The Fallacy of ‘Sound’ Science
“Sound methodology” suggests an ideal match to a scientific question that never quite exists. So why do some publishers use it?
Guest Post: Research4Life’s Richard Gedye — How Publishers are Quietly (Too Quietly?) Supporting UNESCO’s Universal Access To Information Day
Research4Life’s Richard Gedye discusses publisher contributions to UNESCO’s International Day for Universal Access to Information.
Book Review — The Traps of Big Data Revealed in "Weapons of Math Destruction" by Cathy O’Neil
The new book, “Weapons of Math Destruction,” calls out many worrying trends in the application of big data, with particularly salient entries on higher education rankings, for-profit universities, the justice system, insurance, and employment.
The Early Career Professionals are All Right: Discussing the Findings of the 2016 SSP Early Career Professional Survey
Ever wondered what early-career publishing professionals are worried about, wishing for, and planning to do–and how you can encourage them to keep doing those things within your organization? The Society for Scholarly Publishing wondered, too, and deployed a subcommittee of professionals (early-career and otherwise) to find out. Here are some of their findings, presented by Early Career Subcommittee co-chairs Emma Brink and Matt Cooper (both of Wiley).
Curation Nation: Thoughts on the Future of Textbooks
Is there a role for a curated, remixing approach to developing next generation textbooks. Robert Harington investigates the role of curated open textbooks in teaching today’s students, looking at some of the available tools, the way in which instructors utilize such tools, and issues around fair use of content.
The Discrete Charm of Geometry – A Review
Amidst the politics of open access, the financial pressure on research libraries, and the sense that ubiquity trumps quality, it is worth remembering that nothing can squash the fervor of academic endeavor. Video is increasingly deployed in the publishing of academic research. Robert Harington explores the importance of using different types of media to provide insight into cultural and historical aspects of a field through a review of a new movie by Ekaterina Eremenko – The Discrete Charm of Geometry.
Will Citation Distributions Reduce Impact Factor Abuses?
Publishing a histogram of a journal’s citation distribution won’t alleviate Impact Factor abuse. At best, it will be ignored. At worse, it will generate confusion.
Summertime and Graduate Teaching (Still) Isn’t Easy
Upstream from the work of scholarly publishers, it’s the middle of the deceptively paced academic summer when scholars I know are often focused on conferences, research trips, and writing. Summer isn’t as frantic as the academic year, when every other […]
Guest Post — Accessibility Is The New Innovation
Darrell Gunter discusses the great opportunities available in making all forms of content accessible to everyone.
Textbooks in Academic Libraries: The Publisher’s Case
This post presents a case for why publishers would want to participate in a program to sell textbooks to academic libraries. The plan would include a means for publishers to retain their profitability, albeit on a lower sales volume, by taking advantage of digital technology and by “repairing” some broken elements in the current marketplace, e.g., the market for used and pirated books.
Academic Libraries and the Textbook Taboo: Time to Get Over It?
Has the time come for academic libraries to start thinking seriously about providing textbooks to their student patrons? A few are already doing so–why not more?
Copyright, Expectations, and Economics — Can Taylor Swift Help Us Find Our Backbone?
Expectations of free content are entrenched, but artists, authors, and publishers are all hurting because of it. The basic problem? It’s leading to a lack of trust in the future.
Two-step Authentication: Finally Coming to a University Near You
Many of the popular tools that we use everyday require two-step authentication. It seems odd that universities, who store data much more valuable than cat videos, recipes, and selfies, are slow to require it. That may change shortly.
Book Review: "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
An excellent book about humankind in general holds important fundamental insights for scholarly publishers, editors, and researchers.
Ask The Fellows: What Did You Learn At This Year’s SSP Annual Meeting?
We’ve heard from the Chefs about their take on the Annual Meeting, but what were the take-home messages for our early career and student Fellowship Award winners? Come see what the Fellows’ fresh perspective led them to say when asked: What Did You Learn At This Year’s SSP Annual Meeting?