporary issues in scholarly communication, broaden the participation of the journals in the Humanities, and launch new thematic blogs. … Read More →
Ethical Editing – Ghostwriting is an unhealthy practice
In scholarly communication, contrary to politics and literature, it is considered unethical to write anonymously (as a ghostwriter) and to put the name of another person to what has been written. This can have legal consequences. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies to use ghostwriters to publish articles that promote their products, often without them having been properly tested in independent clinical trials. Nevertheless, these articles are often published in journals that have international impact. … Read More →
Preservation: the construction of our digital continuity
The amount and variety of digital information continues to grow, and this includes academic journals, government records, information for education, and all that is produced and published on the Internet which needs to be preserved. The need for long-term preservation is not an issue of technology, but rather an enormous unplanned challenge for institutions which requires professional skills not commonly found in the professional labor market. This challenge is one of the most pronounced issues in developing countries which are devoting large sums of money to deal with it. … Read More →
“Small Journals”, indexes and ecancer: an opportunity for Latin America
Most biomedical journals from developing countries have a special characteristic, which consists in the fact that they can be grouped under the heading “Small Journals”. Some of these publications have significant historic value since they have been in circulation for more than fifty years, while others have been published more or less on a regular basis for over a century. The Open Access international journal “ecancer” is beginning to enrich this context, and is contributing to the regional and international dissemination of knowledge produced in the field of oncology in Latin America.” … Read More →
PubMed Commons: NLM launches pilot version of open comments on articles
The United States National Library of Medicine announced the implementation of the PubMed Commons, an innovative system that enables researchers to comment on published scientific papers, promoting a forum of discussion among peers. For the pilot phase, NIH and Wellcome Trust scientists were selected to test the initiative, along with invited colleagues. This system meets the worldwide trend to promote the open discussion of research results. … Read More →
The way ahead for innovating and renewing the management of the SciELO journals
The SciELO Program team is pleased to wish all the readers of the SciELO in Perspective blog Seasons Greetings, and hopes that 2014 will be full of success for you all. The celebration of 15 years of the on-going operation of SciELO in 2013 was enriched by the wide-ranging and in – depth analysis and discussion concerning SciELO’s successes and the advances made, the lessons learned, and the problems which still persist as well as the challenges and future perspectives. … Read More →
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