Fill in the Blank Leads to More Citations
When a reputable journal refuses to get involved with a questionable paper, science looks less like a self-correcting enterprise and more like a way to amass media attention.
Pakistan’s Camel-based Library
Meet Raheema Jalal and Roshan the camel, bringing books to children in rural Pakistan.
Expanded Access to Paywalled Content: A Hidden Benefit of Transformative Agreements
What has not made headlines but is also a noteworthy outcome of transformative agreements is the significant increase in access and readership for paywalled articles that they facilitate.
Restoring the Version of Record
The restoration of a glorious portrait raises questions about the scholarly Version of Record.
Revisiting: The Multifarious Book
Revisiting a 2017 post: The book is asked to perform many tasks, some of which are not necessarily the best use of the book format, whether in print or electronically. The long-form text, which may be print or digital, is a different matter, and is likely to remain with us and be called “a book” for some time to come.
Guest Post — Does Open Access Cannibalize Print Sales for Monographs?
John Sherer describes a new research project which will look at the impact of open access on print monograph sales, particularly in light of the free access provided early in the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Copyediting Carol
A holiday ode to the comma, and knowing where it goes.
Guest Post — Towards Standardizing Plain Language Summaries: The Open Pharma Recommendations
Adeline Rosenberg offers a look into the value of providing plain language summaries in research papers, and the standards created for doing so.
Where Does Enhancement End and Citation Begin?
As more publishers semantically enrich documents, Todd Carpenter considers whether links are the same as citations
Revisiting: Theory of the E-book
Joe Esposito revisits his 2012 post on the unstated theory of the e-book, which assumes that a book consists only of its text and can be manipulated without regard to the nature and circumstances of its creation. This is only one theory of many, but it is now the prevailing one.
Popularizing Cosmology: The Example of Katie Mack
It also can be something of a trap for a well-intentioned academic who wants to write for this audience, as writing for the lay person is often contemptuously dismissed as “popularization.” Woe to the academic who puts an article from The Atlantic or a book from Simon & Schuster into her tenure portfolio! It takes courage. My view is that these brave souls should be called out and celebrated. They are my heroes.
From “Pandemonium” to “Meme”: Words Invented by Authors
Are you a word “nerd”? Do you know who coined the word “nerd”?
“Positively Disrupt(ing) Research Culture for the Better”: An Interview with Alexandra Freeman of Octopus
Octopus is a new sharing platform that hopes to disrupt research culture for the better. An interview with founder Dr. Alexandra Freeman.
Jargon
How much jargon is too much jargon?
Revisiting: Dear Reader, Are You Reading?
What does it actually mean to read digitally? Revisiting a 2018 post in light of the ongoing, pandemic-fueled drive to digital.