Mendeley, Connotea, and the Perils of Free Services
Free services and open access are distorting the publishing world. Will the big only get bigger?
Finch Acknowledges Open Access Could Harm Learned Societies
Dame Janet Finch admits OA will cause problems for learned societies. What does that portend, especially when viewed alongside more backlash?
Post-Publication Peer-Review Already Exists, Already Has Incentives, and Is Already Robust
A recent exhortation to support post-publication peer-review with awards shines a light on the holes in both ideas.
Major Shifts in Social Sharing Sites — Do Consolidation and Termination Mark the End of an Era?
The herd of social sharing sites in the sciences is being culled. And one — Mendeley — may be assimilated by Elsevier.
"I Want" Doesn’t Get — Just Recommending Data Archiving Isn’t Nearly as Effective as Requiring It
Data archiving is becoming a new normal for scientific publishing, but a recent study shows you need to do more than just ask for it.
PubMed and F1000 Research — Unclear Standards Applied Unevenly
F1000 Research has confusing review and publication practices, and doesn’t call itself a journal, yet is now going to be indexed by PubMed — further eroding the PubMed brand.
The Historians Are Revolting — Leading History Journal Editors Take on the Research Councils UK
A group of history editors in the UK publish an open letter stating they will not comply with aspects of the RCUK mandates for OA. What can we learn from this?
Dancing with Myself — The Principal Impediment to Change and Innovation
The principal impediment to changing or developing an organization is the view of the management that they already are doing a good job. Thus all new initiatives are measured in terms of past successes.
The Best Mistakes — and Corrections — of 2012
In a year of mistakes, some corrections stand head and shoulders above others. Let us celebrate the honest and witty souls behind them.
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.
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.
Open Access — What Do Authors Really Want?
Open access publishing is a viable option, with gold OA gaining traction. But concerns remain, and funding is uncertain.