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Extracting Transforming and Archiving Scientific Data It…

Posté le 25 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

Extracting, Transforming and Archiving Scientific Data :

“It is becoming common to archive research datasets that are not only large but also numerous. In addition, their corresponding metadata and the software required to analyse or display them need to be archived. Yet the manual curation of research data can be difficult and expensive, particularly in very large digital repositories, hence the importance of models and tools for automating digital curation tasks. The automation of these tasks faces three major challenges: (1) research data and data sources are highly heterogeneous, (2) future research needs are difficult to anticipate, (3) data is hard to index. To address these problems, we propose the Extract, Transform and Archive (ETA) model for managing and mechanizing the curation of research data. Specifically, we propose a scalable strategy for addressing the research-data problem, ranging from the extraction of legacy data to its long-term storage. We review some existing solutions and propose novel avenues of research.”

URL : http://arxiv.org/abs/1108.4041

Publication Fees in Open Access Publishing Sources of…

Posté le 22 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

Publication Fees in Open Access Publishing: Sources of Funding and Factors Influencing Choice of Journal :

“Open access (OA) journals make their full text content available for free on the Web and use other means than subscriptions or access charges for funding the publication process. Publication fees or article processing charges (APC)s have become the predominant means for funding professional OA publishing. We surveyed 1,038 authors from seven discipline categories who recently published articles in 74 OA journals that charge APCs. Authors were asked about the source of funding for the APC, factors influencing their choice of a journal and past history publishing in OA and subscription journals. Additional information about the journal and the authors’ country were obtained from the journal websites. A total of 429 (41%) authors completed the survey. There were large differences in the source of funding among disciplines. Journals with impact factors charged higher APCs as did journals from disciplines where grant funding is plentiful. Topical fit, quality, and speed of publication where the most important factors in the authors’ choice of a journal. Open accessibility was less important but a significant factor for many authors in their choice of a journal to publish. These findings are consistent with other research on OA publishing and suggest, that if OA journals meet normal quality standards, authors and their employers and funders are willing to pay reasonable APCs, the acceptable levels of which are dependent on the field of science and the quality of the journal in question.”

URL : http://www.openaccesspublishing.org/apc/

On the Lack of Consensus over the Meaning…

Posté le 19 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

On the Lack of Consensus over the Meaning of Openness: An Empirical Study :

“This study set out to explore the views and motivations of those involved in a number of recent and current advocacy efforts (such as open science, computational provenance, and reproducible research) aimed at making science and scientific artifacts accessible to a wider audience. Using a exploratory approach, the study tested whether a consensus exists among advocates of these initiatives about the key concepts, exploring the meanings that scientists attach to the various mechanisms for sharing their work, and the social context in which this takes place. The study used a purposive sampling strategy to target scientists who have been active participants in these advocacy efforts, and an open-ended questionnaire to collect detailed opinions on the topics of reproducibility, credibility, scooping, data sharing, results sharing, and the effectiveness of the peer review process. We found evidence of a lack of agreement on the meaning of key terminology, and a lack of consensus on some of the broader goals of these advocacy efforts. These results can be explained through a closer examination of the divergent goals and approaches adopted by different advocacy efforts. We suggest that the scientific community could benefit from a broader discussion of what it means to make scientific research more accessible and how this might best be achieved.”

URL : http://goo.gl/pEvoH
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023420

Free E Books and Print Sales Digital…

Posté le 18 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

Free E-Books and Print Sales :

“Digital technologies now enable books and other digital resources to be openly available to those with access to the Internet. This study examined the financial viability of a religious publisher that put free digital versions of eight of its print books on the Internet. The cost to put these eight books online was $940. Over a 10-week period, these books were downloaded 102,256 times and sales of these books increased 26%. Online sales increased at a much higher rate. Comparisons with historical book sales and sales of comparable titles indicate that that this increase may have been connected to the free books being available. There was a modest correlation between book downloads and print sales.”

URL : http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3336451.0014.109

Library Student Journal The role of digital libraries…

Posté le 16 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

Library Student Journal: The role of digital libraries in providing access to networked information (2011) :

“This paper introduces the concepts of Global Information Infrastructure (GII) and a global digital library. A comprehensive literature review is conducted to explore the role a global digital library might play in providing network access to information within a GII based on current and emerging paradigms in the information sciences and information service professions. Particular attention is given to the concepts of system usability and content usefulness. Conclusions are drawn based on the observations of the studies reviewed within the conceptual framework discussed with emphasis on the role of digital librarianship.”

URL : http://www.librarystudentjournal.org/index.php/lsj/article/view/234/311

Creative Commons : a user guide

Posté le 15 août 2011 par Hans Dillaerts

“Here is an operational manual which guides creators step by step in the world of Creative Commons licenses, the most famous and popular licenses for free distribution of intellectual products. Without neglecting useful conceptual clarifications, the author goes into technical details of the tools offered by Creative Commons, thus making them also understandable for total neophytes. This is a fundamental book for all those who are interested in the opencontent and copyleft world.

The author: Simone Aliprandi is an Italian lawyer and researcher who is constantly engaged in writing and consulting in the field of copyright and ICT law. He founded and still coordinates the Copyleft-Italia.it project and has published numerous books devoted to openculture and copyleft. This is his first publishing in English.

This is an independent publishing project: the book is completely edited by the author and published online and by a self-publishing service (Lulu.com). Thanks to the CC license applied you can download it for free, but if you want to support and promote this kind of cultural production please consider to buy a paper version.”

URL : http://www.aliprandi.org/cc-user-guide/index.html