Citations & the Missing Link
A paper examines faulty citations, but the authors are on shaky ground.
Eigenfactor
Does the Principle of Repeated Improvement Result in Better Journal Impact Estimates than Raw Citation Counts?
Versions — NISO’s New Recommendations
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) has released its recommendations on versioning of journal articles. It is a document worth looking over, for a great deal of careful thought has gone into it. The document also reflects the schizophrenic relationship […]
Reputation Matters
A new (and flawed) study reveals that reputation matters. In fact, it’s core to scientific expression.
The “h-index”: An Objective Mismeasure?
A “mystical belief” in simple math and hard numbers like the h-index can mislead smart people.
Britannica’s Tepid Move
Image via Wikipedia Forgive me, but I think the recent news that the Encyclopedia Britannica is adopting a modified Wiki approach reveals not a brave embrace of new online realities, but rather a tepid response to the threat they are […]
AP vs. Blogs: Spoiler Alert!
The AP is taking on blogs. They won’t win by fighting.
The Efficiency of Peer-Review
Recently, Cambridge Economic Policy Associates completed an analysis trying to assess the “hidden” value of peer-review, according to a story in the Times Higher Education. They estimate the value to be £1.9 billion (or about US$3.8 billion), with the UK […]
SSP TMR Blog Debuts
The Society for Scholarly Publishing‘s Top Management Roundtable meeting, scheduled this September 3-5 in Philadelphia, PA, now has its own blog, updating interested parties about the meeting’s format, linking to interesting work from speakers, and allowing for blogging at and […]
Watch Out, “Professionals”!
According to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle, a new publishing entity called 8020 Publishing is showing that the wall between amateurs and professionals sometimes collapses when tested. While creating travel and photography magazines named, respectively, Everywhere and JPG, […]
Internet & Society Now a Legit Couple
We are gathered together today to honor a union that has been 10 years in the making. By taking this brave step, these two — the Internet and Society — have acknowledged their ongoing devotion to one another, the profound […]
Impact Factor Inflation — What Causes It?
Impact factors have been increasing by 2.6% per year, on average. While this is lower than most economies’ inflation rates, it’s indicates a growing economy. But is the growth caused by supply or demand? In a draft paper from the […]
Wikidemia — Scholarship and the Internet
“Wikidemia” is a term I hadn’t heard before I read this very interesting roundtable discussion from the UPenn Department of Romance Languages. At the heart of the discussion is the notion that scholarship without the Internet and its collaborative tools […]
Is the Age of Anti-Plagiarism Software Upon Us?
Last Friday, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a story about the emerging anti-plagiarism software marketplace, with CrossRef’s CrossCheck spotlighted. It’s a good story that broadens nicely upon the CrossCheck angle. Defining plagiarism is potentially fraught with difficulty, but it […]
Citations: Incitement or Excitement?
In recent months, a lot of new citation approaches have landed in my email box. Alternatives and tangents seem to have arisen amidst angst about the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) and their traditional impact factor. (Note to ironists: displeasure […]