The Emergence of a Citation Cartel
Cheap, effective, and nearly undetectable — editors devise citation cartels to drive up their journal’s impact factor.
The (Post) Dating Game — Assembling the Evidence
Testing the hypothesis that editors are manipulating publication dates to increase their journal’s Impact Factor.
Does Post-Dating Publication Help Journal Impact Factors?
Publishing an article online and then post-dating its “official” publication several months later may be used to game a journal’s impact factor, a scientist claims.
Comments — The Weakest Part of Blogs, the Weakest Part of Online Journals
Post-publication peer-review systems are still something fancied here and there. But with comments failing on blogs everywhere, especially as traffic grows, more bloggers are talking about new approaches — ones that focus on invited experts, quality opinions, and high standards. Where have we heard that before?
Birds of a Feather Blog Together
In the world of science blogging, there are those who cite the literature, those who don’t, and never the twain shall meet.
Can Article Retractions Correct the Scientific Record?
A new study of article retractions concludes that the system is fast, democratic and significantly depresses future citations. Shouldn’t we demand more?
The Missing Outcry — Are the NIH and Its Researchers Shirking Their Obligations?
While publishers are the targets of complaints about keeping taxpayer-funded research from reaching the public, where is the outcry when studies show less than 1/4 mandatory reporting requirements are fulfilled by researchers?
Hawking Radiation: Figuring Out How Many Books Are Sold to Libraries
An odd circumstance of the book business is that no one really knows which books are sold to libraries and how important libraries are to overall book sales. At the heart of the problem is the fact that Amazon, which sells books to libraries, does not share any sales data. This post suggests a couple ways to get at that data in the face of Amazon’s obstinacy.
Most NIH-Sponsored Trials Slow to Publish, Many Aren't Published, Most Fail to Report Data, Studies Show
Fewer than half of NIH sponsored clinical trials are published within 30 months, and 4 out of 5 FDA trials fail to publicly register results (as mandated by law), studies published in the BMJ report. Authors and sponsors may be the strongest source of reporting bias.
More on Why Amazon Is Winning the Book Wars
Amazon’s power in book publishing continues to grow, gaining momentum naturally as its success makes failure more likely for incumbents. There’s a lot to respect in what they’re doing.
Libraries Receiving a Shrinking Piece of the University Pie
Over the past three decades, the research library has been receiving a smaller proportion of the university budget. Does this trend reflect the failure of library administrators and the declining relevance of libraries? Or does it tell the story of self-control and growing efficiency against a backdrop of spiraling higher education costs?
When Journal Editors Coerce Authors to Self-Cite
Editors of business journals strategically coerce authors to increase citation rates, a new study in Science reports.
The Famous Grouse — Do Prominent Scientists Have Biased Perceptions of Peer Review?
Conventional wisdom has well-known researchers getting more and more requests for reviews, leading some to suggest the system is broken and about to implode. Yet, when real-world data are analyzed, some surprises emerge.
Rediscovering Discovery — How We Find Things, and Its Implications
A recent ALA panel on discovery prompts some musings about the direction that local search will take and the likelihood that one vendor will control access to almost all library collections.
Chart of the Day: How Science Stacks Up in the US Budget
Chart of the Day: How Science Stacks Up in the US Budget — from an Atlantic article entitled, “The Innovation Nation vs. the Warfare-Welfare State“: