Updating Asimov — How Do We Regain Control In the Digital Age?
Algorithms behave in ways even their creators can’t understand, yet they dominate how we share and see information. Do we need a “Three Laws for Algorithms”?
The Future of Peer Review
Thoughts on BioMed Central and Digital Science’s report on what peer review might look like in 2030.
Should We Stop with the Commenting Already?
No matter what we call it, commenting on scholarly publications has a spotty record of success. Despite the mediocre results, journals, databases, and third party sites keep trying to get authors and readers to engage in this way. This post explores different models and the challenges online commenting faces.
Decline and Fall of the Editor
Many of the finest scholarly publications can boast of exemplary editorial programs, but the advent of Gold Open Access, especially when mandated by funding agencies, may make this kind of editorial activity a thing of the past.
When is a Preprint Server Not a Preprint Server?
When does a preprint become a publication?
What Constitutes Peer Review of Data? A Survey of Peer Review Guidelines
What constitutes peer review of a data set?
The Tincture of Time — Should Journals Return to Slower Publishing Practices?
Most journals have adopted rapid publication processes, but with the rise of preprint servers and new trends among readers, maybe they can return to a slower, more considered pace.
Wither Portable Peer Review
Does the closing of Axios Review portend the end of independent peer review?
Collision Course — Why Are Funders Straying from Their Lane?
Funders have shifted their focus, and are funding, investing in, or launching initiatives that compete with publishers and constrain researchers. What changed?
Citation Cartel Or Editor Gone Rogue?
How much can a single editor distort the citation record? Investigation documents rogue editor’s coercion of authors to cite his journal, papers.
Book Review: “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols
The new book by Tom Nichols, “The Death of Expertise,” is not perfect, but it is an important exploration of existential threats to science, education, and representative democracy.
15 Things We Can Do To Stand Up For Science!
With scholarship under threat on both sides of the Atlantic, here are some practical tools all of us can use as we stand up for science and build trust in scholarly communications through improving transparency, rigor and peer review.
Scientific Publishing in a Time of Political Assaults
With recent political upheaval sparking activism among scientists, librarians, and educators, where do publishers fit? What are they doing? What should they do?
Journals and Politicians — A Marriage for Mutual Benefit? Or a Temporary Alignment of Interests?
President Obama has published three articles in six months in three of the world’s most prestigious scholarly journals. Is it appropriate? With these precedents, what happens when the politics of the President conflicts with the politics of science?
Whither Portable Peer Review?
Three companies (Rubriq, Axios Review, and Peerage of Science) have working models for external peer review. Has any one of them found a model for success?