Catégories
EN

Developing an Effective Market for Open Access Article Processing Charges

This report was commissioned by a consortium of European research funding organizations led by the Wellcome Trust.

The study was undertaken to stimulate thinking among research funders who have set up, or are considering setting up, mechanisms for direct “earmarked” funding of article processing charges (APCs) in open access (OA) journals.

The report covers both full OA journals (referred to in the report as “full OA”, such as those published by Biomed Central and PLOS) and subscription journals which offer authors the possibility of making their individual articles OA by paying an APC.

This latter category is known as “hybrid OA”. There are many full OA journals that are funded by means other than APCs and the term “gold OA” also includes these journals.

When they are included in the discussion this will be make clear, the focus of the report is however on the segment of gold OA funded by APCs.

URL : Developing an Effective Market for Open Access Article Processing Charges

Alternative URL : http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/stellent/groups/corporatesite/@policy_communications/documents/web_document/wtp055910.pdf

Catégories
EN

e-Browsing: Serendipity and questions of access and discovery

Browsing is an essential component to discovery. Understanding the foundations of browsing patterns and preferences is crucial in developing effective ebrowsing environments.

It’s important to understand how researchers in diverse disciplines have described their discoveries in terms of browsing, searching, and serendipitous encounters. Examining the works of scientists, social scientists, and humanists through the lens of discovery will reveal essential components to be aware of in developing ebrowsing environments.

In turning to a wide range of sources, often outside traditional library literature, we deepen our understanding of what it means to browse in an electronic environment. As librarians, we have an obligation to create physical and virtual spaces that cultivate wonder and curiosity and acknowledge varied paths to discovery.

Electronic browsing options must become more robust if libraries are to be vital to scholarly communication. In this presentation we focus on the language and experience of browsing, with particular attention to serendipitous discovery, in order to encourage librarians, particularly those in public service, to more effectively articulate concerns and opportunities to developers.

URL : http://repository.cmu.edu/lib_science/107/

Catégories
EN

arXiv e-prints and the journal of record: An analysis of roles and relationships

Since its creation in 1991, arXiv has become central to the diffusion of research in a number of fields. Combining data from the entirety of arXiv and the Web of Science (WoS), this paper investigates (a) the proportion of papers across all disciplines that are on arXiv and the proportion of arXiv papers that are in the WoS, (b) elapsed time between arXiv submission and journal publication, and (c) the aging characteristics and scientific impact of arXiv e-prints and their published version.

It shows that the proportion of WoS papers found on arXiv varies across the specialties of physics and mathematics, and that only a few specialties make extensive use of the repository.

Elapsed time between arXiv submission and journal publication has shortened but remains longer in mathematics than in physics. In physics, mathematics, as well as in astronomy and astrophysics, arXiv versions are cited more promptly and decay faster than WoS papers.

The arXiv versions of papers – both published and unpublished – have lower citation rates than published papers, although there is almost no difference in the impact of the arXiv versions of both published and unpublished papers.

URL : http://arxiv.org/abs/1306.3261

Catégories
EN

Open Is Not Enough : Grey Literature in Institutional Repositories

« The paper contributes to the discussion on the place of grey literature in institutional repositories and, vice versa, on the relevance of open archives for grey literature. Even in an open environment, grey literature needs specific attention and curation. Institutional repositories don’t automatically provide a solution to all problems of grey literature.

Our paper shows some scenarios of what could or should be done. The focus is on academic libraries. The paper is based on a review of international studies on grey literature in open archives. Empirical evidence is drawn from an audit of the French repository IRIS from the University of Lille 1 and from ongoing work on the development of this site.

The study includes a strategic analysis in a SWOT format with four scenarios. Based on this analysis, the paper provides a set of minimum requirements for grey items in institutional repositories concerning metadata, selection procedure, quality, collection management and deposit policy.

The communication is meant to be helpful for the further development of institutional repositories and for special acquisition and deposit policies of academic libraries. »

URL : http://archivesic.ccsd.cnrs.fr/sic_00908862

Catégories
EN

Transformation of Science Communication in the Age of Social Media

The aim of the present article is to discuss several consequences of the Open Science from a perspective of science communication and philosophy of communication. Apart from the purely communicative and philosophical issues, the paper deals with the questions that concern the science populariza- tion process through social media (especially Twitter and blogs).

The article consists of three sections: the first one suggests a definition of science communication and social media, the second examines the transformation of science in the Age of the Internet and considers the influence of social media on science communication, the third and final one presents some case studies and philosophical observations.

The most important conclusion to be reached here is that the social media have changed science and science communication. Twitter and blogs as novelty tools of science communication can be useful and meaningful for both science and society. Furthermore, social media can be used to facilitate broader involvement of citizens in the discussion about science.

URL : http://teorievedy.flu.cas.cz/index.php/tv/article/view/172

Catégories
EN

From Sustainable Publishing To Resilient Communications

In their opening reflection on Open Access (OA) in this special section, Fuchs and Sandoval (2013) argue the current policy debate on Open Access publishing is limited by a for-profit bias which blinds it to much of the most innovative activity in Open Access.

They further argue for a refocusing of the policy debate within a public service, commons based perspective of academic knowledge production. I pick up these themes by looking at another key term, sustainable publishing, in an effort to contextualize the policy debate on OA within the broader context of the privatization of the university.

From this perspective, the policy debate reveals an essential tension between top-down and bottom-up cultures in legitimizing knowledge. This is a tension that has profound implications for scholarly practices mediated through digital networked communications. Explicitly acknowledging this fundamental tension gives additional insight into formulating strategies for maintaining an academic culture of free and open inquiry.

I suggest that the frame of resilient communications expresses the dynamic nature of scholarly communications better than that of sustainable publishing, and that empowering scholars through practice-based OA initiatives is essential in broadening grass roots support for equitable Open Access amongst scholars.

URL : http://triplec.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/528

Catégories
EN

A practice theoretical exploration of information sharing and trust in a dispersed community of design scholars

Introduction

This paper presents an exploration of information sharing and trust in a geographically dispersed network of design scholars.

Method

The study used a practice theory approach to identify aspects of trust in relation to information sharing. The empirical material consists of 15 in-depth interviews with design scholars from four Nordic countries and field notes from workplace visits.

Analysis

The interview transcripts and field notes were categorised in accordance with three themes derived in synergy from practice theory and the empirical material.

Results

A number of strategies for assessing and creating trust in relation to information sharing were identified. Depending on the dimension of practice in analytical focus, different aspects of trust emerge.

Conclusions

Trust issues connected to information sharing appear in relation to the information to be shared, the people involved, the tools used for sharing, and the place where information sharing occurs.

The practice-theoretical perspective has proven effective in order to identify and capture the elusive phenomenon of trust in connection to information sharing.

URL : http://www.informationr.net/ir/18-4/paper595.html#.Uq2L36HYWuI