Phil Davis, Author at The Scholarly Kitchen

Phil Davis is a publishing consultant specializing in the statistical analysis of citation, readership, publication and survey data. He has a Ph.D. in science communication from Cornell University (2010), extensive experience as a science librarian (1995-2006) and was trained as a life scientist. https://phil-davis.org/

Articles by Phil Davis

Poor Financials Pushes PLOS To Ponder Future Prospects

PLOS’ latest financial report depicts an organization trying to reinvent itself, focusing less on disruption and innovation and more on efficiency and collaboration.

Oh, What A Tangled Web! Citation Network Underscores Editorial Conflicts of Interest

The separation of powers is as important in academic publishing as it is in government.

Skeletons In Their Closet: Clarivate Issues Editorial Concern But Takes No Further Action

A public allegation of citation manipulation among 5 journals deserves a public inquiry.

Tipping the Scales: Is Impact Factor Suppression Biased Against Small Fields?

The suppression of three economic history journals reveals more about Clarivate’s methods than citation manipulation.

Impact Factor Denied to 20 Journals For Self-Citation, Stacking

Publisher of performance metrics suppresses 20 journals, 14 for high levels of self-citation and 6 for citation stacking, releases Editorial Expression of Concern for 5 others.

2017 Journal Impact Factors Feature Citation Distributions

The 2018 release of the Journal Citation Reports (JCR) now features citation distributions for each journal. Poor implementation may prevent these figures from being used and may actively encourage abuse by predatory publishers.

How Much Editorial Misconduct Goes Unreported?

Editors are in a position of power to coerce authors to cite their journal and personal papers. Can algorithms help detect misconduct when authors and journal staff are unwilling to speak out?

Journal Growth Lowers Impact Factor

Phil Davis examines how publication timing can affect annual Journal Impact Factor scores.

Journals Lose Citations to Preprint Servers

Why do authors continue to cite preprints years after they’ve been formally published?

Amazon Peer Review: Coming To A Preprint Near You

Starting today, anyone who visits the online retailer Amazon will soon be able to review manuscripts, just like pens, sneakers, and toiletry products.