Knockoffs Erode Trust in Metrics Market
If the Internet created a burgeoning market of cheap academic journal knockoffs, should we be surprised to witness new knockoff ratings companies?
Production Plummets at PLOS–But For a Good Reason
Is there (ever) a good time to overhaul a publishers’ production system? If you care about your journals’ Impact Factor, the answer is “yes.”
PeerJ — A PLOS ONE Contender in 2015?
PeerJ’s first Impact Factor is not expected to surpass 2.000. Without the scale of PLOS ONE, PeerJ may need to seek a larger, diversified buyer. What the journal has to offer other publishers is less clear.
Social Media And Its Impact on Medical Research
A social media campaign may have little (if any) effect on article readership, a recent study reports.
Peak PLOS: Planning for a Future of Declining Revenue
How does a non-profit publisher plan for its future when its revenue stream starts resembling the stock market?
Growing Impact of Older Articles
Scholars are citing proportionally more older material, a new Google paper reports. Digital publishing and delivery, and better search engines can only explain part of the trend. Something much bigger is taking place.
PeerJ Grows Steadily With Papers, Authors
PeerJ is growing, publishing more papers and attracting more authors, although it is not clear whether the company is moving toward financial sustainability. In a crowded market of multidisciplinary open access journals, the success/failure of PeerJ may be determined when it receives its first Impact Factor.
Growing Impact of Non-Elite Journals
The scientific literature is expanding while the number of publication slots in elite journals has shrunk. Is it any wonder why many more highly-cited articles are found in non-elite journals?
When a Journal Sinks, Should the Editors Go Down with the Ship?
This year, Thomson Reuters suspended six business journals for engaging in a citation cartel. Should the authors be held responsible for the malfeasance of their editors? We propose a new solution to punishing the community for the poor decisions of the few.
Visualizing World Article Production
World production of scientific literature continues to grow at nearly 3% per year. China, Brazil, and India account for a much larger share of the world’s output, while the United States and Japan’s share continues to decline. Interactive world maps show the growth of article production, and focus on the countries that continue to dominate the top literature.
Is Open Access a Cause or an Effect?
Why can’t researchers agree on whether Open Access is the cause of more citations or merely associated with better performing papers? The answer is in the methods.
Libraries Receive Shrinking Share of University Expenditures
Over the past three decades, the research library has been receiving a smaller proportion of the university budget. Does this trend reflect the failure of library administrators and the declining relevance of libraries? Or does it tell the story of self-control and growing efficiency against a backdrop of spiraling higher education costs?
Did He Just Say That?! The Perils of Video Recording the Conference Presentation
Science journalist, John Bohannon, castigates publishers as corrupt, scientists as furious, and journalists as the fix. Or did he?
Open Access Publication Gains Acceptance With Authors, Licenses Still Problematic
A recent survey of authors by Taylor and Francis reveals growing acceptance of open access publishing; however, Creative Commons licensing may still pose a problem.
PLOS ONE Output Falls 25 Percent
Publication output for the largest journal in science continues to fall, just not as fast as leading indicators would predict.