Gaming Google Scholar Citations, Made Simple and Easy
A new paper demonstrates how easy it is to game Google Scholar citations, and how the system resists correction.
New Players, New Priorities — Part 3: It's Never About the Money; It's Always About the Money
Funders and governments are exerting their influence in scientific publishing through monetary and financial threats, and are willing to slow science in order to accomplish OA goals.
Editorial Spoofing in the Age of Electronic Peer-Review
In a story of the modern age of fraud, spoofers find their way into peer-review rosters, reviewing their own papers or those of their friends/competitors.
Scientists Propose Central Database for Disclosing Conflicts of Interest
Creating a centralized database for disclosing conflicts of interest (COI) is an easy sell. Deciding who is responsible and accountable for its funding and support is a much harder problem.
New Players, New Priorities — Part 2: The Problematic Role of Funders
Funders — corporate, governmental, and philanthropic — have different priorities, yet they are now reaching into scientific publishing, wearing OA as a glove that fits. This post explores the problems this is creating and might create if allowed to perpetuate.
New Players, New Priorities — Part 1: Governments and Politics Enter Scientific Publishing
In this first part of a three-part series, the intrusion of governments into scientific publishing is contemplated — its causes, current state, and possible effects.
Of Confections and Citations, Missteps and Marzipan
An attempt to entice citations from authors leads to a memorable story for the holidays.
PubMed Central's Failures in Handling Conflicts of Interest with eLife
One of the layers of impropriety regarding PubMed Central’s handling of eLife is its mismanagement of conflicts of interest.
How Valuable Is PubMed Central's Early Publication of eLife Content?
What is the likely value of what PubMed Central is providing to eLife by publishing them free online, providing PubMed indexing without delay, and getting them into the market six months early?
What PubMed Central's Drag on Publisher Traffic Could Mean Financially
When you think through all the effects stealing traffic has on online publishing businesses, PubMed Central’s competitive presence looms large — whether you sell subscriptions, ads, or APCs.
More eLife Articles on PubMed Central — The Government Subsidy Continues
More articles are published by PubMed Central at the behest of eLife. It seems taxpayer-funded publishing is just fine for this new group.
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.
"Owa, mein Arsch" — When Water's State Is More Set Than It Appears
“Look before you leap” may only be the beginning!
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.
Recuse, Refuse, or Excuse — The Conflicts of Interest at the Heart of Funder-Backed Journals
Funder-sponsored journals raise important conflict of interest questions, and may be fundamentally untenable in an industry that requires independent third-party evaluation of research reports.