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Why the Term 'Article Processing Charge' (APC) Is Misleading

Why the Term 'Article Processing Charge' (APC) Is Misleading

It is clear that APCs cover both the direct processing costs and the indirect costs of running the entire publishing business. Therefore, the term APC is itself misleading.

An Empirical Study of the per Capita Yield of Science Nobel Prizes: Is the US Era Coming to an End?

An Empirical Study of the per Capita Yield of Science Nobel Prizes: Is the US Era Coming to an End?

For the USA, the entire history of science Noble prizes is described on a per capita basis to an astonishing accuracy by a single large productivity boost decaying at a continuously accelerating rate since its peak in 1972.

The Matthew Effect in Science Funding

The Matthew Effect in Science Funding

Article suggesting that positive feedback in funding may be a key mechanism through which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few extremely successful scholars, but also that the origins of emergent distinction in scientists' careers may be of an arbitrary nature.  (The article is closed access and requires a subscription to view the full text legally.)

Scientists' Early Grant Success Fuels Further Funding

Scientists' Early Grant Success Fuels Further Funding

A new paper suggests that positive feedback in funding may be a key mechanism through which money is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few extremely successful scholars, but also that the origins of emergent distinction in scientists' careers may be of an arbitrary nature.

Practical Decentralization of Scholarly Data & Resources

Practical Decentralization of Scholarly Data & Resources

It’s time for scholars to ask whether today’s data preservation technologies align with open scholarship’s values of access, preservation, privacy, and transparency.

A Graduate Researcher's (Brief) Guide to Creating a Student Science Policy Group

A Graduate Researcher's (Brief) Guide to Creating a Student Science Policy Group

There are many ways to address science policy topics and your group may find some original ways to address them. Here are some common approaches student groups use to address issues.

Springer Nature and ResearchGate Announce New Cooperation to Make It Easier to Navigate the Sharing of Academic Journal Articles

Springer Nature and ResearchGate Announce New Cooperation to Make It Easier to Navigate the Sharing of Academic Journal Articles

Springer Nature and ResearchGate, along with Cambridge University Press and Thieme, will work together on the sharing of articles on the scholarly collaboration platform in a way that protects the rights of authors and publishers.

Open Science Conference 2018: Going into practice!

Open Science Conference 2018: Going into practice!

The latest developments in science policy, hands-on examples from scientific communities as well as current developments in FAIR Data in the field of research data management. This is what was on offer at the Open Science Conference from 13 to 14 March 2018 in Berlin.

Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician

Decades-Old Graph Problem Yields to Amateur Mathematician

By making the first progress on the "chromatic number of the plane" problem in over 60 years, an anti-aging pundit has achieved mathematical immortality.

The Irreproducibility Crisis of Modern Science: Causes, Consequences, and the Road to Reform

The Irreproducibility Crisis of Modern Science: Causes, Consequences, and the Road to Reform

This study by the National Association of Scholars examines the different aspects of the reproducibility crisis of modern science. The report also includes a series of policy recommendations, scientific and political, for alleviating the reproducibility crisis.

Dimensions: Re-Discovering the Ecosystem of Scientific Information

Dimensions: Re-Discovering the Ecosystem of Scientific Information

Study aims to provide a detailed description of the free version of Dimensions (the new bibliographic database produced by Digital Science). An analysis of its coverage is carried out (comparing it Scopus and Google Scholar) in order to determine whether the bibliometric indicators offered by Dimensions have an order of magnitude significant enough to be used. 

Results of the FP7 Post-Grant Open Access Pilot

Results of the FP7 Post-Grant Open Access Pilot

For a period of almost 3 years, the OpenAIRE2020 project has run - on behalf of the European Commission - a pilot to fund post-grant Open Access publication of research outputs arising from projects financed under the 7th Framework Programme (FP7).

YouTube Your Science

YouTube Your Science

By making science readily available to any viewer, researchers can reach people who are interested in science but can’t read original manuscripts in a journal for whatever reason. If you don’t believe me, just ask my mum.

Peer Review Processes Risk Stifling Creativity and Limiting Opportunities for Game-Changing Scientific Discoveries

Peer Review Processes Risk Stifling Creativity and Limiting Opportunities for Game-Changing Scientific Discoveries

Obviously peer review should not be abandoned entirely, but it is time to recognise the need for a separate category of highly innovative research with appropriate funding.

PhD Students Supervised Collectively Rather Than Individually Are Quicker to Complete Their Theses

PhD Students Supervised Collectively Rather Than Individually Are Quicker to Complete Their Theses

Comparing the experiences of individually and collectively supervised students on the same doctoral programme, it was found that collective supervision, during the first year at least, is correlated with significantly shorter times to thesis completion compared to individual supervision.

Open Peer Review: Bringing Transparency, Accountability, and Inclusivity to the Peer Review Process

Open Peer Review: Bringing Transparency, Accountability, and Inclusivity to the Peer Review Process

Open peer review is moving into the mainstream, but it is often poorly understood and surveys of researcher attitudes show important barriers to implementation. Tony Ross-Hellauer provides an overv…

Using Preprints for Journal Clubs

Using Preprints for Journal Clubs

Including preprints rather than focusing completely on published papers in journal clubs might benefit the scientific enterprise in numerous ways, including by providing direct criticisms to preprint authors before publication, deemphasizing publishing venue, teaching students the art of reviewing papers, and making journal clubs more current by discussing unpublished data.

How Libraries Secure Trust in the Research Process of the 21st Century

How Libraries Secure Trust in the Research Process of the 21st Century

Three examples for library engagement in trust: scholarly communication literacy, information quality and legal certainty.

Panel Calls for a Postdoc Tax and Other Measures to Help Biomedical Scientists Find Jobs

Panel Calls for a Postdoc Tax and Other Measures to Help Biomedical Scientists Find Jobs

By limiting how long postdocs can be federally funded and by making it more expensive to keep them designated as trainees, research institutions will have an incentive to employ more permanent staff scientists, providing a much-needed additional career option for young scientist.

Contest Models Highlight Inefficiencies of Scientific Funding

Contest Models Highlight Inefficiencies of Scientific Funding

The effort researchers waste in writing proposals may be comparable to the total scientific value of the additional funding, especially when only a small percentage of proposals are funded.