Monitoring Organisational Article Processing Charges (APCs) using Bibliographic Information Sources: Turku University Library Case

Authors : Anna-Kaarina Linna, Irene Ylönen, Anna Salmi

As open access publishing has become more widespread and required by research funders and the research community, the management and monitoring of article processing charges (APCs) have emerged as an important task in research organisations around the world. Within this tendency, a question of the comprehensiveness of organisational APC monitoring has become relevant.

This case study demonstrates how the comprehensiveness of in-house APC monitoring can be evaluated using international bibliographic information sources like Web of Science and Scopus, where it is possible to identify the corresponding author, as well as Unpaywall and DOAJ, which contain information about the open access statuses and APCs of articles.

Based on study results, it can be assumed that the organisation’s in-house bookkeeping has succeeded in registering 52 percent of APC invoices while 48 percent have not been identified.

The results show that the number of unreported publications that have been openly published and whose corresponding author is affiliated with the university is almost equal to those registered in the university’s institutional APC report.

The study describes the stages of data collection and processing in order of implementation, which allows a similar review to be feasible in another organisation.

At the end of the article, development proposals are presented for both the organisations’ in-house data collection and the content of publishers’ invoices.

URL : Monitoring Organisational Article Processing Charges (APCs) using Bibliographic Information Sources: Turku University Library Case

DOI : https://doi.org/10.53377/lq.13361

Création d’un prototype de jeu sérieux sur la gestion des données de la recherche

Autrices/Authors : Myriam Jouha, Pauline Mell, Alexia Tromber

Les professionnel-le-s de l’information travaillant en bibliothèque académique sont désormais régulièrement amené-e-s à accompagner des chercheurs et chercheuses dans la gestion de leurs données de recherche.

Dans le but d’offrir à ces professionnel-le-s une formation introductive sur cette thématique, nous avons conçu et testé un prototype de jeu sérieux. Ce projet a été réalisé dans le cadre du Master en Sciences de l’information à la Haute école de gestion de Genève.

Méthode : Notre méthodologie s’inspire de deux modèles de conception de jeux sérieux. Elle s’articule en trois étapes : (1) la phase de définition, qui présente les résultats de l’analyse des besoins, l’exploration de l’existant et le dispositif de formation ; (2) la production du prototype et les tests effectués ; (3) l’accompagnement et l’évaluation.

Résultats : Le jeu proposé, « Mission GDR : ultime quête avant les fêtes » est inspiré de la série de jeux d’évasion en boîte « Unlock ». Il s’agit d’un jeu collaboratif pour 1 à 4 participant-e-s dont l’objectif est de compléter une feuille de route représentant le cycle de vie des données et les tâches qui s’y rapportent. Cette feuille, accompagnée d’un guide complémentaire rappelant la théorie abordée dans le jeu, peut ensuite être réutilisée comme ressource dans la pratique professionnelle des joueuses et joueurs.

Discussion : Les tests effectués auprès de personnes aux profils divers démontrent que le jeu est apprécié pour ses aspects ludiques tout en offrant un apport théorique introductif. Initialement prévu pour les professionnel-le-s de l’informations, il pourrait également être proposé à d’autres personnes concernées par la gestion des données, notamment des équipes de recherche. Conçu pour être indépendant d’une session de formation, il est cependant tout à fait envisageable de l’intégrer dans un tel programme.

URL : Création d’un prototype de jeu sérieux sur la gestion des données de la recherche

DOI : https://doi.org/10.55790/journals/ressi.2023.e1093

Data Management Librarians Role in a Large Interdisciplinary Scientific Grant for PFAS Remediation: Considerations and Recommendations

Authors : Jennifer Chaput, Renee Walsh

This article explores the conflicts, disparities, and inequalities experienced by two librarians when collaborating on a federal grant proposal. The authors discuss concerns related to time and salary expectations and the inequities that can occur during faculty and staff collaborations on research grants.

The bureaucratic structure and the job classifications of staff at academic institutions in addition to the contract limitations of non-faculty status librarian positions can hinder successful collaborations. The authors also describe data management needs that may occur when working with interdisciplinary research teams and detail the type of work that is included in writing a data management grant.

This article concludes with considerations and recommendations for other data librarians who may undertake similar projects with a focus on ways to create parity between faculty and staff collaborators.

URL : Data Management Librarians Role in a Large Interdisciplinary Scientific Grant for PFAS Remediation: Considerations and Recommendations

DOI : https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.616

Investigation of potential gender bias in the peer review system at Reproduction

Authors : Marie BiolkováTom MooreKaren SchindlerKarl SwannAndy VailLindsay FlookHelen DickGreg FitzharrisChristopher A. PriceNorah Spears

This study examined whether publication outcome was affected by the gender of author, handling associate editor (AE), or reviewer, and whether there was gender bias in reviewer selection, in the journal Reproduction.

Analyses were carried out on 4289 original research manuscripts submitted to the journal between 2007 and 2019. Both female and male AEs appointed more male reviewers than female reviewers, but female AEs were significantly more likely to appoint female reviewers than male AEs were (p < 0.001).

When examining the gender of either first or last author manuscripts, those with female authors that were reviewed by female reviewers received better scores than those with male authors that were reviewed by female reviewers (p < 0.05): where the reviewer was male, no such effect was observed.

Acceptance rates of manuscripts were similar for both female and male authors, whether first or last, regardless of AE gender. Overall, there was no significant correlation between gender of first or last author, or of AE, on the likelihood of acceptance of a research paper.

These data suggest no bias against female authors during the peer review process in this reproductive biology journal.

URL : Investigation of potential gender bias in the peer review system at Reproduction

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1537

The Preprint Club – A cross-institutional, community-based approach to peer reviewing

Authors : Felix Clemens Richter, Ester Gea-Mallorquí, Nicolas Ruffin, Nicolas Vabret

The academic community has been increasingly using preprints to disseminate their latest research findings quickly and openly. This early and open access of non-peer reviewed research warrants new means from the scientific community to efficiently assess and provide feedback to preprints. Yet, most peer review of scientific studies performed today are still managed by journals, each having their own peer review policy and transparency.

However, approaches to uncouple the peer review process from journal publication are emerging. Additionally, formal education of early career researchers (ECRs) in peer reviewing is rarely available, hampering the quality of peer review feedback.

Here, we introduce the Preprint Club, a cross-institutional, community-based approach to peer reviewing, founded by ECRs from the University of Oxford, Karolinska Institutet and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Over the past two years and using the collaborative setting of the Preprint Club, we have been discussing, assessing, and providing feedback on recent preprints in the field of immunology.

In this article, we provide a blueprint of the Preprint Club basic structure, demonstrate its effectiveness, and detail the lessons we learned on its impact on peer review training and preprint author’s perception.

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.04.522570

Objectifs et stratégies de publication d’un bulletin de liaison : Le Médiéviste et l’Ordinateur (1979-1989)

Auteur/Author : Edgar Lejeune

En 1979, un petit groupe de spécialistes d’histoire médiévale utilisateurs des ordinateurs lance une publication d’un genre nouveau : le bulletin de liaison Le Médiéviste et l’Ordinateur.

Leur objectif est alors de « créer un réseau » permettant d’échanger des informations sur les nouvelles pratiques de recherche assistée par ordinateur qui se développent dans leur discipline depuis la fin des années 1960.

Cet article propose une analyse des stratégies de publication mises en place par les membres du comité de rédaction du Médiéviste et l’Ordinateur, dans le but d’observer comment une « culture commune » peut se construire en humanités numériques sur la base d’un périodique.

Pour ce faire, nous regarderons dans un premier temps, à partir des archives du comité de rédaction du bulletin conservées à l’Institut de recherche et d’histoire des textes (IRHT), comment cette publication est organisée, depuis le choix des auteurs jusqu’à la distribution des exemplaires.

Nous analyserons ensuite comment, dans les pages du bulletin, les éditeurs mettent en place des stratégies de communication permettant de rendre accessibles des contenus « techniques » à l’ensemble du lectorat visé.

URL : Objectifs et stratégies de publication d’un bulletin de liaison : Le Médiéviste et l’Ordinateur (1979-1989)

DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/revuehn.3087

RDM in a Decentralised University Ecosystem—A Case Study of the University of Cologne

Authors : Constanze Curdt, Jens Dierkes, Sonja Kloppenburg

The University of Cologne (UoC) has historically grown in highly decentralised structures. This is reflected by a two-layered library structure as well as by a number of decentralised research data management (RDM) activities established on the faculty and research consortium level.

With the aim to foster networking, cooperation, and synergies between existing activities, a university-wide RDM will be established. A one-year feasibility study was commissioned by the Rectorate in 2016 and carried out by the department research management, library and computing centre.

One study outcome was the adoption of a university-wide research data guideline. Based on a comprehensive RDM service portfolio, measures were developed to put a central RDM into practice.

The challenges have been to find the right level of integration and adaptation of existing and established decentralised structures and to develop additional new structures and services.

We will report on first steps to map out central RDM practices at the UoC and to develop a structure of cooperation between loosely coupled information infrastructure actors. Central elements of this structure are a competence center, an RDM expert network, a forum for exchange about RDM and associated topics as well as the faculties with their decentralized, domain-specific RDM services.

The Cologne Competence Center for Research Data Management (C3RDM) was founded at the end of 2018 and is still in its development phase. It provides a one-stop entry point for all questions regarding RDM. T

he center itself provides basic and generic RDM services, such as training, consulting, and data publication support, and acts as a hub to the decentral experts, information infrastructure actors, and resources.

URL : RDM in a Decentralised University Ecosystem—A Case Study of the University of Cologne

DOI : http://doi.org/10.5334/dsj-2022-020