Twilight of the Promotional E-book
As e-books have become mainstream, the art of using free e-books to drive print sales is coming to an end. But there are next steps for those who wish to think ahead.
CC-Huh? Fundamental Confusions About the Role of Copyright and the Reuse of Data
A fundamental confusion between articles and data leads to a call for more CC licenses and less copyright. But why are data being closed down while articles are being opened up? Is there a fundamental misunderstanding of copyright, licensing, and rights?
PubMed Central or OA Central — More Strange Behaviors at PMC and NLM Paint a Portrait of Biases and Poor Process
More information emerges about PubMed Central, its processes, its relationship with eLife, and its role as a technology provider. Overall, it looks like certain OA friends get special treatment, and the processes you think occur are often short-circuited and may not even be tracked.
Book Review: Nate Silver's "The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail — But Some Don't"
Nate Silver’s new book tackles many topics — Big Data, the problem with scientific statistics, chess, baseball, gambling — with style and substance. There’s a lot of signal here.
Competition, Value, and Sustainability — Why This Can't Go On
Value-based pricing of unique journal products may make sense from a revenue perspective, but not from a sustainability perspective. What are the options?
Reclaiming the Lost Publishing Mojo
Publishers have lost ground in the public debate of the role of publishing in scholarly communications. A new strategy is needed, one that emphasizes preemption, cooptation, and innovation.
Something’s Rotten in Bethesda — The Troubling Tale of PubMed Central, PubMed, and eLife
Last week, PubMed Central became the primary and sole publisher of eLife content, putting its competition with publishers, its manipulation of PubMed indexing criteria, its competition with publishing technology companies, and its clear OA bias into stark relief.
Does All Science Need to be Preserved? Do We Need to Save Every Last Data Point?
The era of Big Data raises many questions about why and how data should or can be preserved, who should lead the effort, and what the cost-benefit equation currently is.
Authors Aren't Scientists, Scientists Are Authors — Why Catering to a Role Can Inhibit Robust Publishing
“Author-service” journals sound like a straightforward proposition, but when you contemplate how authorship is a minority activity by a minority of practicing scientists and science practitioners, it becomes much less clear that author service is enough to support robust publishing practices.
PDA and the University Press — Final Study Now Available
Joe Esposito, with his colleagues Kizer Walker and Terry Ehling, has been working on an analysis of patron-driven acquisitions (PDA) for the past year. Joe has been posting early drafts of sections of the report on this research on the Kitchen. The full report is now available and can be downloaded here.
Mapping the Flow of Rejected Manuscripts
A study of the flow of manuscript submissions reveals a highly structured and efficient network of scientific journals where peer-review plays a critical role in the improvement and slotting of papers.
The Google/AAP Settlement: Less Than Meets the Eye?
AAP and Google have reached a confidential settlement over Google Books. But the larger Authors Guild case remains.
Why Are College Textbooks So Expensive?
Purchasing a college textbook can be a very expensive proposition. Why are these textbooks so expensive? The reason lies in the very structure of the industry, where instructors make decisions they don’t have to pay for.
Does Open Access Tackle, Perpetuate, or Exacerbate the Matthew Effect?
While some hope that OA will create a more accessible literature, new data about NSF funding and some logical extrapolations suggest it may actually exacerbate the Matthew Effect, choking off opportunities to publish for those without the funding necessary.
Using the Scholarly Kitchen for Research
The Scholarly Kitchen can be a useful research tool for its contributors, as it enables the community to participate in certain kinds of questions. But group blogs don’t work for everyone.