OAPEN — Open Access Book Experiment in Humanities, Social Sciences
Have the results of the open access book experiment already been written?
Does Rejecting Papers Amount to More Than Just a Transaction Cost?
The expenses publishers incur rejecting papers and book proposals are about more than filtering.
When the Love of Books Doesn’t Increase Sales or Citations
Free online books may increase discovery, but may not translate into increased sales or citations, a new study reports.
Today’s UK Researchers: E-journals Dominate, Access Not an Issue, Skimming Increasing
A set of findings confirm rather than surprise, but apparently some publishers are still behaving as if they’ll be surprised.
Letting The Inmates Run the Asylum: Are Blogging Networks Compatible with Publishing Business Plans?
Open blogging networks may be impossible to commercialize, for a host of reasons.
The RIN Report on Researchers and Web 2.0: If You Build It . . . Well, You Know the Rest
The Research Information Network’s new report on researchers and Web 2.0 offers a similar set of results to previous studies: uptake is relatively low, and the trustworthiness and quality of online resources are suspect. The report offers contrary evidence to common myths about “digital natives” and some useful advice for anyone looking to build social media.
Signals of Quality — Does Selectivity Attract Better Submissions and Better Authors?
A study from ACM suggests that selectivity — both being selective and being known as selective — has a citation benefit.
From a Production Industry to a Technology Industry
How can publishers maximize the value and reach of their content using new technologies? The ACS, Cell Press, and PubGet offer their solutions.
Academic Incentives Gone Awry: Why Junk Persists in the Scientific Literature
The system of scientific publication is broken, with rewards cynically exploited by many players while science fills with more and more garbage. How can we fix this?
Why Publishers’ Brands Matter
Publishers’ brands matter very much to consumers, but sometimes people are unaware of the role brands play in purchasing decisions.
Rules of Thumb for Social Media in Science
As science publishers, we hear a lot about the potential for new technologies. Often this comes in the form of a pitch from someone looking to sell you on either the technology they’re offering or on their expertise. In trying to see through the salesmanship, it’s important to have some general rules of thumb for approaching the integration of social media as tools for the research science community.
Improving Peer Review: Let’s Provide an Ingredients List for Our Readers
We describe many aspects of studies, but “peer reviewed” is a generic label for a multitude of recipes. Maybe we should start listing what went into it.
Let’s Make Open Access Work
Let’s put aside all the controversy about open access publishing and come up with an OA plan that will work.
Lessons from a Neighboring Industry — Demand Media’s Disruptive Impact on Journalism
Demand Media has created a journalism and custom content platform that disrupting neighboring publishing models. Can we learn something from their approach?
Science and Web 2.0: Talking About Science vs. Doing Science
So far, Web 2.0 tools for scientists have failed to gain much traction with researchers. Is this because they’re tools for talking about science rather than tools for doing science?