Data is Just A Clue to the End Truth
A short video on the art of data visualization, an increasingly important subject in the era of “big data”.
Slow and Steady — Taking the Time to Think in the Age of Rapid Publishing Cycles
Simple things are often more complex than we initially think, and the push for faster publication may be an expensive and risky trend to follow too much further.
To Share or not to Share? That is the (Research Data) Question…
With increased pressure from funding bodies and others for researchers to make their data open, as well as their research articles, it’s important to understand who is already sharing what data, how, why – and why not…
Every Talk Ever Given by a Successful Creative Person
How you too can use the internet to gain fame and fortune. Or perhaps a realization of the randomness of recognition.
Why Are Publishers and Editors Wasting Time Formatting Citations?
The majority of time spent in editing and formatting citations in the publication process is time wasted. We now have in place nearly all the components to use persistent identifiers, linked metadata, and style sheets to improve how citations can be structured and processed. Using these tools can significantly improve the accuracy of references and reduce the time editors spend on this production function. Even when automated, we bounce between linked metadata, then to text, then to metadata again.
Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3
There are many reasons to be cheerful in the world of scholarly publishing. Taking a cue from Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and his song, Reasons to be Cheerful, Part 3., this post describes an example of good things afoot in the library community. It is up to you to provide parts 1. and 2.
Feeding the Goose: Thoughts on Fair Use and the GSU Decision
With the appellate court’s rejection of the district court’s decision in the Georgia State University fair-use case, we have yet another twist in this six-year-long saga of copyright litigation. It’s clearly a setback for GSU–but what about for fair use?
Have You Looked At This: NGA Online Editions
The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC demonstrates its commitment to the scholarly record with the release of their Online Edition catalogue of 17th Century Dutch Paintings. What makes their approach to scholarly content of particular interest? Read on.
Interface Design: How We Depict Texting and the Internet in Film
The display of new types of information is a constant challenge for scholarly publishers. A look at how filmmakers portray texting and computer use offers some insight into effective interface design.
Virtual Reality Research — Some Early Problems with Data Reanalysis and Risks of Open Data
The idea of “reanalysis” needs to be rethought, if recent examples are any indication of what this trend could do to science.
More Data, More Problems — Lessons from the Limitations of Google Flu Trends
“Big data” continues to draw attention, but will it ever amount to more than a hypothesis-generating engine and supplementary findings?
Guest Post: Phill Jones on The Changing Role of the Postdoc and Why Publishers Should Care
Guest Chef Phill Jones takes a look at an often under-recognized population of researchers and suggests why publishers should give them more attention.
Book Review: "What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions" by Randall Munroe
A new book by the creator of xkcd takes crazy questions about science and tackles them with verve, humor, great illustrations, and great examples of how to break down even the strangest problems.
Ask The Chefs: Are Publishers Customer Focused?
This month the Scholarly Kitchen Chefs consider how publishers identify and serve their customers? Are they doing it well? What do YOU think?
When Crises Collide: The Tension Between Null Results and Reproducibility
Reproducibility of research results, and the lack of availability of negative results have both been deemed “crises” for the research community. But proposed solutions for each seem at odds with one another.