The value and potential of data re-use and the associated methodology of qualitative secondary analysis (QSA) is often overlooked. Dr Anna Tarrant and Dr Kahryn Hughes propose, that as COVID-19 limits opportunities for qualitative research for the foreseeable future, now, more than ever the social sciences need to address the under-use of existing qualitative data. … Read More →
SciELO updates the indexing criteria. New version takes effect from May 2020
The new criteria for indexing journals in the SciELO Brazil Collection are centered on best editorial practices and are effective as of May 2020. The criteria reflect the objectives, principles and functions of the SciELO Program and implement the priority lines of action of professionalization, internationalization and sustainability aligned with the open science modus operandi. Adjustment of editorial policy and management is the main action that journals must take to comply with the new criteria. … Read More →
“Sage not on stage” or a recap on the first NISO Plus conference
The first ever NISO Plus conference was held in Baltimore, USA, on February 23 to 25. It was centered on scholarly communication related to standards which is of special interest to SciELO and ORCID. Meant to be “a different conference experience for the information community”, participation, collaboration and inclusion characterized the event. NISO Plus succeeded in avoiding the “sage on stage” traditional conference format, and was all about open, lively (and nerdy!) discussions. This post recaps the discussion around contemporaneous standards. … Read More →
SciELO Books and open access in epidemic times: More important than ever
The COVID-19 pandemic has spelled out the decisive role of open access (OA) to knowledge and scientific evidence. Globally, there is a temporary opening of collections of paid-for books and subscription journals to support overcoming the pandemic. SciELO Books permanently indexes, publishes and disseminates a collection of more than 700 books in OA, contributing to support public and professional policies, the expansion of the university, valuing the academic book, and the disciplines that make intensive use of the book. … Read More →
The Importance of Scientific Publications in Times of Pandemic Crisis [Originally published in Clinics, vol.75]
Though we are accustomed to the concept of scientific evidence that is preferably based on large clinical trials that take years to complete, we must now rely on case studies, single cohort studies, and even the opinions of experts. However, we know that we cannot lose sight of the criteria for evidence-based medicine, and must remember to evaluate all potential biases existing in this type of scientific information without limiting its dissemination. … Read More →
SciELO Preprints begins operations
The SciELO Program has launched the SciELO Preprints server – https://preprints.scielo.org – with the aim of accelerating the availability of research articles and other scientific communications before, or in parallel with, their evaluation and validation by scientific journals through the peer review process. Although open to all thematic areas, SciELO Preprints will focus on immediately serving communications related to COVID-19. … Read More →
Why does reform of scientific communication seem so difficult and slow?
The world faces global problems for which science is needed as part of the solution. Yet the scientific communication system is not nearly as quick and open as necessary for efficient worldwide collaboration. The powers that are in a position to reform the system are too timid. Will crises like COVID-19 shake them awake? … Read More →
Unlock ways to share peer review data
Peer review is the intrinsic process of scientific research. However, there are few systematic studies on this procedure, and it is not easy to gain access to management information administered by publishers. The PEERE project, funded by the European Community, would make this data available as a public good. … Read More →
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak highlights serious deficiencies in scholarly communication [Originally published in the LSE Impact blog in March/2020]
As research and government responses to the COVID-19 outbreak escalate in the face of a global public health crisis, Vincent Larivière, Fei Shu and Cassidy R. Sugimoto reflect on efforts to make research on this subject more widely available. Arguing that a narrow focus on research published in high ranking journals predominantly in English has impeded research efforts, they suggest that the renewed emphasis on carrying out open research on the virus presents an opportunity to reassess how research and scholarly communication systems serve the public good. … Read More →
The Road to Preprints (Part 2): SciELO’s Preprint Server [Originally published in the PKP website in March/2020]
Our preprints story continues with a guest post by SciELO. In addition to seed funding to make Open Preprint Systems (OPS) possible, SciELO is working closely with the PKP team to make sure that the software is developed and maintained following state-of-the-art best practices and that its features satisfy the needs of a diverse community. … Read More →
The Road to Preprints (Part 1): Introducing Open Preprint Systems [Originally published in the PKP website in February/2020]
Our story begins in February 2017 when SciELO first announced their quest for a preprint server. Like many circa 2016, SciELO was coming around to the idea that preprints could and would serve an important part in their strategy for open science. But despite a clear vision and path to get there, SciELO was missing an important piece: infrastructure. … Read More →
What do researchers think about their cultural work environment?
Policies, incentives, evaluation processes, leadership approaches… are they undermining scientific research? A quantitative online survey of more than 4,200 researchers conducted by the Wellcome Trust foundation of the United Kingdom seems to show clear evidence that there are widespread problems in the research culture. Those who finance, publish, evaluate or conduct research can now use this evidence as a starting point to implement solutions. However, are these human management problems with scientific research staff different from other fields of activity, such as work or sports? … Read More →
Brazilian Journal of Nephrology: trajectory and internationalization
With 40 years of uninterrupted publication, Brazilian Journal of Nephrology traces the path towards its internationalization, based on professionalization and without constant improvement of its editorial processes and scientific quality. It is now in a new phase, where reaching its greatest indexing potential and strengthening its presence in Latin America represent its main challenges. … Read More →
Sorbonne declaration on research data rights [Originally published in the LERU website in January/2020]
The opening of research data is one of the practices of open science that is progressively being globalized. In November 2019, the Network of Scientific Data Repositories of the State of São Paulo, formed by eight universities and research institutions, was launched. In January 2020, leaders of eight university networks gathered at the International Research Data Rights Summit at Sorbonne Université signed the Sorbonne Declaration on Research Data Rights, which is reproduced in this post in the original English version. … Read More →
Posting preprints before peer review is associated with increased visibility and citation of published articles
The communication of research results through preprints has been increasing significantly, as by the increasing number of manuscripts deposited on bioRxiv, the preprint server for biology and life sciences. However, only a small fraction of the research papers indexed in PubMed started as preprints in bioRxiv. But what would undecided authors about preprints say if they knew that articles that have associated preprints have a 49% higher Altmetric index and 36% more citations? This is what shows a recent study published in eLife. … Read More →
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