Sample records for access scientific journals

  1. Open access versus subscription journals: a comparison of scientific impact.

    PubMed

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Solomon, David

    2012-07-17

    In the past few years there has been an ongoing debate as to whether the proliferation of open access (OA) publishing would damage the peer review system and put the quality of scientific journal publishing at risk. Our aim was to inform this debate by comparing the scientific impact of OA journals with subscription journals, controlling for journal age, the country of the publisher, discipline and (for OA publishers) their business model. The 2-year impact factors (the average number of citations to the articles in a journal) were used as a proxy for scientific impact. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) was used to identify OA journals as well as their business model. Journal age and discipline were obtained from the Ulrich's periodicals directory. Comparisons were performed on the journal level as well as on the article level where the results were weighted by the number of articles published in a journal. A total of 610 OA journals were compared with 7,609 subscription journals using Web of Science citation data while an overlapping set of 1,327 OA journals were compared with 11,124 subscription journals using Scopus data. Overall, average citation rates, both unweighted and weighted for the number of articles per journal, were about 30% higher for subscription journals. However, after controlling for discipline (medicine and health versus other), age of the journal (three time periods) and the location of the publisher (four largest publishing countries versus other countries) the differences largely disappeared in most subcategories except for journals that had been launched prior to 1996. OA journals that fund publishing with article processing charges (APCs) are on average cited more than other OA journals. In medicine and health, OA journals founded in the last 10 years are receiving about as many citations as subscription journals launched during the same period. Our results indicate that OA journals indexed in Web of Science and/or Scopus are

  2. In ... and out: open access publishing in scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Boumil, Marcia M; Salem, Deeb N

    2014-01-01

    Open access (OA) journals are a growing phenomenon largely of the past decade wherein readers can access the content of scientific journals without paying for a subscription. The costs are borne by authors (or their institutions) who pay a fee to be published, thus allowing readers to access, search, print, and cite the journals without cost. Although the OA model, in and of itself, need not diminish scientific rigor, selectivity, or peer review, the "author pays" model creates an inherent conflict of interest: it operates with the incentive on the part of the journal to publish more and reject less. This is coupled with cost containment measures that affect the journals' ability to engage experienced editors and professional staff to scrutinize data, data analyses, and author conflicts of interest. While some OA journals appear to be comparable to their print competitors, others are "predatory" and have no legitimacy at all. Two recent "scams"--one recently published in Science--highlight the urgency of addressing the issues raised by OA publication so that OA does not lose its credibility just as it begins to gather substantial momentum. High-quality journals develop their reputations over time, and OA outlets will be no exception. For this to occur, however, the OA audience will need to be satisfied that OA can deliver high-quality publications utilizing rigorous peer review, editing, and conflict of interest scrutiny. Academic tenure and promotion committees that review scholarly credentials are understandably skeptical of publications in unrecognized journals, and the large number of new OA outlets contributes to this urgency from their perspective as well.

  3. Open access versus subscription journals: a comparison of scientific impact

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background In the past few years there has been an ongoing debate as to whether the proliferation of open access (OA) publishing would damage the peer review system and put the quality of scientific journal publishing at risk. Our aim was to inform this debate by comparing the scientific impact of OA journals with subscription journals, controlling for journal age, the country of the publisher, discipline and (for OA publishers) their business model. Methods The 2-year impact factors (the average number of citations to the articles in a journal) were used as a proxy for scientific impact. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) was used to identify OA journals as well as their business model. Journal age and discipline were obtained from the Ulrich's periodicals directory. Comparisons were performed on the journal level as well as on the article level where the results were weighted by the number of articles published in a journal. A total of 610 OA journals were compared with 7,609 subscription journals using Web of Science citation data while an overlapping set of 1,327 OA journals were compared with 11,124 subscription journals using Scopus data. Results Overall, average citation rates, both unweighted and weighted for the number of articles per journal, were about 30% higher for subscription journals. However, after controlling for discipline (medicine and health versus other), age of the journal (three time periods) and the location of the publisher (four largest publishing countries versus other countries) the differences largely disappeared in most subcategories except for journals that had been launched prior to 1996. OA journals that fund publishing with article processing charges (APCs) are on average cited more than other OA journals. In medicine and health, OA journals founded in the last 10 years are receiving about as many citations as subscription journals launched during the same period. Conclusions Our results indicate that OA journals indexed

  4. ScienceCentral: open access full-text archive of scientific journals based on Journal Article Tag Suite regardless of their languages

    PubMed Central

    Huh, Sun

    2013-01-01

    ScienceCentral, a free or open access, full-text archive of scientific journal literature at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, was under test in September 2013. Since it is a Journal Article Tag Suite-based full text database, extensible markup language files of all languages can be presented, according to Unicode Transformation Format 8-bit encoding. It is comparable to PubMed Central: however, there are two distinct differences. First, its scope comprises all science fields; second, it accepts all language journals. Launching ScienceCentral is the first step for free access or open access academic scientific journals of all languages to leap to the world, including scientific journals from Croatia. PMID:24266292

  5. ScienceCentral: open access full-text archive of scientific journals based on Journal Article Tag Suite regardless of their languages.

    PubMed

    Huh, Sun

    2013-01-01

    ScienceCentral, a free or open access, full-text archive of scientific journal literature at the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Societies, was under test in September 2013. Since it is a Journal Article Tag Suite-based full text database, extensible markup language files of all languages can be presented, according to Unicode Transformation Format 8-bit encoding. It is comparable to PubMed Central: however, there are two distinct differences. First, its scope comprises all science fields; second, it accepts all language journals. Launching ScienceCentral is the first step for free access or open access academic scientific journals of all languages to leap to the world, including scientific journals from Croatia.

  6. SciELO, Scientific Electronic Library Online, a Database of Open Access Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Meneghini, Rogerio

    2013-01-01

    This essay discusses SciELO, a scientific journal database operating in 14 countries. It covers over 1000 journals providing open access to full text and table sets of scientometrics data. In Brazil it is responsible for a collection of nearly 300 journals, selected along 15 years as the best Brazilian periodicals in natural and social sciences.…

  7. Open access to the scientific journal literature: situation 2009.

    PubMed

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Welling, Patrik; Laakso, Mikael; Majlender, Peter; Hedlund, Turid; Gudnason, Gudni

    2010-06-23

    The Internet has recently made possible the free global availability of scientific journal articles. Open Access (OA) can occur either via OA scientific journals, or via authors posting manuscripts of articles published in subscription journals in open web repositories. So far there have been few systematic studies showing how big the extent of OA is, in particular studies covering all fields of science. The proportion of peer reviewed scholarly journal articles, which are available openly in full text on the web, was studied using a random sample of 1837 titles and a web search engine. Of articles published in 2008, 8.5% were freely available at the publishers' sites. For an additional 11.9% free manuscript versions could be found using search engines, making the overall OA percentage 20.4%. Chemistry (13%) had the lowest overall share of OA, Earth Sciences (33%) the highest. In medicine, biochemistry and chemistry publishing in OA journals was more common. In all other fields author-posted manuscript copies dominated the picture. The results show that OA already has a significant positive impact on the availability of the scientific journal literature and that there are big differences between scientific disciplines in the uptake. Due to the lack of awareness of OA-publishing among scientists in most fields outside physics, the results should be of general interest to all scholars. The results should also interest academic publishers, who need to take into account OA in their business strategies and copyright policies, as well as research funders, who like the NIH are starting to require OA availability of results from research projects they fund. The method and search tools developed also offer a good basis for more in-depth studies as well as longitudinal studies.

  8. Open Access to the Scientific Journal Literature: Situation 2009

    PubMed Central

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Welling, Patrik; Laakso, Mikael; Majlender, Peter; Hedlund, Turid; Guðnason, Guðni

    2010-01-01

    Background The Internet has recently made possible the free global availability of scientific journal articles. Open Access (OA) can occur either via OA scientific journals, or via authors posting manuscripts of articles published in subscription journals in open web repositories. So far there have been few systematic studies showing how big the extent of OA is, in particular studies covering all fields of science. Methodology/Principal Findings The proportion of peer reviewed scholarly journal articles, which are available openly in full text on the web, was studied using a random sample of 1837 titles and a web search engine. Of articles published in 2008, 8,5% were freely available at the publishers' sites. For an additional 11,9% free manuscript versions could be found using search engines, making the overall OA percentage 20,4%. Chemistry (13%) had the lowest overall share of OA, Earth Sciences (33%) the highest. In medicine, biochemistry and chemistry publishing in OA journals was more common. In all other fields author-posted manuscript copies dominated the picture. Conclusions/Significance The results show that OA already has a significant positive impact on the availability of the scientific journal literature and that there are big differences between scientific disciplines in the uptake. Due to the lack of awareness of OA-publishing among scientists in most fields outside physics, the results should be of general interest to all scholars. The results should also interest academic publishers, who need to take into account OA in their business strategies and copyright policies, as well as research funders, who like the NIH are starting to require OA availability of results from research projects they fund. The method and search tools developed also offer a good basis for more in-depth studies as well as longitudinal studies. PMID:20585653

  9. Open Access Journal Policies: A Systematic Analysis of Radiology Journals.

    PubMed

    Narayan, Anand; Lobner, Katie; Fritz, Jan

    2018-02-01

    The open access movement has pushed for greater access to scientific knowledge by expanding access to scientific journal articles. There is limited information about the extent to which open access policies have been adopted by radiology journals. We performed a systematic analysis to ascertain the proportion of radiology journals with open access options. A search was performed with the assistance of a clinical informationist. Full and mixed English-language diagnostic and interventional radiology Web of Science journals (impact factors > 1.0) were included. Nuclear medicine, radiation oncology, physics, and solicitation-only journals were excluded. Primary outcome was open access option (yes or no) with additional outcomes including presence or absence of embargo, complete or partial copyright transfer, publication fees, and self-archiving policies. Secondary outcomes included journal citations, journal impact factors, immediacy, Eigenfactor, and article influence scores. Independent double readings were performed with differences resolved by consensus, supplemented by contacting editorial staff at each journal. In all, 125 journals were identified; review yielded 49 journals (39%, mean impact factor of 2.61). Thirty-six of the journals had open access options (73.4%), and four journals were exclusively open access (8.2%). Twelve-month embargoes were most commonly cited (90.6%) with 28.6% of journals stating that they did not require a complete transfer of copyright. Prices for open access options ranged from $750 to $4,000 (median $3,000). No statistically significant differences were found in journal impact measures comparing journals with open access options to journals without open access options. Diagnostic and interventional radiology journals have widely adopted open access options with a few radiology journals being exclusively open access. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Exploring Possibilities for Transforming Established Subscription-based Scientific Journals into Open Access Journals. Present Situation, Transformation Criteria, and Exemplary Implementation within Trans-O-MIM.

    PubMed

    Haux, Reinhold; Kuballa, Stefanie; Schulze, Mareike; Böhm, Claudia; Gefeller, Olaf; Haaf, Jan; Henning, Peter; Mielke, Corinna; Niggemann, Florian; Schürg, Andrea; Bergemann, Dieter

    2016-12-07

    Based on today's information and communication technologies the open access paradigm has become an important approach for adequately communicating new scientific knowledge. Summarizing the present situation for journal transformation. Presenting criteria for adequate transformation as well as a specific approach for it. Describing our exemplary implementation of such a journal transformation. Studying the respective literature as well as discussing this topic in various discussion groups and meetings (primarily of editors and publishers, but also of authors and readers), with long term experience as editors and /or publishers of scientific publications as prerequisite. There is a clear will, particularly of political and funding organizations, towards open access publishing. In spite of this, there is still a large amount of scientific knowledge, being communicated through subscription-based journals. For successfully transforming such journals into open access, sixteen criteria for a goal-oriented, stepwise, sustainable, and fair transformation are suggested. The Tandem Model as transformation approach is introduced. Our exemplary implementation is done in the Trans-O-MIM project. It is exploring strategies, models and evaluation metrics for journal transformation. As instance the journal Methods of Information in Medicine will apply the Tandem Model from 2017 onwards. Within Trans-O-MIM we will reach at least nine of the sixteen criteria for adequate transformation. It was positive to implement Trans-O-MIM as international research project. After first steps for transforming Methods have successfully been made, challenges will remain, among others, in identifying appropriate incentives for open access publishing in order to support its transformation.

  11. Perilous terra incognita--open-access journals.

    PubMed

    Balon, Richard

    2014-04-01

    The author focuses on a new rapidly spreading practice of publication in open-access journals. The pros and cons of open-access journals are discussed. Publishing in these journals may be cost prohibitive for educators and junior faculty members. Some authors may be lured by the ease of publishing in open-access journals (and their, at times, inflated self-description, e.g., "international", "scientific"), and their possibly valuable contributions will escape the attention of Academic Psychiatry readership in the vast sea of open-access journals. The readership may be flooded with a large number of low-quality articles (maybe not even properly peer-reviewed) from open-access journals. It may take some time to sort out what is and what is not relevant and useful. Open-access publishing represents a problematic and controversial practice and may be associated with a conflict of interest for the editors and publishers of these journals.

  12. Open-access publishing for pharmacy-focused journals.

    PubMed

    Clauson, Kevin A; Veronin, Michael A; Khanfar, Nile M; Lou, Jennie Q

    2008-08-15

    Pharmacy-focused journals that are available in open-access (OA), freely accessible, hybrid, or traditional formats were identified. Relevant journals were accessed from PubMed, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, EMBASE, and the Pharmacology and Pharmacy category of Thomson Scientific Journal Citation Reports. Criteria were established to select journals that satisfied the definition of pharmacy focused. Journals were assessed based on accessibility, copyright transfer requirements, and restrictions. If tracked, the journal's impact factor (IF) was identified according to classification, and medians were calculated for each journal category. A total of 317 pharmacy-focused journals were identified. The majority of pharmacy-focused journals identified were traditional/non-OA (n = 240). A smaller number of journals were freely accessible/ non-OA (n = 37), freely accessible/non-OA with content restrictions (n = 20), or freely available/non-OA with date restrictions (n = 18). The fewest number of journals were completely OA (n = 2). The median IF for the 185 journals whose IF was tracked was 2.029. The median IF for freely accessible and hybrid journals (n = 42) was 2.550, whereas the median IF for traditional journals (n = 143) was 1.900. A very small number of pharmacy-focused journals adhere to the OA paradigm of access. However, journals that adopt some elements of the OA model, chiefly free accessibility, may be more likely to be cited than traditional journals. Pharmacy practitioners, educators, and researchers could benefit from the advantages that OA offers but should understand its financial disadvantages.

  13. Open Access and Civic Scientific Information Literacy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zuccala, Alesia

    2010-01-01

    Introduction: We examine how residents and citizens of The Netherlands perceive open access to acquire preliminary insight into the role it might play in cultivating civic scientific literacy. Open access refers to scientific or scholarly research literature available on the Web to scholars and the general public in free online journals and…

  14. Awareness of “Predatory” Open-Access Journals among Prospective Veterinary and Medical Authors Attending Scientific Writing Workshops

    PubMed Central

    Christopher, Mary M.; Young, Karen M.

    2015-01-01

    Authors face many choices when selecting a journal for publication. Prospective authors, especially trainees, may be unaware of “predatory” online journals or how to differentiate them from legitimate journals. In this study, we assessed awareness of open-access and predatory journals among prospective authors attending scientific writing workshops; our long-term goal was to inform educational goals for the workshops. We surveyed participants of writing workshops at veterinary and medical schools and an international conference over a 1-year period. The survey included 14 statements for respondents to indicate agreement level on a Likert-like scale and four questions on awareness of resources about predatory journals; respondents also defined “predatory journal.” A total of 145 participants completed the survey: 106 (73.1%) from veterinary schools and 86 (59.3%) graduate students or residents. Fewer faculty (vs trainees) agreed that open access was an important factor in deciding where to publish; faculty and postdoctoral researchers were more likely to expect to pay more to publish in an open-access journal. Most respondents (120/145, 82.7%) agreed/strongly agreed that the decision to accept a manuscript should not be influenced by publication charges, but 50% (56/112) indicated that they “didn’t know” how publishing costs were supported. Of the 142 respondents who answered, 33 (23.0%) indicated awareness of the term “predatory journal”; 34 (23.9%) were aware of the Directory of Open Access Journals; 24 (16.9%) were aware of the Science “sting” article about predatory journals; and 7 (4.8%) were aware of Beall’s list. Most (93/144, 64.5%) definitions of predatory journals described poor but not predatory journal practices, and some respondents misunderstood the term completely. Mentors should help novice authors to be aware of predatory journals and to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate open-access journals, thus selecting the

  15. Scientific meeting abstracts: significance, access, and trends.

    PubMed Central

    Kelly, J A

    1998-01-01

    Abstracts of scientific papers and posters that are presented at annual scientific meetings of professional societies are part of the broader category of conference literature. They are an important avenue for the dissemination of current data. While timely and succinct, these abstracts present problems such as an abbreviated peer review and incomplete bibliographic access. METHODS: Seventy societies of health sciences professionals were surveyed about the publication of abstracts from their annual meetings. Nineteen frequently cited journals also were contacted about their policies on the citation of meeting abstracts. Ten databases were searched for the presence of meetings abstracts. RESULTS: Ninety percent of the seventy societies publish their abstracts, with nearly half appearing in the society's journal. Seventy-seven percent of the societies supply meeting attendees with a copy of each abstract, and 43% make their abstracts available in an electronic format. Most of the journals surveyed allow meeting abstracts to be cited. Bibliographic access to these abstracts does not appear to be widespread. CONCLUSIONS: Meeting abstracts play an important role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Bibliographic access to meeting abstracts is very limited. The trend toward making meeting abstracts available via the Internet has the potential to give a broader audience access to the information they contain. PMID:9549015

  16. Scientific Journal Publishing: Yearly Volume and Open Access Availability

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bjork, Bo-Christer; Roos, Annikki; Lauri, Mari

    2009-01-01

    Introduction: We estimate the total yearly volume of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles published world-wide as well as the share of these articles available openly on the Web either directly or as copies in e-print repositories. Method: We rely on data from two commercial databases (ISI and Ulrich's Periodicals Directory) supplemented by…

  17. [The Open Access Initiative (OAI) in the scientific literature].

    PubMed

    Sánchez-Martín, Francisco M; Millán Rodríguez, Félix; Villavicencio Mavrich, Humberto

    2009-01-01

    According to the declaration of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (OAI) is defined as a editorial model in which access to scientific journal literature and his use are free. Free flow of information allowed by Internet has been the basis of this initiative. The Bethesda and the Berlin declarations, supported by some international agencies, proposes to require researchers to deposit copies of all articles published in a self-archive or an Open Access repository, and encourage researchers to publish their research papers in journals Open Access. This paper reviews the keys of the OAI, with their strengths and controversial aspects; and it discusses the position of databases, search engines and repositories of biomedical information, as well as the attitude of the scientists, publishers and journals. So far the journal Actas Urológicas Españolas (Act Urol Esp) offer their contents on Open Access as On Line in Spanish and English.

  18. The textual characteristics of traditional and Open Access scientific journals are similar.

    PubMed

    Verspoor, Karin; Cohen, K Bretonnel; Hunter, Lawrence

    2009-06-15

    Recent years have seen an increased amount of natural language processing (NLP) work on full text biomedical journal publications. Much of this work is done with Open Access journal articles. Such work assumes that Open Access articles are representative of biomedical publications in general and that methods developed for analysis of Open Access full text publications will generalize to the biomedical literature as a whole. If this assumption is wrong, the cost to the community will be large, including not just wasted resources, but also flawed science. This paper examines that assumption. We collected two sets of documents, one consisting only of Open Access publications and the other consisting only of traditional journal publications. We examined them for differences in surface linguistic structures that have obvious consequences for the ease or difficulty of natural language processing and for differences in semantic content as reflected in lexical items. Regarding surface linguistic structures, we examined the incidence of conjunctions, negation, passives, and pronominal anaphora, and found that the two collections did not differ. We also examined the distribution of sentence lengths and found that both collections were characterized by the same mode. Regarding lexical items, we found that the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the two collections was low, and was lower than the divergence between either collection and a reference corpus. Where small differences did exist, log likelihood analysis showed that they were primarily in the area of formatting and in specific named entities. We did not find structural or semantic differences between the Open Access and traditional journal collections.

  19. The textual characteristics of traditional and Open Access scientific journals are similar

    PubMed Central

    Verspoor, Karin; Cohen, K Bretonnel; Hunter, Lawrence

    2009-01-01

    Background Recent years have seen an increased amount of natural language processing (NLP) work on full text biomedical journal publications. Much of this work is done with Open Access journal articles. Such work assumes that Open Access articles are representative of biomedical publications in general and that methods developed for analysis of Open Access full text publications will generalize to the biomedical literature as a whole. If this assumption is wrong, the cost to the community will be large, including not just wasted resources, but also flawed science. This paper examines that assumption. Results We collected two sets of documents, one consisting only of Open Access publications and the other consisting only of traditional journal publications. We examined them for differences in surface linguistic structures that have obvious consequences for the ease or difficulty of natural language processing and for differences in semantic content as reflected in lexical items. Regarding surface linguistic structures, we examined the incidence of conjunctions, negation, passives, and pronominal anaphora, and found that the two collections did not differ. We also examined the distribution of sentence lengths and found that both collections were characterized by the same mode. Regarding lexical items, we found that the Kullback-Leibler divergence between the two collections was low, and was lower than the divergence between either collection and a reference corpus. Where small differences did exist, log likelihood analysis showed that they were primarily in the area of formatting and in specific named entities. Conclusion We did not find structural or semantic differences between the Open Access and traditional journal collections. PMID:19527520

  20. For free or for fee? Dilemma of small scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Kljaković-Gaspić, Marko; Petrak, Jelka; Rudan, Igor; Biloglav, Zrinka

    2007-06-01

    Biomedical publishing is becoming increasingly dominated by multinational companies, advertising research articles at the international market, presenting them electronically through web-based services, and distributing them to readers-consumers. It seems that they will soon become the sole publishers for the majority of biomedical journals. In the past decade, however, we witnessed a quiet revolution in the whole structure of scientific communication, influenced by new technologies and initiatives such as Open Access, PubMedCentral, PLoS, and BioMedCentral. The Croatian Medical Journal (CMJ) has recently been approached by two major publishing companies and offered to become one of the journals in their group. The editorial decision was to join neither of the publishers. We felt that the decision had to be explained to our readers by defining CMJ's position in global scientific and medical journal publishing. Our experience may be similar to that of the many biomedical journals which find themselves in a dilemma whether to join major publishers or not.

  1. The Open Access Model of Meteorologische Zeitschrift and other meteorological journals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emeis, S.

    2009-09-01

    Today's availability and possibilities of the internet have already brought significant changes to the means of scientific communication. This also affects the publication and reception of peer-reviewed papers in scientific journals. In pre-internet times, the publication of scientific journals was mainly financed through subscription fees paid by libraries and other subscribers. The readers went to the libraries of their institution to search, read, and photocopy these papers. Today, everybody expects to have scientific papers more or less freely available on their desktop computers and from their printers. This has forced the publishers to change the financial model for the publication of scientific papers. An increasing number of journals now publish papers whose production costs have to be paid before the publication by the author or its institution. Those "pre-paid” papers are then freely available from the internet. This publication model has become known as "Open Access (OA)” model. Also the 126-year old Meteorologische Zeitschrift has changed its publication model to an Optional Open Access model. The features of this model will be presented and compared to other OA models with meteorological journals. This change in the publication models with a shift of its payment from the end (libraries and subscribers) to the beginning of the publication process (authors) has also confronted the scientific research and funding institutions with some problems. They must now also change their structures in financing one of their major outputs, the publications of their researchers. A few aspects of the present state of this shift will be addressed.

  2. Open-Access Mega-Journals: A Bibliometric Profile.

    PubMed

    Wakeling, Simon; Willett, Peter; Creaser, Claire; Fry, Jenny; Pinfield, Stephen; Spezi, Valérie

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we present the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of eleven open-access mega-journals (OAMJs). OAMJs are a relatively recent phenomenon, and have been characterised as having four key characteristics: large size; broad disciplinary scope; a Gold-OA business model; and a peer-review policy that seeks to determine only the scientific soundness of the research rather than evaluate the novelty or significance of the work. Our investigation focuses on four key modes of analysis: journal outputs (the number of articles published and changes in output over time); OAMJ author characteristics (nationalities and institutional affiliations); subject areas (the disciplinary scope of OAMJs, and variations in sub-disciplinary output); and citation profiles (the citation distributions of each OAMJ, and the impact of citing journals). We found that while the total output of the eleven mega-journals grew by 14.9% between 2014 and 2015, this growth is largely attributable to the increased output of Scientific Reports and Medicine. We also found substantial variation in the geographical distribution of authors. Several journals have a relatively high proportion of Chinese authors, and we suggest this may be linked to these journals' high Journal Impact Factors (JIFs). The mega-journals were also found to vary in subject scope, with several journals publishing disproportionately high numbers of articles in certain sub-disciplines. Our citation analsysis offers support for Björk & Catani's suggestion that OAMJs's citation distributions can be similar to those of traditional journals, while noting considerable variation in citation rates across the eleven titles. We conclude that while the OAMJ term is useful as a means of grouping journals which share a set of key characteristics, there is no such thing as a "typical" mega-journal, and we suggest several areas for additional research that might help us better understand the current and future role of OAMJs in

  3. Support Science by Publishing in Scientific Society Journals.

    PubMed

    Schloss, Patrick D; Johnston, Mark; Casadevall, Arturo

    2017-09-26

    Scientific societies provide numerous services to the scientific enterprise, including convening meetings, publishing journals, developing scientific programs, advocating for science, promoting education, providing cohesion and direction for the discipline, and more. For most scientific societies, publishing provides revenues that support these important activities. In recent decades, the proportion of papers on microbiology published in scientific society journals has declined. This is largely due to two competing pressures: authors' drive to publish in "glam journals"-those with high journal impact factors-and the availability of "mega journals," which offer speedy publication of articles regardless of their potential impact. The decline in submissions to scientific society journals and the lack of enthusiasm on the part of many scientists to publish in them should be matters of serious concern to all scientists because they impact the service that scientific societies can provide to their members and to science. Copyright © 2017 Schloss et al.

  4. Institute for Scientific Information-indexed biomedical journals of Saudi Arabia

    PubMed Central

    Rohra, Dileep K.; Rohra, Vikram K.; Cahusac, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: To compare the journal impact factor (JIF) and Eigenfactor score (ES) of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)-indexed biomedical journals published from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the last 8 years. Methods: This is a retrospective study, conducted at Alfaisal University, Riyadh, KSA from January to March 2016. The Journal Citation Reports of ISI Web of Knowledge were accessed, and 6 Saudi biomedical journals were included for analysis. Results: All Saudi journals have improved their IF compared with their baseline. However, the performance of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Neurosciences has been exceptionally good. The biggest improvement in percent growth in JIF was seen in the Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal (approximately 887%) followed by Neurosciences (approximately 462%). Interestingly, the ES of all biomedical journals, except Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology and Saudi Medical Journal, increased over the years. The greatest growth in ES (more than 5 fold) was noted for Neurosciences and Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. Conclusion: This study shows that the overall quality of all Saudi biomedical journals has improved in the last 8 years. PMID:27761565

  5. Funding free and universal access to Journal of Neuroinflammation.

    PubMed

    Mrak, Robert E; Griffin, W Sue T

    2004-10-14

    Journal of Neuroinflammation is an Open Access, online journal published by BioMed Central. Open Access publishing provides instant and universal availability of published work to any potential reader, worldwide, completely free of subscriptions, passwords, and charges. Further, authors retain copyright for their work, facilitating its dissemination. Open Access publishing is made possible by article-processing charges assessed "on the front end" to authors, their institutions, or their funding agencies. Beginning November 1, 2004, the Journal of Neuroinflammation will introduce article-processing charges of around US$525 for accepted articles. This charge will be waived for authors from institutions that are BioMed Central members, and in additional cases for reasons of genuine financial hardship. These article-processing charges pay for an electronic submission process that facilitates efficient and thorough peer review, for publication costs involved in providing the article freely and universally accessible in various formats online, and for the processes required for the article's inclusion in PubMed and its archiving in PubMed Central, e-Depot, Potsdam and INIST. There is no remuneration of any kind provided to the Editors-in-Chief, to any members of the Editorial Board, or to peer reviewers; all of whose work is entirely voluntary. Our article-processing charge is less than charges frequently levied by traditional journals: the Journal of Neuroinflammation does not levy any additional page or color charges on top of this fee, and there are no reprint costs as publication-quality pdf files are provided, free, for distribution in lieu of reprints. Our article-processing charge will enable full, immediate, and continued Open Access for all work published in Journal of Neuroinflammation. The benefits from such Open Access will accrue to readers, through unrestricted access; to authors, through the widest possible dissemination of their work; and to science and

  6. Accessing Electronic Journals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McKay, Sharon Cline

    1999-01-01

    Discusses issues librarians need to consider when providing access to electronic journals. Topics include gateways; index and abstract services; validation and pay-per-view; title selection; integration with OPACs (online public access catalogs)or Web sites; paper availability; ownership versus access; usage restrictions; and services offered…

  7. Support Science by Publishing in Scientific Society Journals

    PubMed Central

    Johnston, Mark

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT Scientific societies provide numerous services to the scientific enterprise, including convening meetings, publishing journals, developing scientific programs, advocating for science, promoting education, providing cohesion and direction for the discipline, and more. For most scientific societies, publishing provides revenues that support these important activities. In recent decades, the proportion of papers on microbiology published in scientific society journals has declined. This is largely due to two competing pressures: authors’ drive to publish in “glam journals”—those with high journal impact factors—and the availability of “mega journals,” which offer speedy publication of articles regardless of their potential impact. The decline in submissions to scientific society journals and the lack of enthusiasm on the part of many scientists to publish in them should be matters of serious concern to all scientists because they impact the service that scientific societies can provide to their members and to science. PMID:28951482

  8. Open-Access Mega-Journals: A Bibliometric Profile

    PubMed Central

    Willett, Peter; Creaser, Claire; Fry, Jenny; Pinfield, Stephen; Spezi, Valérie

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we present the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of eleven open-access mega-journals (OAMJs). OAMJs are a relatively recent phenomenon, and have been characterised as having four key characteristics: large size; broad disciplinary scope; a Gold-OA business model; and a peer-review policy that seeks to determine only the scientific soundness of the research rather than evaluate the novelty or significance of the work. Our investigation focuses on four key modes of analysis: journal outputs (the number of articles published and changes in output over time); OAMJ author characteristics (nationalities and institutional affiliations); subject areas (the disciplinary scope of OAMJs, and variations in sub-disciplinary output); and citation profiles (the citation distributions of each OAMJ, and the impact of citing journals). We found that while the total output of the eleven mega-journals grew by 14.9% between 2014 and 2015, this growth is largely attributable to the increased output of Scientific Reports and Medicine. We also found substantial variation in the geographical distribution of authors. Several journals have a relatively high proportion of Chinese authors, and we suggest this may be linked to these journals’ high Journal Impact Factors (JIFs). The mega-journals were also found to vary in subject scope, with several journals publishing disproportionately high numbers of articles in certain sub-disciplines. Our citation analsysis offers support for Björk & Catani’s suggestion that OAMJs’s citation distributions can be similar to those of traditional journals, while noting considerable variation in citation rates across the eleven titles. We conclude that while the OAMJ term is useful as a means of grouping journals which share a set of key characteristics, there is no such thing as a “typical” mega-journal, and we suggest several areas for additional research that might help us better understand the current and future role of

  9. Undergraduate Journal Club as an Intervention to Improve Student Development in Applying the Scientific Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sandefur, Conner I.; Gordy, Claire

    2016-01-01

    We developed and implemented a series of workshops and seminars in an undergraduate journal club targeted at improving student development in applying the scientific process. Students were surveyed before and after participating in the club about their confidence in accessing, analyzing, and reporting scientific research. Post-club, the students…

  10. Build infrastructure in publishing scientific journals to benefit medical scientists.

    PubMed

    Dai, Ni; Xu, Dingyao; Zhong, Xiyao; Li, Li; Ling, Qibo; Bu, Zhaode

    2014-02-01

    There is urgent need for medical journals to optimize their publishing processes and strategies to satisfy the huge need for medical scientists to publish their articles, and then obtain better prestige and impact in scientific and research community. These strategies include optimizing the process of peer-review, utilizing open-access publishing models actively, finding ways of saving costs and getting revenue, smartly dealing with research fraud or misconduct, maintaining sound relationship with pharmaceutical companies, and managing to provide relevant and useful information for clinical practitioners and researchers. Scientists, publishers, societies and organizations need to work together to publish internationally renowned medical journals.

  11. A study of innovative features in scholarly open access journals.

    PubMed

    Björk, Bo-Christer

    2011-12-16

    The emergence of the Internet has triggered tremendous changes in the publication of scientific peer-reviewed journals. Today, journals are usually available in parallel electronic versions, but the way the peer-review process works, the look of articles and journals, and the rigid and slow publication schedules have remained largely unchanged, at least for the vast majority of subscription-based journals. Those publishing firms and scholarly publishers who have chosen the more radical option of open access (OA), in which the content of journals is freely accessible to anybody with Internet connectivity, have had a much bigger degree of freedom to experiment with innovations. The objective was to study how open access journals have experimented with innovations concerning ways of organizing the peer review, the format of journals and articles, new interactive and media formats, and novel publishing revenue models. The features of 24 open access journals were studied. The journals were chosen in a nonrandom manner from the approximately 7000 existing OA journals based on available information about interesting journals and include both representative cases and highly innovative outlier cases. Most early OA journals in the 1990s were founded by individual scholars and used a business model based on voluntary work close in spirit to open-source development of software. In the next wave, many long-established journals, in particular society journals and journals from regions such as Latin America, made their articles OA when they started publishing parallel electronic versions. From about 2002 on, newly founded professional OA publishing firms using article-processing charges to fund their operations have emerged. Over the years, there have been several experiments with new forms of peer review, media enhancements, and the inclusion of structured data sets with articles. In recent years, the growth of OA publishing has also been facilitated by the availability of open

  12. A Study of Innovative Features in Scholarly Open Access Journals

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background The emergence of the Internet has triggered tremendous changes in the publication of scientific peer-reviewed journals. Today, journals are usually available in parallel electronic versions, but the way the peer-review process works, the look of articles and journals, and the rigid and slow publication schedules have remained largely unchanged, at least for the vast majority of subscription-based journals. Those publishing firms and scholarly publishers who have chosen the more radical option of open access (OA), in which the content of journals is freely accessible to anybody with Internet connectivity, have had a much bigger degree of freedom to experiment with innovations. Objective The objective was to study how open access journals have experimented with innovations concerning ways of organizing the peer review, the format of journals and articles, new interactive and media formats, and novel publishing revenue models. Methods The features of 24 open access journals were studied. The journals were chosen in a nonrandom manner from the approximately 7000 existing OA journals based on available information about interesting journals and include both representative cases and highly innovative outlier cases. Results Most early OA journals in the 1990s were founded by individual scholars and used a business model based on voluntary work close in spirit to open-source development of software. In the next wave, many long-established journals, in particular society journals and journals from regions such as Latin America, made their articles OA when they started publishing parallel electronic versions. From about 2002 on, newly founded professional OA publishing firms using article-processing charges to fund their operations have emerged. Over the years, there have been several experiments with new forms of peer review, media enhancements, and the inclusion of structured data sets with articles. In recent years, the growth of OA publishing has also been

  13. Neophilia Ranking of Scientific Journals.

    PubMed

    Packalen, Mikko; Bhattacharya, Jay

    2017-01-01

    The ranking of scientific journals is important because of the signal it sends to scientists about what is considered most vital for scientific progress. Existing ranking systems focus on measuring the influence of a scientific paper (citations)-these rankings do not reward journals for publishing innovative work that builds on new ideas. We propose an alternative ranking based on the proclivity of journals to publish papers that build on new ideas, and we implement this ranking via a text-based analysis of all published biomedical papers dating back to 1946. In addition, we compare our neophilia ranking to citation-based (impact factor) rankings; this comparison shows that the two ranking approaches are distinct. Prior theoretical work suggests an active role for our neophilia index in science policy. Absent an explicit incentive to pursue novel science, scientists underinvest in innovative work because of a coordination problem: for work on a new idea to flourish, many scientists must decide to adopt it in their work. Rankings that are based purely on influence thus do not provide sufficient incentives for publishing innovative work. By contrast, adoption of the neophilia index as part of journal-ranking procedures by funding agencies and university administrators would provide an explicit incentive for journals to publish innovative work and thus help solve the coordination problem by increasing scientists' incentives to pursue innovative work.

  14. Neophilia Ranking of Scientific Journals

    PubMed Central

    Packalen, Mikko; Bhattacharya, Jay

    2017-01-01

    The ranking of scientific journals is important because of the signal it sends to scientists about what is considered most vital for scientific progress. Existing ranking systems focus on measuring the influence of a scientific paper (citations)—these rankings do not reward journals for publishing innovative work that builds on new ideas. We propose an alternative ranking based on the proclivity of journals to publish papers that build on new ideas, and we implement this ranking via a text-based analysis of all published biomedical papers dating back to 1946. In addition, we compare our neophilia ranking to citation-based (impact factor) rankings; this comparison shows that the two ranking approaches are distinct. Prior theoretical work suggests an active role for our neophilia index in science policy. Absent an explicit incentive to pursue novel science, scientists underinvest in innovative work because of a coordination problem: for work on a new idea to flourish, many scientists must decide to adopt it in their work. Rankings that are based purely on influence thus do not provide sufficient incentives for publishing innovative work. By contrast, adoption of the neophilia index as part of journal-ranking procedures by funding agencies and university administrators would provide an explicit incentive for journals to publish innovative work and thus help solve the coordination problem by increasing scientists' incentives to pursue innovative work. PMID:28713181

  15. On toxic effects of scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Molinie, Antoinette; Bodenhausen, Geoffrey

    2013-06-01

    The advent of online publishing greatly facilitates the dissemination of scientific results. This revolution might have led to the untimely death of many traditional publishing companies, since today’s scientists are perfectly capable of writing, formatting and uploading files to appropriate websites that can be consulted by colleagues and the general public alike. They also have the intellectual resources to criticize each other and organize an anonymous peer review system. The Open Access approach appears promising in this respect, but we cannot ignore that it is fraught with editorial and economic problems. A few powerful publishing companies not only managed to survive, but also rake up considerable profits. Moreover, they succeeded in becoming influential ‘trendsetters’ since they decide which papers deserve to be published. To make money, one must set novel trends, like Christian Dior or Levi’s in fashion, and open new markets, for example in Asia. In doing so, the publishers tend to supplant both national and transnational funding agencies in defining science policy. In many cases, these agencies tend simply to adopt the commercial criteria defined by the journals, forever eager to improve their impact factors. It is not obvious that the publishers of scientific journals, the editorial boards that they appoint, or the people who sift through the vast numbers of papers submitted to a handful of ‘top’ journals are endowed with sufficient insight to set the trends of future science. It seems even less obvious that funding agencies should blindly follow the fashion trends set by the publishers. The perverse relationships between private publishers and public funding agencies may have a toxic effect on science policy.

  16. Assessing availability of scientific journals, databases, and health library services in Canadian health ministries: a cross-sectional study.

    PubMed

    Léon, Grégory; Ouimet, Mathieu; Lavis, John N; Grimshaw, Jeremy; Gagnon, Marie-Pierre

    2013-03-21

    Evidence-informed health policymaking logically depends on timely access to research evidence. To our knowledge, despite the substantial political and societal pressure to enhance the use of the best available research evidence in public health policy and program decision making, there is no study addressing availability of peer-reviewed research in Canadian health ministries. To assess availability of (1) a purposive sample of high-ranking scientific journals, (2) bibliographic databases, and (3) health library services in the fourteen Canadian health ministries. From May to October 2011, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among librarians employed by Canadian health ministries to collect information relative to availability of scientific journals, bibliographic databases, and health library services. Availability of scientific journals in each ministry was determined using a sample of 48 journals selected from the 2009 Journal Citation Reports (Sciences and Social Sciences Editions). Selection criteria were: relevance for health policy based on scope note information about subject categories and journal popularity based on impact factors. We found that the majority of Canadian health ministries did not have subscription access to key journals and relied heavily on interlibrary loans. Overall, based on a sample of high-ranking scientific journals, availability of journals through interlibrary loans, online and print-only subscriptions was estimated at 63%, 28% and 3%, respectively. Health Canada had a 2.3-fold higher number of journal subscriptions than that of the provincial ministries' average. Most of the organisations provided access to numerous discipline-specific and multidisciplinary databases. Many organisations provided access to the library resources described through library partnerships or consortia. No professionally led health library environment was found in four out of fourteen Canadian health ministries (i.e. Manitoba Health, Northwest

  17. Assessing availability of scientific journals, databases, and health library services in Canadian health ministries: a cross-sectional study

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background Evidence-informed health policymaking logically depends on timely access to research evidence. To our knowledge, despite the substantial political and societal pressure to enhance the use of the best available research evidence in public health policy and program decision making, there is no study addressing availability of peer-reviewed research in Canadian health ministries. Objectives To assess availability of (1) a purposive sample of high-ranking scientific journals, (2) bibliographic databases, and (3) health library services in the fourteen Canadian health ministries. Methods From May to October 2011, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among librarians employed by Canadian health ministries to collect information relative to availability of scientific journals, bibliographic databases, and health library services. Availability of scientific journals in each ministry was determined using a sample of 48 journals selected from the 2009 Journal Citation Reports (Sciences and Social Sciences Editions). Selection criteria were: relevance for health policy based on scope note information about subject categories and journal popularity based on impact factors. Results We found that the majority of Canadian health ministries did not have subscription access to key journals and relied heavily on interlibrary loans. Overall, based on a sample of high-ranking scientific journals, availability of journals through interlibrary loans, online and print-only subscriptions was estimated at 63%, 28% and 3%, respectively. Health Canada had a 2.3-fold higher number of journal subscriptions than that of the provincial ministries’ average. Most of the organisations provided access to numerous discipline-specific and multidisciplinary databases. Many organisations provided access to the library resources described through library partnerships or consortia. No professionally led health library environment was found in four out of fourteen Canadian health ministries

  18. The Central Asian Journal of Global Health to Increase Scientific Productivity.

    PubMed

    Freese, Kyle; Shubnikov, Eugene; LaPorte, Ron; Adambekov, Shalkar; Askarova, Sholpan; Zhumadilov, Zhaxybay; Linkov, Faina

    2013-01-01

    The WHO Collaborating Center at the University of Pittsburgh, USA partnering with Nazarbayev University, developed the Central Asian Journal of Global Health (CAJGH, cajgh.pitt.edu) in order to increase scientific productivity in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. Scientists in this region often have difficulty publishing in upper tier English language scientific journals due to language barriers, high publication fees, and a lack of access to mentoring services. CAJGH seeks to help scientists overcome these challenges by providing peer-reviewed publication free of change with English and research mentoring services available to selected authors. CAJGH began as a way to expand the Supercourse scientific network (www.pitt.edu/~super1) in the Central Asian region in order to rapidly disseminate educational materials. The network began with approximately 60 individuals in five Central Asian countries and has grown to over 1,300 in a few short years. The CAJGH website receives nearly 900 visits per month. The University of Pittsburgh's "open access publishing system" was utilized to create CAJGH in 2012. There are two branches of the CAJGH editorial board: Astana (at the Center for Life Sciences, Nazarbayev University) and Pittsburgh (WHO Collaborating Center). Both are comprised of leading scientists and expert staff who work together throughout the review and publication process. Two complete issues have been published since 2012 and a third is now underway. Even though CAJGH is a new journal, the editorial board uses a rigorous review process; fewer than 50% of all submitted articles are forwarded to peer review or accepted for publication. Furthermore, in 2014, CAJGH will apply to be cross referenced in PubMed and Scopes. CAJGH is one of the first English language journals in the Central Asian region that reaches a large number of scientists. This journal fills a unique niche that will assist scientists in Kazakhstan and Central Asia publish their research findings and

  19. Publishing in black and white: the relevance of listing of scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Misra, Durga Prasanna; Ravindran, Vinod; Wakhlu, Anupam; Sharma, Aman; Agarwal, Vikas; Negi, Vir Singh

    2017-11-01

    Scientific publishing, including in the field of Rheumatology, is evolving rapidly. Predatory journals are one of the major threats to contemporary publishing, especially to eager and naïve authors. In this narrative review, we discuss mechanisms that authors can employ to white list genuine scientific journals and blacklist "predatory" ones. Inclusion of a journal in reputed indices such as Medline (but not just Pubmed), Web of Science, Scopus or Embase raises the likelihood that the journal is genuine, more so if it is included in the current Journal Citation Reports. Other commercially available whitelists also exist, so also whitelists published by regulatory authorities in some countries. A commercially available blacklist has emerged since the very useful Beall's blacklist became defunct. In the absence of access to a whitelist or blacklist, certain characteristics such as repeated email solicitations for articles with an extremely narrow deadline from unknown sources, lack of inclusion in reputed indices, journals not published or endorsed by national or international society and scarcity of currently published articles should render authors suspicious of the genuine nature of a journal. National societies should work together to generate subject-specific (including Rheumatology specific) whitelists that can be available free of cost to authors from all over the world.

  20. Teaching the Anatomy of a Scientific Journal Article

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schinske, Jeffrey N.; Clayman, Karen; Busch, Allison K.; Tanner, Kimberly D.

    2008-01-01

    To promote inquiry-based learning, the authors integrate the anatomy of a scientific journal article into their secondary science curriculum. In this article, they present three classroom activities used to teach students about the function and format of scientific journal articles. The first focuses on journal article figures, the second on…

  1. Build infrastructure in publishing scientific journals to benefit medical scientists

    PubMed Central

    Dai, Ni; Xu, Dingyao; Zhong, Xiyao; Li, Li; Ling, Qibo

    2014-01-01

    There is urgent need for medical journals to optimize their publishing processes and strategies to satisfy the huge need for medical scientists to publish their articles, and then obtain better prestige and impact in scientific and research community. These strategies include optimizing the process of peer-review, utilizing open-access publishing models actively, finding ways of saving costs and getting revenue, smartly dealing with research fraud or misconduct, maintaining sound relationship with pharmaceutical companies, and managing to provide relevant and useful information for clinical practitioners and researchers. Scientists, publishers, societies and organizations need to work together to publish internationally renowned medical journals. PMID:24653634

  2. Exploring access to scientific literature using content-based image retrieval

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deserno, Thomas M.; Antani, Sameer; Long, Rodney

    2007-03-01

    The number of articles published in the scientific medical literature is continuously increasing, and Web access to the journals is becoming common. Databases such as SPIE Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, indices such as PubMed, and search engines such as Google provide the user with sophisticated full-text search capabilities. However, information in images and graphs within these articles is entirely disregarded. In this paper, we quantify the potential impact of using content-based image retrieval (CBIR) to access this non-text data. Based on the Journal Citations Report (JCR), the journal Radiology was selected for this study. In 2005, 734 articles were published electronically in this journal. This included 2,587 figures, which yields a rate of 3.52 figures per article. Furthermore, 56.4% of these figures are composed of several individual panels, i.e. the figure combines different images and/or graphs. According to the Image Cross-Language Evaluation Forum (ImageCLEF), the error rate of automatic identification of medical images is about 15%. Therefore, it is expected that, by applying ImageCLEF-like techniques, already 95.5% of articles could be retrieved by means of CBIR. The challenge for CBIR in scientific literature, however, is the use of local texture properties to analyze individual image panels in composite illustrations. Using local features for content-based image representation, 8.81 images per article are available, and the predicted correctness rate may increase to 98.3%. From this study, we conclude that CBIR may have a high impact in medical literature research and suggest that additional research in this area is warranted.

  3. A national survey of UK health libraries investigating the cost of interlibrary loan services and assessing the accessibility to key orthopaedic journals.

    PubMed

    Tahim, Arpan; Stokes, Oliver; Vedi, Vikas

    2012-06-01

     NHS Library Services are utilised by NHS staff and junior trainees to locate scientific papers that provide them with the evidence base required for modern medical practice. The cost of accessing articles can be considerable particularly for junior trainees.  This survey looks at variations in cost of journal article loans and investigates access to particular orthopaedic journals across the country.  A national survey of UK Health Libraries was performed. Access to and costs of journals and interlibrary loan services were assessed. Availability of five wide-reaching orthopaedic journals was investigated.  Seven hundred and ten libraries were identified. One hundred and ten libraries completed the questionnaire (16.7%). Of these, 96.2% reported free access to scientific journals for users. 99.1% of libraries used interlibrary loan services with 38.2% passing costs on to the user at an average of £2.99 per article. 72.7% of libraries supported orthopaedic services. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (British) had greatest onsite availability.  The study demonstrates fluctuations in cost of access to interlibrary loan services and variation in access to important orthopaedic journals. It provides a reflection of current policy of charging for the acquisition of medical evidence by libraries in the UK. © 2012 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2012 Health Libraries Group.

  4. [Reading behavior and preferences regarding subscriptions to scientific journals : Results of a survey of members of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery].

    PubMed

    Ronellenfitsch, U; Klinger, C; Buhr, H J; Post, S

    2015-11-01

    The purpose of surgical literature is to publish the latest study results and to provide continuing medical education to readers. For optimal allocation of resources, institutional subscribers, professional societies and scientific publishers require structured data on reading and subscription preferences of potential readers of surgical literature. To obtain representative data on the preferences of German general and visceral surgeons regarding reading of and subscription to scientific journals. All members of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV) were invited to participate in a web-based survey. Questions were asked on the affiliation and position of the member, individual journal subscriptions, institutional access to scientific journals, preferences regarding electronic or print articles and special subscriptions for society members. Answers were descriptively analyzed. A total of 630 out of 4091 (15 %) members participated in the survey and 73 % of the respondents had at least 1 individual subscription to a scientific journal. The most frequently subscribed journal was Der Chirurg (47 % of respondents). The institutional access to journals was deemed insufficient by 48 % of respondents, predominantly in primary care hospitals and outpatient clinics. Almost half of the respondents gave sufficient importance to reading printed versions of articles for which they would pay extra fees. A group subscription for society members was perceived as advantageous as long as no relevant extra costs were incurred. This structured survey among members of the DGAV provides data on preferences regarding reading of and subscription to scientific journals. Individual subscriptions to journals are still common, possibly due to suboptimal institutional access particularly at smaller non-academic institutions. In an age of online publications it seems surprising that many respondents place a high value on printed versions. The results are relevant for

  5. Public accessibility of biomedical articles from PubMed Central reduces journal readership--retrospective cohort analysis.

    PubMed

    Davis, Philip M

    2013-07-01

    Does PubMed Central--a government-run digital archive of biomedical articles--compete with scientific society journals? A longitudinal, retrospective cohort analysis of 13,223 articles (5999 treatment, 7224 control) published in 14 society-run biomedical research journals in nutrition, experimental biology, physiology, and radiology between February 2008 and January 2011 reveals a 21.4% reduction in full-text hypertext markup language (HTML) article downloads and a 13.8% reduction in portable document format (PDF) article downloads from the journals' websites when U.S. National Institutes of Health-sponsored articles (treatment) become freely available from the PubMed Central repository. In addition, the effect of PubMed Central on reducing PDF article downloads is increasing over time, growing at a rate of 1.6% per year. There was no longitudinal effect for full-text HTML downloads. While PubMed Central may be providing complementary access to readers traditionally underserved by scientific journals, the loss of article readership from the journal website may weaken the ability of the journal to build communities of interest around research papers, impede the communication of news and events to scientific society members and journal readers, and reduce the perceived value of the journal to institutional subscribers.

  6. Fostering diffusion of scientific contents of National Society Cardiovascular Journals: The new ESC search engine.

    PubMed

    Alfonso, Fernando; Gonçalves, Lino; Pinto, Fausto; Timmis, Adam; Ector, Hugo; Ambrosio, Giuseppe; Vardas, Panos

    2015-05-01

    European Society of Cardiology (ESC) National Society Cardiovascular Journals (NSCJs) are high-quality biomedical journals focused on cardiovascular diseases. The Editors' Network of the ESC devises editorial initiatives aimed at improving the scientific quality and diffusion of NSCJ. In this article we will discuss on the importance of the Internet, electronic editions and open access strategies on scientific publishing. Finally, we will propose a new editorial initiative based on a novel electronic tool on the ESC web-page that may further help to increase the dissemination of contents and visibility of NSCJs. Copyright © 2013 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  7. Positioning Open Access Journals in a LIS Journal Ranking

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Xia, Jingfeng

    2012-01-01

    This research uses the h-index to rank the quality of library and information science journals between 2004 and 2008. Selected open access (OA) journals are included in the ranking to assess current OA development in support of scholarly communication. It is found that OA journals have gained momentum supporting high-quality research and…

  8. Scopus: A system for the evaluation of scientific journals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guz, A. N.; Rushchitsky, J. J.

    2009-04-01

    The paper discusses the evaluation of scientific journals based on the Scopus database, information tools, and criteria. The SJR (SCImago Journal Rank) as the main criterion used by Scopus to evaluate scientific journals is considered. The Scopus and ISI systems are compared using information on the journal Prikladnaya Mekhanika ( International Applied Mechanics), a number of world-known journals on mechanics, and some journals on natural sciences issued by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Some comments and proposals are formulated. This paper may be considered as a follow up on papers published in Prikladnaya Mekhanika ( International Applied Mechanics) in 2005-2009

  9. Access to scientific publications: the scientist's perspective.

    PubMed

    Voronin, Yegor; Myrzahmetov, Askar; Bernstein, Alan

    2011-01-01

    Scientific publishing is undergoing significant changes due to the growth of online publications, increases in the number of open access journals, and policies of funders and universities requiring authors to ensure that their publications become publicly accessible. Most studies of the impact of these changes have focused on the growth of articles available through open access or the number of open-access journals. Here, we investigated access to publications at a number of institutes and universities around the world, focusing on publications in HIV vaccine research--an area of biomedical research with special importance to the developing world. We selected research papers in HIV vaccine research field, creating: 1) a first set of 50 most recently published papers with keywords "HIV vaccine" and 2) a second set of 200 articles randomly selected from those cited in the first set. Access to the majority (80%) of the recently published articles required subscription, while cited literature was much more accessible (67% freely available online). Subscriptions at a number of institutions around the world were assessed for providing access to subscription-only articles from the two sets. The access levels varied widely, ranging among institutions from 20% to 90%. Through the WHO-supported HINARI program, institutes in low-income countries had access comparable to that of institutes in the North. Finally, we examined the response rates for reprint requests sent to corresponding authors, a method commonly used before internet access became widespread. Contacting corresponding authors with requests for electronic copies of articles by email resulted in a 55-60% success rate, although in some cases it took up to 1.5 months to get a response. While research articles are increasingly available on the internet in open access format, institutional subscriptions continue to play an important role. However, subscriptions do not provide access to the full range of HIV vaccine

  10. [Scientific journals of medical students in Latin-America].

    PubMed

    Cabrera-Samith, Ignacio; Oróstegui-Pinilla, Diana; Angulo-Bazán, Yolanda; Mayta-Tristán, Percy; Rodríguez-Morales, Alfonso J

    2010-11-01

    This article deals with the history and evolution of student's scientific journals in Latin-America, their beginnings, how many still exist and which is their future projection. Relevant events show the growth of student's scientific journals in Latin-America and how are they working together to improve their quality. This article is addressed not only for Latin American readers but also to worldwide readers. Latin American medical students are consistently working together to publish scientific research, whose quality is constantly improving.

  11. The World's Approach toward Publishing in Springer and Elsevier's APC-Funded Open Access Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sotudeh, Hajar; Ghasempour, Zahra

    2018-01-01

    Purpose: The present study explored tendencies of the world's countries--at individual and scientific development levels--toward publishing in APC-funded open access journals. Design/Methodology/Approach: Using a bibliometric method, it studied OA and NOA articles issued in Springer and Elsevier's APC journals? during 2007-2011. The data were…

  12. Enhancing Scientific Communication Through an Undergraduate Biology and Journalism Partnership.

    PubMed

    Schwingel, Johanna M

    2018-01-01

    Scientific terminology presents an obstacle to effective communication with nonscientific audiences. To overcome this obstacle, biology majors in a general microbiology elective completed a project involving two different audiences: a scientific audience of their peers and a general, nonscientific audience. First, students presented an overview of a primary research paper and the significance of its findings to a general, nonscientific audience in an elevator-type talk. This was followed by a peer interview with a student in a journalism course, in which the biology students needed to comprehend the article to effectively communicate it to the journalism students, and the journalism students needed to ask questions about an unfamiliar, technical topic. Next, the biology students wrote a summary of their article for a scientific audience. Finally, the students presented a figure from the article to their peers in a scientific, Bio-Minute format. The biology-journalism partnership allowed biology students to develop their ability to communicate scientific information and journalism students their ability to ask appropriate questions and establish a base of knowledge from which to write.

  13. Is open access sufficient? A review of the quality of open-access nursing journals.

    PubMed

    Crowe, Marie; Carlyle, Dave

    2015-02-01

    The present study aims to review the quality of open-access nursing journals listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals that published papers in 2013 with a nursing focus, written in English, and were freely accessible. Each journal was reviewed in relation to their publisher, year of commencement, number of papers published in 2013, fee for publication, indexing, impact factor, and evidence of requirements for ethics and disclosure statements. The quality of the journals was assessed by impact factors and the requirements for indexing in PubMed. A total of 552 were published in 2013 in the 19 open-access nursing journals that met the inclusion criteria. No journals had impact factors listed in Web of Knowledge, but three had low Scopus impact factors. Only five journals were indexed with PubMed. The quality of the 19 journals included in the review was evaluated as inferior to most subscription-fee journals. Mental health nursing has some responsibility to the general public, and in particular, consumers of mental health services and their families, for the quality of papers published in open-access journals. The way forward might involve dual-platform publication or a process that enables assessment of how research has improved clinical outcomes. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  14. Will Today's Electronic Journals Be Accessible in the 23rd Century: Issues in Long-Term Archiving (SIG STI, IFP)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lippert, Margaret

    2000-01-01

    This abstract of a planned session on access to scientific and technical journals addresses policy and standard issues related to long-term archives; digital archiving models; economic factors; hardware and software issues; multi-publisher electronic journal content integration; format considerations; and future data migration needs. (LRW)

  15. RESEARCH MISCONDUCT POLICIES OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS

    PubMed Central

    RESNIK, DAVID B.; PEDDADA, SHYAMAL; BRUNSON, WINNON

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to gather information on the misconduct policies of scientific journals. We contacted editors from a random sample of 399 journals drawn from the ISI Web of Knowledge database. We received 197 responses (49.4% response rate): 54.8% had a policy, and 47.7% had a formal (written) policy; 28.9% had a policy that only outlined procedures for handling misconduct, 15.7% had a policy that only defined misconduct, 10.2% had a policy that included both a definition and procedures; 26.9% of journals had a policy that was generated by the publisher, 13.2% had a policy that was generated by the journal, and 14.7% had a policy that was generated by another source, such as a professional association. We analyzed the relationship between having a policy and impact factor, field of science, publishing house, and nationality. Impact factor was the only variable with a statistically significant association with having a policy. Impact factor was slightly positively associated with whether or not the publisher had a policy, with an odds ratio of 1.49 (P < .0004) per 10 units increase in the impact factor, with a 95% confidence interval (1.20, 1.88). Our research indicates that more than half of scientific journals have developed misconduct policies, but that most of these policies do not define research misconduct and most of these policies were not generated by the journal. PMID:19757231

  16. Publishing in open access era: focus on respiratory journals

    PubMed Central

    Xu, Dingyao; Zhong, Xiyao; Li, Li; Ling, Qibo; Bu, Zhaode

    2014-01-01

    We have entered an open access publishing era. The impact and significance of open access is still under debate after two decades of evolution. Open access journals benefit researchers and the general public by promoting visibility, sharing and communicating. Non-mainstream journals should turn the challenge of open access into opportunity of presenting best research articles to the global readership. Open access journals need to optimize their business models to promote the healthy and continuous development. PMID:24822120

  17. Publishing in open access era: focus on respiratory journals.

    PubMed

    Dai, Ni; Xu, Dingyao; Zhong, Xiyao; Li, Li; Ling, Qibo; Bu, Zhaode

    2014-05-01

    We have entered an open access publishing era. The impact and significance of open access is still under debate after two decades of evolution. Open access journals benefit researchers and the general public by promoting visibility, sharing and communicating. Non-mainstream journals should turn the challenge of open access into opportunity of presenting best research articles to the global readership. Open access journals need to optimize their business models to promote the healthy and continuous development.

  18. Journal entries facilitating preprofessional scientific literacy and mutualistic symbiotic relationships

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vander Vliet, Valerie J.

    This study explored journal writing as an alternative assessment to promote the development of pre-professional scientific literacy and mutualistic symbiotic relationships between teaching and learning, instruction and assessment, and students and teachers. The larger context of this study is an action reaction project of the attempted transformation of a traditional first year undergraduate pre-professional biology class to sociocultural constructivist principles. The participants were commuter and residential, full and part-time students ranging in age from 18 to 27 and 18/21 were female. The backgrounds of the students varied considerably, ranging from low to upper middle income, including students of Black and Asian heritage. The setting was a medium-sized Midwestern university. The instructor has twenty years of experience teaching Biology at the college level. The data were analyzed using the constant comparative method and the development of grounded theory. The journal entries were analyzed as to their function and form in relationship to the development of multiple aspects of pre-professional scientific literacy. The perceptions of the students as to the significance of the use of journal entries were also determined through the analysis of their use of journal entries in their portfolios and statements in surveys and portfolios. The analysis revealed that journal entries promoted multiple aspects of pre-professional scientific literacy in both students and the instructor and facilitated the development of mutualistic symbiotic relationships between teaching and learning, instruction and assessment, and students and teachers. The function analysis revealed that the journal entries fulfilled the functions intended for the development of multiple aspects of pre-professional scientific literacy. The complexity of journal writing emerged from the form analysis, which revealed the multiple form elements inherent in journal entries. Students perceived journal

  19. [Scientific journalism and epidemiological risk].

    PubMed

    Luiz, Olinda do Carmo

    2007-01-01

    The importance of the communications media in the construction of symbols has been widely acknowledged. Many of the articles on health published in the daily newspapers mention medical studies, sourced from scientific publications focusing on new risks. The disclosure of risk studies in the mass media is also a topic for editorials and articles in scientific journals, focusing the problem of distortions and the appearance of contradictory news items. The purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning and content of disclosing scientific risk studies in large-circulation daily newspapers, analyzing news items published in Brazil and the scientific publications used as their sources during 2000. The "risk" is presented in the scientific research projects as a "black box" in the meaning of Latour, with the news items downplaying scientific disputes and underscoring associations between behavioral habits and the occurrence of diseases, emphasizing individual aspects of the epidemiological approach, to the detriment of the group.

  20. Reasons to temper enthusiasm about open access nursing journals.

    PubMed

    de Jong, Gideon

    2017-04-01

    Open access is a relatively new phenomenon within nursing science. Several papers from various nursing journals have been published recently on the disadvantages of the traditional model of purchasing proprietary fee-based databases to access scholarly information. Just few nursing scholars are less optimistic about the possible benefits of open access nursing journals. A critical reflection on the merits and pitfalls of open access journals along insights from the literature and personal opinion. Two arguments are discussed, providing justification for tempering enthusiasm about open access journals. First, only research groups with sufficient financial resources can publish in open access journals. Second, open access has conflicting incentives, where the aim is to expand production at the expense of publishing quality articles; a business model that fits well into a neoliberal discourse. There are valid reasons to criticise the traditional publishers for the excessive costs of a single article, therefore preventing the dissemination of scholarly nursing information. On the contrary, the business model of open access publishers is no less imbued with the neoliberal tendency of lining the pockets.

  1. Galvanizing mental health research in low- and middle- income countries: the role of scientific journals.

    PubMed

    2004-07-01

    The Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, World Health Organization, organized a meeting on Mental Health Research in Developing Countries: Role of Scientific Journals in Geneva on 20 and 21 November 2003 that was attended by twenty-five editors representing journals publishing mental health research. A number of other editors reviewed and contributed to the background and follow-up material. This statement is issued by all participants jointly (see Appendix B for the list of journals/organizations and their representatives). Research is needed to address the enormous unmet mental health needs of low- and middle-income (LAMI) countries. Scientific journals play an important role in production and dissemination of research. However, at present, only a minute proportion of research published in widely accessible mental health and psychiatric journals is from or about these countries. Yet over 85% of the world's population lives in the 153 countries categorized as low and middle income, according to World Bank criteria. Even more worrying is the observation that the gap between these and high-income countries may be widening in terms of their number of publications. The meeting was aimed at finding ways of resolving this unsatisfactory situation.

  2. Ranking Business and Economics Journals in South America Using the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Jennifer K.; Pradenas, Lorena; Parada, Victor; Scherer, Robert F.

    2012-01-01

    Access to published research for knowledge creation and education in the administrative science disciplines in South America has been enhanced since the introduction of the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO). Although SciELO has been available as an online journal indexing and publication service since 1998, there have been no…

  3. Institute for Scientific Information-indexed biomedical journals of Saudi Arabia. Their performance from 2007-2014.

    PubMed

    Rohra, Dileep K; Rohra, Vikram K; Cahusac, Peter

    2016-11-01

    To compare the journal impact factor (JIF) and Eigenfactor score (ES) of Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)-indexed biomedical journals published from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) over the last 8 years. Methods: This is a retrospective study, conducted at Alfaisal University, Riyadh, KSA from January to March 2016. The Journal Citation Reports of ISI Web of Knowledge were accessed, and 6 Saudi biomedical journals were included for analysis. Results: All Saudi journals have improved their IF compared with their baseline. However, the performance of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Neurosciences has been exceptionally good. The biggest improvement in percent growth in JIF was seen in the Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal (approximately 887%) followed by Neurosciences (approximately 462%). Interestingly, the ES of all biomedical journals, except Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology and Saudi Medical Journal, increased over the years. The greatest growth in ES (more than 5 fold) was noted for Neurosciences and Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal. Conclusion: This study shows that the overall quality of all Saudi biomedical journals has improved in the last 8 years.

  4. The Structure of the Library Market for Scientific Journals: The Case of Chemistry.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bensman, Stephen J.

    1996-01-01

    An analysis of price and scientific value of chemistry journals concluded that scientific value does not play a role in the pricing of scientific journals and that consequently little relationship exists between scientific value and the prices charged libraries for journals. Describes a software package, Serials Evaluator, being developed at…

  5. ResearchGate is no longer reliable: leniency towards ghost journals may decrease its impact on the scientific community.

    PubMed

    Memon, Aamir Raoof

    2016-12-01

    ResearchGate has been regarded as one of the most attractive academic social networking site for scientific community. It has been trying to improve user-centered interfaces to gain more attractiveness to scientists around the world. Display of journal related scietometric measures (such as impact factor, 5-year impact, cited half-life, eigenfactor) is an important feature in ResearchGate. Open access publishing has added more to increased visibility of research work and easy access to information related to research. Moreover, scientific community has been much interested in promoting their work and exhibiting its impact to others through reliable scientometric measures. However, with the growing market of publications and improvements in the field of research, this community has been victimized by the cybercrime in the form of ghost journals, fake publishers and magical impact measures. Particularly, ResearchGate more recently, has been lenient in its policies against this dark side of academic writing. Therefore, this communication aims to discuss concerns associated with leniency in ResearchGate policies and its impact of scientific community.

  6. [Scientific articles in the Icelandic Medical Journal 2004-2008: an overview].

    PubMed

    Gudbjartsson, Tómas; Sigurdsson, Engilbert

    2009-10-01

    In the past 5 years the Icelandic Medical Journal has undergone many changes during a period of flourishing research in Iceland. The process of reviewing and editing scientific articles has been revised since the Journal joined the Medline database in 2005 and the proportion of rejected articles has risen. New columns have been launched covering medical history, professionalism, ethics and hobbies of the medical profession. We categorized all scientific articles from the period 2004-2008, that is research articles, review articles, case reports and clinical guidelines, according to types of articles and to which medical speciality or subspeciality the publication should belong. The number of scientific articles rose during the period but the number of research articles remained around 20 most years during the period. The relative proportion of research articles therefore fell whereas the number and proportion of review articles and case reports increased. Clinical guidelines ceased to appear in the Journal. The contribution of individual specialities to the Journal varied widely. Researchers amongst doctors and related professions need be encouraged to submit scientific articles to the Journal. The publication of scientific articles in English in the web-based form of the Journal may prove to be stimulating in this regard for Icelandic doctors abroad as well as for some researchers in Iceland.

  7. Evaluation of Scientific Journal Validity, It's Articles and Their Authors.

    PubMed

    Masic, Izet; Begic, Edin

    2016-01-01

    The science that deals with evaluation of a scientific article refer to the finding quantitative indicators (index) of the scientific research success is called scientometrics. Scientometrics is part of scientology (the science of science) that analyzes scientific papers and their citations in a selected sample of scientific journals. There are four indexes by which it is possible to measure the validity of scientific research: number of articles, impact factor of the journal, the number and order of authors and citations number. Every scientific article is a record of the data written by the rules recommended by several scientific associations and committees. Growing number of authors and lot of authors with same name and surname led to the introduction of the necessary identification agent - ORCID number.

  8. Mapping the changing landscape of fish-related journals: Setting a course for successful communication of scientific information

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mather, M. E.; Parrish, D.L.; Dettmers, J.M.

    2008-01-01

    In the last 25 years, the number and scope of fish-related journals have changed. New and existing journals are increasingly specialized. Journals that are read and cited are changing because of differential accessibility via electronic databases. In this review, we examine shifts in numbers and foci of existing fish-related journals. We ask how these fish-related metrics differ across type of application, ecological system, taxa, and discipline. Although many journals overlap to some extent in content, there are distinct groups of journals for authors to consider. By systematically reviewing the focus of an individual manuscript, comparing it to the suite of journals available and examining the audience for the manuscript, we believe that authors can make informed decisions about which journals are most suitable for their work. Our goal here is to help authors find relevant journals and deliver scientific publications to the appropriate readership.

  9. Does small equal predatory? Analysis of publication charges and transparency of editorial policies in Croatian open access journals.

    PubMed

    Stojanovski, Jadranka; Marušić, Ana

    2017-06-15

    We approach the problem of "predatory" journals and publishers from the perspective of small scientific communities and small journals that may sometimes be perceived as "predatory". Among other characteristics of "predatory" journals two most relevant are their business model and the quality of the editorial work. We analysed 444 Croatian open access (OA) journals in the Hrčak (portal of Croatian scientific journals) digital journal repository for the presence of article processing charges as a business model and the transparency of editorial policies. The majority of journals do not charge authors or require submission or article processing charges, which clearly distinguishes them from "predatory" journals. Almost all Hrčak OA journals have publicly available information on editorial boards, including full names and affiliations, and detailed contact information for the editorial office at the Hrčak website. The journal names are unique and cannot be easily confused with another journal or intend to mislead about the journal's origin. While most journals provide information on peer review process, many do not provide guidelines for reviewers or other editorial and publication ethics standards. In order to clearly differentiate themselves from predatory journals, it is not enough for journals from small research communities to operate on non-commercial bases, but also to have transparent editorial policies.

  10. Core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals: consensus statement.

    PubMed

    Moher, David; Galipeau, James; Alam, Sabina; Barbour, Virginia; Bartolomeos, Kidist; Baskin, Patricia; Bell-Syer, Sally; Cobey, Kelly D; Chan, Leighton; Clark, Jocalyn; Deeks, Jonathan; Flanagin, Annette; Garner, Paul; Glenny, Anne-Marie; Groves, Trish; Gurusamy, Kurinchi; Habibzadeh, Farrokh; Jewell-Thomas, Stefanie; Kelsall, Diane; Lapeña, José Florencio; MacLehose, Harriet; Marusic, Ana; McKenzie, Joanne E; Shah, Jay; Shamseer, Larissa; Straus, Sharon; Tugwell, Peter; Wager, Elizabeth; Winker, Margaret; Zhaori, Getu

    2017-09-11

    Scientific editors are responsible for deciding which articles to publish in their journals. However, we have not found documentation of their required knowledge, skills, and characteristics, or the existence of any formal core competencies for this role. We describe the development of a minimum set of core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals. The 14 key core competencies are divided into three major areas, and each competency has a list of associated elements or descriptions of more specific knowledge, skills, and characteristics that contribute to its fulfillment. We believe that these core competencies are a baseline of the knowledge, skills, and characteristics needed to perform competently the duties of a scientific editor at a biomedical journal.

  11. The impact of free access to the scientific literature: a review of recent research.

    PubMed

    Davis, Philip M; Walters, William H

    2011-07-01

    The paper reviews recent studies that evaluate the impact of free access (open access) on the behavior of scientists as authors, readers, and citers in developed and developing nations. It also examines the extent to which the biomedical literature is used by the general public. The paper is a critical review of the literature, with systematic description of key studies. Researchers report that their access to the scientific literature is generally good and improving. For authors, the access status of a journal is not an important consideration when deciding where to publish. There is clear evidence that free access increases the number of article downloads, although its impact on article citations is not clear. Recent studies indicate that large citation advantages are simply artifacts of the failure to adequately control for confounding variables. The effect of free access on the general public's use of the primary medical literature has not been thoroughly evaluated. Recent studies provide little evidence to support the idea that there is a crisis in access to the scholarly literature. Further research is needed to investigate whether free access is making a difference in non-research contexts and to better understand the dissemination of scientific literature through peer-to-peer networks and other informal mechanisms.

  12. The impact of free access to the scientific literature: a review of recent research

    PubMed Central

    Walters, William H

    2011-01-01

    Objectives: The paper reviews recent studies that evaluate the impact of free access (open access) on the behavior of scientists as authors, readers, and citers in developed and developing nations. It also examines the extent to which the biomedical literature is used by the general public. Method: The paper is a critical review of the literature, with systematic description of key studies. Results: Researchers report that their access to the scientific literature is generally good and improving. For authors, the access status of a journal is not an important consideration when deciding where to publish. There is clear evidence that free access increases the number of article downloads, although its impact on article citations is not clear. Recent studies indicate that large citation advantages are simply artifacts of the failure to adequately control for confounding variables. The effect of free access on the general public's use of the primary medical literature has not been thoroughly evaluated. Conclusions: Recent studies provide little evidence to support the idea that there is a crisis in access to the scholarly literature. Further research is needed to investigate whether free access is making a difference in non-research contexts and to better understand the dissemination of scientific literature through peer-to-peer networks and other informal mechanisms. PMID:21753913

  13. Article processing charges, funding, and open access publishing at Journal of Experimental & Clinical Assisted Reproduction.

    PubMed

    Sills, Eric Scott; Vincent, Tina Thibault; Palermo, Gianpiero D

    2005-01-13

    Journal of Experimental & Clinical Assisted Reproduction is an Open Access, online, electronic journal published by BioMed Central with full contents available to the scientific and medical community free of charge to all readers. Authors maintain the copyright to their own work, a policy facilitating dissemination of data to the widest possible audience without requiring permission from the publisher. This Open Access publishing model is subsidized by authors (or their institutions/funding agencies) in the form of a single pound330 article processing charge (APC), due at the time of manuscript acceptance for publication. Payment of the APC is not a condition for formal peer review and does not apply to articles rejected after review. Additionally, this fee is waived for authors whose institutions are BioMed Central members or where genuine financial hardship exists. Considering ordinary publication fees related to page charges and reprints, the APC at Journal of Experimental & Clinical Assisted Reproduction is comparable to costs associated with publishing in some traditional print journals, and is less expensive than many. Implementation of the APC within this Open Access framework is envisioned as a modern research-friendly policy that supports networking among investigators, brings new research into reach rapidly, and empowers authors with greater control over their own scholarly publications.

  14. Stanford-Based HighWire Press Transforms the Publication of Scientific Journals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Young, Jeffrey R.

    1997-01-01

    In two years, HighWire Press at Stanford University (California) has revolutionized online scientific publishing; electronic journals are reaching readers faster, are easier to search, and are entering new foreign markets. The largest scientific publishers will put about 200 journals online in 1997. Other changes foreseen include immediate rather…

  15. Scientific journals and their authors' financial interests: a pilot study.

    PubMed

    Krimsky, S; Rothenberg, L S; Stott, P; Kyle, G

    1998-01-01

    The credibility of modern science is grounded on the perception of the objectivity of its scientists, but that credibility can be undermined by financial conflicts of interest. The US Public Health Service and the National Science Foundation issued regulations effective October 1, 1995, regarding the disclosure of financial interests in the submission of grant proposals. Several scientific journals have also established pertinent policies for authors and editors. The objectives of this study were: (1) to select a set of published articles and observe the degree to which a sample of authors hold a financial interest in areas related to their research that are reportable under current standards, and (2) to examine the hypothesis that significant numbers of authors of articles in life science and biomedical journals have verifiable financial interests that might be important for journal editors and readers to know. This paper measures the frequency of selected financial interests held among lead authors of certain types of scientific publications and assesses disclosure practices of authors and journals. These objectives were applied to a pilot study of Massachusetts academic scientists who were cited as first or last author in at least one article published in 1992 in 14 leading journals of cell or molecular biology and medicine. We created a database of every original article published in 1992 by 14 leading life science and biomedical journals, supplemented by data sets consisting of (1) Massachusetts biotechnology firms, including their officers and scientific advisory boards, and (2) scientists listed as inventors on patents or patent applications registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization. We examined 1,105 university authors (first and last cited) from Massachusetts institutions whose 789 articles, published in 1992, appeared in 14 scientific and medical journals. Authors are said to 'possess a financial interest' if they are listed as

  16. Does small equal predatory? Analysis of publication charges and transparency of editorial policies in Croatian open access journals

    PubMed Central

    Stojanovski, Jadranka; Marušić, Ana

    2017-01-01

    Introduction We approach the problem of "predatory" journals and publishers from the perspective of small scientific communities and small journals that may sometimes be perceived as "predatory". Among other characteristics of "predatory" journals two most relevant are their business model and the quality of the editorial work. Materials and methods We analysed 444 Croatian open access (OA) journals in the Hrčak (portal of Croatian scientific journals) digital journal repository for the presence of article processing charges as a business model and the transparency of editorial policies. Results The majority of journals do not charge authors or require submission or article processing charges, which clearly distinguishes them from “predatory” journals. Almost all Hrčak OA journals have publicly available information on editorial boards, including full names and affiliations, and detailed contact information for the editorial office at the Hrčak website. The journal names are unique and cannot be easily confused with another journal or intend to mislead about the journal’s origin. While most journals provide information on peer review process, many do not provide guidelines for reviewers or other editorial and publication ethics standards. Conclusion In order to clearly differentiate themselves from predatory journals, it is not enough for journals from small research communities to operate on non-commercial bases, but also to have transparent editorial policies. PMID:28694721

  17. For 481 biomedical open access journals, articles are not searchable in the Directory of Open Access Journals nor in conventional biomedical databases

    PubMed Central

    Andresen, Kristoffer; Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2015-01-01

    Background. Open access (OA) journals allows access to research papers free of charge to the reader. Traditionally, biomedical researchers use databases like MEDLINE and EMBASE to discover new advances. However, biomedical OA journals might not fulfill such databases’ criteria, hindering dissemination. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a database exclusively listing OA journals. The aim of this study was to investigate DOAJ’s coverage of biomedical OA journals compared with the conventional biomedical databases. Methods. Information on all journals listed in four conventional biomedical databases (MEDLINE, PubMed Central, EMBASE and SCOPUS) and DOAJ were gathered. Journals were included if they were (1) actively publishing, (2) full OA, (3) prospectively indexed in one or more database, and (4) of biomedical subject. Impact factor and journal language were also collected. DOAJ was compared with conventional databases regarding the proportion of journals covered, along with their impact factor and publishing language. The proportion of journals with articles indexed by DOAJ was determined. Results. In total, 3,236 biomedical OA journals were included in the study. Of the included journals, 86.7% were listed in DOAJ. Combined, the conventional biomedical databases listed 75.0% of the journals; 18.7% in MEDLINE; 36.5% in PubMed Central; 51.5% in SCOPUS and 50.6% in EMBASE. Of the journals in DOAJ, 88.7% published in English and 20.6% had received impact factor for 2012 compared with 93.5% and 26.0%, respectively, for journals in the conventional biomedical databases. A subset of 51.1% and 48.5% of the journals in DOAJ had articles indexed from 2012 and 2013, respectively. Of journals exclusively listed in DOAJ, one journal had received an impact factor for 2012, and 59.6% of the journals had no content from 2013 indexed in DOAJ. Conclusions. DOAJ is the most complete registry of biomedical OA journals compared with five conventional biomedical

  18. For 481 biomedical open access journals, articles are not searchable in the Directory of Open Access Journals nor in conventional biomedical databases.

    PubMed

    Liljekvist, Mads Svane; Andresen, Kristoffer; Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2015-01-01

    Background. Open access (OA) journals allows access to research papers free of charge to the reader. Traditionally, biomedical researchers use databases like MEDLINE and EMBASE to discover new advances. However, biomedical OA journals might not fulfill such databases' criteria, hindering dissemination. The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a database exclusively listing OA journals. The aim of this study was to investigate DOAJ's coverage of biomedical OA journals compared with the conventional biomedical databases. Methods. Information on all journals listed in four conventional biomedical databases (MEDLINE, PubMed Central, EMBASE and SCOPUS) and DOAJ were gathered. Journals were included if they were (1) actively publishing, (2) full OA, (3) prospectively indexed in one or more database, and (4) of biomedical subject. Impact factor and journal language were also collected. DOAJ was compared with conventional databases regarding the proportion of journals covered, along with their impact factor and publishing language. The proportion of journals with articles indexed by DOAJ was determined. Results. In total, 3,236 biomedical OA journals were included in the study. Of the included journals, 86.7% were listed in DOAJ. Combined, the conventional biomedical databases listed 75.0% of the journals; 18.7% in MEDLINE; 36.5% in PubMed Central; 51.5% in SCOPUS and 50.6% in EMBASE. Of the journals in DOAJ, 88.7% published in English and 20.6% had received impact factor for 2012 compared with 93.5% and 26.0%, respectively, for journals in the conventional biomedical databases. A subset of 51.1% and 48.5% of the journals in DOAJ had articles indexed from 2012 and 2013, respectively. Of journals exclusively listed in DOAJ, one journal had received an impact factor for 2012, and 59.6% of the journals had no content from 2013 indexed in DOAJ. Conclusions. DOAJ is the most complete registry of biomedical OA journals compared with five conventional biomedical databases

  19. Concentration of the Most-Cited Papers in the Scientific Literature: Analysis of Journal Ecosystems

    PubMed Central

    Ioannidis, John P. A.

    2006-01-01

    Background A minority of scientific journals publishes the majority of scientific papers and receives the majority of citations. The extent of concentration of the most influential articles is less well known. Methods/Principal Findings The 100 most-cited papers in the last decade in each of 21 scientific fields were analyzed; fields were considered as ecosystems and their “species” (journal) diversity was evaluated. Only 9% of journals in Journal Citation Reports had published at least one such paper. Among this 9%, half of them had published only one such paper. The number of journals that had published a larger number of most-cited papers decreased exponentially according to a Lotka law. Except for three scientific fields, six journals accounted for 53 to 94 of the 100 most-cited papers in their field. With increasing average number of citations per paper (citation density) in a scientific field, concentration of the most-cited papers in a few journals became even more prominent (p<0.001). Concentration was unrelated to the number of papers published or number of journals available in a scientific field. Multidisciplinary journals accounted for 24% of all most-cited papers, with large variability across fields. The concentration of most-cited papers in multidisciplinary journals was most prominent in fields with high citation density (correlation coefficient 0.70, p<0.001). Multidisciplinary journals had published fewer than eight of the 100 most-cited papers in eight scientific fields (none in two fields). Journals concentrating most-cited original articles often differed from those concentrating most-cited reviews. The concentration of the most-influential papers was stronger than the already prominent concentration of papers published and citations received. Conclusions Despite a plethora of available journals, the most influential papers are extremely concentrated in few journals, especially in fields with high citation density. Existing

  20. Longitudinal Study of Scientific Journal Prices in a Research Library.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Marks, Kenneth E; And Others

    1991-01-01

    Describes a study that evaluated the determinants of price increases of scientific journals over time from a variety of publishers, disciplines, and countries. It was found that inflation and greater journal length explained most price increases, and that journal prices from commercial publishers increased much more rapidly than those from…

  1. A study on literature obsolescence and core journals' cost-benefit in citations of the 'Scientific Medical Journal of Ahwaz'.

    PubMed

    Zare-Farashbandi, Firoozeh; Mohammadi, Parastoo Parsaei

    2014-01-01

    One of the methods of identifying core and popular resources is by citation evaluation. Using citation evaluation, the librarians of the Acquisition Department can use quantitative methods to indentify core and popular resources among numerous information resources and make serious savings in the library's budget, by acquiring these core resources and eliminating useless ones. The aim of this study is assessing literature obsolescence and core journals' cost-benefit in citations of the 'Scientific Medical Journal of Ahwaz'. This study is a descriptive and cross-sectional survey that uses citation analysis. Sampling is objective sampling from all documents from years 1364 (1985) to 1385 (2006), and the population comprises of 6342 citations of the articles published in 'Scientific Medical Journal of Ahwaz'. Data collection is done through referring to the original documents and the data is analyzed using the Excel software, and for descriptive and analytical statistics the cost-benefit formula and Bradford law formula are used. Findings showed that the average citation for each document in the 'Scientific Medical Journal of Ahwaz' was 15.81. The average citation to international sources was 14.37, and the average citation to national sources was 1.44. The literature obsolescence of Farsi documents in this study was 15 years, while it was equal to 20 years for English documents. The highly cited Farsi journals were (sorted based on citation in descending order): 'Scientific Medical Journal of Ahwaz', 'Daroudarman', 'Nabz,' and 'Journal of Medical School, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences'. The highly cited English journals were (sorted based on citation in descending order): 'Pediatrics', 'The New England Journal of Medicine', 'Gastroenterology' and 'Medicine'. All of these four journals are part of the ISI database and have good impact factors in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Also their cost-benefit was reasonable based on the frequency of their

  2. [Scientific stealing (Plagiarism) in medical journals].

    PubMed

    Enöz, Murat

    2007-01-01

    The obligation to publish academic papers in order to get academic rank has made medical doctors more ambitious to publish faster and more papers. According to the ethical and legal rules in our country and in the world, if an idea or technical methods of another person is used in a medical journal, the owner of the method or idea and its publication has to be cited. If an idea, information or a technical method of another scientist is published without citation as if it was one's own idea it's called "Plagiarism". Despite the prohibitive laws and rules, this scientific stealing has become an increasing problem for medical journals worldwide.

  3. SOIL - A new open access journal of the European Geosciences Union

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Brevik, Eric; Mataix-Solera, Jorge; Pereg, Lily; Quinton, John; Six, Johan; Van Oost, Kristof; Cerdà, Artemi

    2014-05-01

    The Soil System Sciences (SSS) division of the EGU has been a strong and growing international research force in the last few years. Since the first EGU meeting with SSS participation in 2004 where 200 abstracts were presented in 7 sessions, the contribution of the SSS division has grown considerably, with 1,427 abstracts presented in 57 SSS sessions at the 2013 EGU General Assembly. After 10 years of active participation, the SSS Division has developed a new open access journal, SOIL, which will serve the whole EGU membership. SOIL intends to publish scientific research that will contribute to understanding the Soil System and its interaction with humans and the entire Earth System. The scope of the journal will include all topics that fall within the study of soil science as a discipline, with an emphasis on studies that integrate soil science with other sciences (Soils and plants, Soils and water, Soils and atmosphere, Soils and biogeochemical cycling, Soils and the natural environment, Soils and the human environment, Soils and food security, Soils and biodiversity, Soils and global change, Soils and health, Soil as a resource, Soil systems, Soil degradation (chemical, physical and biological), Soil protection and remediation (including soil monitoring), Soils and methodologies). Manuscript types considered for publication in SOIL are original research articles, review articles, short communications, forum articles, and letters to the editors. SOIL will also publish up to two special issues on thematic subjects per year and encourages conveners of innovative sessions at the EGU meeting to submit proposals for special issues to the executive editor who oversees special issues. As with other EGU journals, SOIL has a two-stage publication process. In the first stage, papers that pass a rapid access-review by one of the editors will immediately be published in SOIL Discussions (SOIL-D). Papers will then be subject to interactive public discussion, during which the

  4. A scoping review of competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals.

    PubMed

    Galipeau, James; Barbour, Virginia; Baskin, Patricia; Bell-Syer, Sally; Cobey, Kelly; Cumpston, Miranda; Deeks, Jon; Garner, Paul; MacLehose, Harriet; Shamseer, Larissa; Straus, Sharon; Tugwell, Peter; Wager, Elizabeth; Winker, Margaret; Moher, David

    2016-02-02

    Biomedical journals are the main route for disseminating the results of health-related research. Despite this, their editors operate largely without formal training or certification. To our knowledge, no body of literature systematically identifying core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals exists. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a scoping review to determine what is known on the competency requirements for scientific editors of biomedical journals. We searched the MEDLINE®, Cochrane Library, Embase®, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases (from inception to November 2014) and conducted a grey literature search for research and non-research articles with competency-related statements (i.e. competencies, knowledge, skills, behaviors, and tasks) pertaining to the role of scientific editors of peer-reviewed health-related journals. We also conducted an environmental scan, searched the results of a previous environmental scan, and searched the websites of existing networks, major biomedical journal publishers, and organizations that offer resources for editors. A total of 225 full-text publications were included, 25 of which were research articles. We extracted a total of 1,566 statements possibly related to core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals from these publications. We then collated overlapping or duplicate statements which produced a list of 203 unique statements. Finally, we grouped these statements into seven emergent themes: (1) dealing with authors, (2) dealing with peer reviewers, (3) journal publishing, (4) journal promotion, (5) editing, (6) ethics and integrity, and (7) qualities and characteristics of editors. To our knowledge, this scoping review is the first attempt to systematically identify possible competencies of editors. Limitations are that (1) we may not have captured all aspects of a biomedical editor's work in our searches, (2) removing redundant and overlapping items may have led to the

  5. How to establish a first-class international scientific journal in China?

    PubMed

    Li, Zhen-Xi

    2006-11-21

    Hundreds of scientific journals are published in China. However, only scores of them are included in Science Citation Index by the Institute for Scientific Information, with impact factors of only 1 or less. Thus, how to establish a first-class international scientific journal in China is an important but difficult topic that deserves extensive exploration. World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG) sets a good example although it has experienced setbacks on the road towards success. Concepts and pursuits that affirm the overall development direction, innovation and dreams that provide impetus and aspiration for higher objectives, team work and unique pattern that assure excellent quality and service, and culture and environment that also determine the speed and direction of the development, are believed to be the major factors contributing to the success of WJG. It is recommended that the effective resolution to the above issue is to learn from Chinese examples such as WJG rather than from "how foreign journals do".

  6. How to establish a first-class international scientific journal in China?

    PubMed Central

    Li, Zhen-Xi

    2006-01-01

    Hundreds of scientific journals are published in China. However, only scores of them are included in Science Citation Index by the Institute for Scientific Information, with impact factors of only 1 or less. Thus, how to establish a first-class international scientific journal in China is an important but difficult topic that deserves extensive exploration. World Journal of Gastroenterology (WJG) sets a good example although it has experienced setbacks on the road towards success. Concepts and pursuits that affirm the overall development direction, innovation and dreams that provide impetus and aspiration for higher objectives, team work and unique pattern that assure excellent quality and service, and culture and environment that also determine the speed and direction of the development, are believed to be the major factors contributing to the success of WJG. It is recommended that the effective resolution to the above issue is to learn from Chinese examples such as WJG rather than from “how foreign journals do”. PMID:17109509

  7. Characteristics of Open Access Journals in Six Subject Areas

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walters, William H.; Linvill, Anne C.

    2011-01-01

    We examine the characteristics of 663 Open Access (OA) journals in biology, computer science, economics, history, medicine, and psychology, then compare the OA journals with impact factors to comparable subscription journals. There is great variation in the size of OA journals; the largest publishes more than 2,700 articles per year, but half…

  8. Impact factor and other indices to assess science, scientists and scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Satyanarayana, K

    2010-01-01

    indicators (warts and all) could still be put to productive use for purposes of evaluation (as scientists just love numbers). There were simultaneous efforts to find alternative indicators using the TR databases, and through other innovative methods. Some of these include Google Scholar, PageRank, H-index, Y-factor, Faculty of 1000, Eigen Factor etc. The advantages and limitations of these indices are discussed. There is a need for a more critical look at these parameters from the Indian perspective to compute/ device/adapt these measures to suit our needs. There are 205 journals under the category Physiology and 201 in the Pharmacology category listed in the JCR. There are four major Indian journals under the category of Physiology and Pharmacology and none of them are listed in the TR databases reflecting the limitation of these databases. Eventually, and in the long run, the quality of our journals needs to be improved as the current era of globalization and web-access provides both a challenge and an oppportunity for the science and scientific journals published from India to get increased global visibility.

  9. [Qualitative research: which priority for scientific journals?].

    PubMed

    Rodella, Stefania

    2016-04-01

    Quantitative and qualitative approaches in scientific research should not be looked at as separate or even opposed fields of thinking and action, but could rather offer complementary perspectives in order to build appropriate answers to increasingly complex research questions. An open letter recently published by the BMJ and signed by 76 senior academics from 11 countries invite the editors to reconsider their policy of rejecting qualitative research on the grounds of low priority and challenge the journal to develop a proactive, scholarly and pluralistic approach to research that aligns with its stated mission. The contents of the letter, the many voices raised by almost fifty rapid responses and the severe but not closed responses of the editors outline a stimulating debate and hopefully prelude some "change in emphasis", ensuring that all types of research relevant to the mission of the BMJ (as well as other core journals) are considered for publication and providing an evolving landmark for scientific and educational purposes.

  10. Due diligence in the open-access explosion era: choosing a reputable journal for publication

    PubMed Central

    Ashcraft, Alyce

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Faculty are required to publish. Naïve and “in-a-hurry-to-publish” authors seek to publish in journals where manuscripts are rapidly accepted. Others may innocently submit to one of an increasing number of questionable/predatory journals, where predatory is defined as practices of publishing journals for exploitation of author-pays, open-access publication model by charging authors publication fees for publisher profit without provision of expected services (expert peer review, editing, archiving, and indexing published manuscripts) and promising almost instant publication. Authors may intentionally submit manuscripts to predatory journals for rapid publication without concern for journal quality. A brief summary of the open access “movement,” suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals, and suggestion for avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. The purpose is to alert junior and seasoned faculty about predatory publishers included among available open access journal listings. Brief review of open access publication, predatory/questionable journal characteristics, suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. Time is required for intentionally performing due diligence in open access journal selection, based on publisher/journal quality, prior to manuscript submission or authors must be able to successfully withdraw manuscripts when submission to a questionable or predatory journal is discovered. PMID:29040536

  11. Due diligence in the open-access explosion era: choosing a reputable journal for publication.

    PubMed

    Masten, Yondell; Ashcraft, Alyce

    2017-11-15

    Faculty are required to publish. Naïve and "in-a-hurry-to-publish" authors seek to publish in journals where manuscripts are rapidly accepted. Others may innocently submit to one of an increasing number of questionable/predatory journals, where predatory is defined as practices of publishing journals for exploitation of author-pays, open-access publication model by charging authors publication fees for publisher profit without provision of expected services (expert peer review, editing, archiving, and indexing published manuscripts) and promising almost instant publication. Authors may intentionally submit manuscripts to predatory journals for rapid publication without concern for journal quality. A brief summary of the open access "movement," suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals, and suggestion for avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. The purpose is to alert junior and seasoned faculty about predatory publishers included among available open access journal listings. Brief review of open access publication, predatory/questionable journal characteristics, suggestions for selecting reputable open access journals and avoiding predatory publishers/journals are described. Time is required for intentionally performing due diligence in open access journal selection, based on publisher/journal quality, prior to manuscript submission or authors must be able to successfully withdraw manuscripts when submission to a questionable or predatory journal is discovered. © FEMS 2017.

  12. [Open access :an opportunity for biomedical research].

    PubMed

    Duchange, Nathalie; Autard, Delphine; Pinhas, Nicole

    2008-01-01

    Open access within the scientific community depends on the scientific context and the practices of the field. In the biomedical domain, the communication of research results is characterised by the importance of the peer reviewing process, the existence of a hierarchy among journals and the transfer of copyright to the editor. Biomedical publishing has become a lucrative market and the growth of electronic journals has not helped lower the costs. Indeed, it is difficult for today's public institutions to gain access to all the scientific literature. Open access is thus imperative, as demonstrated through the positions taken by a growing number of research funding bodies, the development of open access journals and efforts made in promoting open archives. This article describes the setting up of an Inserm portal for publication in the context of the French national protocol for open-access self-archiving and in an international context.

  13. Publishing in Discipline-Specific Open Access Journals: Opportunities and Outreach for Librarians

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tomaszewski, Robert; Poulin, Sonia; MacDonald, Karen I.

    2013-01-01

    Open access (OA) journals promote the opportunity for peer-reviewed journal articles to be freely accessible. In recent years, the number of OA journals has exploded in all disciplines. Previous studies have identified print-based pedagogical discipline-specific journals outside the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) for librarians to…

  14. 10 years experience with pioneering open access publishing in health informatics: the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR).

    PubMed

    Eysenbach, Gunther

    2010-01-01

    Peer-reviewed journals remain important vehicles for knowledge transfer and dissemination in health informatics, yet, their format, processes and business models are changing only slowly. Up to the end of last century, it was common for individual researchers and scientific organizations to leave the business of knowledge transfer to professional publishers, signing away their rights to the works in the process, which in turn impeded wider dissemination. Traditional medical informatics journals are poorly cited and the visibility and uptake of articles beyond the medical informatics community remain limited. In 1999, the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR; http://www.jmir.org) was launched, featuring several innovations including 1) ownership and copyright retained by the authors, 2) electronic-only, "lean" non-for-profit publishing, 3) openly accessible articles with a reversed business model (author pays instead of reader pays), 4) technological innovations such as automatic XML tagging and reference checking, on-the-fly PDF generation from XML, etc., enabling wide distribution in various bibliographic and full-text databases. In the past 10 years, despite limited resources, the journal has emerged as a leading journal in health informatics, and is presently ranked the top journal in the medical informatics and health services research categories by impact factor. The paper summarizes some of the features of the Journal, and uses bibliometric and access data to compare the influence of the Journal on the discipline of medical informatics and other disciplines. While traditional medical informatics journals are primarily cited by other Medical Informatics journals (33%-46% of citations), JMIR papers are to a more often cited by "end-users" (policy, public health, clinical journals), which may be partly attributable to the "open access advantage".

  15. Retraction policies of top scientific journals ranked by impact factor.

    PubMed

    Resnik, David B; Wager, Elizabeth; Kissling, Grace E

    2015-07-01

    This study gathered information about the retraction policies of the top 200 scientific journals, ranked by impact factor. Editors of the top 200 science journals for the year 2012 were contacted by email. One hundred forty-seven journals (74%) responded to a request for information. Of these, 95 (65%) had a retraction policy. Of journals with a retraction policy, 94% had a policy that allows the editors to retract articles without authors' consent. The majority of journals in this sample had a retraction policy, and almost all of them would retract an article without the authors' permission.

  16. Journal policy on ethics in scientific publication.

    PubMed

    Callaham, Michael L

    2003-01-01

    Medical journals aspire to select, through peer review, the highest quality science, and their reputations depend on the trust of readers, authors, researchers, reviewers, and patients. Almost every aspect of this process involves important ethical principles and decisions, which are seldom explicitly stated and even less often shared with the readership. A comprehensive policy on publication ethics is summarized in this article. A few of the topics addressed are study design; research subject consent; definitions and responsibilities of authorship; declaration of paid writers; types of potential conflicts of interest; management of conflicts of interest on the part of authors, journal reviewers, and members of the editorial board; blinding and confidentiality of peer review; assessment of peer review quality; public identification of degree of peer review of various portions of the journal; criteria for manuscript decisions; management of author appeals; definitions of prior publication; plagiarism; criteria for advertising and relationship between advertising and editorial matter; allegations of misconduct and journal policies for responding to them; and the relationship of the journal to the sponsoring society. Our goal in publishing these policies is to make the guiding ethical principles of this journal accessible to all of our readers and contributors.

  17. How to Search, Write, Prepare and Publish the Scientific Papers in the Biomedical Journals

    PubMed Central

    Masic, Izet

    2011-01-01

    This article describes the methodology of preparation, writing and publishing scientific papers in biomedical journals. given is a concise overview of the concept and structure of the System of biomedical scientific and technical information and the way of biomedical literature retreival from worldwide biomedical databases. Described are the scientific and professional medical journals that are currently published in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Also, given is the comparative review on the number and structure of papers published in indexed journals in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are listed in the Medline database. Analyzed are three B&H journals indexed in MEDLINE database: Medical Archives (Medicinski Arhiv), Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences and Medical Gazette (Medicinki Glasnik) in 2010. The largest number of original papers was published in the Medical Archives. There is a statistically significant difference in the number of papers published by local authors in relation to international journals in favor of the Medical Archives. True, the Journal Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences does not categorize the articles and we could not make comparisons. Journal Medical Archives and Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences by percentage published the largest number of articles by authors from Sarajevo and Tuzla, the two oldest and largest university medical centers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The author believes that it is necessary to make qualitative changes in the reception and reviewing of papers for publication in biomedical journals published in Bosnia and Herzegovina which should be the responsibility of the separate scientific authority/ committee composed of experts in the field of medicine at the state level. PMID:23572850

  18. Quality of gastroenterology research published in Saudi Arabian scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Almaghrabi, Majed M; Alamoudi, Abdullah S; Radi, Suhaib A; Merdad, Anas A; Makhdoum, Ahmad M; Batwa, Faisal A

    2015-01-01

    Evidence-based medicine has established itself in the field of gastroenterology. In this study we aim to assess the types of study designs of gastroenterology-related articles published in Saudi scientific journals. An online review using PubMed was carried out to review gastroenterology-related articles published in six Saudi medical journals in the time interval from 2003 to 2012. To classify the level of evidence in these articles we employed the Oxford's levels of evidence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the levels of evidence between published articles. A total of 721 gastroenterology-related articles were reviewed, of which 591 articles met our inclusion criteria; 80.7% were level IV. The three most common types of studies we encountered were cross-sectional (33.9%), case reports (27.9%), and case series (18.8%). Forty-three percent of the published research was in the field of hepatobiliary and spleen. The total number of articles increased from 260 articles in the 1 st 5-year period (2003-2007) to 330 in the 2 nd period (2008-2012). However, no statistically significant difference in the level of evidence was noted. In Annals of Saudi Medicine Journal, articles with level II increased from 0 to 10% with a P value 0.02. In our review of gastroenterology-related published articles in Saudi scientific journals, we observed an increase in the quantity of articles with the quality and level of evidence remaining unchanged. Further research is recommended to explore different reasons affecting the volume and quality of gastroenterology-related research in Saudi scientific journals.

  19. Taking the Plunge: Open Access at the "Canadian Journal of Sociology." Case Studies in Open Access Publishing. Number Five

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Haggerty, Kevin D.

    2008-01-01

    Introduction: Presents a personal account of the transfer to open access of the leading Canadian journal of sociology. Background: The Canadian Journal of Sociology had established a strong position, internationally, among sociology journals. However, subscriptions were falling as readers increasingly accessed the resource through libraries and a…

  20. Do open access biomedical journals benefit smaller countries? The Slovenian experience.

    PubMed

    Turk, Nana

    2011-06-01

    Scientists from smaller countries have problems gaining visibility for their research. Does open access publishing provide a solution? Slovenia is a small country with around 5000 medical doctors, 1300 dentists and 1000 pharmacists. A search of Slovenia's Bibliographic database was carried out to identity all biomedical journals and those which are open access. Slovenia has 18 medical open access journals, but none has an impact factor and only 10 are indexed by Slovenian and international bibliographic databases. The visibility and quality of medical papers is poor. The solution might be to reduce the number of journals and encourage Slovenian scientists to publish their best articles in them. © 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.

  1. Publishing in Open Access Education Journals: The Authors' Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coonin, Bryna; Younce, Leigh M.

    2010-01-01

    Open access publishing is now an accepted method of scholarly communication. However, the greatest traction for open access publishing thus far has been in the sciences. Penetration of open access publishing has been much slower among the social sciences. This study surveys 309 authors from recent issues of open access journals in education to…

  2. The cock, the Academy, and the best scientific journal in the world.

    PubMed

    Romanovsky, Andrej A

    2015-01-01

    The reader is invited to travel to Ancient Greece, contemporary Brazil, and other places in a fantasy search for the best scientific journal. This whimsical search does not rely on the impact factor, the most popular tool used in real life for finding good journals. Instead, it takes advantage of the so-called authority factor, a recently proposed alternative to the impact factor. The authority factor of a particular journal is the mean h-index (Hirsch's index) of the most suitable group of this journal's editors. Having no connection to any major function of scientific journals, and also being arbitrary (which group of editors to select?), this factor is poorly suited for any technical analysis, but it seems to work well for "small-talk" editorials and self-promotion by complacent editors. Interestingly, the highest authority factor we could find belongs to the journal Temperature. This claim, however, should not be taken too seriously.

  3. Electronic journal access: how does it affect the print subscription price?*

    PubMed Central

    Chen, Frances L.; Wrynn, Paul; Rieke, Judith L.

    2001-01-01

    Objective: This study examined the rates of print journal subscription price increases according to the type of available electronic access. The types of access included: electronic priced separately from the print, combination print with “free online” access, and aggregated, defined here as electronic access purchased as part of a collection. The percentages of print price increases were compared to each other and to that for titles available only in print. The authors were not aware of prior objective research in this area. Methods: The authors analyzed the percentage print price increases of 300 journals over a five-year time period. The titles were grouped according to type of available electronic access. The median and mean percentage print price increases were calculated and plotted for all titles within each group. Results: Using both the median and the mean to look at the percentage print price increases over five years, it was obvious that print prices for journals with electronic access exceeded journals that did not offer an electronic option. Electronic priced separately averaged 3% to 5% higher than print only titles using both measures. Combination print with “free online” access had higher increases from 1996 to 1999, but, in 2000, their percentage increases were about the same as print only titles. The rate of price increases for aggregated titles consistently went down over the past five years. Journals with no electronic option showed the lowest percentage rates of print price increase. Conclusions: The authors' findings reveal that the increases of print prices for their sample of titles were higher if a type of electronic access was offered. According to the results of this study, aggregated collections currently represent the electronic option whose percentage price increase for print prices was lowest. However, the uneven fluctuations in rates of subscription prices revealed that the pricing of journals with electronic access is still

  4. Access to the scientific literature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Albarède, Francis

    The Public Library of Science Open Letter (http://www.publiclibraryofscience.org) is a very generous initiative, but, as most similar initiatives since the advent of electronic publishing, it misses the critical aspects of electronic publishing.Ten years ago, a Publisher would be in charge of running a system called a “scientific journal.” In such a system, the presence of an Editor and peer Reviewers secures the strength of the science and the rigor of writing; the Publisher guarantees the professional quality of printing, efficient dissemination, and long-term archiving. Publishing used to be in everyone's best interest, or nearly everyone. The Publisher, because he/she is financially motivated, ensures widespread dissemination of the journal amongst libraries and individual subscribers. The interest of the Author is that the system guarantees a broad potential readership. The interest of the Reader is that a line is drawn between professionally edited literature, presumably of better quality, and gray literature or home publishing, so that he/she does not waste time going through ‘low yield’ ungraded information. The Publisher could either be a private company, an academic institution, or a scholarly society. My experience is that, when page charges and subscription rates are compounded, journals published by scholarly societies are not necessarily cheaper. The difference between these cases is not the cost of running an office with rents, wages, printing, postage, advertisement, and archiving, but that a private Publisher pays shareholders. Shareholders have the bad habit of minding their own business and, therefore, they may interfere negatively with scientific publishing. Nevertheless, while the stranglehold imposed by private Publishers on our libraries over the last 10 years by increasing subscription rates may in part be due to shareholders' greed, this is true only in part. The increases are also a consequence of the booming number of pages being

  5. Current state of open access to journal publications from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine.

    PubMed

    Škorić, Lea; Vrkić, Dina; Petrak, Jelka

    2016-02-01

    To identify the share of open access (OA) papers in the total number of journal publications authored by the members of the University of Zagreb School of Medicine (UZSM) in 2014. Bibliographic data on 543 UZSM papers published in 2014 were collected using PubMed advanced search strategies and manual data collection methods. The items that had "free full text" icons were considered as gold OA papers. Their OA availability was checked using the provided link to full-text. The rest of the UZSM papers were analyzed for potential green OA through self-archiving in institutional repository. Papers published by Croatian journals were particularly analyzed. Full texts of approximately 65% of all UZSM papers were freely available. Most of them were published in gold OA journals (55% of all UZSM papers or 85% of all UZSM OA papers). In the UZSM repository, there were additional 52 freely available authors' manuscripts from subscription-based journals (10% of all UZSM papers or 15% of all UZSM OA papers). The overall proportion of OA in our study is higher than in similar studies, but only half of gold OA papers are accessible via PubMed directly. The results of our study indicate that increased quality of metadata and linking of the bibliographic records to full texts could assure better visibility. Moreover, only a quarter of papers from subscription-based journals that allow self-archiving are deposited in the UZSM repository. We believe that UZSM should consider mandating all faculty members to deposit their publications in UZSM OA repository to increase visibility and improve access to its scientific output.

  6. Current state of open access to journal publications from the University of Zagreb School of Medicine

    PubMed Central

    Škorić, Lea; Vrkić, Dina; Petrak, Jelka

    2016-01-01

    Aims To identify the share of open access (OA) papers in the total number of journal publications authored by the members of the University of Zagreb School of Medicine (UZSM) in 2014. Methods Bibliographic data on 543 UZSM papers published in 2014 were collected using PubMed advanced search strategies and manual data collection methods. The items that had “free full text” icons were considered as gold OA papers. Their OA availability was checked using the provided link to full-text. The rest of the UZSM papers were analyzed for potential green OA through self-archiving in institutional repository. Papers published by Croatian journals were particularly analyzed. Results Full texts of approximately 65% of all UZSM papers were freely available. Most of them were published in gold OA journals (55% of all UZSM papers or 85% of all UZSM OA papers). In the UZSM repository, there were additional 52 freely available authors’ manuscripts from subscription-based journals (10% of all UZSM papers or 15% of all UZSM OA papers). Conclusion The overall proportion of OA in our study is higher than in similar studies, but only half of gold OA papers are accessible via PubMed directly. The results of our study indicate that increased quality of metadata and linking of the bibliographic records to full texts could assure better visibility. Moreover, only a quarter of papers from subscription-based journals that allow self-archiving are deposited in the UZSM repository. We believe that UZSM should consider mandating all faculty members to deposit their publications in UZSM OA repository to increase visibility and improve access to its scientific output. PMID:26935617

  7. Usage Trends of Open Access and Local Journals: A Korean Case Study

    PubMed Central

    Chung, Hosik; Yun, Jungmin; Park, Jin Young; Park, Eunsun; Ahn, Yuri

    2016-01-01

    Articles from open access and local journals are important resources for research in Korea and the usage trends of these articles are important indicators for the assessment of the current research practice. We analyzed an institutional collection of published papers from 1998 to 2014 authored by researchers from Seoul National University, and their references from papers published between 1998 and 2011. The published papers were collected from Web of Science or Scopus and were analyzed according to the proportion of articles from open access journals. Their cited references from published papers in Web of Science were analyzed according to the proportion of local (South Korean) or open access journals. The proportion of open access papers was relatively stable until 2006 (2.5 ~ 5.2% in Web of Science and 2.7 ~ 4.2% in Scopus), but then increased to 15.9% (Web of Science) or 18.5% (Scopus) in 2014. We analyzed 2,750,485 cited references from 52,295 published papers. We found that the overall proportion of cited articles from local journals was 1.8% and that for open access journals was 3.0%. Citations of open access articles have increased since 2006 to 4.1% in 2011, although the increase in open access article citations was less than for open access publications. The proportion of citations from local journals was even lower. We think that the publishing / citing mismatch is a term to describe this difference, which is an issue at Seoul National University, where the number of published papers at open access or local journals is increasing but the number of citations is not. The cause of this discrepancy is multi-factorial but the governmental / institutional policies, social / cultural issues and authors' citing behaviors will explain the mismatch. However, additional measures are also necessary, such as the development of an institutional citation database and improved search capabilities with respect to local and open access documents. PMID:27195948

  8. Usage Trends of Open Access and Local Journals: A Korean Case Study.

    PubMed

    Seo, Jeong-Wook; Chung, Hosik; Yun, Jungmin; Park, Jin Young; Park, Eunsun; Ahn, Yuri

    2016-01-01

    Articles from open access and local journals are important resources for research in Korea and the usage trends of these articles are important indicators for the assessment of the current research practice. We analyzed an institutional collection of published papers from 1998 to 2014 authored by researchers from Seoul National University, and their references from papers published between 1998 and 2011. The published papers were collected from Web of Science or Scopus and were analyzed according to the proportion of articles from open access journals. Their cited references from published papers in Web of Science were analyzed according to the proportion of local (South Korean) or open access journals. The proportion of open access papers was relatively stable until 2006 (2.5 ~ 5.2% in Web of Science and 2.7 ~ 4.2% in Scopus), but then increased to 15.9% (Web of Science) or 18.5% (Scopus) in 2014. We analyzed 2,750,485 cited references from 52,295 published papers. We found that the overall proportion of cited articles from local journals was 1.8% and that for open access journals was 3.0%. Citations of open access articles have increased since 2006 to 4.1% in 2011, although the increase in open access article citations was less than for open access publications. The proportion of citations from local journals was even lower. We think that the publishing / citing mismatch is a term to describe this difference, which is an issue at Seoul National University, where the number of published papers at open access or local journals is increasing but the number of citations is not. The cause of this discrepancy is multi-factorial but the governmental / institutional policies, social / cultural issues and authors' citing behaviors will explain the mismatch. However, additional measures are also necessary, such as the development of an institutional citation database and improved search capabilities with respect to local and open access documents.

  9. Large and linked in scientific publishing

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    We are delighted to announce the launch of GigaScience, an online open-access journal that focuses on research using or producing large datasets in all areas of biological and biomedical sciences. GigaScience is a new type of journal that provides standard scientific publishing linked directly to a database that hosts all the relevant data. The primary goals for the journal, detailed in this editorial, are to promote more rapid data release, broader use and reuse of data, improved reproducibility of results, and direct, easy access between analyses and their data. Direct and permanent connections of scientific analyses and their data (achieved by assigning all hosted data a citable DOI) will enable better analysis and deeper interpretation of the data in the future. PMID:23587310

  10. Large and linked in scientific publishing.

    PubMed

    Goodman, Laurie; Edmunds, Scott C; Basford, Alexandra T

    2012-07-12

    We are delighted to announce the launch of GigaScience, an online open-access journal that focuses on research using or producing large datasets in all areas of biological and biomedical sciences. GigaScience is a new type of journal that provides standard scientific publishing linked directly to a database that hosts all the relevant data. The primary goals for the journal, detailed in this editorial, are to promote more rapid data release, broader use and reuse of data, improved reproducibility of results, and direct, easy access between analyses and their data. Direct and permanent connections of scientific analyses and their data (achieved by assigning all hosted data a citable DOI) will enable better analysis and deeper interpretation of the data in the future.

  11. The scientific, the literary and the popular: Commerce and the reimagining of the scientific journal in Britain, 1813–1825

    PubMed Central

    Topham, Jonathan R.

    2016-01-01

    As scientists question the recent dominance of the scientific journal, the varied richness of its past offers useful materials for reflection. This paper examines four innovative journals founded and run by leading publishers and men of science in the 1810s and 1820s, which contributed to a significant reimagining of the form. Relying on a new distinction between the ‘literary’ and the ‘scientific’ to define their market, those who produced the journals intended to maximize their readership and profits by making them to some extent ‘popular’. While these attempts ended in commercial failure, not least because of the rapidly diversifying periodical market in which they operated, their history makes clear the important role that commerce has played both in defining the purposes and audiences of scientific journals and in the conceptualization of the scientific project. It also informs the ongoing debate concerning how the multiple audiences for science can be addressed in ways that are commercially and practically viable.

  12. Quality of Gastroenterology Research Published in Saudi Arabian Scientific Journals

    PubMed Central

    Almaghrabi, Majed M.; Alamoudi, Abdullah S.; Radi, Suhaib A.; Merdad, Anas A.; Makhdoum, Ahmad M.; Batwa, Faisal A.

    2015-01-01

    Background/Aims: Evidence-based medicine has established itself in the field of gastroenterology. In this study we aim to assess the types of study designs of gastroenterology-related articles published in Saudi scientific journals. Patients and Methods: An online review using PubMed was carried out to review gastroenterology-related articles published in six Saudi medical journals in the time interval from 2003 to 2012. To classify the level of evidence in these articles we employed the Oxford's levels of evidence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the levels of evidence between published articles. Results: A total of 721 gastroenterology-related articles were reviewed, of which 591 articles met our inclusion criteria; 80.7% were level IV. The three most common types of studies we encountered were cross-sectional (33.9%), case reports (27.9%), and case series (18.8%). Forty-three percent of the published research was in the field of hepatobiliary and spleen. The total number of articles increased from 260 articles in the 1st 5-year period (2003–2007) to 330 in the 2nd period (2008–2012). However, no statistically significant difference in the level of evidence was noted. In Annals of Saudi Medicine Journal, articles with level II increased from 0 to 10% with a P value 0.02. Conclusion: In our review of gastroenterology-related published articles in Saudi scientific journals, we observed an increase in the quantity of articles with the quality and level of evidence remaining unchanged. Further research is recommended to explore different reasons affecting the volume and quality of gastroenterology-related research in Saudi scientific journals. PMID:25843195

  13. Publish or perish, and pay--the new paradigm of open-access journals.

    PubMed

    Tzarnas, Stephanie; Tzarnas, Chris D

    2015-01-01

    The new open-access journal business model is changing the publication landscape and residents and junior faculty should be aware of these changes. A national survey of surgery program directors and residents was performed. Open-access journals have been growing over the past decade, and many traditional printed journals are also sponsoring open-access options (the hybrid model) for accepted articles. Authors need to be aware of the new publishing paradigm and potential costs involved in publishing their work. Copyright © 2014 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Coverage, universal access and equity in health: a characterization of scientific production in nursing.

    PubMed

    Mendoza-Parra, Sara

    2016-01-01

    to characterize the scientific contribution nursing has made regarding coverage, universal access and equity in health, and to understand this production in terms of subjects and objects of study. this was cross-sectional, documentary research; the units of analysis were 97 journals and 410 documents, retrieved from the Web of Science in the category, "nursing". Descriptors associated to coverage, access and equity in health, and the Mesh thesaurus, were applied. We used bibliometric laws and indicators, and analyzed the most important articles according to amount of citations and collaboration. the document retrieval allowed for 25 years of observation of production, an institutional and an international collaboration of 31% and 7%, respectively. The mean number of coauthors per article was 3.5, with a transience rate of 93%. The visibility index was 67.7%, and 24.6% of production was concentrated in four core journals. A review from the nursing category with 286 citations, and a Brazilian author who was the most productive, are issues worth highlighting. the nursing collective should strengthen future research on the subject, defining lines and sub-lines of research, increasing internationalization and building it with the joint participation of the academy and nursing community.

  15. Scientific journals and conflict of interest disclosure: what progress has been made?

    PubMed

    Ruff, Kathleen

    2015-05-30

    The article addresses the failure of the scientific community to create an effective mechanism to protect the integrity of the scientific literature from improper influence by vested interests. The seriousness of this threat is increasingly recognized. Scientists willing to distort scientific research to serve vested interests receive millions of dollars for their services. Organizations such as the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, the World Association of Medical Editors and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) have launched initiatives to establish international standards for Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure. COPE requires its 7,000 member journals to comply with its Code of Conduct for Journal Editors. While these initiatives are encouraging, they are internal educational endeavours only. Five examples are given showing failure of COPE member journals to comply with COPE's Code of Conduct. While COPE offers a complaint process, it involves only discussion and voluntary compliance. COPE neither polices nor enforces its Code. Instead of the current feeble, un-resourced process, which delivers neither transparency nor accountability, the article proposes the creation of a mechanism that will employ specific, effective measures to address contraventions of COI disclosure requirements.

  16. Online access to journal abstracts and articles.

    PubMed

    Giedd, J N; Smith, K G

    1997-01-01

    Advances in information technology now offer several options for child and adolescent psychopharmacologists to navigate the increasingly complex terrain of scientific literature and keep abreast of the rapidly changing advances in our field. MEDLINE, the world's largest database of medical literature, can be accessed and searched by a variety of free or fee-based services. In addition to efficient retrieval of citations and abstracts based on subject, author, or title, many of these services now provide, for a fee, the entire text and graphics of articles (displayed on computer screen, faxed, or mailed). There are also current awareness services to alert the user when new requested literature become available as well as services to send via e-mail the tables of contents of requested journals (sometimes prior to paper publication). For online citation and abstract retrieval, we found that free services, such as PubMed, performed as good or better than fee-based services. Physicians' Online, sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, offered the lowest price for full-text manuscript delivery. In this article, we review literature search, delivery, and update services and offer some tips on how to most effectively use these resources.

  17. The costs and benefits of library site licenses to academic journals.

    PubMed

    Bergstrom, Carl T; Bergstrom, Theodore C

    2004-01-20

    Scientific publishing is rapidly shifting from a paper-based system to one of predominantly electronic distribution, in which universities purchase site licenses for online access to journal contents. Will these changes necessarily benefit the scientific community? By using basic microeconomics and elementary statistical theory, we address this question and find a surprising answer. If a journal is priced to maximize the publisher's profits, scholars on average are likely to be worse off when universities purchase site licenses than they would be if access were by individual subscriptions only. However, site licenses are not always disadvantageous. Journals issued by professional societies and university presses are often priced so as to maximize subscriptions while recovering average costs. When such journals are sustained by institutional site licenses, the net benefits to the scientific community are larger than if these journals are sold only by individual subscriptions.

  18. [SOME CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT THE INTRINSIC VALUE OF THE IMPACT FACTOR OF SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS].

    PubMed

    Franco-López, Ángeles; González-Gallego, Javier; Sanz-Valero, Javier; Tuñón, María Jesús; García-De-Lorenzo, Abelardo; Culebras, Jesús M

    2015-12-01

    The reason of higher number of citations of some articles is discussed. Some considerations about the journals' impact factor, its merits and its pitfalls are also made. Scientific journals' impact factor, popularized by the Institute for Scientific Information, has become an objective parameter for authors' evaluation and also for institutions and other related circumstances. There is no reason for the impact factor's gap between some English journals and those written in other languages. English journals probably benefit of the "Mathew's effect", according to which eminent scientists are more rewarded by similar contributions than others less known. It is paradoxical that most of the major achievements of our age do not appear among the 100 most cited articles. There is no homogeneity among all the articles appearing in each scientific journal: half of the articles are cited ten times more than the other half. However, those articles cited 0 times are credited like the better ones. Each article should be evaluated by its own citations, which would be its impact factor; the authors should be evaluated by their H index. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  19. Using a journal availability study to improve access.

    PubMed

    Shaw-Kokot, J; de la Varre, C

    2001-01-01

    Identify journal collection access and use factors. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Health Sciences Library patrons. Survey forms and user interactions were monitored once a week for twelve weeks during the fall 1997 semester. The project was based on a 1989 New Mexico State University study and used Kantor's Branching Analysis to measure responses. 80% of reported sought journal articles were found successfully. Along with journal usage data, the library obtained demographic and behavioral information. Journals are the library's most used resource and, even as more electronic journals are offered, print journals continue to make up the majority of the collection. Several factors highlighted the need to study journal availability. User groups indicated that finding journals was problematic, and internal statistics showed people requesting interlibrary loans for owned items. The study looked at success rates, time, and ease of finding journals. A variety of reasons contributed to not finding journals. While overall user reports indicated relatively high success rate and satisfaction, there were problems to be addressed. As the library proceeds in redesigning both the physical space and electronic presence, the collected data have provided valuable direction.

  20. An assessment system for rating scientific journals in the field of ergonomics and human factors.

    PubMed

    Dul, Jan; Karwowski, Waldemar

    2004-05-01

    A method for selecting and rating scientific and professional journals representing the discipline of ergonomics and human factors is proposed. The method is based upon the journal list, impact factors and citations provided by the Institute of Scientific Information (ISI), and the journal list published in the Ergonomics Abstracts. Three groups of journals were distinguished. The 'ergonomics journals' focus exclusively on ergonomics and human factors. The 'related journals' focus on other disciplines than ergonomics and human factors, but regularly publish ergonomics/human factors papers. The 'basic journals' focus on other technical, medical or social sciences than ergonomics, but are important for the development of ergonomics/human factors. Journal quality was rated using a maximum of four categories: top quality (A-level), high quality (B-level), good quality (C-level)) and professional (P-level). The above methods were applied to develop the Ergonomics Journal List 2004. A total of 25 'ergonomics journals', 58 'related journals' and 142 'basic journals' were classified.

  1. The last bite was deadly--about responsibility in scientific publishing.

    PubMed

    Pavlovic, Dragan; Usichenko, Taras I; Lehmann, Christian

    2014-01-01

    Some open access journals are believed to have devaluated the highly respected image of the scientific journal. This has been, it is claimed, verified. Yet the project we believe failed and we show why we think that it failed. The study itself was badly conducted and the report, which Science published, was itself a perfect example of "bad science". If the article that was published in Science were to be taken as one of the "test" articles and Science as a victim journal (a perfect control though), the study would show the opposite of what author concluded in his paper: 100% of the controls (normal non-open access journals, in the present study this was Science) accepted the "bait" paper for publication, while in the experimental group only about 60% (open access journals) accepted the bait paper for publication. The conclusion is that, with respect to non-open access and open access, the probability of accepting pseudoscience is well in favor of this being done by a non-open access journal. Since this interpretation is based on some facts that were not included in the project itself, the only warranted result of this study would be that nothing could be concluded from it. It is concluded that the method that Bohannon used was heavily flawed and in addition immoral; that the report that was published by Science was inconclusive and that the act of publishing such report cannot be morally justified either. Various methods to improve the quality of published papers exist but scientific fraud with "good intentions" as a method to promote scientific publishing should be avoided.

  2. The costs and benefits of library site licenses to academic journals

    PubMed Central

    Bergstrom, Carl T.; Bergstrom, Theodore C.

    2004-01-01

    Scientific publishing is rapidly shifting from a paper-based system to one of predominantly electronic distribution, in which universities purchase site licenses for online access to journal contents. Will these changes necessarily benefit the scientific community? By using basic microeconomics and elementary statistical theory, we address this question and find a surprising answer. If a journal is priced to maximize the publisher's profits, scholars on average are likely to be worse off when universities purchase site licenses than they would be if access were by individual subscriptions only. However, site licenses are not always disadvantageous. Journals issued by professional societies and university presses are often priced so as to maximize subscriptions while recovering average costs. When such journals are sustained by institutional site licenses, the net benefits to the scientific community are larger than if these journals are sold only by individual subscriptions. PMID:14715902

  3. Retracted Publications in the Biomedical Literature from Open Access Journals.

    PubMed

    Wang, Tao; Xing, Qin-Rui; Wang, Hui; Chen, Wei

    2018-03-07

    The number of articles published in open access journals (OAJs) has increased dramatically in recent years. Simultaneously, the quality of publications in these journals has been called into question. Few studies have explored the retraction rate from OAJs. The purpose of the current study was to determine the reasons for retractions of articles from OAJs in biomedical research. The Medline database was searched through PubMed to identify retracted publications in OAJs. The journals were identified by the Directory of Open Access Journals. Data were extracted from each retracted article, including the time from publication to retraction, causes, journal impact factor, and country of origin. Trends in the characteristics related to retraction were determined. Data from 621 retracted studies were included in the analysis. The number and rate of retractions have increased since 2010. The most common reasons for retraction are errors (148), plagiarism (142), duplicate publication (101), fraud/suspected fraud (98) and invalid peer review (93). The number of retracted articles from OAJs has been steadily increasing. Misconduct was the primary reason for retraction. The majority of retracted articles were from journals with low impact factors and authored by researchers from China, India, Iran, and the USA.

  4. Using a journal availability study to improve access

    PubMed Central

    Shaw-Kokot, Julia; de la Varre, Claire

    2001-01-01

    Purpose: Identify journal collection access and use factors. Setting and Subjects: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Health Sciences Library patrons. Methodology: Survey forms and user interactions were monitored once a week for twelve weeks during the fall 1997 semester. The project was based on a 1989 New Mexico State University study and used Kantor's Branching Analysis to measure responses. Result: 80% of reported sought journal articles were found successfully. Along with journal usage data, the library obtained demographic and behavioral information. Discussion and Conclusions: Journals are the library's most used resource and, even as more electronic journals are offered, print journals continue to make up the majority of the collection. Several factors highlighted the need to study journal availability. User groups indicated that finding journals was problematic, and internal statistics showed people requesting interlibrary loans for owned items. The study looked at success rates, time, and ease of finding journals. A variety of reasons contributed to not finding journals. While overall user reports indicated relatively high success rate and satisfaction, there were problems to be addressed. As the library proceeds in redesigning both the physical space and electronic presence, the collected data have provided valuable direction. PMID:11209797

  5. [Bibliometric study of the Journal Nutrición Hospitalaria for the period 2001-2005: Part 1, Analysis of the scientific production].

    PubMed

    Casterá, V T; Sanz-Valero, J; Juan-Quilis, V; Wanden-Berghe, C; Culebras, J M; García de Lorenzo y Mateos, A

    2008-01-01

    To assess the scientific activity and information production of the journal Nutrición Hospitalaria, for the period 2001-2005 by means of a Bibliometric study. Cross-sectional descriptive study of the results obtained from the analysis of the articles published in the journal Nutrición Hospitalaria. The data were obtained by consulting the electronic version through the Web. In those cases in which there was a link breakdown, and thus, the inability to have access to the electronic document the printed version was consulted. All the documental possibilities were taken into account with the exception of communications to congresses. A total of 345 articles were published, 187 (54.20%) being original articles. The geographical distribution of the first author was Spanish in 287 articles (83.19%) and Latin American in 27 (7.83%). Most of the articles are from health care centers (172 articles (49.86%)), and the cooperation index being 4.15. Madrid is the most productive province, for both the absolute and adjusted frequencies. The median number of references per article is 18, the mean being 23.52 (95% CI 20.93 - 26.10). The predominant language was Spanish, with 308 articles (89.28%). Nutrición Hospitalaria may be considered as a reference journal regarding information and scientific communication on Nutrition for both the Spanish and Latin American communities. The bibliometric parameters studied compare with those verified for the remaining top of the list Spanish scientific journals on health sciences.

  6. Scientific Journals of Universities of Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela: Actors and Roles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Delgado, Jorge Enrique

    2014-01-01

    A qualitative study was carried out to identify the roles of actors associated with the publication of scientific journals in Chilean, Colombian, and Venezuelan universities. Twenty-four semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with journal editors, university authorities, and other experts. The categories of analysis included university…

  7. International Scientific Publication in ISI Journals: Chances and Obstacles

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Omer, Rawda Ahmed

    2015-01-01

    Recently, many universities have started to do their best to enhance their contribution in the scientific publication. Thus, researchers and faculty members have been offered many various financial and promotional incentives for publishing their papers in international journals, particularly the ISI ones. The present study aims to identify the…

  8. [Predatory journals: how their publishers operate and how to avoid them].

    PubMed

    Kratochvíl, Jiří; Plch, Lukáš

    Authors who publish in scientific or scholarly journals today face the risk of publishing in so-called predatory journals. These journals exploit the noble idea of the Open Access movement, whose goal is to make the latest scientific findings available for free. Predatory journals, unlike the reputable ones working on an Open Access basis, neglect the review process and publish low-quality submissions. The basic attributes of predatory journals are a very quick review process or even none at all, failure to be transparent about author fees for publishing an article, misleading potential authors by imitating the names of well-established journals, and false information on indexing in renowned databases or assigned impact factor. Some preventive measures against publishing in predatory journals or drawing information from them are: a thorough credibility check of the journals webpages, verification of the journals indexing on Bealls List and in the following databases: Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus, ERIH PLUS and DOAJ. Asking other scientists or scholars about their experience with a given journal can also be helpful. Without these necessary steps authors face an increased risk of publishing in a journal of poor quality, which will prevent them from obtaining Research and Development Council points (awarded based on the Information Register of Research & Development results); even more importantly, it may damage their reputation as well as the good name of their home institution in the professional community.Key words: academic writing - medical journals - Open Access - predatory journals - predatory publishers - scientific publications.

  9. Coverage, universal access and equity in health: a characterization of scientific production in nursing

    PubMed Central

    Mendoza-Parra, Sara

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: to characterize the scientific contribution nursing has made regarding coverage, universal access and equity in health, and to understand this production in terms of subjects and objects of study. Material and methods: this was cross-sectional, documentary research; the units of analysis were 97 journals and 410 documents, retrieved from the Web of Science in the category, "nursing". Descriptors associated to coverage, access and equity in health, and the Mesh thesaurus, were applied. We used bibliometric laws and indicators, and analyzed the most important articles according to amount of citations and collaboration. Results: the document retrieval allowed for 25 years of observation of production, an institutional and an international collaboration of 31% and 7%, respectively. The mean number of coauthors per article was 3.5, with a transience rate of 93%. The visibility index was 67.7%, and 24.6% of production was concentrated in four core journals. A review from the nursing category with 286 citations, and a Brazilian author who was the most productive, are issues worth highlighting. Conclusions: the nursing collective should strengthen future research on the subject, defining lines and sub-lines of research, increasing internationalization and building it with the joint participation of the academy and nursing community. PMID:26959329

  10. Open access: changing global science publishing.

    PubMed

    Gasparyan, Armen Yuri; Ayvazyan, Lilit; Kitas, George D

    2013-08-01

    The article reflects on open access as a strategy of changing the quality of science communication globally. Successful examples of open-access journals are presented to highlight implications of archiving in open digital repositories for the quality and citability of research output. Advantages and downsides of gold, green, and hybrid models of open access operating in diverse scientific environments are described. It is assumed that open access is a global trend which influences the workflow in scholarly journals, changing their quality, credibility, and indexability.

  11. Using Scavenger Hunts to Familiarize Students with Scientific Journal Articles.

    PubMed

    Lijek, Rebeccah S; Fankhauser, Sarah C

    2016-03-01

    Primary scientific literature can be difficult to navigate for anyone unfamiliar with its foreign, formal structure. We sought to create a fun, easy learning tool to help familiarize students of all ages with the structure of a scientific article. Our main learning objective was for the student to realize that science writing is formulaic-that specific information is found in predictable locations within an article-and that, with an understanding of the formula, anyone can comfortably navigate any journal article and accurately predict what to expect to find in each section. To this end, we designed a Journal Article Scavenger Hunt that requires the user to find and identify a series of commonplace features of a primary research article. The scavenger hunt activity is quick and easy to implement, and is adaptable to various ages and settings, including the classroom, lab, and at outreach events. The questions in the scavenger hunt can be scaled in difficulty and specificity to suit the instructor's needs. Over many years of using this activity, we have received positive feedback from students of all ages, from elementary school students to lay adult-learners as well as science teachers themselves. By making the unknown seem predictable and approachable, the scavenger hunt helps a variety of audiences feel more comfortable with science and more confident in their ability to engage directly with the scientific literature. Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

  12. Open by default: a proposed copyright license and waiver agreement for open access research and data in peer-reviewed journals

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Copyright and licensing of scientific data, internationally, are complex and present legal barriers to data sharing, integration and reuse, and therefore restrict the most efficient transfer and discovery of scientific knowledge. Much data are included within scientific journal articles, their published tables, additional files (supplementary material) and reference lists. However, these data are usually published under licenses which are not appropriate for data. Creative Commons CC0 is an appropriate and increasingly accepted method for dedicating data to the public domain, to enable data reuse with the minimum of restrictions. BioMed Central is committed to working towards implementation of open data-compliant licensing in its publications. Here we detail a protocol for implementing a combined Creative Commons Attribution license (for copyrightable material) and Creative Commons CC0 waiver (for data) agreement for content published in peer-reviewed open access journals. We explain the differences between legal requirements for attribution in copyright, and cultural requirements in scholarship for giving individuals credit for their work through citation. We argue that publishing data in scientific journals under CC0 will have numerous benefits for individuals and society, and yet will have minimal implications for authors and minimal impact on current publishing and research workflows. We provide practical examples and definitions of data types, such as XML and tabular data, and specific secondary use cases for published data, including text mining, reproducible research, and open bibliography. We believe this proposed change to the current copyright and licensing structure in science publishing will help clarify what users – people and machines – of the published literature can do, legally, with journal articles and make research using the published literature more efficient. We further believe this model could be adopted across multiple publishers, and

  13. Data access for scientific problem solving

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brown, James W.

    1987-01-01

    An essential ingredient in scientific work is data. In disciplines such as Oceanography, data sources are many and volumes are formidable. The full value of large stores of data cannot be realized unless careful thought is given to data access. JPL has developed the Pilot Ocean Data System to investigate techniques for archiving and accessing ocean data obtained from space. These include efficient storage and rapid retrieval of satellite data, an easy-to-use user interface, and a variety of output products which, taken together, permit researchers to extract and use data rapidly and conveniently.

  14. The learning process of capita selecta based on journals review

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Diniaty, Artina; Febriana, Beta Wulan; Arlianty, Widinda Normalia

    2017-03-01

    The learning process on capita selecta subject of Chemistry Education Department, Islamic University of Indonesia, was carried out based on reviewing of journals in chemistry and chemistry education scopes. The learning process procedure included planning, implementation and reflection. The purposes of learning were 1) students got an insight into the trend research in chemistry and chemistry education scopes, 2) students knew how to access and search journals, 3) increased students learning motivation on reading scientific journals, 4) students had be trained for reviewing scientific journals, and inspiring students to think about research ideas, performed research and publishing in scientific journals. The result showed that the students' responses in this learning were good.

  15. Ten questions you should consider before submitting an article to a scientific journal.

    PubMed

    Falcó-Pegueroles, A; Rodríguez-Martín, D

    Investigating involves not only knowing the research methods and designs; it involves knowing the strategies for disseminating and publishing the results in scientific journals. An investigation is considered complete when it is published and is disclosed to the scientific community. The publication of a manuscript is not simple, since it involves examination by a rigorous editorial process evaluator to ensure the scientific quality of the proposal. The objective of this article is to communicate to potential authors the main errors or deficiencies that typically and routinely explain the decision by the referees of scientific journals not to accept a scientific article. Based on the experience of the authors as referees of national and international journals in the field of nursing and health sciences, we have identified a total of 10 types or groups, which cover formulation errors, inconsistencies between different parts of the text, lack of structuring, imprecise language, information gaps, and the detection of relevant inaccuracies. The identification and analysis of these issues enables their prevention, and is of great use to future researchers in the dissemination of the results of their work to the scientific community. In short, the best publishing strategy is one that ensures the scientific quality of the work and spares no effort in avoiding the errors or deficiencies that referees routinely detect in the articles they evaluate. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Enfermería Intensiva y Unidades Coronarias (SEEIUC). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. Retractions by Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences due to Scientific Misconduct.

    PubMed

    Jawaid, Shaukat Ali; Jawaid, Masood

    2016-08-01

    Under pressure to publish, academicians and research scientists are increasingly indulging in scientific misconduct leading to retraction of such papers when identified. Other reasons of retraction include scientific error and problems related to ethics. Four published manuscripts (three from Turkey and one from Pakistan) had to be retracted from Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences from January 2014 to July 2015 due to scientific misconduct. There is a need to search for effective measures which could help reduce the number of retractions and prevent scientific literature from being further polluted, which seems to be increasing every year.

  17. An Economic Analysis of the Demand for Scientific Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berg, Sanford V.

    1972-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that economic analysis can be useful in modeling the scientific journal market. Of particular interest is the efficiency of pricing and page policies. To calculate loses due to inefficiencies, demand parameters are statistically estimated and used in a discussion of market efficiency. (3 references)…

  18. Ciência & Saúde coletiva Journal at the national and international context of scientific communication.

    PubMed

    Minayo, Maria Cecília de Souza; Gomes, Romeu

    2015-07-01

    The article discusses the role of the Ciência & Saúde Coletiva Journal in the dissemination of knowledge in Brazil and in the international scientific community, its new challenges and role in the consolidation of the national public health field. Its history is outlined, positioning it as a scientific journal and the themes approached in it are analyzed. Among the findings, it is emphasized that the journal features a structured space by the habitus of public health, and creates its own habitus that contributes to structure this field. In addition, the journal contributes to the development of critical mass in the area and is committed to the Brazilian Public Health System.

  19. Biomedical science journals in the Arab world.

    PubMed

    Tadmouri, Ghazi O

    2004-10-01

    Medieval Arab scientists established the basis of medical practice and gave important attention to the publication of scientific results. At present, modern scientific publishing in the Arab world is in its developmental stage. Arab biomedical journals are less than 300, most of which are published in Egypt, Lebanon, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Yet, many of these journals do not have on-line access or are indexed in major bibliographic databases. The majority of indexed journals, however, do not have a stable presence in the popular PubMed database and their indexes are discontinued since 2001. The exposure of Arab biomedical journals in international indices undoubtedly plays an important role in improving the scientific quality of these journals. The successful examples discussed in this review encourage us to call for the formation of a consortium of Arab biomedical journal publishers to assist in redressing the balance of the region from biomedical data consumption to data production.

  20. Achieving open access to conservation science.

    PubMed

    Fuller, Richard A; Lee, Jasmine R; Watson, James E M

    2014-12-01

    Conservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay-per-view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per-article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation-oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., on behalf of the Society for

  1. Authors attain comparable or slightly higher rates of citation publishing in an open access journal (CytoJournal) compared to traditional cytopathology journals - A five year (2007-2011) experience

    PubMed Central

    Frisch, Nora K.; Nathan, Romil; Ahmed, Yasin K.; Shidham, Vinod B.

    2014-01-01

    Background: The era of Open Access (OA) publication, a platform which serves to better disseminate scientific knowledge, is upon us, as more OA journals are in existence than ever before. The idea that peer-reviewed OA publication leads to higher rates of citation has been put forth and shown to be true in several publications. This is a significant benefit to authors and is in addition to another relatively less obvious but highly critical component of the OA charter, i.e. retention of the copyright by the authors in the public domain. In this study, we analyzed the citation rates of OA and traditional non-OA publications specifically for authors in the field of cytopathology. Design: We compared the citation patterns for authors who had published in both OA and traditional non-OA peer-reviewed, scientific, cytopathology journals. Citations in an OA publication (CytoJournal) were analyzed comparatively with traditional non-OA cytopathology journals (Acta Cytologica, Cancer Cytopathology, Cytopathology, and Diagnostic Cytopathology) using the data from web of science citation analysis site (based on which the impact factors (IF) are calculated). After comparing citations per publication, as well as a time adjusted citation quotient (which takes into account the time since publication), we also analyzed the statistics after excluding the data for meeting abstracts. Results: Total 28 authors published 314 publications as articles and meeting abstracts (25 authors after excluding the abstracts). The rate of citation and time adjusted citation quotient were higher for OA in the group where abstracts were included (P < 0.05 for both). The rates were also slightly higher for OA than non-OA when the meeting abstracts were excluded, but the difference was statistically insignificant (P = 0.57 and P = 0.45). Conclusion We observed that for the same author, the publications in the OA journal attained a higher rate of citation than the publications in the traditional non

  2. An Open Source Model for Open Access Journal Publication

    PubMed Central

    Blesius, Carl R.; Williams, Michael A.; Holzbach, Ana; Huntley, Arthur C.; Chueh, Henry

    2005-01-01

    We describe an electronic journal publication infrastructure that allows a flexible publication workflow, academic exchange around different forms of user submissions, and the exchange of articles between publishers and archives using a common XML based standard. This web-based application is implemented on a freely available open source software stack. This publication demonstrates the Dermatology Online Journal's use of the platform for non-biased independent open access publication. PMID:16779183

  3. Scholarly Publishing's Evolving Landscape: Impact Metrics, Electronic-Only Journals, and Open Access in Journalism and Communication Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Antell, Karen; Foote, Joe S.; Foote, Jody Bales

    2016-01-01

    This study surveys the landscape of scholarly publishing, with particular emphasis on scholarly journals in the communication discipline, measuring the shift to electronic publishing in six selected disciplines and exploring two other important emerging topics: open-access publishing and new journal citation metrics. The goals are to inform…

  4. The development of open access journal publishing from 1993 to 2009.

    PubMed

    Laakso, Mikael; Welling, Patrik; Bukvova, Helena; Nyman, Linus; Björk, Bo-Christer; Hedlund, Turid

    2011-01-01

    Open Access (OA) is a model for publishing scholarly peer reviewed journals, made possible by the Internet. The full text of OA journals and articles can be freely read, as the publishing is funded through means other than subscriptions. Empirical research concerning the quantitative development of OA publishing has so far consisted of scattered individual studies providing brief snapshots, using varying methods and data sources. This study adopts a systematic method for studying the development of OA journals from their beginnings in the early 1990s until 2009. Because no comprehensive index of OA articles exists, systematic manual data collection from journal web sites was conducted based on journal-level data extracted from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Due to the high number of journals registered in the DOAJ, almost 5000 at the time of the study, stratified random sampling was used. A separate sample of verified early pioneer OA journals was also studied. The results show a very rapid growth of OA publishing during the period 1993-2009. During the last year an estimated 191 000 articles were published in 4769 journals. Since the year 2000, the average annual growth rate has been 18% for the number of journals and 30% for the number of articles. This can be contrasted to the reported 3,5% yearly volume increase in journal publishing in general. In 2009 the share of articles in OA journals, of all peer reviewed journal articles, reached 7,7%. Overall, the results document a rapid growth in OA journal publishing over the last fifteen years. Based on the sampling results and qualitative data a division into three distinct periods is suggested: The Pioneering years (1993-1999), the Innovation years (2000-2004), and the Consolidation years (2005-2009).

  5. The Development of Open Access Journal Publishing from 1993 to 2009

    PubMed Central

    Laakso, Mikael; Welling, Patrik; Bukvova, Helena; Nyman, Linus; Björk, Bo-Christer; Hedlund, Turid

    2011-01-01

    Open Access (OA) is a model for publishing scholarly peer reviewed journals, made possible by the Internet. The full text of OA journals and articles can be freely read, as the publishing is funded through means other than subscriptions. Empirical research concerning the quantitative development of OA publishing has so far consisted of scattered individual studies providing brief snapshots, using varying methods and data sources. This study adopts a systematic method for studying the development of OA journals from their beginnings in the early 1990s until 2009. Because no comprehensive index of OA articles exists, systematic manual data collection from journal web sites was conducted based on journal-level data extracted from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Due to the high number of journals registered in the DOAJ, almost 5000 at the time of the study, stratified random sampling was used. A separate sample of verified early pioneer OA journals was also studied. The results show a very rapid growth of OA publishing during the period 1993–2009. During the last year an estimated 191 000 articles were published in 4769 journals. Since the year 2000, the average annual growth rate has been 18% for the number of journals and 30% for the number of articles. This can be contrasted to the reported 3,5% yearly volume increase in journal publishing in general. In 2009 the share of articles in OA journals, of all peer reviewed journal articles, reached 7,7%. Overall, the results document a rapid growth in OA journal publishing over the last fifteen years. Based on the sampling results and qualitative data a division into three distinct periods is suggested: The Pioneering years (1993–1999), the Innovation years (2000–2004), and the Consolidation years (2005–2009). PMID:21695139

  6. WE-F-211-01: The Evolving Landscape of Scientific Publishing.

    PubMed

    Armato, S; Hendee, W; Marshall, C; Curran, B

    2012-06-01

    The dissemination of scientific advances has changed little since the first peer-reviewed journal was published in 1665 - that is, until this past decade. The print journal, delivered by mail and stored on office shelves and in library reading rooms around the world, has been transformed by immediate, on-demand access to scientific discovery in electronic form. At the same time, the producers and consumers of that scientific content have greatly increased in number, and the balance between supply and demand has required innovations in the world of scientific publishing. In light of technological advances and societal expectations, the dissemination of scientific knowledge has assumed a new form, one that is dynamic and rapidly changing. The academic medical physicist must understand this evolution to ensure that appropriate decisions are made with regard to journal submission strategies and that relevant information on new findings is obtained in a timely manner. Medical Physics is adapting to these changes in substantive ways. This new scientific publishing landscape has implications for subscription models, targeted access through semantic enrichment, user interactivity with content, customized content delivery, and advertising opportunities. Many organizations, including the AAPM, depend on scientific publishing as a significant source of revenue, but web-based delivery raises the expectation that access should be free and threatens this model. The purpose of this symposium is to explore the factors that have contributed to the current state of scientific publishing, to anticipate future directions in this arena, and to convey how medical physicists may benefit from the expanded opportunities, both as authors and as readers. 1. To appreciate the importance of scientific and clinical practice communication for the advancement of the medical physics field 2. To understand the roles of the Editorial Board and the Journal Business Management Committee in the

  7. NASA STI program database: Journal coverage (1990-1992)

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    1993-01-01

    Data are given in tabular form on the extent of recent journal accessions (1990-1992) to the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Database. Journals are presented by country in two ways: first by an alphabetical listing; and second, by the decreasing number of citations extracted from these journals during this period. An appendix containing a statistical summary is included.

  8. False gold: Safely navigating open access publishing to avoid predatory publishers and journals.

    PubMed

    McCann, Terence V; Polacsek, Meg

    2018-04-01

    The aim of this study was to review and discuss predatory open access publishing in the context of nursing and midwifery and develop a set of guidelines that serve as a framework to help clinicians, educators and researchers avoid predatory publishers. Open access publishing is increasingly common across all academic disciplines. However, this publishing model is vulnerable to exploitation by predatory publishers, posing a threat to nursing and midwifery scholarship and practice. Guidelines are needed to help researchers recognize predatory journals and publishers and understand the negative consequences of publishing in them. Discussion paper. A literature search of BioMed Central, CINAHL, MEDLINE with Full Text and PubMed for terms related to predatory publishing, published in the period 2007-2017. Lack of awareness of the risks and pressure to publish in international journals, may result in nursing and midwifery researchers publishing their work in dubious open access journals. Caution should be taken prior to writing and submitting a paper, to avoid predatory publishers. The advantage of open access publishing is that it provides readers with access to peer-reviewed research as soon as it is published online. However, predatory publishers use deceptive methods to exploit open access publishing for their own profit. Clear guidelines are needed to help researchers navigate safely open access publishing. A deeper understanding of the risks of predatory publishing is needed. Clear guidelines should be followed by nursing and midwifery researchers seeking to publish their work in open access journals. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Accessibility to editorial information in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery journals: The authors' point of view.

    PubMed

    Castelo-Baz, Pablo; Leira-Feijoo, Yago; Seoane-Romero, Juan Manuel; Varela-Centelles, Pablo; Seoane, Juan

    2015-09-01

    To evaluate the accessibility to editorial information in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery journals. A cross-sectional study using the WOS-Web of Science database in three categories: "Surgery," "Otorhinolaryngology," and "Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine" was designed. Journals were filtered by title and classified under three headings: OMFS specialty; OMFS subspecialty and related sciences; and multidisciplinary journals. Specialty scope (OMFS vs. other); impact factor; path for the manuscript; blinding policy; accessibility to reviewers' criteria; and percentage of acceptance. Only 46 of 330 journals met the inclusion criteria. All OMFS journals provided comprehensive information about the review process, compared to 5 of 27 (18.5%) of Oral Surgery and related sciences periodicals. Most specialty journals do not inform about the blind review mode used (20 of 33; 60.6%). Generally, information about the reviewers' assessment criteria is scarce, but is available from all OMFS journals, which also state the percentage of manuscript acceptance (100% vs. 14.8%). OMFS JCR journals provide adequate information about their editorial process in terms of path for the manuscript, accessibility to reviewers' criteria, and percentage of acceptance. Additional efforts are needed to increase accessibility to information about blinding policy and average time from submission to acceptance. Copyright © 2015 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. "Experimental Оncology" is the Best Scientific Journal in Ukraine according to SCOPUS!

    PubMed

    2016-06-01

    International scientific journal "Experimental Оncology" (Publishing House "MORION LLC", Kyiv, Ukraine - R.E. Kavetsky Institute of Experimental Pathology, Oncology and Radiobiology of the NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine) earned high global recognition, receiving the prestigious international award "SCOPUS Awards Ukraine" as a winner in the category "The Best Journal".

  11. Electronic Journals in Aggregated Collections: Providing Access through the Catalog and a Cold Fusion Database

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Sue

    2005-01-01

    Patrons in academic libraries want convenient 24-hour access to full-text journals in a rapid, convenient manner. They want "anytime, anywhere" access to information and they do not want to enter a library to obtain it. This article describes how Eastern Washington University Libraries provide access to full-text journals through several…

  12. Open access to scientific articles: a review of benefits and challenges.

    PubMed

    Björk, Bo-Christer

    2017-03-01

    The Internet has fundamentally changed the publishing of scholarly peer reviewed journals, and the way readers find and access articles. Digital access is nowadays the norm, in particular for researchers. The Internet has enabled a totally new business model, Open Access (OA), in which an article is openly available in full text for anyone with Internet access. This article reviews the different options to achieve this, whether by journals changing their revenue structures from subscription to publishing charges, or authors utilizing a number of options for posting OA versions of article manuscripts in repositories. It also discusses the regrettable emergence of "predatory" publishers, who spam academics, and make money by promising them rapid publication with only the semblance of peer review. The situation is further discussed from the viewpoints of different stakeholders, including academics as authors and readers, practicing physicians and the general public.

  13. "Balkan journal of medical genetics"--facts, editorial policies, practices and challenges.

    PubMed

    Plaseska Karanfilska, Dijana; Sukarova Stefanovska, Emilija

    2014-01-01

    The Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics (BJMG) is an international, open access journal that publishes scientific papers covering different aspects of medical genetics. It is published by the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts twice a year in both printed and electronic versions. BJMG is covered by many abstracting and indexing databases, including PubMed Central and Thomson Reuters. Although there are many journals in the field of medical genetics, only a few come from regions outside Western Europe and North America. Being one of these few journals, BJMG aims to promote genetics and research on this topic in the Balkan countries and beyond. BJMG's ultimate goal is to raise the scientific quality and metrics of the journal and provide a better place for BJMG in the community of scientific journals.

  14. Public health and epidemiology journals published in Brazil and other Portuguese speaking countries

    PubMed Central

    Barreto, Mauricio L; Barata, Rita Barradas

    2008-01-01

    It is well known that papers written in languages other than English have a great risk of being ignored simply because these languages are not accessible to the international scientific community. The objective of this paper is to facilitate the access to the public health and epidemiology literature available in Portuguese speaking countries. It was found that it is particularly concentrated in Brazil, with some few examples in Portugal and none in other Portuguese speaking countries. This literature is predominantly written in Portuguese, but also in other languages such as English or Spanish. The paper describes the several journals, as well as the bibliographic databases that index these journals and how to access them. Most journals provide open-access with direct links in the indexing databases. The importance of this scientific production for the development of epidemiology as a scientific discipline and as a basic discipline for public health practice is discussed. To marginalize these publications has implications for a more balanced knowledge and understanding of the health problems and their determinants at a world-wide level. PMID:18826592

  15. The Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon): An Open Access Journal Using an Un-Paid, Volunteer-Based Organization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Turk, Žiga

    2006-01-01

    Introduction: This case study is based on the experiences with the Electronic Journal of Information Technology in Construction (ITcon), founded in 1995. Development: This journal is an example of a particular category of open access journals, which use neither author charges nor subscriptions to finance their operations, but rely largely on…

  16. Junk science for sale Sham journals proliferating online.

    PubMed

    Klyce, Walter; Feller, Edward

    2017-07-05

    A new danger threatens the integrity of scholarly publishing: predatory journals. Internet-only, "open-access" publishing is a valid way for researchers to reach the public without a paywall separating them. But, of thousands of open-access scientific journals today, as many as twenty-five percent are believed to be fake, existing only to make money by charging authors high processing fees. In sham journals, peer review is cursory or absent: as many as eighty to ninety percent of submitted manuscripts are accepted, many within days, without any editorial comment. Predatory journalism can be remarkably good at mimicking reputable publishers. Sham journals use names and logos that closely resemble those of legitimate journals, intentionally confusing site visitors. Untrustworthy publications have not received the widespread, damning publicity they deserve. If junk science is not confronted and eliminated, it will continue to tarnish and undermine ethical, open-access scholarly publishing. [Full article available at http://rimed.org/rimedicaljournal-2017-07.asp].

  17. Update on inflation of journal prices: Brandon/Hill list journals and the scientific, technical, and medical publishing market.

    PubMed

    Schlimgen, Joan B; Kronenfeld, Michael R

    2004-07-01

    The original study of journal prices, using the "Brandon/ Hill Selected List of Books and Journals for the Small Medical Library," was first published in 1980 and periodically updated. This research continues to measure price increases for these titles for the periods 1996 to 1999 and 1999 to 2002. The 111 journal titles that have appeared in each published list from 1967 to 2001 were included in the study. Institutional subscription price data were gathered for each journal for the years 1996, 1999, and 2002 and were compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same years. The average journal price continues to rise significantly and is independent of the CPI. The study found that prices have jumped 51.9% from 1996 to 1999 and 32% from 1999 to 2002, which is consistent with nearly every recent journal price study. The unprecedented rise in journal prices negatively affects the purchasing power of medical libraries. This paper examines the economic and technological pressures on the science, technology, and medical journals market that contribute to high prices and identifies a number of initiatives in the biological and health sciences that utilize alternative models for disseminating scientific research.

  18. I Publish in I Edit? - Do Editorial Board Members of Urologic Journals Preferentially Publish Their Own Scientific Work?

    PubMed Central

    Mani, Jens; Makarević, Jasmina; Juengel, Eva; Ackermann, Hanns; Nelson, Karen; Bartsch, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Scientists who are members of an editorial board have been accused of preferentially publishing their scientific work in the journal where they serve as editor. Reputation and academic standing do depend on an uninterrupted flow of published scientific work and the question does arise as to whether publication mainly occurs in the self-edited journal. This investigation was designed to determine whether editorial board members of five urological journals were more likely to publish their research reports in their own rather than in other journals. A retrospective analysis was conducted for all original reports published from 2001–2010 by 65 editorial board members nominated to the boards of five impact leading urologic journals in 2006. Publications before editorial board membership, 2001–2005, and publications within the period of time as an editorial board member, 2006–2010, were identified. The impact factors of the journals were also recorded over the time period 2001–2010 to see whether a change in impact factor correlated with publication locality. In the five journals as a whole, scientific work was not preferentially published in the journal in which the scientists served as editor. However, significant heterogeneity among the journals was evident. One journal showed a significant increase in the amount of published papers in the ‘own’ journal after assumption of editorship, three journals showed no change and one journal showed a highly significant decrease in publishing in the ‘own’ journal after assumption of editorship. PMID:24386258

  19. How to Publish Work in Indexed Scientific Journals--An Overview

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Suzic, Nenad

    2017-01-01

    This paper sets out to tackle the issue of the criteria which should be met prior to submission of papers to indexed scientific journals. Firstly, the author addresses the field of qualitative research and tries to define the general characteristics of such works, and secondly, some clarification is brought with respect to the imbalance between…

  20. Content analysis of articles published in Iranian scientific nursing journals from 2009 through 2011.

    PubMed

    Tahamtan, Iman; Bagheri, Zeinab; Janani, Payman; Majidi, Somayye; Ghasemi, Elham; Negarandeh, Reza

    2014-12-01

    Little is known about the features of Iranian nursing journals, specifically the subject areas used in articles, study designs, sampling methods, international collaboration of Iranian nursing scholars, specialty and academic rank of authors, and the most frequently contributing academic institutions in articles. The aim of this study was to analyze the content of the articles published in Iranian scientific nursing journals. Quantitative content analysis was implemented to study Iranian nursing journals, which were approved by the commission for accreditation and improvement of Iranian medical journals in 2011. Thus, 763 articles from six journals, published from 2009 through 2011, were investigated. Data were extracted from the abstracts and when necessary, from the full-text of articles by visiting the websites of these journals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. The main subjects of published articles in Iranian scientific nursing journals were consecutively renal dialysis (n = 21), intensive care unit (n = 16), nursing education (n = 15), patient satisfaction (n = 13), quality of life (n = 12), health education (n = 11), patient education (n = 11), pain (n = 10), and education (n = 9). The majority of authors had nursing and midwifery specialty (52.59%) followed by epidemiology/biostatistics specialty (7.72%). Isfahan, Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Iran, Baqiyatallah, and Urmia universities of medical sciences had consecutively the largest number of publications in the studied journals. Only three papers (0.39%) were published by the international collaboration. Iranian nursing journals should publish special issues in the neglected subject areas. These journals should encourage authors to publish research evidence with higher quality.

  1. The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (1925-1950): From a Health Department Bulletin to a UPR School of Tropical Medicine Scientific Journal.

    PubMed

    Mayo-Santana, Raúl

    2016-12-01

    This essay presents a history of the scientific journal of the University of Puerto Rico, School of Tropical Medicine (STM) under the auspices of Columbia University: The Puerto Rico Journal of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. This is the third article in a historical series about the STM, and includes supporting information relevant to the forthcoming articles on the school's scientific endeavors. This article is conceived as a history from the perspective of the literature of journal genre in the field of tropical medicine. The STM scientific journal, precursor of the Puerto Rico Health Sciences Journal, had five main stages. First (1925-1927), originated as an official bulletin of the Health Department (Porto Rico Health Review). Second (1927-1929), became a project of mutual collaboration between the Health Department and the STM, and the publication's title reflected the fields of public health and tropical medicine. Third (1929-1932), acquired a scientific focus as it changed to a quarterly science publication. Fourth (1932-1942), became a fully bilingual journal and acquired its definitive name. Fifth (1942-1950), the final phase in which the first Puerto Rican Director became the principal editor until the Journal's dissolution. The analysis of authorship and the content analysis of the topics of diseases, public health and basic sciences, clarify the history of tropical medicine during the first half of the 20th century in Puerto Rico. The article highlights major symbolic events that delve into the understanding of a collaborative exemplar of the modernity of medical science.

  2. Welcome to Journal of Foot and Ankle Research: a new open access journal for foot health professionals

    PubMed Central

    Menz, Hylton B; Potter, Mike J; Borthwick, Alan M; Landorf, Karl B

    2008-01-01

    Journal of Foot and Ankle Research (JFAR) is a new, open access, peer-reviewed online journal that encompasses all aspects of policy, organisation, delivery and clinical practice related to the assessment, diagnosis, prevention and management of foot and ankle disorders. JFAR will cover a wide range of clinical subject areas, including diabetology, paediatrics, sports medicine, gerontology and geriatrics, foot surgery, physical therapy, dermatology, wound management, radiology, biomechanics and bioengineering, orthotics and prosthetics, as well the broad areas of epidemiology, policy, organisation and delivery of services related to foot and ankle care. The journal encourages submission from all health professionals who manage lower limb conditions, including podiatrists, nurses, physical therapists and physiotherapists, orthopaedists, manual therapists, medical specialists and general medical practitioners, as well as health service researchers concerned with foot and ankle care. All manuscripts will undergo open peer review, and all accepted manuscripts will be freely available on-line using the open access platform of BioMed Central. PMID:18822156

  3. Analysis of scientific articles published in two general orthopaedic journals.

    PubMed

    Holzer, Lukas A; Holzer, Gerold

    2013-01-01

    To give an overview of the behaviour and scientific contributions of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American (JBJS-A) and British Volume (JBJS-B). 480 original articles published in 2009 were identified through a combined comprehensive computer and manual library search. Articles were assigned to 11 orthopaedic categories and by country, type and specialty of the institution. Possible grants and citations were analysed. USA led all countries in published articles (36,87%), followed by UK (20,62%) and South Korea (5,83%). Most studies published were performed at academic institutions (65,83 %), only 4,16% at private practices. Almost half of the articles (46,24%) were published in three categories: hip (19.16%), knee (13.75%) and trauma (13.33%). In both journals 47.15% articles had at least one funding source. A review of articles published in major journals allows to show how research in orthopaedics is distributed worldwide. This study shows that a variety of different journals is neccessary to reflect the broad spectrum of orthopaedics in depth. Level of Evidence III, Retrospective Comparative Study.

  4. How can the English-language scientific literature be made more accessible to non-native speakers? Journals should allow greater use of referenced direct quotations in 'component-oriented' scientific writing.

    PubMed

    Charlton, Bruce G

    2007-01-01

    In scientific writing, although clarity and precision of language are vital to effective communication, it seems undeniable that content is more important than form. Potentially valuable knowledge should not be excluded from the scientific literature merely because the researchers lack advanced language skills. Given that global scientific literature is overwhelmingly in the English-language, this presents a problem for non-native speakers. My proposal is that scientists should be permitted to construct papers using a substantial number of direct quotations from the already-published scientific literature. Quotations would need to be explicitly referenced so that the original author and publication should be given full credit for creating such a useful and valid description. At the extreme, this might result in a paper consisting mainly of a 'mosaic' of quotations from the already existing scientific literature, which are linked and extended by relatively few sentences comprising new data or ideas. This model bears some conceptual relationship to the recent trend in computing science for component-based or component-oriented software engineering - in which new programs are constructed by reusing programme components, which may be available in libraries. A new functionality is constructed by linking-together many pre-existing chunks of software. I suggest that journal editors should, in their instructions to authors, explicitly allow this 'component-oriented' method of constructing scientific articles; and carefully describe how it can be accomplished in such a way that proper referencing is enforced, and full credit is allocated to the authors of the reused linguistic components.

  5. Recent Coverage of Early Childhood Education Approaches in Open Access Early Childhood Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keskin, Burhanettin

    2016-01-01

    A content analysis of the coverage of the major approaches to early childhood education in the early childhood research journals, published between 2010 and 2014, that are early childhood research oriented and have free online access were investigated. Among 21 journals in early childhood education, two journals were selected for the content…

  6. Update on inflation of journal prices: Brandon/Hill list journals and the scientific, technical, and medical publishing market*

    PubMed Central

    Schlimgen, Joan B.; Kronenfeld, Michael R.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: The original study of journal prices, using the “Brandon/ Hill Selected List of Books and Journals for the Small Medical Library,” was first published in 1980 and periodically updated. This research continues to measure price increases for these titles for the periods 1996 to 1999 and 1999 to 2002. Methodology: The 111 journal titles that have appeared in each published list from 1967 to 2001 were included in the study. Institutional subscription price data were gathered for each journal for the years 1996, 1999, and 2002 and were compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same years. Results: The average journal price continues to rise significantly and is independent of the CPI. The study found that prices have jumped 51.9% from 1996 to 1999 and 32% from 1999 to 2002, which is consistent with nearly every recent journal price study. Conclusion: The unprecedented rise in journal prices negatively affects the purchasing power of medical libraries. This paper examines the economic and technological pressures on the science, technology, and medical journals market that contribute to high prices and identifies a number of initiatives in the biological and health sciences that utilize alternative models for disseminating scientific research. PMID:15243636

  7. Content Analysis of Articles Published in Iranian Scientific Nursing Journals From 2009 Through 2011

    PubMed Central

    Tahamtan, Iman; Bagheri, Zeinab; Janani, Payman; Majidi, Somayye; Ghasemi, Elham; Negarandeh, Reza

    2014-01-01

    Background: Little is known about the features of Iranian nursing journals, specifically the subject areas used in articles, study designs, sampling methods, international collaboration of Iranian nursing scholars, specialty and academic rank of authors, and the most frequently contributing academic institutions in articles. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the content of the articles published in Iranian scientific nursing journals. Materials and Methods: Quantitative content analysis was implemented to study Iranian nursing journals, which were approved by the commission for accreditation and improvement of Iranian medical journals in 2011. Thus, 763 articles from six journals, published from 2009 through 2011, were investigated. Data were extracted from the abstracts and when necessary, from the full-text of articles by visiting the websites of these journals. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: The main subjects of published articles in Iranian scientific nursing journals were consecutively renal dialysis (n = 21), intensive care unit (n = 16), nursing education (n = 15), patient satisfaction (n = 13), quality of life (n = 12), health education (n = 11), patient education (n = 11), pain (n = 10), and education (n = 9). The majority of authors had nursing and midwifery specialty (52.59%) followed by epidemiology/biostatistics specialty (7.72%). Isfahan, Tehran, Shahid Beheshti, Iran, Baqiyatallah, and Urmia universities of medical sciences had consecutively the largest number of publications in the studied journals. Only three papers (0.39%) were published by the international collaboration. Conclusions: Iranian nursing journals should publish special issues in the neglected subject areas. These journals should encourage authors to publish research evidence with higher quality. PMID:25741512

  8. Are pediatric Open Access journals promoting good publication practice? An analysis of author instructions.

    PubMed

    Meerpohl, Joerg J; Wolff, Robert F; Antes, Gerd; von Elm, Erik

    2011-04-09

    Several studies analyzed whether conventional journals in general medicine or specialties such as pediatrics endorse recommendations aiming to improve publication practice. Despite evidence showing benefits of these recommendations, the proportion of endorsing journals has been moderate to low and varied considerably for different recommendations. About half of pediatric journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report referred to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) but only about a quarter recommended registration of trials. We aimed to investigate to what extent pediatric open-access (OA) journals endorse these recommendations. We hypothesized that a high proportion of these journals have adopted recommendations on good publication practice since OA electronic publishing has been associated with a number of editorial innovations aiming at improved access and transparency. We identified 41 journals publishing original research in the subject category "Health Sciences, Medicine (General), Pediatrics" of the Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org. From the journals' online author instructions we extracted information regarding endorsement of four domains of editorial policy: the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts, trial registration, disclosure of conflicts of interest and five major reporting guidelines such as the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement. Two investigators collected data independently. The Uniform Requirements were mentioned by 27 (66%) pediatric OA journals. Thirteen (32%) required or recommended trial registration prior to publication of a trial report. Conflict of interest policies were stated by 25 journals (61%). Advice about reporting guidelines was less frequent: CONSORT was referred to by 12 journals (29%) followed by other reporting guidelines (MOOSE, PRISMA or STARD) (8 journals, 20%) and STROBE (3 journals, 7%). The EQUATOR

  9. Are pediatric Open Access journals promoting good publication practice? An analysis of author instructions

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Several studies analyzed whether conventional journals in general medicine or specialties such as pediatrics endorse recommendations aiming to improve publication practice. Despite evidence showing benefits of these recommendations, the proportion of endorsing journals has been moderate to low and varied considerably for different recommendations. About half of pediatric journals indexed in the Journal Citation Report referred to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) but only about a quarter recommended registration of trials. We aimed to investigate to what extent pediatric open-access (OA) journals endorse these recommendations. We hypothesized that a high proportion of these journals have adopted recommendations on good publication practice since OA electronic publishing has been associated with a number of editorial innovations aiming at improved access and transparency. Methods We identified 41 journals publishing original research in the subject category "Health Sciences, Medicine (General), Pediatrics" of the Directory of Open Access Journals http://www.doaj.org. From the journals' online author instructions we extracted information regarding endorsement of four domains of editorial policy: the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts, trial registration, disclosure of conflicts of interest and five major reporting guidelines such as the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) statement. Two investigators collected data independently. Results The Uniform Requirements were mentioned by 27 (66%) pediatric OA journals. Thirteen (32%) required or recommended trial registration prior to publication of a trial report. Conflict of interest policies were stated by 25 journals (61%). Advice about reporting guidelines was less frequent: CONSORT was referred to by 12 journals (29%) followed by other reporting guidelines (MOOSE, PRISMA or STARD) (8 journals, 20%) and STROBE (3

  10. Implications of Web of Science journal impact factor for scientific output evaluation in 16 institutions and investigators' opinion.

    PubMed

    Wáng, Yì-Xiáng J; Arora, Richa; Choi, Yongdoo; Chung, Hsiao-Wen; Egorov, Vyacheslav I; Frahm, Jens; Kudo, Hiroyuki; Kuyumcu, Suleyman; Laurent, Sophie; Loffroy, Romaric; Maurea, Simone; Morcos, Sameh K; Ni, Yicheng; Oei, Edwin H G; Sabarudin, Akmal; Yu, Xin

    2014-12-01

    Journal based metrics is known not to be ideal for the measurement of the quality of individual researcher's scientific output. In the current report 16 contributors from Hong Kong SAR, India, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, The Netherlands, Malaysia, and USA are invited. The following six questions were asked: (I) is Web of Sciences journal impact factor (IF) and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) citation the main academic output performance evaluation tool in your institution? and your country? (II) How does Google citation count in your institution? and your country? (III) If paper is published in a non-SCI journal but it is included in PubMed and searchable by Google scholar, how it is valued when compared with a paper published in a journal with an IF? (IV) Do you value to publish a piece of your work in a non-SCI journal as much as a paper published in a journal with an IF? (V) What is your personal view on the metric measurement of scientific output? (VI) Overall, do you think Web of Sciences journal IF is beneficial, or actually it is doing more harm? The results show that IF and ISI citation is heavily affecting the academic life in most of the institutions. Google citation and evaluation, while is being used and convenient and speedy, has not gain wide 'official' recognition as a tool for scientific output evaluation.

  11. Do Latin American Scientific Journals Follow Dual-Use Review Policies?

    PubMed Central

    Valles, Edith Gladys

    2014-01-01

    During the past decade, a number of journals have implemented dual-use policies in order to analyze whether the papers submitted for publication could raise concern because of the potential for misuse of their content. In this context, an analysis was performed on Latin American scientific journals to examine whether they apply formal written dual-use review policies and whether they inform their authors and reviewers about potentially sensitive issues in this area, as other international journals do. Peer-reviewed life sciences journals indexed in Latindex from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile were analyzed. The Guide for Authors and the Instructions to Referees of 216 journals included in the Latindex catalogue (which means that they meet the best quality standards of the Latindex system) were screened for biosecurity-related information using the keywords biosecurity, biological weapons, and dual-use research of concern. Results showed that the screened publications had a total lack of dual-use review policies, even though some of them pointed out ethical behaviors to be followed related to authorship, plagiarism, simultaneous submission, research results misappropriation, ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, guiding principles for the care and use of animals in research, research standard violations, and reviewer bias, among others. PMID:24693885

  12. Do Latin American scientific journals follow dual-use review policies?

    PubMed

    Valles, Edith Gladys; Bernacchi, Adriana Silvina

    2014-01-01

    During the past decade, a number of journals have implemented dual-use policies in order to analyze whether the papers submitted for publication could raise concern because of the potential for misuse of their content. In this context, an analysis was performed on Latin American scientific journals to examine whether they apply formal written dual-use review policies and whether they inform their authors and reviewers about potentially sensitive issues in this area, as other international journals do. Peer-reviewed life sciences journals indexed in Latindex from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile were analyzed. The Guide for Authors and the Instructions to Referees of 216 journals included in the Latindex catalogue (which means that they meet the best quality standards of the Latindex system) were screened for biosecurity-related information using the keywords biosecurity, biological weapons, and dual-use research of concern. Results showed that the screened publications had a total lack of dual-use review policies, even though some of them pointed out ethical behaviors to be followed related to authorship, plagiarism, simultaneous submission, research results misappropriation, ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, guiding principles for the care and use of animals in research, research standard violations, and reviewer bias, among others.

  13. Incorporating Primary Scientific Literature in Middle and High School Education.

    PubMed

    Fankhauser, Sarah C; Lijek, Rebeccah S

    2016-03-01

    Primary literature is the most reliable and direct source of scientific information, but most middle school and high school science is taught using secondary and tertiary sources. One reason for this is that primary science articles can be difficult to access and interpret for young students and for their teachers, who may lack exposure to this type of writing. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) was created to fill this gap and provide primary research articles that can be accessed and read by students and their teachers. JEI is a non-profit, online, open-access, peer-reviewed science journal dedicated to mentoring and publishing the scientific research of middle and high school students. JEI articles provide reliable scientific information that is written by students and therefore at a level that their peers can understand. For student-authors who publish in JEI, the review process and the interaction with scientists provide invaluable insight into the scientific process. Moreover, the resulting repository of free, student-written articles allows teachers to incorporate age-appropriate primary literature into the middle and high school science classroom. JEI articles can be used for teaching specific scientific content or for teaching the process of the scientific method itself. The critical thinking skills that students learn by engaging with the primary literature will be invaluable for the development of a scientifically-literate public.

  14. Incorporating Primary Scientific Literature in Middle and High School Education†

    PubMed Central

    Fankhauser, Sarah C.; Lijek, Rebeccah S.

    2016-01-01

    Primary literature is the most reliable and direct source of scientific information, but most middle school and high school science is taught using secondary and tertiary sources. One reason for this is that primary science articles can be difficult to access and interpret for young students and for their teachers, who may lack exposure to this type of writing. The Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI) was created to fill this gap and provide primary research articles that can be accessed and read by students and their teachers. JEI is a non-profit, online, open-access, peer-reviewed science journal dedicated to mentoring and publishing the scientific research of middle and high school students. JEI articles provide reliable scientific information that is written by students and therefore at a level that their peers can understand. For student-authors who publish in JEI, the review process and the interaction with scientists provide invaluable insight into the scientific process. Moreover, the resulting repository of free, student-written articles allows teachers to incorporate age-appropriate primary literature into the middle and high school science classroom. JEI articles can be used for teaching specific scientific content or for teaching the process of the scientific method itself. The critical thinking skills that students learn by engaging with the primary literature will be invaluable for the development of a scientifically-literate public. PMID:27047607

  15. A longitudinal study of independent scholar-published open access journals.

    PubMed

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Shen, Cenyu; Laakso, Mikael

    2016-01-01

    Open Access (OA) is nowadays increasingly being used as a business model for the publishing of scholarly peer reviewed journals, both by specialized OA publishing companies and major, predominantly subscription-based publishers. However, in the early days of the web OA journals were mainly founded by independent academics, who were dissatisfied with the predominant print and subscription paradigm and wanted to test the opportunities offered by the new medium. There is still an on-going debate about how OA journals should be operated, and the volunteer model used by many such 'indie' journals has been proposed as a viable alternative to the model adopted by big professional publishers where publishing activities are funded by authors paying expensive article processing charges (APCs). Our longitudinal quantitative study of 250 'indie' OA journals founded prior to 2002, showed that 51% of these journals were still in operation in 2014 and that the median number of articles published per year had risen from 11 to 18 among the survivors. Of these surviving journals, only 8% had started collecting APCs. A more detailed qualitative case study of five such journals provided insights into how such journals have tried to ensure the continuity and longevity of operations.

  16. A longitudinal study of independent scholar-published open access journals

    PubMed Central

    Björk, Bo-Christer; Laakso, Mikael

    2016-01-01

    Open Access (OA) is nowadays increasingly being used as a business model for the publishing of scholarly peer reviewed journals, both by specialized OA publishing companies and major, predominantly subscription-based publishers. However, in the early days of the web OA journals were mainly founded by independent academics, who were dissatisfied with the predominant print and subscription paradigm and wanted to test the opportunities offered by the new medium. There is still an on-going debate about how OA journals should be operated, and the volunteer model used by many such ‘indie’ journals has been proposed as a viable alternative to the model adopted by big professional publishers where publishing activities are funded by authors paying expensive article processing charges (APCs). Our longitudinal quantitative study of 250 ‘indie’ OA journals founded prior to 2002, showed that 51% of these journals were still in operation in 2014 and that the median number of articles published per year had risen from 11 to 18 among the survivors. Of these surviving journals, only 8% had started collecting APCs. A more detailed qualitative case study of five such journals provided insights into how such journals have tried to ensure the continuity and longevity of operations. PMID:27190709

  17. [Does open access publishing increase the impact of scientific articles? An empirical study in the field of intensive care medicine].

    PubMed

    Riera, M; Aibar, E

    2013-05-01

    Some studies suggest that open access articles are more often cited than non-open access articles. However, the relationship between open access and citations count in a discipline such as intensive care medicine has not been studied to date. The present article analyzes the effect of open access publishing of scientific articles in intensive care medicine journals in terms of citations count. We evaluated a total of 161 articles (76% being non-open access articles) published in Intensive Care Medicine in the year 2008. Citation data were compared between the two groups up until April 30, 2011. Potentially confounding variables for citation counts were adjusted for in a linear multiple regression model. The median number (interquartile range) of citations of non-open access articles was 8 (4-12) versus 9 (6-18) in the case of open access articles (p=0.084). In the highest citation range (>8), the citation count was 13 (10-16) and 18 (13-21) (p=0.008), respectively. The mean follow-up was 37.5 ± 3 months in both groups. In the 30-35 months after publication, the average number (mean ± standard deviation) of citations per article per month of non-open access articles was 0.28 ± 0.6 versus 0.38 ± 0.7 in the case of open access articles (p=0.043). Independent factors for citation advantage were the Hirsch index of the first signing author (β=0.207; p=0.015) and open access status (β=3.618; p=0.006). Open access publishing and the Hirsch index of the first signing author increase the impact of scientific articles. The open access advantage is greater for the more highly cited articles, and appears in the 30-35 months after publication. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier España, S.L. and SEMICYUC. All rights reserved.

  18. A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reports of clinical trials published in six Brazilian dental journals indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO).

    PubMed

    de Souza, Raphael Freitas; Chaves, Carolina de Andrade Lima; Nasser, Mona; Fedorowicz, Zbys

    2010-01-01

    Open access publishing is becoming increasingly popular within the biomedical sciences. SciELO, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, is a digital library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals many of which provide open access to full-text articles.This library includes a number of dental journals some of which may include reports of clinical trials in English, Portuguese and/or Spanish. Thus, SciELO could play an important role as a source of evidence for dental healthcare interventions especially if it yields a sizeable number of high quality reports. The aim of this study was to identify reports of clinical trials by handsearching of dental journals that are accessible through SciELO, and to assess the overall quality of these reports. Electronic versions of six Brazilian dental Journals indexed in SciELO were handsearched at www.scielo.br in September 2008. Reports of clinical trials were identified and classified as controlled clinical trials (CCTs - prospective, experimental studies comparing 2 or more healthcare interventions in human beings) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs - a random allocation method is clearly reported), according to Cochrane eligibility criteria. CRITERIA TO ASSESS METHODOLOGICAL QUALITY INCLUDED: method of randomization, concealment of treatment allocation, blinded outcome assessment, handling of withdrawals and losses and whether an intention-to-treat analysis had been carried out. The search retrieved 33 CCTs and 43 RCTs. A majority of the reports provided no description of either the method of randomization (75.3%) or concealment of the allocation sequence (84.2%). Participants and outcome assessors were reported as blinded in only 31.2% of the reports. Withdrawals and losses were only clearly described in 6.5% of the reports and none mentioned an intention-to-treat analysis or any similar procedure. The results of this study indicate that a substantial number of reports of trials and systematic

  19. Ratio measures in leading medical journals: structured review of accessibility of underlying absolute risks

    PubMed Central

    Schwartz, Lisa M; Dvorin, Evan L; Welch, H Gilbert

    2006-01-01

    Objective To examine the accessibility of absolute risk in articles reporting ratio measures in leading medical journals. Design Structured review of abstracts presenting ratio measures. Setting Articles published between 1 June 2003 and 1 May 2004 in Annals of Internal Medicine, BMJ, Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Lancet, and New England Journal of Medicine. Participants 222 articles based on study designs in which absolute risks were directly calculable (61 randomised trials, 161 cohort studies). Main outcome measure Accessibility of the absolute risks underlying the first ratio measure in the abstract. Results 68% of articles (150/222) failed to report the underlying absolute risks for the first ratio measure in the abstract (range 55−81% across the journals). Among these articles, about half did report the underlying absolute risks elsewhere in the article (text, table, or figure) but half did not report them anywhere. Absolute risks were more likely to be reported in the abstract for randomised trials compared with cohort studies (62% v 21%; relative risk 3.0, 95% confidence interval 2.1 to 4.2) and for studies reporting crude compared with adjusted ratio measures (62% v 21%; relative risk 3.0, 2.1 to 4.3). Conclusion Absolute risks are often not easily accessible in articles reporting ratio measures and sometimes are missing altogether—this lack of accessibility can easily exaggerate readers' perceptions of benefit or harm. PMID:17060338

  20. CONFLICTS BETWEEN COMMERCIAL AND SCIENTIFIC INTERESTS IN PHARMACEUTICAL ADVERTISING FOR MEDICAL JOURNALS

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, Alexander C.

    2011-01-01

    In 1992, researchers from the University of California-Los Angeles published a study on the scientific merit and validity of pharmaceutical advertisements in medical journals. Their results led them to conclude, provocatively, that many pharmaceutical advertisements contained deficiencies in areas in which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had established explicit standards of quality. This article provides a detailed account of third-party reactions to the study following its publication in the Annals of Internal Medicine, as well as the implications for those involved, including the authors, editors, and publisher. The increasingly diverging interests between medical journal editors and publishers are also discussed and highlighted by two recent cases of editors’ departures from prominent general-interest medical journals. PMID:14758858

  1. ["What do physicians really read?" Medical journals and pharma-marketing between 1900 and the late 1970s].

    PubMed

    Thoms, Ulrike

    2014-01-01

    Scientific Journals are widely used sources in the history science. First and foremost they are analyzed under the aspect of professionalization and the development of scientific topics. However, the impact of the increasing number of advertisements on the journals has been almost systematically excluded from historical analysis. The paper analyses the relations between pharma marketing and medical journals. However, the emphasis here is not so much on the development of print advertisements. Instead the paper uses sources, which were produced in the process of marketing to access the history of the medical scientific journal, its change and its reception by physicians.

  2. Conflict of interest, tailored science, and responsibility of scientific institutions and journals.

    PubMed

    Ruff, Kathleen; Mirabelli, Dario

    2014-11-01

    Recent revelations have raised concerns on how conflicts of interest may involve even leading scientists and prestigious institutions and lead to bias in reporting and assessing scientific evidence. These have highlighted the need for action to safeguard scientific integrity and public health. The Italian Epidemiology Association has declared that the "biased and deliberately tailored use of the scientific evidence" by scientists with a conflict of interest serves to delay needed measures to prevent harm to public health from a polluting Italian steel plant's continuing chemical emissions. In France, unresolved concerns over conflict of interest forced the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Public Health to cancel its imminent appointment of a prominent scientist as its Director. These negative events demonstrate the necessity for scientific institutions and journals to implement rigorous measures regarding conflict of interest and the safeguarding of scientific integrity and public health.

  3. Problems and challenges of predatory journals.

    PubMed

    Richtig, Georg; Berger, Marina; Lange-Asschenfeldt, Bernhard; Aberer, Werner; Richtig, Erika

    2018-05-05

    The companies publishing predatory journals are an emerging problem in the area of scientific literature since they only seek to drain money from authors without providing any customer service for the authors or their readership. These predatory journals try to attract new submissions by aggressive email advertising and high acceptance rates. But in turn, they do not provide proper peer-review and therefore the scientific quality of submitted articles is questionable. This is important because more and more people, including patients, are reading such journals and rely on the information they provide. Consequently, predatory journals are a serious threat to the integrity of medical science, and it is crucial for scientists, physicians and even patients to be aware of this problem. In this review, we briefly summarize the history of the open access movement, as well as the rise of and roles played by predatory journals. In conclusion, young and unexperienced authors publishing in a predatory journal must be aware of the damage of their reputation, of inadequate peer-review processes and that unprofitable journals might get closed and all published articles in that journal might be lost. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  4. Full Text Journal Subscriptions: An Evolutionary Process.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Luther, Judy

    1997-01-01

    Provides an overview of companies offering Web accessible subscriptions to full text electronic versions of scientific, technical, and medical journals (Academic Press, Blackwell, EBSCO, Elsevier, Highwire Press, Information Quest, Institute of Physics, Johns Hopkins University Press, OCLC, OVID, Springer, and SWETS). Also lists guidelines for…

  5. The SciELO Open Access: A Gold Way from the South

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Packer, Abel L.

    2009-01-01

    Open access has long emphasized access to scholarly materials. However, open access can also mean access to the means of producing visible and recognized journals. This issue is particularly important in developing and emergent countries. The SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library On-line) project, first started in Brazil and, shortly afterward, in…

  6. Assessing the Impact Participation in Science Journalism Activities Has on Scientific Literacy among High School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Farrar, Cathy

    2012-01-01

    As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) research and development initiative (http://www.scijourn.org; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students' scientific literacy.…

  7. A system for success: BMC Systems Biology, a new open access journal.

    PubMed

    Hodgkinson, Matt J; Webb, Penelope A

    2007-09-04

    BMC Systems Biology is the first open access journal spanning the growing field of systems biology from molecules up to ecosystems. The journal has launched as more and more institutes are founded that are similarly dedicated to this new approach. BMC Systems Biology builds on the ongoing success of the BMC series, providing a venue for all sound research in the systems-level analysis of biology.

  8. Trends in scientific publishing: Dark clouds loom large.

    PubMed

    Vinny, Pulikottil Wilson; Vishnu, Venugopalan Y; Lal, Vivek

    2016-04-15

    The world wide web has brought about a paradigm shift in the way medical research is published and accessed. The ease with which a new journal can be started/hosted by publishing start-ups is unprecedented. The tremendous capabilities of the world wide web and the open access revolution when combined with a highly profitable business have attracted unscrupulous fraudulent operators to the publishing industry. The intent of these fraudulent publishers is solely driven by profit with utter disregard to scientific content, peer reviews and ethics. This phenomenon has been referred to as "predatory publishing". The "international" tag of such journals often betrays their true origins. The gold open access model of publishing, where the author pays the publisher, when coupled with a non-existent peer review threatens to blur the distinction between science and pseudoscience. The average researcher needs to be made more aware of this clear and present danger to the scientific community. Prevention is better than cure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Complex systems approach to scientific publication and peer-review system: development of an agent-based model calibrated with empirical journal data.

    PubMed

    Kovanis, Michail; Porcher, Raphaël; Ravaud, Philippe; Trinquart, Ludovic

    Scientific peer-review and publication systems incur a huge burden in terms of costs and time. Innovative alternatives have been proposed to improve the systems, but assessing their impact in experimental studies is not feasible at a systemic level. We developed an agent-based model by adopting a unified view of peer review and publication systems and calibrating it with empirical journal data in the biomedical and life sciences. We modeled researchers, research manuscripts and scientific journals as agents. Researchers were characterized by their scientific level and resources, manuscripts by their scientific value, and journals by their reputation and acceptance or rejection thresholds. These state variables were used in submodels for various processes such as production of articles, submissions to target journals, in-house and external peer review, and resubmissions. We collected data for a sample of biomedical and life sciences journals regarding acceptance rates, resubmission patterns and total number of published articles. We adjusted submodel parameters so that the agent-based model outputs fit these empirical data. We simulated 105 journals, 25,000 researchers and 410,000 manuscripts over 10 years. A mean of 33,600 articles were published per year; 19 % of submitted manuscripts remained unpublished. The mean acceptance rate was 21 % after external peer review and rejection rate 32 % after in-house review; 15 % publications resulted from the first submission, 47 % the second submission and 20 % the third submission. All decisions in the model were mainly driven by the scientific value, whereas journal targeting and persistence in resubmission defined whether a manuscript would be published or abandoned after one or many rejections. This agent-based model may help in better understanding the determinants of the scientific publication and peer-review systems. It may also help in assessing and identifying the most promising alternative systems of peer

  10. A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of reports of clinical trials published in six Brazilian dental journals indexed in the Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO)

    PubMed Central

    de SOUZA, Raphael Freitas; CHAVES, Carolina de Andrade Lima; CHAVES, Carolina de Andrade Lima; CHAVES, Carolina de Andrade Lima; NASSER, Mona; FEDOROWICZ, Zbys

    2010-01-01

    Open access publishing is becoming increasingly popular within the biomedical sciences. SciELO, the Scientific Electronic Library Online, is a digital library covering a selected collection of Brazilian scientific journals many of which provide open access to full-text articles. This library includes a number of dental journals some of which may include reports of clinical trials in English, Portuguese and/or Spanish. Thus, SciELO could play an important role as a source of evidence for dental healthcare interventions especially if it yields a sizeable number of high quality reports. Objective The aim of this study was to identify reports of clinical trials by handsearching of dental journals that are accessible through SciELO, and to assess the overall quality of these reports. Material and methods Electronic versions of six Brazilian dental Journals indexed in SciELO were handsearched at www.scielo.br in September 2008. Reports of clinical trials were identified and classified as controlled clinical trials (CCTs - prospective, experimental studies comparing 2 or more healthcare interventions in human beings) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs - a random allocation method is clearly reported), according to Cochrane eligibility criteria. Criteria to assess methodological quality included: method of randomization, concealment of treatment allocation, blinded outcome assessment, handling of withdrawals and losses and whether an intention-totreat analysis had been carried out. Results The search retrieved 33 CCTs and 43 RCTs. A majority of the reports provided no description of either the method of randomization (75.3%) or concealment of the allocation sequence (84.2%). Participants and outcome assessors were reported as blinded in only 31.2% of the reports. Withdrawals and losses were only clearly described in 6.5% of the reports and none mentioned an intention-totreat analysis or any similar procedure. Conclusions The results of this study indicate that a

  11. Is biotechnology a victim of anti-science bias in scientific journals?

    PubMed

    Miller, Henry I; Morandini, Piero; Ammann, Klaus

    2008-03-01

    Primarily outside the scientific community, misapprehensions and misinformation about recombinant DNA-modified (also known as 'genetically modified', or 'GM') plants have generated significant 'pseudo-controversy' over their safety that has resulted in unscientific and excessive regulation (with attendant inflated development costs) and disappointing progress. But pseudo-controversy and sensational claims have originated within the scientific community as well, and even scholarly journals' treatment of the subject has been at times unscientific, one-sided and irresponsible. These shortcomings have helped to perpetuate 'The Big Lie' - that recombinant DNA technology applied to agriculture and food production is unproven, unsafe, untested, unregulated and unwanted. Those misconceptions, in turn, have given rise to unwarranted opposition and tortuous, distorted public policy.

  12. Anatomy of open access publishing: a study of longitudinal development and internal structure

    PubMed Central

    2012-01-01

    Background Open access (OA) is a revolutionary way of providing access to the scholarly journal literature made possible by the Internet. The primary aim of this study was to measure the volume of scientific articles published in full immediate OA journals from 2000 to 2011, while observing longitudinal internal shifts in the structure of OA publishing concerning revenue models, publisher types and relative distribution among scientific disciplines. The secondary aim was to measure the share of OA articles of all journal articles, including articles made OA by publishers with a delay and individual author-paid OA articles in subscription journals (hybrid OA), as these subsets of OA publishing have mostly been ignored in previous studies. Methods Stratified random sampling of journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals (n = 787) was performed. The annual publication volumes spanning 2000 to 2011 were retrieved from major publication indexes and through manual data collection. Results An estimated 340,000 articles were published by 6,713 full immediate OA journals during 2011. OA journals requiring article-processing charges have become increasingly common, publishing 166,700 articles in 2011 (49% of all OA articles). This growth is related to the growth of commercial publishers, who, despite only a marginal presence a decade ago, have grown to become key actors on the OA scene, responsible for 120,000 of the articles published in 2011. Publication volume has grown within all major scientific disciplines, however, biomedicine has seen a particularly rapid 16-fold growth between 2000 (7,400 articles) and 2011 (120,900 articles). Over the past decade, OA journal publishing has steadily increased its relative share of all scholarly journal articles by about 1% annually. Approximately 17% of the 1.66 million articles published during 2011 and indexed in the most comprehensive article-level index of scholarly articles (Scopus) are available OA through journal

  13. Authorship policies of scientific journals.

    PubMed

    Resnik, David B; Tyler, Ana M; Black, Jennifer R; Kissling, Grace

    2016-03-01

    We analysed the authorship policies of a random sample of 600 journals from the Journal Citation Reports database. 62.5% of the journals we sampled had an authorship policy. Having an authorship policy was positively associated with impact factor. Journals from the biomedical sciences and social sciences/humanities were more likely to have an authorship policy than journals from the physical sciences, engineering or mathematical sciences. Among journals with a policy, the most frequent type of policy was guidance on criteria for authorship (99.7%); followed by guidance on acknowledgments (97.3%); requiring that authors make substantial contributions to the research (94.7%); requiring that authors be accountable for the research as a whole (84.8%); guidance on changes in authorship (77.9%); requiring that authors give final approval to the manuscript (77.6%); requiring that authors draft or critically revise the manuscript (71.7%); providing guidance on corporate authorship (58.9%); prohibiting gift, guest or ghost authorship (31.7%); requiring authors to describe their contributions (5.3%); limiting the number of authors for some types of articles (4.0%) and requiring authors to be accountable for their part in the research (1.1%). None of the policies addressed equal contribution statements. Journals that do not have authorship policies should consider adopting or developing ones. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

  14. [Guidelines of reference recording in scientific papers of Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology].

    PubMed

    Xiao, Hong

    2008-01-01

    To improve the compilation quality of references, work in well with articles search and periodicals evaluation, and promote international academic exchange, the Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology shall adjust its principles of reference recording in scientific papers based on the GB/T7714 -2005. From 2008, the references in scientific papers to be submitted are requested to record by the Citation-Sequence. In this paper, some examples were presented, and the issues needed to be paid more attention to by the authors were put forward.

  15. Thank you to Virology Journal's peer reviewers in 2013

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    The editors of Virology Journal would like to thank all our reviewers who have contributed to the journal in Volume 10 (2013). The success of any scientific journal depends on an effective and strict peer review process and Virology Journal could not operate without your contribution. We are grateful to the large number of reviewers (1026 to be exact!), who have done a great job in not only lifting the quality of the journal’s scientific peer reviewing process, but also helped us to achieve our goal of a median time to first decision of just 35 days. Our record time from submission to online, open access, publication in 2013 was 22 days for a Research Article [1] and 28 days for a Review [2]. This is a great achievement by any standard. We look forward to your continuous support of Virology Journal either as an invited reviewer or a contributing author in the years to come.

  16. Comparison of Journal Self-Citation Rates between Some Chinese and Non-Chinese International Journals

    PubMed Central

    Yang, Zu-Guo; Gao, Feng; Zhang, Chun-Ting

    2012-01-01

    Background The past 3 decades have witnessed a boost in science development in China; in parallel, more and more Chinese scientific journals are indexed by the Journal Citation Reports issued by Thomson Reuters (SCI). Evaluation of the performance of these Chinese SCI journals is necessary and helpful to improve their quality. This study aimed to evaluate these journals by calculating various journal self-citation rates, which are important parameters influencing a journal impact factor. Methodology/Principal Findings We defined three journal self-citation rates, and studied these rates for 99 Chinese scientific journals, almost exhausting all Chinese SCI journals currently available. Likewise, we selected 99 non-Chinese international (abbreviated as ‘world’) journals, with each being in the same JCR subject category and having similar impact factors as their Chinese counterparts. Generally, Chinese journals tended to be higher in all the three self-citation rates than world journal counterparts. Particularly, a few Chinese scientific journals had much higher self-citation rates. Conclusions/Significance Our results show that generally Chinese scientific journals have higher self-citation rates than those of world journals. Consequently, Chinese scientific journals tend to have lower visibility and are more isolated in the relevant fields. Considering the fact that sciences are rapidly developing in China and so are Chinese scientific journals, we expect that the differences of journal self-citation rates between Chinese and world scientific journals will gradually disappear in the future. Some suggestions to solve the problems are presented. PMID:23173041

  17. Assessing the impact participation in science journalism activities has on scientific literacy among high school students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farrar, Cathy

    As part of the National Science Foundation Science Literacy through Science Journalism (SciJourn) research and development initiative (http://www.scijourn.org ; Polman, Saul, Newman, and Farrar, 2008) a quasi-experimental design was used to investigate what impact incorporating science journalism activities had on students' scientific literacy. Over the course of a school year students participated in a variety of activities culminating in the production of science news articles for Scijourner, a regional print and online high school science news magazine. Participating teachers and SciJourn team members collaboratively developed activities focused on five aspects of scientific literacy: placing information into context, recognizing relevance, evaluating factual accuracy, use of multiple credible sources and information seeking processes. This study details the development process for the Scientific Literacy Assessment (SLA) including validity and reliability studies, evaluates student scientific literacy using the SLA, examines student SLA responses to provide a description of high school students' scientific literacy, and outlines implications of the findings in relation to the National Research Council's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012) and classroom science teaching practices. Scientifically literate adults acting as experts in the assessment development phase informed the creation of a scoring guide that was used to analyze student responses. Experts tended to draw on both their understanding of science concepts and life experiences to formulate answers; paying close attention to scientific factual inaccuracies, sources of information, how new information fit into their view of science and society as well as targeted strategies for information seeking. Novices (i.e., students), in contrast, tended to ignore factual inaccuracies, showed little understanding about source credibility and suggested

  18. Web-Accessible Scientific Workflow System for Performance Monitoring

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Roelof Versteeg; Roelof Versteeg; Trevor Rowe

    2006-03-01

    We describe the design and implementation of a web accessible scientific workflow system for environmental monitoring. This workflow environment integrates distributed, automated data acquisition with server side data management and information visualization through flexible browser based data access tools. Component technologies include a rich browser-based client (using dynamic Javascript and HTML/CSS) for data selection, a back-end server which uses PHP for data processing, user management, and result delivery, and third party applications which are invoked by the back-end using webservices. This environment allows for reproducible, transparent result generation by a diverse user base. It has been implemented for several monitoringmore » systems with different degrees of complexity.« less

  19. Bibliometric analysis of scientific articles published in Brazilian and international orthodontic journals over a 10-year period.

    PubMed

    Primo, Neudí Antonio; Gazzola, Vivian Bertoglio; Primo, Bruno Tochetto; Tovo, Maximiano Ferreira; Faraco, Italo Medeiros

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed at describing the profiles of Brazilian and international studies published in orthodontic journals. The sample comprised 635 articles selected from two scientific journals, i.e., Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics and American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, which were analyzed at three different intervals over a 10-year period (1999 - 2004 - 2009). Articles were described in terms of knowledge domain, study design, and country of origin (or state of origin for Brazilian papers). The most frequent study designs adopted in international studies were cohort (23.9%) and cross-sectional (21.7%) designs. Among Brazilian papers, cross-sectional studies (28.9%) and literature reviews (24.6%) showed greater frequency. The topics most often investigated in international articles were dental materials (17%) and treatment devices (12.4%), with the latter topic being addressed by 16% of the Brazilian publications, followed by malocclusion, with 12.6%. In all cases, the most frequent countries of origin coincided with the countries of origin of each journal. The majority of the studies analyzed featured a low level of scientific evidence. Moreover, the findings showed that journals tend to publish studies produced in their own country of origin, and that there are marked discrepancies in the number of papers published by different Brazilian states.

  20. Water resources scientific information center

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Cardin, C. William; Campbell, J.T.

    1986-01-01

    The Water Resources Scientific Information Center (WRSIC) acquires, abstracts and indexes the major water resources related literature of the world, and makes information available to the water resources community and the public. A component of the Water Resources Division of the US Geological Survey, the Center maintains a searchable computerized bibliographic data base, and publishers a monthly journal of abstracts. Through its services, the Center is able to provide reliable scientific and technical information about the most recent water resources developments, as well as long-term trends and changes. WRSIC was established in 1966 by the Secretary of the Interior to further the objectives of the Water Resources Research Act of 1964--legislation that encouraged research in water resources and the prevention of needless duplication of research efforts. It was determined the WRSIC should be the national center for information on water resources, covering research reports, scientific journals, and other water resources literature of the world. WRSIC would evaluate all water resources literature, catalog selected articles, and make the information available in publications or by computer access. In this way WRSIC would increase the availability and awareness of water related scientific and technical information. (Lantz-PTT)

  1. Temporal Trends (1999-2015) in the Impact Factor of Biomedical Journals Published by US and EU Scientific Societies.

    PubMed

    Falagas, Matthew E; Kyriakidou, Margarita; Spais, George; Argiti, Efstathia; Vardakas, Konstantinos Z

    2018-04-19

    The impact factor has emerged as the most popular index of scientific journals' resonance. In this study we aimed to examine the impact factor trends of journals published by scientific bodies in the United States of America (USA) and Europe (EU). We randomly chose 11 categories of Journal of Citation Reports and created three research classes: clinical medicine, laboratory medicine, and basic science. The impact factor values for the years 1999-2015 were abstracted, and the impact factor of US and EU journals was studied through the years. A total of 265 journals were included in the final analysis. The impact factor of US journals was higher than that of EU journals throughout the study period. In addition, for both US and EU journals the median impact factor increased throughout the study period. The rate of annual change in the impact factor throughout the study period was lower for US than EU journals (1.85% versus 3.55%, P=0.019). A higher median annual increase was seen in the impact factor during the period 1999-2008 compared to the period 2009-2015 for both US (P<0.001) and EU (P=0.001) journals. In fact, during the second period the US median impact factor value did not show significant changes (P=0.31), while the EU median impact factor continued to increase (P<0.001). The impact factor of EU journals increased at a significantly higher rate than and approached that of the US journals during the last 16 years.

  2. Making journals accessible to the visually impaired: the future is near

    PubMed Central

    GARDNER, John; BULATOV, Vladimir; KELLY, Robert

    2010-01-01

    The American Physical Society (APS) has been a leader in using markup languages for publishing. ViewPlus has led development of innovative technologies for graphical information accessibility by people with print disabilities. APS, ViewPlus, and other collaborators in the Enhanced Reading Project are working together to develop the necessary technology and infrastructure for APS to publish its journals in the DAISY (Digital Accessible Information SYstem) eXtended Markup Language (XML) format, in which all text, math, and figures would be accessible to people who are blind or have other print disabilities. The first APS DAISY XML publications are targeted for late 2010. PMID:20676358

  3. Open access publishing, article downloads, and citations: randomised controlled trial

    PubMed Central

    Lewenstein, Bruce V; Simon, Daniel H; Booth, James G; Connolly, Mathew J L

    2008-01-01

    Objective To measure the effect of free access to the scientific literature on article downloads and citations. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting 11 journals published by the American Physiological Society. Participants 1619 research articles and reviews. Main outcome measures Article readership (measured as downloads of full text, PDFs, and abstracts) and number of unique visitors (internet protocol addresses). Citations to articles were gathered from the Institute for Scientific Information after one year. Interventions Random assignment on online publication of articles published in 11 scientific journals to open access (treatment) or subscription access (control). Results Articles assigned to open access were associated with 89% more full text downloads (95% confidence interval 76% to 103%), 42% more PDF downloads (32% to 52%), and 23% more unique visitors (16% to 30%), but 24% fewer abstract downloads (−29% to −19%) than subscription access articles in the first six months after publication. Open access articles were no more likely to be cited than subscription access articles in the first year after publication. Fifty nine per cent of open access articles (146 of 247) were cited nine to 12 months after publication compared with 63% (859 of 1372) of subscription access articles. Logistic and negative binomial regression analysis of article citation counts confirmed no citation advantage for open access articles. Conclusions Open access publishing may reach more readers than subscription access publishing. No evidence was found of a citation advantage for open access articles in the first year after publication. The citation advantage from open access reported widely in the literature may be an artefact of other causes. PMID:18669565

  4. Computer network access to scientific information systems for minority universities

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, Valerie L.; Wakim, Nagi T.

    1993-08-01

    The evolution of computer networking technology has lead to the establishment of a massive networking infrastructure which interconnects various types of computing resources at many government, academic, and corporate institutions. A large segment of this infrastructure has been developed to facilitate information exchange and resource sharing within the scientific community. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supports both the development and the application of computer networks which provide its community with access to many valuable multi-disciplinary scientific information systems and on-line databases. Recognizing the need to extend the benefits of this advanced networking technology to the under-represented community, the National Space Science Data Center (NSSDC) in the Space Data and Computing Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center has developed the Minority University-Space Interdisciplinary Network (MU-SPIN) Program: a major networking and education initiative for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Universities (MUs). In this paper, we will briefly explain the various components of the MU-SPIN Program while highlighting how, by providing access to scientific information systems and on-line data, it promotes a higher level of collaboration among faculty and students and NASA scientists.

  5. Gold or green: the debate on open access policies.

    PubMed

    Abadal, Ernest

    2013-09-01

    The movement for open access to science seeks to achieve unrestricted and free access to academic publications on the Internet. To this end, two mechanisms have been established: the gold road, in which scientific journals are openly accessible, and the green road, in which publications are self-archived in repositories. The publication of the Finch Report in 2012, advocating exclusively the adoption of the gold road, generated a debate as to whether either of the two options should be prioritized. The recommendations of the Finch Report stirred controversy among academicians specialized in open access issues, who felt that the role played by repositories was not adequately considered and because the green road places the burden of publishing costs basically on authors. The Finch Report's conclusions are compatible with the characteristics of science communication in the UK and they could surely also be applied to the (few) countries with a powerful publishing industry and substantial research funding. In Spain, both the current national legislation and the existing rules at universities largely advocate the green road. This is directly related to the structure of scientific communication in Spain, where many journals have little commercial significance, the system of charging a fee to authors has not been adopted, and there is a good repository infrastructure. As for open access policies, the performance of the scientific communication system in each country should be carefully analyzed to determine the most suitable open access strategy.

  6. Measuring the effectiveness of scientific gatekeeping.

    PubMed

    Siler, Kyle; Lee, Kirby; Bero, Lisa

    2015-01-13

    Peer review is the main institution responsible for the evaluation and gestation of scientific research. Although peer review is widely seen as vital to scientific evaluation, anecdotal evidence abounds of gatekeeping mistakes in leading journals, such as rejecting seminal contributions or accepting mediocre submissions. Systematic evidence regarding the effectiveness--or lack thereof--of scientific gatekeeping is scant, largely because access to rejected manuscripts from journals is rarely available. Using a dataset of 1,008 manuscripts submitted to three elite medical journals, we show differences in citation outcomes for articles that received different appraisals from editors and peer reviewers. Among rejected articles, desk-rejected manuscripts, deemed as unworthy of peer review by editors, received fewer citations than those sent for peer review. Among both rejected and accepted articles, manuscripts with lower scores from peer reviewers received relatively fewer citations when they were eventually published. However, hindsight reveals numerous questionable gatekeeping decisions. Of the 808 eventually published articles in our dataset, our three focal journals rejected many highly cited manuscripts, including the 14 most popular; roughly the top 2 percent. Of those 14 articles, 12 were desk-rejected. This finding raises concerns regarding whether peer review is ill--suited to recognize and gestate the most impactful ideas and research. Despite this finding, results show that in our case studies, on the whole, there was value added in peer review. Editors and peer reviewers generally--but not always-made good decisions regarding the identification and promotion of quality in scientific manuscripts.

  7. Assessing the Scientific Research Productivity of a Brazilian Healthcare Institution: A Case Study at the Heart Institute of São Paulo, Brazil

    PubMed Central

    Tess, Beatriz Helena; Furuie, Sérgio Shiguemi; Castro, Regina Célia Figueiredo; do Carmo Cavarette Barreto, Maria; Nobre, Moacyr Roberto Cuce

    2009-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: The present study was motivated by the need to systematically assess the research productivity of the Heart Institute (InCor), Medical School of the University of São Paulo, Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To explore methodology for the assessment of institutional scientific research productivity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bibliometric indicators based on searches for author affiliation of original scientific articles or reviews published in journals indexed in the databases Web of Science, MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS and SciELO from January 2000 to December 2003 were used in this study. The retrieved records were analyzed according to the index parameters of the journals and modes of access. The number of citations was used to calculate the institutional impact factor. RESULTS: Out of 1253 records retrieved from the five databases, 604 original articles and reviews were analyzed; of these, 246 (41%) articles were published in national journals and 221 (90%) of those were in journals with free online access through SciELO or their own websites. Of the 358 articles published in international journals, 333 (93%) had controlled online access and 223 (67%) were available through the Capes Portal of Journals. The average impact of each article for InCor was 2.224 in the period studied. CONCLUSION: A simple and practical methodology to evaluate the scientific production of health research institutions includes searches in the LILACS database for national journals and in MEDLINE and the Web of Science for international journals. The institutional impact factor of articles indexed in the Web of Science may serve as a measure by which to assess and review the scientific productivity of a research institution. PMID:19578662

  8. Access to human, animal, and environmental journals is still limited for the One Health community*

    PubMed Central

    Vreeland, Carol E.; Alpi, Kristine M.; Pike, Caitlin A.; Whitman, Elisabeth E.; Kennedy-Stoskopf, Suzanne

    2016-01-01

    Objective “One Health” is an interdisciplinary approach to evaluating and managing the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environments they share that relies on knowledge from the domains of human health, animal health, and the environmental sciences. The authors' objective was to evaluate the extent of open access (OA) to journal articles in a sample of literature from these domains. We hypothesized that OA to articles in human health or environmental journals was greater than access to animal health literature. Methods A One Health seminar series provided fifteen topics. One librarian translated each topic into a search strategy and searched four databases for articles from 2011 to 2012. Two independent investigators assigned each article to human health, the environment, animal health, all, other, or combined categories. Article and journal-level OA were determined. Each journal was also assigned a subject category and its indexing evaluated. Results Searches retrieved 2,651 unique articles from 1,138 journals; 1,919 (72%) articles came from 406 journals that contributed more than 1 article. Seventy-seven (7%) journals dealt with all 3 One Health domains; the remaining journals represented human health 487 (43%), environment 172 (15%), animal health 141 (12%), and other/combined categories 261 (23%). The proportion of OA journals in animal health (40%) differed significantly from journals categorized as human (28%), environment (28%), and more than 1 category (29%). The proportion of OA for articles by subject categories ranged from 25%–34%; only the difference between human (34%) and environment (25%) was significant. Conclusions OA to human health literature is more comparable to animal health than hypothesized. Environmental journals had less OA than anticipated. PMID:27076796

  9. Access to human, animal, and environmental journals is still limited for the One Health community.

    PubMed

    Vreeland, Carol E; Alpi, Kristine M; Pike, Caitlin A; Whitman, Elisabeth E; Kennedy-Stoskopf, Suzanne

    2016-04-01

    "One Health" is an interdisciplinary approach to evaluating and managing the health and well-being of humans, animals, and the environments they share that relies on knowledge from the domains of human health, animal health, and the environmental sciences. The authors' objective was to evaluate the extent of open access (OA) to journal articles in a sample of literature from these domains. We hypothesized that OA to articles in human health or environmental journals was greater than access to animal health literature. A One Health seminar series provided fifteen topics. One librarian translated each topic into a search strategy and searched four databases for articles from 2011 to 2012. Two independent investigators assigned each article to human health, the environment, animal health, all, other, or combined categories. Article and journal-level OA were determined. Each journal was also assigned a subject category and its indexing evaluated. Searches retrieved 2,651 unique articles from 1,138 journals; 1,919 (72%) articles came from 406 journals that contributed more than 1 article. Seventy-seven (7%) journals dealt with all 3 One Health domains; the remaining journals represented human health 487 (43%), environment 172 (15%), animal health 141 (12%), and other/combined categories 261 (23%). The proportion of OA journals in animal health (40%) differed significantly from journals categorized as human (28%), environment (28%), and more than 1 category (29%). The proportion of OA for articles by subject categories ranged from 25%-34%; only the difference between human (34%) and environment (25%) was significant. OA to human health literature is more comparable to animal health than hypothesized. Environmental journals had less OA than anticipated.

  10. AGU and Wiley-Blackwell to partner on publication of journals and books

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McEntee, Chris

    2012-07-01

    AGU has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Wiley-Blackwell to partner in journal and book publishing. The agreement, effective 1 January 2013, is a significant step forward in transforming AGU publishing consistent with our strategic plan goal of scientific leadership and collaboration. Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Family-owned and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the company is strong in every major academic and professional field and partners with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell, a leader in developing models for open access and providing developing nations with access to science, publishes nearly 1500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 1500 new books annually. The company publishes approximately 700 society titles.

  11. Bibliometric analysis of scientific articles published in Brazilian and international orthodontic journals over a 10-year period

    PubMed Central

    Primo, Neudí Antonio; Gazzola, Vivian Bertoglio; Primo, Bruno Tochetto; Tovo, Maximiano Ferreira; Faraco Junior, Italo Medeiros

    2014-01-01

    Objective This study aimed at describing the profiles of Brazilian and international studies published in orthodontic journals. Methods The sample comprised 635 articles selected from two scientific journals, i.e., Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics and American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, which were analyzed at three different intervals over a 10-year period (1999 - 2004 - 2009). Articles were described in terms of knowledge domain, study design, and country of origin (or state of origin for Brazilian papers). Results The most frequent study designs adopted in international studies were cohort (23.9%) and cross-sectional (21.7%) designs. Among Brazilian papers, cross-sectional studies (28.9%) and literature reviews (24.6%) showed greater frequency. The topics most often investigated were dental materials (17%) and treatment devices (12.4%) in international articles, with the latter topic being addressed by 16% of the Brazilian publications, followed by malocclusion, with 12.6%. In all cases, the most frequent countries of origin coincided with the countries of origin of each journal. Conclusions The majority of the studies analyzed featured a low level of scientific evidence. Moreover, the findings showed that journals tend to publish studies produced in their own country of origin, and that there are marked discrepancies in the number of papers published by different Brazilian states. PMID:24945515

  12. EUA's Open Access Checklist for Universities: A Practical Guide on Implementation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morais, Rita; Lourenço, Joana; Smith, John H.; Borrell-Damian, Lidia

    2015-01-01

    Open Access (OA) to research publications has received increased attention from the academic community, scientific publishers, research funding agencies and governments. This movement has been growing exponentially in recent years, both in terms of the increasing number of Open Access journals and the proliferation of policies on this topic. The…

  13. The readability of scientific texts is decreasing over time

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    Clarity and accuracy of reporting are fundamental to the scientific process. Readability formulas can estimate how difficult a text is to read. Here, in a corpus consisting of 709,577 abstracts published between 1881 and 2015 from 123 scientific journals, we show that the readability of science is steadily decreasing. Our analyses show that this trend is indicative of a growing use of general scientific jargon. These results are concerning for scientists and for the wider public, as they impact both the reproducibility and accessibility of research findings. PMID:28873054

  14. Peer Review Quality and Transparency of the Peer-Review Process in Open Access and Subscription Journals.

    PubMed

    Wicherts, Jelte M

    2016-01-01

    Recent controversies highlighting substandard peer review in Open Access (OA) and traditional (subscription) journals have increased the need for authors, funders, publishers, and institutions to assure quality of peer-review in academic journals. I propose that transparency of the peer-review process may be seen as an indicator of the quality of peer-review, and develop and validate a tool enabling different stakeholders to assess transparency of the peer-review process. Based on editorial guidelines and best practices, I developed a 14-item tool to rate transparency of the peer-review process on the basis of journals' websites. In Study 1, a random sample of 231 authors of papers in 92 subscription journals in different fields rated transparency of the journals that published their work. Authors' ratings of the transparency were positively associated with quality of the peer-review process but unrelated to journal's impact factors. In Study 2, 20 experts on OA publishing assessed the transparency of established (non-OA) journals, OA journals categorized as being published by potential predatory publishers, and journals from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Results show high reliability across items (α = .91) and sufficient reliability across raters. Ratings differentiated the three types of journals well. In Study 3, academic librarians rated a random sample of 140 DOAJ journals and another 54 journals that had received a hoax paper written by Bohannon to test peer-review quality. Journals with higher transparency ratings were less likely to accept the flawed paper and showed higher impact as measured by the h5 index from Google Scholar. The tool to assess transparency of the peer-review process at academic journals shows promising reliability and validity. The transparency of the peer-review process can be seen as an indicator of peer-review quality allowing the tool to be used to predict academic quality in new journals.

  15. Quality Assessment of Studies Published in Open Access and Subscription Journals: Results of a Systematic Evaluation.

    PubMed

    Pastorino, Roberta; Milovanovic, Sonja; Stojanovic, Jovana; Efremov, Ljupcho; Amore, Rosarita; Boccia, Stefania

    2016-01-01

    Along with the proliferation of Open Access (OA) publishing, the interest for comparing the scientific quality of studies published in OA journals versus subscription journals has also increased. With our study we aimed to compare the methodological quality and the quality of reporting of primary epidemiological studies and systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in OA and non-OA journals. In order to identify the studies to appraise, we listed all OA and non-OA journals which published in 2013 at least one primary epidemiologic study (case-control or cohort study design), and at least one systematic review or meta-analysis in the field of oncology. For the appraisal, we picked up the first studies published in 2013 with case-control or cohort study design from OA journals (Group A; n = 12), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group B; n = 26); the first systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in 2013 from OA journals (Group C; n = 15), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group D; n = 32). We evaluated the methodological quality of studies by assessing the compliance of case-control and cohort studies to Newcastle and Ottawa Scale (NOS) scale, and the compliance of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scale. The quality of reporting was assessed considering the adherence of case-control and cohort studies to STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist, and the adherence of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Among case-control and cohort studies published in OA and non-OA journals, we did not observe significant differences in the median value of NOS score (Group A: 7 (IQR 7-8) versus Group B: 8 (7-9); p = 0.5) and in the adherence to STROBE checklist (Group A, 75% versus Group B, 80%; p = 0.1). The results did not change after adjustment

  16. Quality Assessment of Studies Published in Open Access and Subscription Journals: Results of a Systematic Evaluation

    PubMed Central

    Pastorino, Roberta; Milovanovic, Sonja; Stojanovic, Jovana; Efremov, Ljupcho; Amore, Rosarita; Boccia, Stefania

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Along with the proliferation of Open Access (OA) publishing, the interest for comparing the scientific quality of studies published in OA journals versus subscription journals has also increased. With our study we aimed to compare the methodological quality and the quality of reporting of primary epidemiological studies and systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in OA and non-OA journals. Methods In order to identify the studies to appraise, we listed all OA and non-OA journals which published in 2013 at least one primary epidemiologic study (case-control or cohort study design), and at least one systematic review or meta-analysis in the field of oncology. For the appraisal, we picked up the first studies published in 2013 with case-control or cohort study design from OA journals (Group A; n = 12), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group B; n = 26); the first systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in 2013 from OA journals (Group C; n = 15), and in the same time period from non-OA journals (Group D; n = 32). We evaluated the methodological quality of studies by assessing the compliance of case-control and cohort studies to Newcastle and Ottawa Scale (NOS) scale, and the compliance of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Assessment of Multiple Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) scale. The quality of reporting was assessed considering the adherence of case-control and cohort studies to STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist, and the adherence of systematic reviews and meta-analyses to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) checklist. Results Among case-control and cohort studies published in OA and non-OA journals, we did not observe significant differences in the median value of NOS score (Group A: 7 (IQR 7–8) versus Group B: 8 (7–9); p = 0.5) and in the adherence to STROBE checklist (Group A, 75% versus Group B, 80%; p = 0.1). The

  17. [The management of errors and scientific fraud by biomedical journals: They cannot replace Institutions].

    PubMed

    Maisonneuve, Hervé

    2012-09-01

    Research integrity is not negotiable, but we regularly observe research misconduct, and journals are victims or guilty. Journals do not have the objective to assess research integrity: that's the Institutions' roles. Journals discover research misconduct when articles are reviewed (an editor or a reviewer detect signals), or after the article's publication when a reader or a whistleblower call the journal. The editors and reviewers' research misconduct are less described and not publicized in the medias. The peer-review system is criticised. If authors were fair-play, and reviews well done, the journals should not publish articles containing false data. The opponents to the peer-review system propose no alternatives to replace it. The anonymous peer reviews are questioned: it has never been proved that quality of anonymous reading was better than quality of open reading. The Open Access facilitated the creation of many journals. Some journals are excellent and got an impact factor; most journals have a poor quality and don't follow the publications ethics standards. When errors and fraud are identified, journals can publish 3 statements: erratum for errors, expression of concern for errors or fraud when evidence is not established, and retraction when evidence is obvious. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  18. Multi-Stage Open Peer Review: Scientific Evaluation Integrating the Strengths of Traditional Peer Review with the Virtues of Transparency and Self-Regulation

    PubMed Central

    Pöschl, Ulrich

    2012-01-01

    The traditional forms of scientific publishing and peer review do not live up to all demands of efficient communication and quality assurance in today’s highly diverse and rapidly evolving world of science. They need to be advanced and complemented by interactive and transparent forms of review, publication, and discussion that are open to the scientific community and to the public. The advantages of open access, public peer review, and interactive discussion can be efficiently and flexibly combined with the strengths of traditional scientific peer review. Since 2001 the benefits and viability of this approach are clearly demonstrated by the highly successful interactive open access journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP, www.atmos-chem-phys.net) and a growing number of sister journals launched and operated by the European Geosciences Union (EGU, www.egu.eu) and the open access publisher Copernicus (www.copernicus.org). The interactive open access journals are practicing an integrative multi-stage process of publication and peer review combined with interactive public discussion, which effectively resolves the dilemma between rapid scientific exchange and thorough quality assurance. Key features and achievements of this approach are: top quality and impact, efficient self-regulation and low rejection rates, high attractivity and rapid growth, low costs, and financial sustainability. In fact, ACP and the EGU interactive open access sister journals are by most if not all standards more successful than comparable scientific journals with traditional or alternative forms of peer review (editorial statistics, publication statistics, citation statistics, economic costs, and sustainability). The high efficiency and predictive validity of multi-stage open peer review have been confirmed in a series of dedicated studies by evaluation experts from the social sciences, and the same or similar concepts have recently also been adopted in other disciplines, including

  19. Meta-analysis as Statistical and Analytical Method of Journal's Content Scientific Evaluation.

    PubMed

    Masic, Izet; Begic, Edin

    2015-02-01

    A meta-analysis is a statistical and analytical method which combines and synthesizes different independent studies and integrates their results into one common result. Analysis of the journals "Medical Archives", "Materia Socio Medica" and "Acta Informatica Medica", which are located in the most eminent indexed databases of the biomedical milieu. The study has retrospective and descriptive character, and included the period of the calendar year 2014. Study included six editions of all three journals (total of 18 journals). In this period was published a total of 291 articles (in the "Medical Archives" 110, "Materia Socio Medica" 97, and in "Acta Informatica Medica" 84). The largest number of articles was original articles. Small numbers have been published as professional, review articles and case reports. Clinical events were most common in the first two journals, while in the journal "Acta Informatica Medica" belonged to the field of medical informatics, as part of pre-clinical medical disciplines. Articles are usually required period of fifty to fifty nine days for review. Articles were received from four continents, mostly from Europe. The authors are most often from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then Iran, Kosovo and Macedonia. The number of articles published each year is increasing, with greater participation of authors from different continents and abroad. Clinical medical disciplines are the most common, with the broader spectrum of topics and with a growing number of original articles. Greater support of the wider scientific community is needed for further development of all three of the aforementioned journals.

  20. The International Glaciological Society: offering opportunity to publish in high quality, open access journals and to attend several targeted symposia and workshops every year.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Magnusson, M. M.; MacAyeal, D. R.

    2017-12-01

    The International Glaciological Society (IGS) was founded in 1936 to provide a focus for individuals interested in practical and scientific aspects of snow and ice. At the start of 2016 all IGS publications, the Journal of Glaciology (impact factor 3.643) and topically oriented Annals of Glaciology (impact factor 2.349), became `Gold Open Access'. Author publication charges (APCs) are also competitive because the IGS partners with Cambridge University Press (CUP), and scientific editing and review is quick and in tune with what authors value. In addition to publishing, the IGS organizes and facilitates several International Symposia a year on trending topics proposed by the scientific community (often associated with topical issues of the Annals of Glaciology) as well as many branch meetings, workshops and summer training schools for students. The international symposia are located in diverse areas, recently including Nepal, France, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland and Beijing. Often our meetings coincide with opportunities for travel experience, such as visiting Tibet or hiking the Annapurna circuit in Nepal. Membership in the IGS offers good services and value, including: 10% discount on author processing charges (APCs), special registration rates for IGS symposia and workshops, belonging to an old and established learned society with worldwide membership and access to an extended peer group.

  1. "Medical Education Online": A Case Study of an Open Access Journal in Health Professional Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Solomon, David J.

    2007-01-01

    Introduction: The development of the World Wide Web (WWW) has made it possible of small groups of colleagues or even single individuals to create peer-reviewed scholarly journals. This paper discusses the development of Medical Education Online (MEO) an open access peer-reviewed journal in health professional education. Description: MEO was first…

  2. Ethics and the psychiatry journal editor: responsibilities and dilemmas.

    PubMed

    Greenberg, David; D Strous, Rael

    2014-01-01

    An array of potential ethical stumbling blocks awaits the editors of scientific journals. There are issues of particular relevance to mental health journals, and others unique to local journals with a relatively small circulation and low impact factor. The blind review system, conflict of interests, redundant publication, fraud and plagiarism, guest and ghost authorship and ghost writing, advertising, language and stigma, patient consent, and "rigging" the Impact Factor are all issues of importance. It is critical that editors are aware and informed of these important issues, and have an accessible forum for evaluating problems as they arise.

  3. Temporal Trends (1999–2015) in the Impact Factor of Biomedical Journals Published by US and EU Scientific Societies

    PubMed Central

    Falagas, Matthew E.; Kyriakidou, Margarita; Spais, George; Argiti, Efstathia; Vardakas, Konstantinos Z.

    2018-01-01

    Objective The impact factor has emerged as the most popular index of scientific journals’ resonance. In this study we aimed to examine the impact factor trends of journals published by scientific bodies in the United States of America (USA) and Europe (EU). Methods We randomly chose 11 categories of Journal of Citation Reports and created three research classes: clinical medicine, laboratory medicine, and basic science. The impact factor values for the years 1999–2015 were abstracted, and the impact factor of US and EU journals was studied through the years. Results A total of 265 journals were included in the final analysis. The impact factor of US journals was higher than that of EU journals throughout the study period. In addition, for both US and EU journals the median impact factor increased throughout the study period. The rate of annual change in the impact factor throughout the study period was lower for US than EU journals (1.85% versus 3.55%, P=0.019). A higher median annual increase was seen in the impact factor during the period 1999–2008 compared to the period 2009–2015 for both US (P<0.001) and EU (P=0.001) journals. In fact, during the second period the US median impact factor value did not show significant changes (P=0.31), while the EU median impact factor continued to increase (P<0.001). Conclusion The impact factor of EU journals increased at a significantly higher rate than and approached that of the US journals during the last 16 years. PMID:29517962

  4. Beyond open access: open discourse, the next great equalizer.

    PubMed

    Dayton, Andrew I

    2006-08-30

    The internet is expanding the realm of scientific publishing to include free and open public debate of published papers. Journals are beginning to support web posting of comments on their published articles and independent organizations are providing centralized web sites for posting comments about any published article. The trend promises to give one and all access to read and contribute to cutting edge scientific criticism and debate.

  5. Improving biomedical journals' ethical policies: the case of research misconduct.

    PubMed

    Bosch, Xavier

    2014-09-01

    Scientific journals may incur scientific error if articles are tainted by research misconduct. While some journals' ethical policies, especially those on conflicts of interest, have improved over recent years, with some adopting a uniform approach, only around half of biomedical journals, principally those with higher impact factors, currently have formal misconduct policies, mainly for handling allegations. Worryingly, since a response to allegations would reasonably require an a priori definition, far fewer journals have publicly available definitions of misconduct. While some journals and editors' associations have taken significant steps to prevent and detect misconduct and respond to allegations, the content, visibility of and access to these policies varies considerably. In addition, while the lack of misconduct policies may prompt and maintain a de novo approach for journals, potentially causing stress, publication delays and even legal disputes, the lack of uniformity may be a matter of contention for research stakeholders such as editors, authors and their institutions, and publishers. Although each case may need an individual approach, I argue that posting highly visible, readily accessible, comprehensive, consistent misconduct policies could prevent the publication of fraudulent papers, increase the number of retractions of already published papers and, perhaps, reduce research misconduct. Although legally problematic, a concerted approach, with sharing of information between editors, which is clearly explained in journal websites, could also help. Ideally, journals, editors' associations, and publishers should seek consistency and homogenise misconduct policies to maintain public confidence in the integrity of biomedical research publications. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  6. Electronic journals: Their use by teachers/researchers of engineering and social sciences

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Martins, Fernanda, E-mail: mmartins@letras.up.pt; Machado, Diana, E-mail: mmartins@letras.up.pt; Fernandes, Alberto, E-mail: mmartins@letras.up.pt

    Libraries must attend the needs of their different users. Academics are usually a particular kind of users with specific needs. Universities are environments where scientific communication is essential and where electronic format of journals is becoming more and more frequently used. This way it becomes increasingly important to understand how academics from different scientific areas use the available electronic resources. The aim of this study is to better understand the existing differences among the users of electronic journals in Engineering and Social Sciences. The research undertaken was mainly focused on the study of the use of electronic journals by teachers/researchersmore » from the Faculties of Engineering and of Arts from the University of Porto, Portugal. In this study an international survey was used in order to characterize the levels of use and access of electronic journals by these communities. The ways of seeking and using scientific information, namely in terms frequency of access, the number of articles consulted, the use of databases and the preference of publishing in electronic journals were analyzed. A set of comparisons were established and results indicate an extensive use of the electronic format, regardless the faculty. However, some differences emerge when it comes to details. Such is the case of the usage rate of reference management software which is considerably more used by Engineering academics than Social Science ones. Generally, electronic journals meeting the information needs of its users and are increasingly used as a preferred means of research. Though, some particular differences in the use of them have emerged, when comparing academics from these two faculties.« less

  7. Diagnostic pathology in 2012: development of digital pathology in an open access journal

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Herein we describe and interpret the digital world of diagnostic surgical pathology, and take the in Pathology leading Open Access Journal Diagnostic Pathology as example. Virtual slide http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1944221953867351 PMID:23305209

  8. What Does the Future Hold for Scientific Journals? Visual Abstracts and Other Tools for Communicating Research.

    PubMed

    Nikolian, Vahagn C; Ibrahim, Andrew M

    2017-09-01

    Journals fill several important roles within academic medicine, including building knowledge, validating quality of methods, and communicating research. This section provides an overview of these roles and highlights innovative approaches journals have taken to enhance dissemination of research. As journals move away from print formats and embrace web-based content, design-centered thinking will allow for engagement of a larger audience. Examples of recent efforts in this realm are provided, as well as simplified strategies for developing visual abstracts to improve dissemination via social media. Finally, we hone in on principles of learning and education which have driven these advances in multimedia-based communication in scientific research.

  9. Current biomedical scientific impact (2013) of institutions, academic journals and researchers in the Republic of Macedonia.

    PubMed

    Spiroski, Mirko

    2014-01-01

    To analyse current ranking (2013) of institutions, journals and researchers in the Republic of Macedonia. the country rankings of R. Macedonia were analyzed with SCImago Country & Journal Rank (SJR) for subject area Medicine in the years 1996-2013, and ordered by H-index. SCImago Institutions Rankings for 2013 was used for the scientific impact of biomedical institutions in the Republic of Macedonia. Journal metrics from Elsevier for the Macedonian scholarly journals for the period 2009-2013 were performed. Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), the Impact per Publication (IPP), and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) were analysed. Macedonian scholarly biomedical journals included in Google Scholar metrics (2013, 2012) were analysed with h5-index and h5-median (June 2014). A semantic analysis of the PubMed database was performed with GoPubMed on November 2, 2014 in order to identify published papers from the field of biomedical sciences affiliated with the country of Macedonia. Harzing's Publish or Perish software was used for author impact analysis and the calculation of the Hirsh-index based on Google Scholar query. The rank of subject area Medicine of R. Macedonia according to the SCImago Journal & Country Rank (SJR) is 110th in the world and 17th in Eastern Europe. Of 20 universities in Macedonia, only Ss Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, and the University St Clement of Ohrid, Bitola, are listed in the SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR) for 2013. A very small number of Macedonian scholarly journals is included in Web of Sciences (2), PubMed (1), PubMed Central (1), SCOPUS (6), SCImago (6), and Google Scholar metrics (6). The rank of Hirsh index (h-index) was different from the rank of number of abstracts indexed in PubMed for the top 20 authors from R. Macedonia. The current biomedical scientific impact (2013) of institutions, academic journals and researchers in R. Macedonia is very low. There is an urgent need for organized measures to improve the quality

  10. NASA Plan for Increasing Access to the Results of Scientific Research

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    2014-01-01

    This plan is issued in response to the Executive Office of the President's February 22, 2013, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, "Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research." Through this memorandum, OSTP directed all agencies with more than $100 million in annual research and development expenditures to prepare a plan for improving the public's access to the results of federally funded research. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) invests on the order of $3 billion annually in fundamental and applied research and technology development1 across a broad range of topics, including space and Earth sciences, life and physical sciences, human health, aeronautics, and technology. Promoting the full and open sharing of data with research communities, private industry, academia, and the general public is one of NASA's longstanding core values. For example, NASA's space and suborbital mission personnel routinely process, archive, and distribute their data to researchers around the globe. This plan expands the breadth of NASA's open-access culture to include data and publications for all of the scientific research that the Agency sponsors.

  11. [Scientific writing, scientific communication and open access: an international, multidisciplinary project--NECOBELAC].

    PubMed

    Pulido, Diony; Robledo, Rocío; Agudelo, Carlos A

    2009-01-01

    A collaboration network involving 6 countries in Europe, Latin-America and the Caribbean has embarked on a project (Network of Collaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean Countries-NECOBELAC; www.necobelac.eu) aimed at improving scientific writing open access and scholarly communication to spread know-how regarding current and future issues and information related to health. The NECOBELAC project is sponsored by the European Community (7th Framework Programme) and will last for 3 years. The project recognises the challenge arising from socio-cultural differences between the participating countries and will deal with generating networks involving institutions working in close collaboration for carrying out training and know-how exchange programmes aimed at producing open access information and spreading it (including technical and ethical aspects). The NECOBELAC project currently involves the Istituto Superiore di Sanità - ISS from Italy (coordinating the project), the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) from Spain, the University of Nottingham (SHERPA) from the United Kingdom, BIREME from Brazil, the Instituto de Salud Pública (ISP) from Colombia and the Universidade de Minho from Portugal.

  12. Generating Extractive Summaries of Scientific Paradigms (Open Access, Publisher’s Version)

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-02-01

    international joint conference on Artifical intelligence , IJCAI’07, pp. 2060–2065. Bassett, D. S., & Bullmore, E. (2006). Small-world brain networks. The...Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research 46 (2013) 165-201 Submitted 7/12; published 2/13 Generating Extractive Summaries of Scientific Paradigms...Whidby and Taesun Moon were supported, in part, by the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) via Department of Interior Na- tional

  13. Research for Change: the role of scientific journals publishing mental health research

    PubMed Central

    Saxena, Shekhar; Sharan, Pratap; Saraceno, Benedetto

    2004-01-01

    There is an enormous gap between the burden of mental disorders and mental health resources in low- and middle-income countries. The Mental Health: Global Action Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) envisions an active role for research in the multidimensional efforts required to change the current mental health situation in these countries (Research for Change). WHO's strategies to achieve this include developing a research policy and a priority agenda at country level with active collaboration from all stakeholders, building research capacity and infrastructure and involving scientific journals to stimulate and disseminate public health oriented research. A recently agreed joint statement by editors of prominent journals publishing mental health research and WHO sets major objectives and some possible strategies for achieving this. WHO is committed to making Research for Change a reality by working with partners who share this aim. PMID:16633460

  14. Research for Change: the role of scientific journals publishing mental health research.

    PubMed

    Saxena, Shekhar; Sharan, Pratap; Saraceno, Benedetto

    2004-06-01

    There is an enormous gap between the burden of mental disorders and mental health resources in low- and middle-income countries. The Mental Health: Global Action Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) envisions an active role for research in the multidimensional efforts required to change the current mental health situation in these countries (Research for Change). WHO's strategies to achieve this include developing a research policy and a priority agenda at country level with active collaboration from all stakeholders, building research capacity and infrastructure and involving scientific journals to stimulate and disseminate public health oriented research. A recently agreed joint statement by editors of prominent journals publishing mental health research and WHO sets major objectives and some possible strategies for achieving this. WHO is committed to making Research for Change a reality by working with partners who share this aim.

  15. [Financing of the scientific publication and protection of the scientific knowledge].

    PubMed

    Oliveira Filho, Renato Santos de; Hochman, Bernardo; Nahas, Fabio Xerfan; Ferreira, Lydia Masako

    2005-01-01

    The main purpose of a study is its publication on a scientific journal. Research financing agencies are important institutions so that studies can be developed and published. The most important research financing agencies that are discussed in this article are: "Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior" (CAPES), "Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico" (CNPq) and "Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo" (FAPESP). CAPES' activities can be grouped in four different strategy lines: a) it evaluates the stricto sensu, at the post-graduation level; b) it provides access and development of scientific research; c) it provides investment on the development of high qualified human resources in Brazil and abroad, and d) it promotes international scientific cooperation. Although CAPES does not support directly scientific publications, almost all actions of this agency contribute to the development of scientific research and publication. CNPq has two main purposes: financing researches and development of human resources. It provides the researchers with financial aid to scientific publication. The grants for editing were specifically created for supporting the national scientific and technical publications edited by Brazilians institutions or societies. CNPq can also support Congresses, Symposiums and similar short-term courses. The Plataforma Lattes is also a branch of CNPq on which the Curriculum Lattes is available. This site has the curriculum vitae of the scientific community and is of great value for researchers. FAPESP also finances journal publications, articles and books that bring up original results of studies made by researchers from the state of São Paulo. It finances, partially, the travel expenses of innovative papers authors in meetings within the country or abroad. Brazilian authors are increasing the number of international publications. Universities, research institutes, financing agencies and

  16. Why Academics Choose to Publish in a Mega-Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shopovski, Jovan; Marolov, Dejan

    2017-01-01

    With their broad scope, high publishing volume, a peer review process based on the scientific soundness of the content, and an open access model, mega journals have become an important part of scholarly publishing. The main aim of this paper is to determine the most important factor that influenced researchers' decisions to submit their academic…

  17. Using JournalMap to improve discovery and visualization of rangeland scientific knowledge

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Most of the ecological research conducted around the world is tied to specific places; however, that location information is locked up in the text and figures of scientific articles in myriad forms that are not easily searchable. While access to ecological literature has improved dramatically in the...

  18. Peer Review Quality and Transparency of the Peer-Review Process in Open Access and Subscription Journals

    PubMed Central

    Wicherts, Jelte M.

    2016-01-01

    Background Recent controversies highlighting substandard peer review in Open Access (OA) and traditional (subscription) journals have increased the need for authors, funders, publishers, and institutions to assure quality of peer-review in academic journals. I propose that transparency of the peer-review process may be seen as an indicator of the quality of peer-review, and develop and validate a tool enabling different stakeholders to assess transparency of the peer-review process. Methods and Findings Based on editorial guidelines and best practices, I developed a 14-item tool to rate transparency of the peer-review process on the basis of journals’ websites. In Study 1, a random sample of 231 authors of papers in 92 subscription journals in different fields rated transparency of the journals that published their work. Authors’ ratings of the transparency were positively associated with quality of the peer-review process but unrelated to journal’s impact factors. In Study 2, 20 experts on OA publishing assessed the transparency of established (non-OA) journals, OA journals categorized as being published by potential predatory publishers, and journals from the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Results show high reliability across items (α = .91) and sufficient reliability across raters. Ratings differentiated the three types of journals well. In Study 3, academic librarians rated a random sample of 140 DOAJ journals and another 54 journals that had received a hoax paper written by Bohannon to test peer-review quality. Journals with higher transparency ratings were less likely to accept the flawed paper and showed higher impact as measured by the h5 index from Google Scholar. Conclusions The tool to assess transparency of the peer-review process at academic journals shows promising reliability and validity. The transparency of the peer-review process can be seen as an indicator of peer-review quality allowing the tool to be used to predict academic

  19. The On-Line Uv/Vis Spectra Data Base An Example For Interactive Access To Scientific Information

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Noelle, A.; Hartmann, G.; Richter, A.

    2003-04-01

    The basic concept of the on-line "UV/Vis Spectra Data Base" is to provide useful information to the scientific community on a proper basis, especially in times where scientific information becomes more and more a commercial product and is therefore often not within the financial means of those people who actually generated the information. Besides the EGS activities in peer reviewed open access e-publishing (e.g. the journal "Atmopheric Chemistry and Physics", ACP) this concept can help the community to reduce the "digital divide" for scientific and technical information. The on-line data base is maintained by a team consisting of the data base providers, the data producer and its users. The long-term scienctific success depends on the close cooperation of this team. Therefore all scientists are encouraged to join this cooperative effort and support the data base either actively or passively. Active support means the provision of missing or newly measured validated spectral data for inclusion in the data base. Although there is a moderate annual maintenance fee for the data base utilization, those scientists who actively support the data base can use the data base free-of-charge. There is also the possibility to support the data base passively by subscription to the data base. Even those scienctists who do not support the data base can benefit from the "Literature Service" which is free-of-charge. This data base concept differs from other commercial activities on this area and matches the philosophy of Copernicus.

  20. NSF Anticipates Pushing Boundaries on Open-Access Plan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Basken, Paul

    2013-01-01

    The National Science Foundation (NSF), in carrying out the Obama administration's new push for greater public access to research published in scientific journals, will consider exclusivity periods shorter than the 12-month standard in the White House directive, as well as trade-offs involving data-sharing and considerations of publishers'…

  1. Open Access to Data - Central Role for Geoinformatics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Snyder, W. S.

    2006-12-01

    The open access to scientific information has become a contentious issue. In the United States there are calls to make all published literature available for free within 6 months of publication, the notion being that this will promote better science and policy decisions based on science. Here, I argue that this is the incorrect approach to the issue of open access to scientific information. A fundamental problem raised by the call for open access to government-supported research results is the viability of our not-for-profit professional scientific societies. These societies provide the base level framework for the exchange of scientific ideas, and hence the very core of how we do science and how scientific knowledge is advanced. Why should a scientist subscribe to a journal if they can read the article for free in six months? A large portion of a society's operational costs come from these subscriptions and the sale of specialized books, all of which contain the results of federally-funded research. Without revenue from journal subscriptions and book sales, not only will these publications disappear, but many of societies may as well. Without a broad venue to publish and in which to interact, our science suffers - many subdisciplines may fade or even die - those that don't "sell well." Very popular publications such as "Nature", "Science", "Tectonics", and "Geology" will continue to thrive, but what about the more specialized journals such as "Journal of Paleontology"? They are costly to publish yet fill a very critical niche for our science. Many will still pay for reading the Nature/Science/Tectonics/Geology article, but where do we publish the mainstream science paper? We have to guard against becoming a "Hollywood Science" - where only the glitzy gets published because those are the articles that sell. We must have peer-reviewed, independent publications and viable professional societies, or our science will severely suffer. We can better approach the need for

  2. A survey of the current status of web-based databases indexing Iranian journals.

    PubMed

    Merat, Shahin; Khatibzadeh, Shahab; Mesgarpour, Bita; Malekzadeh, Reza

    2009-05-01

    The scientific output of Iran is increasing rapidly during the recent years. Unfortunately, most papers are published in journals which are not indexed by popular indexing systems and many of them are in Persian without English translation. This makes the results of Iranian scientific research unavailable to other researchers, including Iranians. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of current web-based databases indexing scientific articles published in Iran. We identified web-based databases which indexed scientific journals published in Iran using popular search engines. The sites were then subjected to a series of tests to evaluate their coverage, search capabilities, stability, accuracy of information, consistency, accessibility, ease of use, and other features. Results were compared with each other to identify strengths and shortcomings of each site. Five web sites were indentified. None had a complete coverage on scientific Iranian journals. The search capabilities were less than optimal in most sites. English translations of research titles, author names, keywords, and abstracts of Persian-language articles did not follow standards. Some sites did not cover abstracts. Numerous typing errors make searches ineffective and citation indexing unreliable. None of the currently available indexing sites are capable of presenting Iranian research to the international scientific community. The government should intervene by enforcing policies designed to facilitate indexing through a systematic approach. The policies should address Iranian journals, authors, and indexing sites. Iranian journals should be required to provide their indexing data, including references, electronically; authors should provide correct indexing information to journals; and indexing sites should improve their software to meet standards set by the government.

  3. Evolution of Nursing Science: Is Open Access the Answer?

    PubMed

    Clarke, Pamela N; Garcia, Jenny

    2015-10-01

    The open access movement where journal content is made freely available over the Internet is purported to increase scientific exchange, yet has pros and cons. There are issues related to quality that need to be examined in relation to evolution of nursing science. © The Author(s) 2015.

  4. The surge of predatory open-access in neurosciences and neurology.

    PubMed

    Manca, Andrea; Martinez, Gianluca; Cugusi, Lucia; Dragone, Daniele; Dvir, Zeevi; Deriu, Franca

    2017-06-14

    Predatory open access is a controversial publishing business model that exploits the open-access system by charging publication fees in the absence of transparent editorial services. The credibility of academic publishing is now seriously threatened by predatory journals, whose articles are accorded real citations and thus contaminate the genuine scientific records of legitimate journals. This is of particular concern for public health since clinical practice relies on the findings generated by scholarly articles. Aim of this study was to compile a list of predatory journals targeting the neurosciences and neurology disciplines and to analyze the magnitude and geographical distribution of the phenomenon in these fields. Eighty-seven predatory journals operate in neurosciences and 101 in neurology, for a total of 2404 and 3134 articles issued, respectively. Publication fees range 521-637 USD, much less than those charged by genuine open-access journals. The country of origin of 26.0-37.0% of the publishers was impossible to determine due to poor websites or provision of vague or non-credible locations. Of the rest 35.3-42.0% reported their headquarters in the USA, 19.0-39.2% in India, 3.0-9.8% in other countries. Although calling themselves "open-access", none of the journals retrieved was listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. However, 14.9-24.7% of them were found to be indexed in PubMed and PubMed Central, which raises concerns on the criteria for inclusion of journals and publishers imposed by these popular databases. Scholars in the neurosciences are advised to use all the available tools to recognize predatory practices and avoid the downsides of predatory journals. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. SensorWeb Hub infrastructure for open access to scientific research data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Filippis, Tiziana; Rocchi, Leandro; Rapisardi, Elena

    2015-04-01

    The sharing of research data is a new challenge for the scientific community that may benefit from a large amount of information to solve environmental issues and sustainability in agriculture and urban contexts. Prerequisites for this challenge is the development of an infrastructure that ensure access, management and preservation of data, technical support for a coordinated and harmonious management of data that, in the framework of Open Data Policies, should encourages the reuse and the collaboration. The neogeography and the citizen as sensors approach, highlight that new data sources need a new set of tools and practices so to collect, validate, categorize, and use / access these "crowdsourced" data, that integrate the data sets produced in the scientific field, thus "feeding" the overall available data for analysis and research. When the scientific community embraces the dimension of collaboration and sharing, access and re-use, in order to accept the open innovation approach, it should redesign and reshape the processes of data management: the challenges of technological and cultural innovation, enabled by web 2.0 technologies, bring to the scenario where the sharing of structured and interoperable data will constitute the unavoidable building block to set up a new paradigm of scientific research. In this perspective the Institute of Biometeorology, CNR, whose aim is contributing to sharing and development of research data, has developed the "SensorWebHub" (SWH) infrastructure to support the scientific activities carried out in several research projects at national and international level. It is designed to manage both mobile and fixed open source meteorological and environmental sensors, in order to integrate the existing agro-meteorological and urban monitoring networks. The proposed architecture uses open source tools to ensure sustainability in the development and deployment of web applications with geographic features and custom analysis, as requested

  6. Editorial policies and background in editing Macedonian Medical Review and BANTAO journal.

    PubMed

    Spasovski, Goce

    2014-01-01

    Even in as small a country as R. Macedonia with limited resources allocated for science, there are many journals trying to establish good editorial practices and policies in publishing the scientific work achieved. Among the currently existing medical journals Macedonian Medical Review (MMR), ISSN 0025-1097, deserves to be elaborated as the oldest journal with continuous publication since its first appearance as the journal of the Macedonian Medical Association (MMA). Since its first issue, published in 1946, there has been an opus of some 4500 peer-reviewed published papers in more than 210 issues and some 80 supplements from various congresses and meetings. In this regard, great respect should be paid not only to the editorial boards, but also to the collaborators who have contributed to its successful continuity in all previous years. In line with the needs for further development of the journal and possibilities for access to world databases, the Editorial Board of MMR has made every effort to improve and modernize its work as well as the technical quality of the journal. Hence, MMA has signed a contract with De Gruyter Open as leading publisher of Open Access academic content for further improvement and promotion of the journal and facilitation of the Medline application, so we do hope for the further success of the journal. BANTAO Journal is published on behalf of the Balkan Cities Association of Nephrology, Dialysis, Transplantation and Artificial Organs (BANTAO), ISSN 1312-2517. The first issue was published in 2003, ten years after BANTAO was born. Its appearance was an extremely important event in the existence of BANTAO. The first official editor of the journal was Dimitar Nenov, Varna (2003-2005), followed by Ali Basci (Izmir, Turkey) and Goce Spasovski (Skopje, Macedonia) as editor-in-chief since 2009. Over the years, the Journal has been included in the EBSCO, DOAJ and SCOPUS/SCIMAGO databases. The journal is published biannually. Until now, 345

  7. Modern Publishing Approach of Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slater, Timothy F.

    2015-01-01

    Filling a needed scholarly publishing avenue for astronomy education researchers and earth science education researchers, the Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education - JAESE published its first volume and issue in 2014. The Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education - JAESE is a scholarly, peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original discipline-based education research and evaluation, with an emphasis of significant scientific results derived from ethical observations and systematic experimentation in science education and evaluation. International in scope, JAESE aims to publish the highest quality and timely articles from discipline-based education research that advance understanding of astronomy and earth sciences education and are likely to have a significant impact on the discipline or on policy. Articles are solicited describing both (i) systematic science education research and (ii) evaluated teaching innovations across the broadly defined Earth & space sciences education, including the disciplines of astronomy, climate education, energy resource science, environmental science, geology, geography, agriculture, meteorology, planetary sciences, and oceanography education. The publishing model adopted for this new journal is open-access and articles appear online in GoogleScholar, ERIC, and are searchable in catalogs of 440,000 libraries that index online journals of its type. Rather than paid for by library subscriptions or by society membership dues, the annual budget is covered by page-charges paid by individual authors, their institutions, grants or donors: This approach is common in scientific journals, but is relatively uncommon in education journals. Authors retain their own copyright. The journal is owned by the Clute Institute of Denver, which owns and operates 17 scholarly journals and currently edited by former American Astronomical Society Education Officer Tim Slater, who is an endowed professor at the University of Wyoming and

  8. PARLO: PArallel Run-Time Layout Optimization for Scientific Data Explorations with Heterogeneous Access Pattern

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Gong, Zhenhuan; Boyuka, David; Zou, X

    Download Citation Email Print Request Permissions Save to Project The size and scope of cutting-edge scientific simulations are growing much faster than the I/O and storage capabilities of their run-time environments. The growing gap is exacerbated by exploratory, data-intensive analytics, such as querying simulation data with multivariate, spatio-temporal constraints, which induces heterogeneous access patterns that stress the performance of the underlying storage system. Previous work addresses data layout and indexing techniques to improve query performance for a single access pattern, which is not sufficient for complex analytics jobs. We present PARLO a parallel run-time layout optimization framework, to achieve multi-levelmore » data layout optimization for scientific applications at run-time before data is written to storage. The layout schemes optimize for heterogeneous access patterns with user-specified priorities. PARLO is integrated with ADIOS, a high-performance parallel I/O middleware for large-scale HPC applications, to achieve user-transparent, light-weight layout optimization for scientific datasets. It offers simple XML-based configuration for users to achieve flexible layout optimization without the need to modify or recompile application codes. Experiments show that PARLO improves performance by 2 to 26 times for queries with heterogeneous access patterns compared to state-of-the-art scientific database management systems. Compared to traditional post-processing approaches, its underlying run-time layout optimization achieves a 56% savings in processing time and a reduction in storage overhead of up to 50%. PARLO also exhibits a low run-time resource requirement, while also limiting the performance impact on running applications to a reasonable level.« less

  9. [Scientific collaboration and article citations: practices in medical journals].

    PubMed

    Bador, Pascal; Lafouge, Thierry

    2012-01-01

    In order to characterize scientific collaboration the best way is to study co-signature of articles. Two indicators are interesting: number of authors and international character. The objective is to study correlation between these two indicators and citation number. We selected two pharmacy and medicine journals in order to compare practices. We used a sample of about 800 articles published in 2002-2005 for which we collected citations up to 2010. We transformed numeric variables, authors number and citation number, into qualitative variables. "Authors" and "Citations" variables are not independent. Less cited articles are often published by one author or a very small team while international character of articles generally increases citation number. This micro-analysis also allowed us to better understand publication practices. © 2012 Société Française de Pharmacologie et de Thérapeutique.

  10. Harnessing the wealth of Chinese scientific literature: schistosomiasis research and control in China

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Qin; Tian, Li-Guang; Xiao, Shu-Hua; Qi, Zhen; Steinmann, Peter; Mak, Tippi K; Utzinger, Jürg; Zhou, Xiao-Nong

    2008-01-01

    The economy of China continues to boom and so have its biomedical research and related publishing activities. Several so-called neglected tropical diseases that are most common in the developing world are still rampant or even emerging in some parts of China. The purpose of this article is to document the significant research potential from the Chinese biomedical bibliographic databases. The research contributions from China in the epidemiology and control of schistosomiasis provide an excellent illustration. We searched two widely used databases, namely China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and VIP Information (VIP). Employing the keyword "Schistosoma" () and covering the period 1990–2006, we obtained 10,244 hits in the CNKI database and 5,975 in VIP. We examined 10 Chinese biomedical journals that published the highest number of original research articles on schistosomiasis for issues including languages and open access. Although most of the journals are published in Chinese, English abstracts are usually available. Open access to full articles was available in China Tropical Medicine in 2005/2006 and is granted by the Chinese Journal of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases since 2003; none of the other journals examined offered open access. We reviewed (i) the discovery and development of antischistosomal drugs, (ii) the progress made with molluscicides and (iii) environmental management for schistosomiasis control in China over the past 20 years. In conclusion, significant research is published in the Chinese literature, which is relevant for local control measures and global scientific knowledge. Open access should be encouraged and language barriers removed so the wealth of Chinese research can be more fully appreciated by the scientific community. PMID:18826598

  11. Open Access Data Centers as an Essential Partner to a Data Publication Journal

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Carlson, D.; Pfeiffenberger, H.

    2016-12-01

    The success of Earth System Science Data derives in part from key infrastructure: digital object identifiers (doi) and open access data centers. Our concept that a data journal should promote access and exchange through publication of reviewed data descriptions presupposed third parties to hold the data. As minimum criteria for those data centers we expected international reputation for quality of service and an active lifetime extending at least a decade into the future. We also expected modern access interfaces offering geographic, topical and parameter-based browsing - so that users could discover related holdings through an ESSD link or discover ESSD by way of links in data sets revealed through the center's browse tools - and true open access. True open access means one or two clicks from abstract in ESSD to the data itself without barriers. We started with Pangaea and CDIAC. Data providers already used these centers, the staff welcomed the ESSD initiative and all parties cooperated on doi. With this initial support ESSD proved the basic concept of data publication and demonstrated utility to a larger group of data providers, many of whom suggested additional centers. So long as those data centers met expectations for open access and quality and durability of service, ESSD agreed to collaborate. Through back-door collaborations - e.g. service on particular data sets - ESSD developed working partnerships with more than 30 data centers in 13 countries. Data centers ask to join our list. We encourage those centers to stimulate local providers to submit a data set to ESSD, thus preserving our practical data-set by data-set partnership mode. For a few data centers where national policies impose a registration step, center staff and ESSD editors created bypass access routes to facilitate anonymous reviews. For ESSD purposes, open access and doi cooperation leading to reliable curation allows a win, win, win partnership among centers, providers, and journal.

  12. Balancing Ideology and Feasibility: A Case Study on Adopting and Evaluating Open Access Publishing Models for a Society Journal within Philosophy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Neuman, Yrsa; Laakso, Mikael

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Open access, the notion that research output, such as journal articles, should be freely accessible to readers on the Web, is arguably in the best interest of science. In this article, we (1) describe in-depth how a society-owned philosophy journal, "Nordic Wittgenstein Review," evaluated various publishing models and made…

  13. Study of Predatory Open Access Nursing Journals.

    PubMed

    Oermann, Marilyn H; Conklin, Jamie L; Nicoll, Leslie H; Chinn, Peggy L; Ashton, Kathleen S; Edie, Alison H; Amarasekara, Sathya; Budinger, Susan C

    2016-11-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify predatory journals in nursing, describe their characteristics and editorial standards, and document experiences of authors, peer reviewers, and editors affiliated with these journals. Using two sources that list predatory journals, the research team created a list of nursing journals. In Phase One, the team collected data on characteristics of predatory nursing journals such as types of articles published, article processing charge, and peer review process. In Phase Two, the team surveyed a sample of authors, reviewers, and editors to learn more about their experiences with their affiliated journals. Data from the review of predatory nursing journals were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Written comments were summarized and categorized. There were 140 predatory nursing journals from 75 publishers. Most journals were new, having been inaugurated in the past 1 to 2 years. One important finding was that many journals only published one or two volumes and then either ceased publishing or published fewer issues and articles after the first volume. Journal content varied widely, and some journals published content from dentistry and medicine, as well as nursing. Qualitative findings from the surveys confirmed previously published anecdotal evidence, including authors selecting journals based on spam emails and inability to halt publication of a manuscript, despite authors' requests to do so. Predatory journals exist in nursing and bring with them many of the "red flags" that have been noted in the literature, including lack of transparency about editorial processes and misleading information promoted on websites. The number of journals is high enough to warrant concern in the discipline about erosion of our scholarly literature. Nurses rely on the published literature to provide evidence for high-quality, safe care that promotes optimal patient outcomes. Research published in journals that do not adhere to the highest

  14. Maintaining the competitiveness of the American fisheries society journals: an assessment based on influence and cost-effectiveness

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hewitt, David A.; Link, Jason S.; Steinich, Dave R.; Wahl, David H.; Mather, Martha E.

    2009-01-01

    Recent changes in the landscape of scientific publishing prompted the Publications Overview Committee of the American Fisheries Society (AFS) to review the Society's portfolio of scientific journals. We evaluated journals based on metrics in two categories: (1) citation-based measures of the influence of a journal on the scientific literature, and (2) measures of the cost-effectiveness of a journal (citation rate adjusted for subscription cost). Over the long-term, we found that ecology journals had far stronger citation-based influence than fisheries and aquatic sciences journals, and that journals publishing primarily basic research had stronger influence than journals publishing applied research (including four AFS journals and Fisheries magazine). In evaluating the current status of fisheries and aquatic sciences journals, we found that metrics of influence and cost-effectiveness provided considerably different portrayals of journals relative to their peers. In terms of citation-based influence, we found that the AFS journal Transactions of the American Fisheries Society (TAFS) and Fisheries magazine were competitive with highly regarded peer fisheries journals, but that North American Journal of Aquaculture (NAJA) and Journal of Aquatic Animal Health (JAAH) were less influential than their peers. The citation-based influence of North American Journal of Fisheries Management (NAJFM) was intermediate between TAFS/Fisheries and NAJA/JAAH. For journals like NAJFM and NAJA, we expect that much of the scientific influence on policy and management is not captured by citations in the primary literature, and alternative methods of evaluation may be needed. All of the AFS journals ranked highly with regard to cost-effectiveness because their subscription costs are low, and these rankings are in accordance with membership needs and the strategic mission of AFS to provide broad and timely dissemination of scientific information. We conclude by suggesting

  15. WE-E-204-01: ASTRO Based Journals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Klein, E.

    Research papers authored by Medical Physicists address a large spectrum of oncologic, imaging, or basic research problems; exploit a wide range of physical and engineering methodologies; and often describe the efforts of a multidisciplinary research team. Given dozens of competing journals accepting medical physics articles, it may not be clear to an individual author which journal is the best venue for disseminating their work to the scientific community. Relevant factors usually include the Journal’s audience and scientific impact, but also such factors as perceived acceptance rate, interest in their topic, and quality of service. The purpose of this symposium ismore » to provide the medical physics community with an overview of scope, review processes, and article guidelines for the following journals: Radiology, Medical Physics, International Journal of Radiation Biology and Physics, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, and Practical Radiation Oncology. Senior members of the editorial board for each journal will provide details as to the journals review process, for example: single blind versus double blind reviews; open access policies, the hierarchy of the review process in terms of editorial board structure; the reality of acceptance, in terms of acceptance rate; and the types of research the journal prefers to publish. Other journals will be discussed as well. The goal is to provide for authors guidance before they begin to write their papers, not only for proper formatting, but also that the readership is appropriate for the particular paper, hopefully increasing the quality and impact of the paper and the likelihood of publication. Learning Objectives: To review each Journal’s submission and review process Guidance as to how to increase quality, impact and chances of acceptance To help decipher which journal is appropriate for a given work A. Karellas, Research collaboration with Koning, Corporation.« less

  16. First CytoJournal Peer-Reviewer's Retreat in 2006 – Open access, peer-review, and impact factor

    PubMed Central

    Shidham, Vinod B; Sandweiss, Lynn; Atkinson, Barbara F

    2006-01-01

    CytoJournal organized its first Peer-Reviewer's Retreat of 2006 during the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology Annual Meeting at Atlanta on Feb 12, 2006. The major topics discussed were open access, peer review, and impact factors. Representative participants volunteered to join the task force to prepare an instructional guide for peer-reviewing cytopathology manuscripts. Concern about the impact factor for CytoJournal was discussed. A feedback to its readers and authors was recommended. Impact factor calculation needs at least three years of journal statistics. It is only possible after two years from the time a journal is first accepted by Thomson-ISI for citation tracking. CytoJournal is still too new for an impact factor to be calculated. However, general progress of CytoJournal suggests an encouraging pattern for high impact factor. PMID:16566816

  17. Web Services Provide Access to SCEC Scientific Research Application Software

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, N.; Gupta, V.; Okaya, D.; Kamb, L.; Maechling, P.

    2003-12-01

    Web services offer scientific communities a new paradigm for sharing research codes and communicating results. While there are formal technical definitions of what constitutes a web service, for a user community such as the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), we may conceptually consider a web service to be functionality provided on-demand by an application which is run on a remote computer located elsewhere on the Internet. The value of a web service is that it can (1) run a scientific code without the user needing to install and learn the intricacies of running the code; (2) provide the technical framework which allows a user's computer to talk to the remote computer which performs the service; (3) provide the computational resources to run the code; and (4) bundle several analysis steps and provide the end results in digital or (post-processed) graphical form. Within an NSF-sponsored ITR project coordinated by SCEC, we are constructing web services using architectural protocols and programming languages (e.g., Java). However, because the SCEC community has a rich pool of scientific research software (written in traditional languages such as C and FORTRAN), we also emphasize making existing scientific codes available by constructing web service frameworks which wrap around and directly run these codes. In doing so we attempt to broaden community usage of these codes. Web service wrapping of a scientific code can be done using a "web servlet" construction or by using a SOAP/WSDL-based framework. This latter approach is widely adopted in IT circles although it is subject to rapid evolution. Our wrapping framework attempts to "honor" the original codes with as little modification as is possible. For versatility we identify three methods of user access: (A) a web-based GUI (written in HTML and/or Java applets); (B) a Linux/OSX/UNIX command line "initiator" utility (shell-scriptable); and (C) direct access from within any Java application (and with the

  18. The birth and growth of a scientific journal.

    PubMed

    Kent, Raymond D

    2011-11-01

    Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics (CLP) and its namesake field have accomplished a great deal in the last quarter of a century. The success of the journal parallels the growth and vitality of the field it represents. The markers of journal achievement are several, including increased number of journal pages published annually; greater diversity of topics related to the core mission of the journal; expanding cross-language coverage; and healthy interactions among editors, reviewers and contributors; and - for better or worse - journal impact factors. A journal is in a competitive dynamic with other journals that share its general domain of scholarship, which is a major reason why an apparent imbalance may emerge in the topic content of any particular journal. The content of a journal is determined by the nature and number of submitted manuscripts. As far as linguistic content goes, CLP's centre of gravity appears to have been mostly in phonology and phonetics, but certainly not to the exclusion of syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The clinical scope is broad, both in terms of concepts and types of disorder. CLP has secured its place among journals in the field, and it is an outlet of choice for many researchers throughout the world.

  19. [The long pilgrimage of Spanish biomedical journals toward excellence. Who helps? Quality, impact and research merit].

    PubMed

    Alfonso, Fernando

    2010-03-01

    Biomedical journals must adhere to strict standards of editorial quality. In a globalized academic scenario, biomedical journals must compete firstly to publish the most relevant original research and secondly to obtain the broadest possible visibility and the widest dissemination of their scientific contents. The cornerstone of the scientific process is still the peer-review system but additional quality criteria should be met. Recently access to medical information has been revolutionized by electronic editions. Bibliometric databases such as MEDLINE, the ISI Web of Science and Scopus offer comprehensive online information on medical literature. Classically, the prestige of biomedical journals has been measured by their impact factor but, recently, other indicators such as SCImago SJR or the Eigenfactor are emerging as alternative indices of a journal's quality. Assessing the scholarly impact of research and the merits of individual scientists remains a major challenge. Allocation of authorship credit also remains controversial. Furthermore, in our Kafkaesque world, we prefer to count rather than read the articles we judge. Quantitative publication metrics (research output) and citations analyses (scientific influence) are key determinants of the scientific success of individual investigators. However, academia is embracing new objective indicators (such as the "h" index) to evaluate scholarly merit. The present review discusses some editorial issues affecting biomedical journals, currently available bibliometric databases, bibliometric indices of journal quality and, finally, indicators of research performance and scientific success. Copyright 2010 SEEN. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  20. Are Shorter Article Titles More Attractive for Citations? Cross-sectional Study of 22 Scientific Journals

    PubMed Central

    Habibzadeh, Farrokh; Yadollahie, Mahboobeh

    2010-01-01

    Aim To investigate the correlation between the length of the title of a scientific article and the number of citations it receives, in view of the common editorial call for shorter titles. Methods Title and the number of citations to all articles published in 2005 in 22 arbitrarily chosen English-language journals (n = 9031) were retrieved from citation database Scopus. The 2008 journal impact factors of these 22 journals were also retrieved from Thomson Reuters’ Journal Citation Report (JCR). Assuming the article title length as the independent variable, and the number of citations to the article as the dependent variable, a linear regression model was applied. Results The slope of the regression line for some journals (n = 6, when titles were measured in characters but 7 when titles were measured in words) was negative – none was significantly different from 0. The overall slope for all journals was 0.140 (when titles were measured in characters) and 0.778 (when titles were measured in words), significantly different from 0 (P < 0.001). Overall, articles with longer titles received more citations – Spearman ρ = 0.266 – when titles were measured in characters, and ρ = 0.244 when titles were measured in words (P < 0.001). This association was found for 7 of 8 journals with impact factor >10 and for 2 out of 14 journals with impact factor <10 (P < 0.001, Fisher exact test). Conclusion Longer titles seem to be associated with higher citation rates. This association is more pronounced for journals with high impact factors. Editors who insist on brief and concise titles should perhaps update the guidelines for authors of their journals and have more flexibility regarding the length of the title. PMID:20401960

  1. The Method behind the Madness: Acquiring Online Journals and a Solution to Provide Access

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skekel, Donna

    2005-01-01

    Libraries are seeking the best possible solution for integrating online journals into their collections. While exploring the different methods and technology available, many libraries still strive to fulfill the original "library mission" proposed by Charles Cutter in his "Rules for a Dictionary Catalog". Providing comprehensive access to…

  2. Scaling behavior in the dynamics of citations to scientific journals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Picoli, S., Jr.; Mendes, R. S.; Malacarne, L. C.; Lenzi, E. K.

    2006-08-01

    We analyze a database comprising the impact factor (citations per recent items published) of scientific journals for a 13-year period (1992 2004). We find that i) the distribution of impact factors follows asymptotic power law behavior, ii) the distribution of annual logarithmic growth rates has an exponential form, and iii) the width of this distribution decays with the impact factor as a power law with exponent β simeq 0.22. The results ii) and iii) are surprising similar to those observed in the growth dynamics of organizations with complex internal structure suggesting the existence of common mechanisms underlying the dynamics of these systems. We propose a general model for such systems, an extension of the simplest model for firm growth, and compare their predictions with our empirical results.

  3. A review of cardiopulmonary research in Brazilian medical journals: clinical, surgical and epidemiological data.

    PubMed

    Serrano, Carlos; Rocha e Silva, Mauricio

    2010-04-01

    Research in the field of cardiopulmonary disease in Brazil has been very active in recent decades. The combination of PUBMED, SCieLO, open access and online searching has provided a significant increase in the visibility of Brazilian journals. This newly acquired international visibility has in turn resulted in the appearance of more original research reports in the Brazilian scientific press. This review is intended to highlight part of this work for the benefit of the readers of "Clinics." We searched through PUBMED for noteworthy articles published in Brazilian medical journals included in the Journal of Citation Reports of the Institute of Scientific Information to better expose them to our readership. The following journals were examined: "Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia," "Arquivos Brasileiros de Endocrinologia e Metabologia," "Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Reviews," "Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia," "Jornal de Pediatria," "Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular," "Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira," Revista da Escola de Enfermagem U.S.P." and "São Paulo Medical Journal." These journals publish original investigations in the field of cardiopulmonary disease. The search produced 71 references, which are briefly examined.

  4. Ranking predatory journals in dermatology: distinguishing the bad from the ugly.

    PubMed

    Tosti, Antonella; Maddy, Austin J

    2017-07-01

    The scientific community depends on high-quality peer-reviewed research, which is being polluted with pseudoscience published in fake journals that have exploited the open-access model. This "predatory publishing" has made its way into the field of dermatology. In a recent study, we identified and listed these journals. The "predatory rate" was calculated for 76 journals in order to rank the journals based on specific criteria associated with unethical publishing. Of the 76 journals, 89.5% were classified as predatory journals and the remaining as journals involved in predatory practices. The field of dermatology is not immune to predatory publishers. This study validates Beall's list as well as other previous studies. Strategies to a solution include spreading awareness throughout academic institutions and dermatology departments as well as avoiding publishers that are involved in predatory practices. However, some journals may be able to make necessary adjustments and become legitimate contributors to the field. © 2017 The International Society of Dermatology.

  5. 76 FR 80417 - Request for Information: Public Access to Digital Data Resulting From Federally Funded Scientific...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-12-23

    ... OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICY Request for Information: Public Access to Digital Data... public access to unclassified digital data that result from federally funded scientific research. The... Technology Council's Interagency Working Group on Digital Data. Release Date: November 3, 2011. Response Date...

  6. WASP (Write a Scientific Paper): Open access unsolicited emails for scholarly work - Young and senior researchers perspectives.

    PubMed

    Cuschieri, Sarah; Grech, Victor

    2018-04-20

    The increasing demand on academics and researchers to publish has led to the development of fake journals (also known as predatory journals). Such journals lack peer review and precipitate unfair criticism toward legitimate open access journals. Predatory journals tend to bombard a researcher's mailbox on a daily basis, inviting authors to submit a review/manuscript/opinion/short case to their journal while promising expedited publication - against a fee. This study assessed the unsolicited emails received over the period of November 2017 by a young and by a senior researcher. The young researcher received a substantially higher amount of emails (n = 101) compared to the senior researcher (n = 23). The article processing costs for solicited journals received, ranged between $49 and $3019. These journals are almost all only indexed in Google Scholar and do not display any meaningful journal metrics. Furthermore, the majority of the unsolicited emails were not relevant to the researcher's field of study. Therefore authors and readers alike should evaluate emails received with regard to journal legitimacy prior to submission of work to possibly predatory journals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  7. A descriptive study of research published in scientific nursing journals from 1985 to 2010.

    PubMed

    Yarcheski, Adela; Mahon, Noreen E; Yarcheski, Thomas J

    2012-09-01

    Numerous analyses of research published in scientific nursing journals have been examined over the past decades. However, a comprehensive analysis of trends in research has not been reported since 1980. The aim of this analysis was to review randomly selected research articles published in four scientific nursing journals for the years 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2010 to identify changes in selected aspects of research and to compare the findings with those from an earlier similar study. This descriptive study used percentages to present trends in published studies in four scientific nursing journals for twenty-five years. A total of 976 studies were identified; 50% were randomly selected for each year analyzed. The foci of the research problem, care orientation, conceptual bases, research designs, data analysis procedures, discussion of findings, and recommendations and implications were analyzed. Most studies from 1985 (66%) through 2010 (73%) focused on nursing practice issues; in 2010 they focused on primary health (46%) and chronicity (41%). A decrease in theory-testing research from 1985 (32%) to 2010 (21%), and in theory-based studies from 1985 (31%) to 2010 (22%) was noted. Qualitative studies increased from 1985 (3%) to 2010 (21%). Psychological variables and adult populations continue to be studied mainly over 25 years. For quantitative studies, there were increases in correlational designs from 1985 (35%) to 2010 (38%), experimental designs from 1985 (16%) to 2010 (18%), and methodological studies from 1985 (5%) to 2010 (24%). There were decreases in descriptive studies from 1985 (20%) to 2010 (5%), and comparative studies from 1985 (19%) to 2010 (10%). The use of multivariate statistics increased over time. In 1985, 61% of researchers did not link their findings to theory guiding the study; 52% did not in 2010. For qualitative research, approximately 50% fell in the "other category" over the 25 years; in 2010, grounded theory (15

  8. Predatory journals: una amenaza emergente para autores y editores de publicaciones biomédicas.

    PubMed

    Delgado-López, Pedro David; Corrales-García, Eva María

    So-called predatory publishing is a new and rising phenomenon presenting as an intellectual fraud that jeopardises the quality of scientific contribution, compromises the activity of authors, reviewers and editors of legitimate journals, damages the image of open access publications and is a very profitable business. In this paper, we review the concept and relevance of predatory journals and the characteristics that differentiate them from legitimate publications. Neurosurgical and general neuroscience journals are not immune to this problem. Academic institutions and ethics committees have a duty to raise awareness of this phenomenon and provide information and support to authors and the whole scientific community to avoid its propagation and potential control of biomedical publishing. Copyright © 2017 Sociedad Española de Neurocirugía. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  9. Patterns of citations of open access and non-open access conservation biology journal papers and book chapters.

    PubMed

    Calver, Michael C; Bradley, J Stuart

    2010-06-01

    Open access (OA) publishing, whereby authors, their institutions, or their granting bodies pay or provide a repository through which peer-reviewed work is available online for free, is championed as a model to increase the number of citations per paper and disseminate results widely, especially to researchers in developing countries. We compared the number of citations of OA and non-OA papers in six journals and four books published since 2000 to test whether OA increases number of citations overall and increases citations made by authors in developing countries. After controlling for type of paper (e.g., review or research paper), length of paper, authors' citation profiles, number of authors per paper, and whether the author or the publisher released the paper in OA, OA had no statistically significant influence on the overall number of citations per journal paper. Journal papers were cited more frequently if the authors had published highly cited papers previously, were members of large teams of authors, or published relatively long papers, but papers were not cited more frequently if they were published in an OA source. Nevertheless, author-archived OA book chapters accrued up to eight times more citations than chapters in the same book that were not available through OA, perhaps because there is no online abstracting service for book chapters. There was also little evidence that journal papers or book chapters published in OA received more citations from authors in developing countries relative to those journal papers or book chapters not published in OA. For scholarly publications in conservation biology, only book chapters had an OA citation advantage, and OA did not increase the number of citations papers or chapters received from authors in developing countries.

  10. Choosing the Right Journal for a Scientific Paper.

    PubMed

    Bavdekar, Sandeep B; Save, Sushma

    2015-06-01

    Authors need to take the crucial decision of choosing the journal for their prospective manuscript before even starting to write it. Although, this choice is influenced by many factors, matching the intended recipients of the main message of the manuscript with a journal's readership should override all other consideration in journal selection. That done, availability of time-bound review process,journal's visibility, indexation in databases, regularity of publication, acceptance rate and expenses involved are some other factors that will help decide the choice.

  11. Submission of scientifically sound and ethical manuscripts to peer-reviewed journals - a reviewer's personal perspective on bioanalytical publications.

    PubMed

    Weng, Naidong

    2012-11-01

    In the pharmaceutical industry, bioanalysis is very dynamic and is probably one of the few fields of research covering the entire drug discovery, development and post-marketing process. Important decisions on drug safety can partially rely on bioanalytical data, which therefore can be subject to regulatory scrutiny. Bioanalytical scientists have historically contributed significant numbers of scientific manuscripts in many peer-reviewed analytical journals. All of these journals provide some high-level instructions, but they also leave sufficient flexibility for reviewers to perform independent critique and offer recommendations for each submitted manuscript. Reviewers play a pivotal role in the process of bioanalytical publication to ensure the publication of high-quality manuscripts in a timely fashion. Their efforts usually lead to improved manuscripts. However, it has to be a joint effort among authors, reviewers and editors to promote scientifically sound and ethically fair bioanalytical publications. Most of the submitted manuscripts were well written with only minor or moderate revisions required for further improvement. Nevertheless, there were small numbers of submitted manuscripts that did not meet the requirements for publications because of scientific or ethical deficiencies, which are discussed in this Letter to the Editor. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  12. Online-Based Approaches to Identify Real Journals and Publishers from Hijacked Ones.

    PubMed

    Asadi, Amin; Rahbar, Nader; Asadi, Meisam; Asadi, Fahime; Khalili Paji, Kokab

    2017-02-01

    The aim of the present paper was to introduce some online-based approaches to evaluate scientific journals and publishers and to differentiate them from the hijacked ones, regardless of their disciplines. With the advent of open-access journals, many hijacked journals and publishers have deceitfully assumed the mantle of authenticity in order to take advantage of researchers and students. Although these hijacked journals and publishers can be identified through checking their advertisement techniques and their websites, these ways do not always result in their identification. There exist certain online-based approaches, such as using Master Journal List provided by Thomson Reuters, and Scopus database, and using the DOI of a paper, to certify the realness of a journal or publisher. It is indispensable that inexperienced students and researchers know these methods so as to identify hijacked journals and publishers with a higher level of probability.

  13. Impact of GDP, spending on R&D, number of universities and scientific journals on research publications among Asian countries.

    PubMed

    Meo, Sultan Ayoub; Al Masri, Abeer A; Usmani, Adnan Mahmood; Memon, Almas Naeem; Zaidi, Syed Ziauddin

    2013-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the impact of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, spending on Research and Development (R&D), number of universities, and Indexed Scientific Journals on total number of research documents (papers), citations per document and Hirsch index (H-index) in various science and social science subjects among Asian countries. In this study, 40 Asian countries were included. The information regarding Asian countries, their GDP per capita, spending on R&D, total number of universities and indexed scientific journals were collected. We recorded the bibliometric indicators, including total number of research documents, citations per document and H-index in various science and social sciences subjects during the period 1996-2011. The main sources for information were World Bank, SCI-mago/Scopus and Web of Science; Thomson Reuters. The mean per capita GDP for all the Asian countries is 14448.31±2854.40 US$, yearly per capita spending on R&D 0.64±0.16 US$, number of universities 72.37±18.32 and mean number of ISI indexed journal per country is 17.97±7.35. The mean of research documents published in various science and social science subjects among all the Asian countries during the period 1996-2011 is 158086.92±69204.09; citations per document 8.67±0.48; and H-index 122.8±19.21. Spending on R&D, number of universities and indexed journals have a positive correlation with number of published documents, citations per document and H-index in various science and social science subjects. However, there was no association between the per capita GDP and research outcomes. The Asian countries who spend more on R&D have a large number of universities and scientific indexed journals produced more in research outcomes including total number of research publication, citations per documents and H-index in various science and social science subjects.

  14. Impact of GDP, Spending on R&D, Number of Universities and Scientific Journals on Research Publications among Asian Countries

    PubMed Central

    Meo, Sultan Ayoub; Al Masri, Abeer A.; Usmani, Adnan Mahmood; Memon, Almas Naeem; Zaidi, Syed Ziauddin

    2013-01-01

    Objectives This study aimed to compare the impact of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, spending on Research and Development (R&D), number of universities, and Indexed Scientific Journals on total number of research documents (papers), citations per document and Hirsch index (H-index) in various science and social science subjects among Asian countries. Materials and Methods In this study, 40 Asian countries were included. The information regarding Asian countries, their GDP per capita, spending on R&D, total number of universities and indexed scientific journals were collected. We recorded the bibliometric indicators, including total number of research documents, citations per document and H-index in various science and social sciences subjects during the period 1996–2011. The main sources for information were World Bank, SCI-mago/Scopus and Web of Science; Thomson Reuters. Results The mean per capita GDP for all the Asian countries is 14448.31±2854.40 US$, yearly per capita spending on R&D 0.64±0.16 US$, number of universities 72.37±18.32 and mean number of ISI indexed journal per country is 17.97±7.35. The mean of research documents published in various science and social science subjects among all the Asian countries during the period 1996–2011 is 158086.92±69204.09; citations per document 8.67±0.48; and H-index 122.8±19.21. Spending on R&D, number of universities and indexed journals have a positive correlation with number of published documents, citations per document and H-index in various science and social science subjects. However, there was no association between the per capita GDP and research outcomes. Conclusion The Asian countries who spend more on R&D have a large number of universities and scientific indexed journals produced more in research outcomes including total number of research publication, citations per documents and H-index in various science and social science subjects. PMID:23840471

  15. The Birth and Growth of a Scientific Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kent, Raymond D.

    2011-01-01

    "Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics (CLP)" and its namesake field have accomplished a great deal in the last quarter of a century. The success of the journal parallels the growth and vitality of the field it represents. The markers of journal achievement are several, including increased number of journal pages published annually; greater diversity…

  16. Open access to scientific research: where are we and where are we going? Facts and figures on the occasion of the 2010 Open Access Week (October 18-24).

    PubMed

    Giglia, E

    2010-09-01

    This contribution is aimed at presenting a sort of "state of the art" of Open Access on the occasion of the 2010 international Open Access Week, to be held from October 18 to October 24. We shall see facts and figures about open archives and the mandates to deposit; about Open Access journals; about impact and citation advantages for the researchers, and about economic sustainability.

  17. Publishing in the Refereed International Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education JAESE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slater, Timothy F.

    2015-08-01

    Filling a needed scholarly publishing avenue for astronomy education researchers and earth science education researchers, the Journal of Astronomy & Earth Sciences Education- JAESE was first published in 2014. JAESE is a scholarly, peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original discipline-based education research and evaluation, with an emphasis of significant scientific results derived from ethical observations and systematic experimentation in science education and evaluation. International in scope, JAESE aims to publish the highest quality and timely articles from discipline-based education research that advance understanding of astronomy and earth sciences education and are likely to have a significant impact on the discipline or on policy. Articles are solicited describing both (i) systematic science education research and (ii) evaluated teaching innovations across the broadly defined Earth & space sciences education, including the disciplines of astronomy, climate education, energy resource science, environmental science, geology, geography, agriculture, meteorology, planetary sciences, and oceanography education. The publishing model adopted for this new journal is open-access and articles appear online in GoogleScholar, ERIC, EBSCO, ProQuest, and NASA SAO/ADS and are searchable in catalogs of 440,000 libraries that index online journals of its type. Rather than paid for by library subscriptions or by society membership dues, the annual budget is covered by page-charges paid by individual authors, their institutions, grants or donors: This approach is common in scientific journals, but is relatively uncommon in education journals. Authors retain their own copyright. The journal is owned by the Clute Institute in the United States, which owns and operates 17 scholarly journals and currently edited by former American Astronomical Society Education Officer Tim Slater, who is an endowed professor at the University of Wyoming and a Senior Scientist at the

  18. Remote access and operation of telescopes by the scientific users

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Edwards, P. G.; Amy, S.; Brodrick, D.; Carretti, E.; Hoyle, S.; Indermuehle, B.; McConnell, D.; Mader, S.; Mirtschin, P.; Preisig, B.; Smith, M.; Stevens, J.; Wark, R.; Wieringa, M.; Wu, X.

    2014-08-01

    The Australia Telescope National Facility operates three radio telescopes: the Parkes 64m Telescope, the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA), and the Mopra 22m Telescope. Scientific operation of all these is conducted by members of the investigating teams rather than by professional operators. All three can now be accessed and controlled from any location served by the internet, the telescopes themselves being unattended for part or all of the time. Here we describe the rationale, advantages, and means of implementing this operational model.

  19. Academic Debate: Publications Which Promote Political Agendas Have no Place in Scientific and Medical Journals, and Academics Should Refrain from Publishing in Such Journals.

    PubMed

    Glick, Shimon; Clarfield, A Mark; Strous, Rael D; Horton, Richard

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the full debate held on October 1, 2014, which focused on the following resolution: "Publications which promote political agendas have no place in scientific and medical journals, and academics should refrain from publishing in such journals." The debate moderator was Professor Shimon Glick. Taking the pro stance was Professor A. Mark Clarfield; the con stance was held by Professor Rael D. Strous. Following the first part of the debate, Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, gave his thoughts on the topic. This was followed by the opportunity for rebuttal by Professors Clarfield and Strous. The debate was summarized and closed by Professor Glick. This paper provides a slightly edited text of the debate, for ease of reading.

  20. Academic Debate: Publications Which Promote Political Agendas Have no Place in Scientific and Medical Journals, and Academics Should Refrain from Publishing in Such Journals

    PubMed Central

    Glick, Shimon; Clarfield, A. Mark; Strous, Rael D.; Horton, Richard

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the full debate held on October 1, 2014, which focused on the following resolution: “Publications which promote political agendas have no place in scientific and medical journals, and academics should refrain from publishing in such journals.” The debate moderator was Professor Shimon Glick. Taking the pro stance was Professor A. Mark Clarfield; the con stance was held by Professor Rael D. Strous. Following the first part of the debate, Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief of The Lancet, gave his thoughts on the topic. This was followed by the opportunity for rebuttal by Professors Clarfield and Strous. The debate was summarized and closed by Professor Glick. This paper provides a slightly edited text of the debate, for ease of reading. PMID:25717385

  1. WE-E-204-03: Radiology and Other Imaging Journals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Karellas, A.

    Research papers authored by Medical Physicists address a large spectrum of oncologic, imaging, or basic research problems; exploit a wide range of physical and engineering methodologies; and often describe the efforts of a multidisciplinary research team. Given dozens of competing journals accepting medical physics articles, it may not be clear to an individual author which journal is the best venue for disseminating their work to the scientific community. Relevant factors usually include the Journal’s audience and scientific impact, but also such factors as perceived acceptance rate, interest in their topic, and quality of service. The purpose of this symposium ismore » to provide the medical physics community with an overview of scope, review processes, and article guidelines for the following journals: Radiology, Medical Physics, International Journal of Radiation Biology and Physics, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, and Practical Radiation Oncology. Senior members of the editorial board for each journal will provide details as to the journals review process, for example: single blind versus double blind reviews; open access policies, the hierarchy of the review process in terms of editorial board structure; the reality of acceptance, in terms of acceptance rate; and the types of research the journal prefers to publish. Other journals will be discussed as well. The goal is to provide for authors guidance before they begin to write their papers, not only for proper formatting, but also that the readership is appropriate for the particular paper, hopefully increasing the quality and impact of the paper and the likelihood of publication. Learning Objectives: To review each Journal’s submission and review process Guidance as to how to increase quality, impact and chances of acceptance To help decipher which journal is appropriate for a given work A. Karellas, Research collaboration with Koning, Corporation.« less

  2. Visual Display of Scientific Studies, Methods, and Results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Saltus, R. W.; Fedi, M.

    2015-12-01

    The need for efficient and effective communication of scientific ideas becomes more urgent each year.A growing number of societal and economic issues are tied to matters of science - e.g., climate change, natural resource availability, and public health. Societal and political debate should be grounded in a general understanding of scientific work in relevant fields. It is difficult for many participants in these debates to access science directly because the formal method for scientific documentation and dissemination is the journal paper, generally written for a highly technical and specialized audience. Journal papers are very effective and important for documentation of scientific results and are essential to the requirements of science to produce citable and repeatable results. However, journal papers are not effective at providing a quick and intuitive summary useful for public debate. Just as quantitative data are generally best viewed in graphic form, we propose that scientific studies also can benefit from visual summary and display. We explore the use of existing methods for diagramming logical connections and dependencies, such as Venn diagrams, mind maps, flow charts, etc., for rapidly and intuitively communicating the methods and results of scientific studies. We also discuss a method, specifically tailored to summarizing scientific papers that we introduced last year at AGU. Our method diagrams the relative importance and connections between data, methods/models, results/ideas, and implications/importance using a single-page format with connected elements in these four categories. Within each category (e.g., data) the spatial location of individual elements (e.g., seismic, topographic, gravity) indicates relative novelty (e.g., are these new data?) and importance (e.g., how critical are these data to the results of the paper?). The goal is to find ways to rapidly and intuitively share both the results and the process of science, both for communication

  3. Comparative study of scientific publications in orthopedics journals originating from USA, Japan and China (2000-2012).

    PubMed

    Lao, Li-Feng; Daubs, Michael David; Phan, Kevin H; Wang, Jeffrey C

    2013-11-01

    To compare orthopedics publications from USA, Japan and China. Scientific papers belong to ''Orthopedics'' category of Science Citation Index Expanded subject categories were retrieved from the "PubMed'' and ''Web of Knowledge'' online databases. In the field of orthopedics, the annual number increased significantly from 2000 to 2012 in the three countries (p<0.001). The share of articles increased significantly in China, but decreased significantly in Japan and USA (p<0.05). In 2012, USA contributed 35.3% of the total world output in orthopedics field and ranked 1st; Japan contributed 5.9% and ranked 4th; China contributed 5.2% and ranked 5th. Publications from USA had the highest accumulated IFs and the highest total citations of articles (USA > Japan > China, p<0.001). Average IF from USA was much higher than Japan and China (p<0.001). USA published the most articles in the top ten orthopedics journals (USA (14355) > Japan (1702) > China (487), p<0.01). Although China has undergone significant increase in annual number and percentage of scientific publication in orthopedics journals, it still lags far behind USA and Japan in the field of orthopedics in terms of quantity and quality.

  4. Non-indexed medical journals in the Web: new perspectives in the medical literature.

    PubMed

    Germenis, A E; Kokkinides, P A; Stavropoulos-Giokas, C

    1997-11-01

    Many medical journals, publishing in national languages, meet serious financial problems and difficulties when they attempt to become indexed in the international indices. Obviously, this not only affects the scientific quality of non-indexed medical journals (NIMJs) but also affects the awareness of the scientific community of topics with apparently local but potentially broader scientific significance. This is a reality for over 100 Greek medical journals, none of which has a life longer than 30 years or more than 2000 subscribers. Among them, the 'Archives of Hellenic Medicine' (AHM) is published and sponsored by the Athens Medical Society (the oldest medical society in Greece founded in 1835). This peer-reviewed Journal is being published for 13 years, bimonthly, in Greek. Attempting to overcome the above mentioned problems and to be involved in the process of discovering the most effective way of scientific 'skywriting', 2 years ago, the AHM entered full-text in the Web and it was decided that up to 500% of its volume should be covered by English-language papers. As a result, the AHM are now included in the main Web lists of medical journals and their home page is linked in many academic pages having approximately 500 hits/month. Furthermore, 45 retrievals of AHM's English-language papers or English abstracts of Greek-language articles were reported by e-mail response from abroad. Considered apart from the paper-publishing, the expenses of the digital publishing of the AHM are about half of those of paper-publishing, as they were before the appearance of the Journal in the Web. Up to now, about 40% of the Journal's digital publishing cost is covered by advertisements included in its pages and by a modification of its paper-publishing policy. It is concluded that the international scientific community is not indifferent for information published in NIMJs. Medical national minorities working abroad express special interest for this type of information. The Web

  5. Plan to increase public access to the results of Federally-funded scientific research results.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    2015-12-16

    This plan is issued in response to the February 22, 2013 Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies entitled Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Researc...

  6. Featured Article: Genotation: Actionable knowledge for the scientific reader

    PubMed Central

    Willis, Ethan; Sakauye, Mark; Jose, Rony; Chen, Hao; Davis, Robert L

    2016-01-01

    We present an article viewer application that allows a scientific reader to easily discover and share knowledge by linking genomics-related concepts to knowledge of disparate biomedical databases. High-throughput data streams generated by technical advancements have contributed to scientific knowledge discovery at an unprecedented rate. Biomedical Informaticists have created a diverse set of databases to store and retrieve the discovered knowledge. The diversity and abundance of such resources present biomedical researchers a challenge with knowledge discovery. These challenges highlight a need for a better informatics solution. We use a text mining algorithm, Genomine, to identify gene symbols from the text of a journal article. The identified symbols are supplemented with information from the GenoDB knowledgebase. Self-updating GenoDB contains information from NCBI Gene, Clinvar, Medgen, dbSNP, KEGG, PharmGKB, Uniprot, and Hugo Gene databases. The journal viewer is a web application accessible via a web browser. The features described herein are accessible on www.genotation.org. The Genomine algorithm identifies gene symbols with an accuracy shown by .65 F-Score. GenoDB currently contains information regarding 59,905 gene symbols, 5633 drug–gene relationships, 5981 gene–disease relationships, and 713 pathways. This application provides scientific readers with actionable knowledge related to concepts of a manuscript. The reader will be able to save and share supplements to be visualized in a graphical manner. This provides convenient access to details of complex biological phenomena, enabling biomedical researchers to generate novel hypothesis to further our knowledge in human health. This manuscript presents a novel application that integrates genomic, proteomic, and pharmacogenomic information to supplement content of a biomedical manuscript and enable readers to automatically discover actionable knowledge. PMID:26900164

  7. Featured Article: Genotation: Actionable knowledge for the scientific reader.

    PubMed

    Nagahawatte, Panduka; Willis, Ethan; Sakauye, Mark; Jose, Rony; Chen, Hao; Davis, Robert L

    2016-06-01

    We present an article viewer application that allows a scientific reader to easily discover and share knowledge by linking genomics-related concepts to knowledge of disparate biomedical databases. High-throughput data streams generated by technical advancements have contributed to scientific knowledge discovery at an unprecedented rate. Biomedical Informaticists have created a diverse set of databases to store and retrieve the discovered knowledge. The diversity and abundance of such resources present biomedical researchers a challenge with knowledge discovery. These challenges highlight a need for a better informatics solution. We use a text mining algorithm, Genomine, to identify gene symbols from the text of a journal article. The identified symbols are supplemented with information from the GenoDB knowledgebase. Self-updating GenoDB contains information from NCBI Gene, Clinvar, Medgen, dbSNP, KEGG, PharmGKB, Uniprot, and Hugo Gene databases. The journal viewer is a web application accessible via a web browser. The features described herein are accessible on www.genotation.org The Genomine algorithm identifies gene symbols with an accuracy shown by .65 F-Score. GenoDB currently contains information regarding 59,905 gene symbols, 5633 drug-gene relationships, 5981 gene-disease relationships, and 713 pathways. This application provides scientific readers with actionable knowledge related to concepts of a manuscript. The reader will be able to save and share supplements to be visualized in a graphical manner. This provides convenient access to details of complex biological phenomena, enabling biomedical researchers to generate novel hypothesis to further our knowledge in human health. This manuscript presents a novel application that integrates genomic, proteomic, and pharmacogenomic information to supplement content of a biomedical manuscript and enable readers to automatically discover actionable knowledge. © 2016 by the Society for Experimental Biology and

  8. Statistical Data Editing in Scientific Articles.

    PubMed

    Habibzadeh, Farrokh

    2017-07-01

    Scientific journals are important scholarly forums for sharing research findings. Editors have important roles in safeguarding standards of scientific publication and should be familiar with correct presentation of results, among other core competencies. Editors do not have access to the raw data and should thus rely on clues in the submitted manuscripts. To identify probable errors, they should look for inconsistencies in presented results. Common statistical problems that can be picked up by a knowledgeable manuscript editor are discussed in this article. Manuscripts should contain a detailed section on statistical analyses of the data. Numbers should be reported with appropriate precisions. Standard error of the mean (SEM) should not be reported as an index of data dispersion. Mean (standard deviation [SD]) and median (interquartile range [IQR]) should be used for description of normally and non-normally distributed data, respectively. If possible, it is better to report 95% confidence interval (CI) for statistics, at least for main outcome variables. And, P values should be presented, and interpreted with caution, if there is a hypothesis. To advance knowledge and skills of their members, associations of journal editors are better to develop training courses on basic statistics and research methodology for non-experts. This would in turn improve research reporting and safeguard the body of scientific evidence. © 2017 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

  9. Scientific publications in nursing journals from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong: a 10-year survey of the literature.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Di; Wang, Xiaming; Yuan, Xueru; Yang, Li; Xue, Yu; Xie, Qian

    2016-01-01

    China has witnessed remarkable progress in scientific performance in recent years. However, the quantity and quality of nursing publications from three major regions (Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong) have not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of scientific research productivity from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in the field of nursing. Articles published in the 110 nursing journals originating from Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong between 2005 and 2014 were retrieved from the Web of Science. The total number of articles published, the impact factor, and the citation count were analyzed. There were 2,439 publications between 2005 and 2014 from China, including 438 from Mainland China, 1,506 from Taiwan, and 495 from Hong Kong. There was a significant increase in publications for these three regions (p < 0.05), especially for Mainland China, with a 59.50-fold increase experienced. From 2011, the number of publications from Mainland China exceeded that from Hong Kong. Taiwan had the highest total journal impact factor (2,142.81), followed by Hong Kong (720.39) and Mainland China (583.94). The mean journal impact factor from Hong Kong (1.46) was higher than that from Taiwan (1.42) and Mainland China (1.33). Taiwan had the highest total citation count (8,392), followed by Hong Kong (3,785) and Mainland China (1,493). The mean citation count from Hong Kong (7.65) was higher than that from Taiwan (5.57) and Mainland China (3.41). The Journal of Clinical Nursing was the most popular journal in the three regions. Chinese contributions to the field of nursing have significantly increased in the past ten years, particularly from Mainland China. Taiwan is the most productive region in China. Hong Kong had the highest-quality research output, according to mean journal impact factor and mean citation count.

  10. Toward Reproducible Computational Research: An Empirical Analysis of Data and Code Policy Adoption by Journals.

    PubMed

    Stodden, Victoria; Guo, Peixuan; Ma, Zhaokun

    2013-01-01

    Journal policy on research data and code availability is an important part of the ongoing shift toward publishing reproducible computational science. This article extends the literature by studying journal data sharing policies by year (for both 2011 and 2012) for a referent set of 170 journals. We make a further contribution by evaluating code sharing policies, supplemental materials policies, and open access status for these 170 journals for each of 2011 and 2012. We build a predictive model of open data and code policy adoption as a function of impact factor and publisher and find higher impact journals more likely to have open data and code policies and scientific societies more likely to have open data and code policies than commercial publishers. We also find open data policies tend to lead open code policies, and we find no relationship between open data and code policies and either supplemental material policies or open access journal status. Of the journals in this study, 38% had a data policy, 22% had a code policy, and 66% had a supplemental materials policy as of June 2012. This reflects a striking one year increase of 16% in the number of data policies, a 30% increase in code policies, and a 7% increase in the number of supplemental materials policies. We introduce a new dataset to the community that categorizes data and code sharing, supplemental materials, and open access policies in 2011 and 2012 for these 170 journals.

  11. Toward Reproducible Computational Research: An Empirical Analysis of Data and Code Policy Adoption by Journals

    PubMed Central

    Stodden, Victoria; Guo, Peixuan; Ma, Zhaokun

    2013-01-01

    Journal policy on research data and code availability is an important part of the ongoing shift toward publishing reproducible computational science. This article extends the literature by studying journal data sharing policies by year (for both 2011 and 2012) for a referent set of 170 journals. We make a further contribution by evaluating code sharing policies, supplemental materials policies, and open access status for these 170 journals for each of 2011 and 2012. We build a predictive model of open data and code policy adoption as a function of impact factor and publisher and find higher impact journals more likely to have open data and code policies and scientific societies more likely to have open data and code policies than commercial publishers. We also find open data policies tend to lead open code policies, and we find no relationship between open data and code policies and either supplemental material policies or open access journal status. Of the journals in this study, 38% had a data policy, 22% had a code policy, and 66% had a supplemental materials policy as of June 2012. This reflects a striking one year increase of 16% in the number of data policies, a 30% increase in code policies, and a 7% increase in the number of supplemental materials policies. We introduce a new dataset to the community that categorizes data and code sharing, supplemental materials, and open access policies in 2011 and 2012 for these 170 journals. PMID:23805293

  12. Co-Producing Accessible Climate Knowledge: Case Study of a Scientific Challenge

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bourqui, M.; Charriere, M. K. M.; Bolduc, C.

    2016-12-01

    This talk presents the process of and the lessons learned from a scientific challenge where climate scientists re-framed their research for the general public in interaction with members of the general public. This challenge was organized by Climanosco in the context of its launch in the fall 2015 and is due to end in September 2016. It led to the publication of 11 articles from scientific authors spanning 7 countries and engaged the participation of 24 members of the general public. The process of interaction between scientists and members of the general public took place along an extended peer-review process which included on-line community discussions and non-scientific review reports. Details of this interaction, as perceived by the participants and evaluated by a survey, will be discussed in this talk. On the longer term this co-production of accessible climate knowledge, which represents the main goal of the non-profit association Climanosco, is meant to serve as a reliable, research-based source, the decision makers but also the journalists, teachers and communities around the world.

  13. [Biomedical publications in Spain on debate (II): the on-going 'revolutions' and their application to neurological journals].

    PubMed

    González de Dios, J; Sempere, A P; Aleixandre-Benavent, R

    To debate about the application of on-going 'revolutions' in medical knowledge to Spanish neurological journals in the 21st century. This article reviews the current status of five revolutions in the field of health sciences, in general, and in neurological sciences, in particular: 1) the knowledge revolution: to translate the scientific investigation to the patient, with knowledge needs-driven research agenda with founder commissioning research to answer questions posed by clinicians, managers and patients, and systematic and critical appraisal reviews as the creator of quality improved knowledge; 2) the evidence based medicine revolution: the pyramid information of '4S', with systems (guidelines and computerized decision support systems), synopses (secondary journals), syntheses (systematic reviews and meta-analysis) and studies (original studies published in journals); 3) the web revolution: the possibility of dissemination of biomedical documentation by means of the Internet network are producing changes in the traditional way of conceiving scientific publication; the Internet represents a great advantage for investigation and also for clinical practice, since it permits free, universal access to databases and the interchange of texts, images and videos; 4) the open access revolution: to take full control over all operations related to the process of publish (to create, publish, communicate, distribute, reproduce and transform) with no need of any intermediaries, and to transform fundamental aspects concerning the circulation of knowledge, its use and availability; and 5) the librarian revolution: the project of a Virtual Health Library in Spain as a tool to access and disseminate scientific and technical knowledge on health through the Internet.

  14. Brazilian Science between National and Foreign Journals: Methodology for Analyzing the Production and Impact in Emerging Scientific Communities.

    PubMed

    Strehl, Letícia; Calabró, Luciana; Souza, Diogo Onofre; Amaral, Lívio

    2016-01-01

    In recent decades, we have observed an intensification of science, technology and innovation activities in Brazil. The increase in production of scientific papers indexed in international databases, however, has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in the impact of publications. This paper presents a methodology for analyzing production and the impact of certain research areas in Brazil related to two aspects: the origin of the journals (national or foreign) and international collaboration. These two variables were selected for being of particular importance in understanding the context of scientific production and communication in countries with emerging economies. The sample consisted of papers written by Brazilian researchers in 19 subfields of knowledge published from 2002 to 2011, totaling 85,082 papers. To calculate the impact, we adopted a normalized indicator called the relative subfield citedness (Rw) using a window of 5 years to obtain measurements evaluated in 2 different years: 2007 and 2012. The data on papers and citations were collected from the Web of Science database. From the results, we note that most of the subfields have presented, from one quinquennium to another, improved performance in the world production rankings. Regarding publication in national and foreign journals, we observed a trend in the distribution maintenance of production of the subfields based on the origin of the journal. Specifically, for impact, we identified a lower Rw pattern for Brazilian papers when they were published in national journals in all subfields. When Brazilian products are published in foreign journals, we observed a higher impact for those papers, even surpassing the average global impact in some subfields. For international collaboration, we analyzed the percentage of participation of foreign researchers and the connection between collaboration and the impact of papers, especially emphasizing the distinction of hyperauthorship papers in terms of

  15. Brazilian Science between National and Foreign Journals: Methodology for Analyzing the Production and Impact in Emerging Scientific Communities

    PubMed Central

    Calabró, Luciana; Souza, Diogo Onofre; Amaral, Lívio

    2016-01-01

    In recent decades, we have observed an intensification of science, technology and innovation activities in Brazil. The increase in production of scientific papers indexed in international databases, however, has not been accompanied by an equivalent increase in the impact of publications. This paper presents a methodology for analyzing production and the impact of certain research areas in Brazil related to two aspects: the origin of the journals (national or foreign) and international collaboration. These two variables were selected for being of particular importance in understanding the context of scientific production and communication in countries with emerging economies. The sample consisted of papers written by Brazilian researchers in 19 subfields of knowledge published from 2002 to 2011, totaling 85,082 papers. To calculate the impact, we adopted a normalized indicator called the relative subfield citedness (Rw) using a window of 5 years to obtain measurements evaluated in 2 different years: 2007 and 2012. The data on papers and citations were collected from the Web of Science database. From the results, we note that most of the subfields have presented, from one quinquennium to another, improved performance in the world production rankings. Regarding publication in national and foreign journals, we observed a trend in the distribution maintenance of production of the subfields based on the origin of the journal. Specifically, for impact, we identified a lower Rw pattern for Brazilian papers when they were published in national journals in all subfields. When Brazilian products are published in foreign journals, we observed a higher impact for those papers, even surpassing the average global impact in some subfields. For international collaboration, we analyzed the percentage of participation of foreign researchers and the connection between collaboration and the impact of papers, especially emphasizing the distinction of hyperauthorship papers in terms of

  16. Editorial policies and good practices in editing the journal 'International Medical Journal--Medicus'.

    PubMed

    Pollozhani, Aziz

    2014-01-01

    Ten years ago the Association of Albanian Physicians in Macedonia undertook the very brave step of publishing a scientific medical journal, Medicus, as a platform for publishing biomedical research papers. Medical journal MEDICUS is an international peer-review journal of biomedical science. The first issue was published in 2004, starting with publishing two issues per year. From 2013, the journal delivered three issues per year, namely in January, May and September. Editor-in-Chief of the journal is Prof. Dr. Aziz Pollozhani. This year marks the tenth anniversary since publication of the first issue of Medicus, a fact that makes us proud and happy. The journal has its own official website (www.imjm.mk), where papers can be submitted and published in electronic form. In addition, the journal also comes out in print form to be distributed mainly in the region. Taking into account the specific socio-cultural characteristics of the region, the journal attempts to promote research activities in the region, while seeking to serve as an educational tool to promote scientific work in such a setting. As a result, Medicus accepts manuscripts for publication in English, Albanian and Macedonian, with a mandatory abstract in English for all papers. The journal Medicus represents a solid platform of biomedical sciences that will serve to advance scientific research and promote professional achievements in medicine.

  17. Indexing the medical open access literature for textual and content-based visual retrieval.

    PubMed

    Eggel, Ivan; Müller, Henning

    2010-01-01

    Over the past few years an increasing amount of scientific journals have been created in an open access format. Particularly in the medical field the number of openly accessible journals is enormous making a wide body of knowledge available for analysis and retrieval. Part of the trend towards open access publications can be linked to funding bodies such as the NIH1 (National Institutes of Health) and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF2) requiring funded projects to make all articles of funded research available publicly. This article describes an approach to make part of the knowledge of open access journals available for retrieval including the textual information but also the images contained in the articles. For this goal all articles of 24 journals related to medical informatics and medical imaging were crawled from the web pages of BioMed Central. Text and images of the PDF (Portable Document Format) files were indexed separately and a web-based retrieval interface allows for searching via keyword queries or by visual similarity queries. Starting point for a visual similarity query can be an image on the local hard disk that is uploaded or any image found via the textual search. Search for similar documents is also possible.

  18. [The use of medical journals by medical students. Which medical journals are read?].

    PubMed

    Algra, Annemijn M; Dekker, Friedo W

    2015-01-01

    To investigate the role of scientific medical journals in Dutch medical curricula. Descriptive questionnaire study. In 2013, medical students (from year 3 onwards) at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), were invited to respond to an online questionnaire. They were presented with 28 multiple-choice questions and 11 statements about the use of scientific medical journals in the medical curriculum. We calculated the frequencies of the answers per question and analysed differences between medical students using two-by-two tables. The questionnaire was completed by 680 (53.0%) of 1277 invited medical students enrolled at the LUMC. Most of the respondents were those doing clinical rotations (56.6%) and 60.1% had research experience. More than half of the students read at least one scientific journal a few times per month; this percentage was 38.8% among third-year students, 49.3% among fourth-year students, 60.0% among those on clinical rotation, and was higher among students with research experience (63.3%) than among those without research experience (44.1%). Nearly 90% of students agreed with the statement that the development of academic and scientific education should take place in the bachelor's phase of medical school. Medical students start to read scientific medical journals at an early phase in the medical curriculum and this increases further when students start to undertake research projects or go on clinical rotation. Medical curricula should be constructed in such a way that medical students learn to select and interpret research findings adequately for themselves before they turn to articles from scientific medical journals.

  19. A corpus and a concordancer of academic journal articles.

    PubMed

    Kwary, Deny A

    2018-02-01

    This data article presents a corpus (i.e. a selection of a big number of words in an electronic form) and a concordancer (i.e. a tool to show the word in its context of use) of academic journal articles. As the title suggests, the data were collected from research articles published in academic journals. The corpus contains 5,686,428 words selected from 895 journal articles published by Elsevier in 2011-2015. The corpus is classified into four subject areas: Health sciences, Life sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social Sciences, following the classifications of Scopus, which is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed scientific journals, books and conference proceedings. To ease the access and utilization of the corpus, a program to produce the key word in context (KWIC) and word frequency was created and placed on the website: corpus.kwary.net. The corpus is a valuable resource for researchers, teachers, and translators working on academic English.

  20. The successful journal club.

    PubMed

    Stapleton, John J

    2007-01-01

    Journal club is a structured meeting that is required at a residency program, which is designated to train residents in the necessary skills to evaluate and apply scientific literature critically to clinical decision making. A successful journal club is one in which residents develop competency in evaluating the scientific literature for evidence-based answers that can be applied to clinical questions. The objective in establishing a successful journal club is to build a forum for residents to formulate answers to their clinical questions through the development of essential critical appraisal skills. This article discusses the setting, format, content, and purpose of a successful journal club.

  1. Accelerating scientific publication in biology

    PubMed Central

    Vale, Ronald D.

    2015-01-01

    Scientific publications enable results and ideas to be transmitted throughout the scientific community. The number and type of journal publications also have become the primary criteria used in evaluating career advancement. Our analysis suggests that publication practices have changed considerably in the life sciences over the past 30 years. More experimental data are now required for publication, and the average time required for graduate students to publish their first paper has increased and is approaching the desirable duration of PhD training. Because publication is generally a requirement for career progression, schemes to reduce the time of graduate student and postdoctoral training may be difficult to implement without also considering new mechanisms for accelerating communication of their work. The increasing time to publication also delays potential catalytic effects that ensue when many scientists have access to new information. The time has come for life scientists, funding agencies, and publishers to discuss how to communicate new findings in a way that best serves the interests of the public and the scientific community. PMID:26508643

  2. WE-E-204-02: Journal of Medical Physics and JACMP

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Williamson, J.

    Research papers authored by Medical Physicists address a large spectrum of oncologic, imaging, or basic research problems; exploit a wide range of physical and engineering methodologies; and often describe the efforts of a multidisciplinary research team. Given dozens of competing journals accepting medical physics articles, it may not be clear to an individual author which journal is the best venue for disseminating their work to the scientific community. Relevant factors usually include the Journal’s audience and scientific impact, but also such factors as perceived acceptance rate, interest in their topic, and quality of service. The purpose of this symposium ismore » to provide the medical physics community with an overview of scope, review processes, and article guidelines for the following journals: Radiology, Medical Physics, International Journal of Radiation Biology and Physics, Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics, and Practical Radiation Oncology. Senior members of the editorial board for each journal will provide details as to the journals review process, for example: single blind versus double blind reviews; open access policies, the hierarchy of the review process in terms of editorial board structure; the reality of acceptance, in terms of acceptance rate; and the types of research the journal prefers to publish. Other journals will be discussed as well. The goal is to provide for authors guidance before they begin to write their papers, not only for proper formatting, but also that the readership is appropriate for the particular paper, hopefully increasing the quality and impact of the paper and the likelihood of publication. Learning Objectives: To review each Journal’s submission and review process Guidance as to how to increase quality, impact and chances of acceptance To help decipher which journal is appropriate for a given work A. Karellas, Research collaboration with Koning, Corporation.« less

  3. A comparison of citations across multidisciplinary psychology journals: a case study of two independent journals.

    PubMed

    Schumm, Walter R

    2010-02-01

    Citation rates and impact factors are often used in an attempt to evaluate the apparent prestige of scholarly journals and the quality of research published by individual scholars. However, the apparent prestige of "top tier" journals may reflect aggressive marketing and advertising efforts as much as scholarship. Some journals have retained their independence from professional organizations and the funding, marketing, and advocacy policies that may be associated with such organizations. While lacking as much visibility as organizational journals and sometimes considered "lower tier," independent journals may be able to provide comparable scientific quality as measured by citation rates. To test this, the citation rates of 169 articles published by a frequently cited scholar were compared across first- and second-tier journals, including many sponsored and marketed by large professional organizations, and to rates for two independent journals combined, Psychological Reports and Perceptual and Motor Skills. Citation rates were higher for first-tier journals but for most comparisons, especially those that controlled for heterogeneity of variance, results did not differ in statistically significant ways among the three tiers of journals, though some nonsignificant trends (p < .15) were found. If citation rates of articles are any indication of scientific quality, tiered classifications of journals appear to be a relatively weak indicator of scientific merit; journals at any tier contain articles that are useful and of good quality.

  4. Where on earth to publish? A sample survey comparing traditional and open access publishing in the oncological field.

    PubMed

    Poltronieri, Elisabetta; Bravo, Elena; Camerini, Tiziana; Ferri, Maurizio; Rizzo, Roberto; Solimini, Renata; Cognetti, Gaetana

    2013-01-22

    The paper intends to help scientific authors to make the best choice of journals in which to publish, by describing and comparing journal features in the area of oncology. For this purpose, the authors identified impact factor (IF) ranking, cost options and copyright conditions offered to authors wishing to publish in full open access (OA), subscription-based or hybrid journals. Data referring to articles published in 2010 by three Italian research institutions (National Institute of Health - Rome (ISS), Regina Elena National Cancer Institute - Rome (IRE), National Cancer Institute - Milan (INT) in journals (78) managed according to different business models, all listed in the Journal Citation Reports, subject category Oncology, were collected and analysed. The journals surveyed were ranked according to IF, position in quartiles, publication charges, usage rights in published articles, self-archiving conditions in OAI-compliant repositories digital archives. Almost half (34) the journals surveyed were included in the first quartile, thus revealing authors' preference for journals with a high IF. The prevalent journal business model was the hybrid formula (based on subscriptions but also offering a paid OA option) with 51 journals, followed by subscription-based only journals accounting for 22, while just 5 full OA journals were identified. In general, no relationship was found between IF and article publication charges, in terms of correspondence between more expensive fees and higher IF. The issue of OA journals as compared with traditional subscription-based journals is highly debated among stakeholders: library administrators facing financial restrictions, authors seeking to locate the best outlet for their research, publishers wishing to increase their revenues by offering journals with wider appeal. Against this background, factors such as the quest for alternatives to high-cost business models, investments in setting up institutional repositories hosting the

  5. Scientific publications in anesthesiology journals from East Asia: a 10-year survey of the literature.

    PubMed

    Li, Zhi; Qiu, Li-Xin; Wu, Fei-Xiang; Yang, Li-Qun; Sun, Yu-Ming; Yu, Wei-Feng

    2011-04-01

    The scientific publications in anesthesiology research from East Asian authors have not been reported yet. The present study was designed to analyze the contribution of articles from East Asia to anesthesiology research. Articles published in 17 journals in anesthesiology originating from Japan, China, and South Korea from 2000 to 2009 were retrieved from the PubMed database and Web of Science. From 2000 to 2009, there were 3,076 articles published from East Asia. During this period, there were a notable decrease in publications from Japan and modest increases in publications from both China and South Korea. The average 5-year impact factor of the published articles was similar among the three regions, and China had the highest average number of citations to each article. Anesthesia & Analgesia published more articles than any other journal from all three regions. Our analysis showed that Japan was the most productive region in East Asia, but there was a notable decrease in publications from Japan in 2000-2009. The impact factor of the articles suggests similar levels of scholarship. Anesthesia & Analgesia was the most popular journal in East Asia.

  6. Plants: An International Scientific Open Access Journal to Publish All Facets of Plants, Their Functions and Interactions with the Environment and Other Living Organisms.

    PubMed

    Fernando, W G Dilantha

    2012-02-06

    Plants are one of the two major groups of living organisms that are an essential entity to the function of the biosphere. Plants can be found in all known parts of the earth, in all shapes and sizes. They include the green algae, mosses, ferns, vines, grasses, bushes, herbs, flowering plants and trees. Although some plants are parasitic, most produce their own food through photosynthesis. Most plants initiate from a seed. The importance of plants in the food chain dates back to ancient times. The first humans gathered wild plants for food. As settlements developed, food crops were cultivated, leading to selection of high-yielding cultivated varieties to feed the growing populations. Unlike plants, humans and other animals are unable to manufacture their own food. Therefore, they are dependent, directly or indirectly, on plants. Plants are found in natural ecosystems such as rain forests, and also in agricultural areas and urbanized settings. They are an essential part of our daily lives providing food, clean air, and important ecosystem functions. The study of plants and their function could be considered the most complex of interactions. From the time a seed germinates, it goes through a myriad of physiological processes that can be closely studied using modern tools and molecular biological methods. An open access journal such as Plants will give millions of readers access to that information around the world.

  7. Scientific publications from Arab world in leading journals of Integrative and Complementary Medicine: a bibliometric analysis.

    PubMed

    Zyoud, Sa'ed H; Al-Jabi, Samah W; Sweileh, Waleed M

    2015-09-04

    Bibliometric analysis is increasingly employed as a useful tool to assess the quantity and quality of research performance. The specific goal of the current study was to evaluate the performance of research output originating from Arab world and published in international Integrative and Complementary Medicine (ICM) journals. Original scientific publications and reviews from the 22 Arab countries that were published in 22 international peer-reviewed ICM journals during all previous years up to December 31(st) 2013, were screened using the Web of Science databases. Five hundred and ninety-one documents were retrieved from 19 ICM journals. The h-index of the set of papers under study was 47. The highest h-index was 27 for Morocco, 21 for Jordan, followed by 19 for each Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and Egypt, and the lowest h-index was 1 for each of Comoros, Qatar, and Syrian Arab Republic. No data related to ICM were published from Djibouti, and Mauritania. After adjusting for economy and population power, Somalia (89), Morocco (32.5), Egypt (31.1), Yemen (21.4), and Palestine (21.2) had the highest research productivity. The total number of citations was 9,466, with an average citation of 16 per document. The study identified 262 (44.3 %) documents with 39 countries in Arab-foreign country collaborations. Arab authors collaborated most with countries in Europe (24.2 %), followed by countries in the Asia-Pacific region (9.8 %). Scientific research output in the ICM field in the Arab world region is increasing. Most of publications from Arab world in ICM filed were driven by societal use of medicinal plants and herbs. Search for new therapies from available low cost medicinal plants in Arab world has motivated many researchers in academia and pharmaceutical industry. Further investigation is required to support these findings in a wider journal as well as to improve research output in the field of ICM from Arab world region by investing in more national and

  8. Choosing the right journal for your systematic review.

    PubMed

    Betini, Marluci; Volpato, Enilze S N; Anastácio, Guilherme D J; de Faria, Renata T B G; El Dib, Regina

    2014-12-01

    The importance of systematic reviews (SRs) as an aid to decision making in health care has led to an increasing interest in the development of this type of study. When selecting a target journal for publication, authors generally seek out higher impact factor journals. This study aimed to determine the percentage of scientific medical journals that publish SRs according to their impact factors (>2.63) and to determine whether those journals require tools that aim to improve SR reporting and meta-analyses. In our cross-sectional study showing how to choose the right journal for a SR, we selected and analysed scientific journals available in a digital library with a minimum Institute for Scientific Information impact factor of 2.63. We analysed 622 scientific journals, 435 (69.94%) of which publish SRs. Of those 435 journals, 135 (21.60%) provide instructions for authors that mention SRs. Three hundred journals (48.34%) do not discuss criteria for article acceptance in the instructions for authors section, but do publish SRs. Only 118 (27.00%) scientific journals require items to be reported in accordance with the specific SR reporting forms. The majority of the journals do not mention the acceptance of SRs in the instructions for authors section. Only a few journals require that SRs meet specific reporting guidelines, making interpretation of their findings across studies challenging. There is no correlation between the impact factor of the journal and its acceptance of SRs for publication. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  9. How to Recognize and Avoid Potential, Possible, or Probable Predatory Open-Access Publishers, Standalone, and Hijacked Journals.

    PubMed

    Danevska, Lenche; Spiroski, Mirko; Donev, Doncho; Pop-Jordanova, Nada; Polenakovic, Momir

    2016-11-01

    The Internet has enabled an easy method to search through the vast majority of publications and has improved the impact of scholarly journals. However, it can also pose threats to the quality of published articles. New publishers and journals have emerged so-called open-access potential, possible, or probable predatory publishers and journals, and so-called hijacked journals. It was our aim to increase the awareness and warn scholars, especially young researchers, how to recognize these journals and how to avoid submission of their papers to these journals. Review and critical analysis of the relevant published literature, Internet sources and personal experience, thoughts, and observations of the authors. The web blog of Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado, was greatly consulted. Jeffrey Beall is a Denver academic librarian who regularly maintains two lists: the first one, of potential, possible, or probable predatory publishers and the second one, of potential, possible, or probable predatory standalone journals. Aspects related to this topic presented by other authors have been discussed as well. Academics should bear in mind how to differentiate between trustworthy and reliable journals and predatory ones, considering: publication ethics, peer-review process, international academic standards, indexing and abstracting, preservation in digital repositories, metrics, sustainability, etc.

  10. [Psychoactive drug advertising: analysis of scientific information].

    PubMed

    Mastroianni, Patrícia C; Noto, Ana Regina; Galduróz, José Carlos F

    2008-06-01

    According to the World Health Organization, medicinal drug promotion should be reliable, accurate, truthful, informative, balanced, up-to-date and capable of substantiation. The objective of the present study was to review psychoactive drug advertisements to physicians as for information consistency with the related references and accessibility of the cited references. Data was collected in the city of Araraquara, Southeastern Brazil, in 2005. There were collected and reviewed 152 drug advertisements, a total of 304 references. References were requested directly from pharmaceutical companies' customer services and searched in UNESP (Ibict, Athenas) and BIREME (SciELO, PubMed, free-access indexed journals) library network and CAPES journals. Advertisement statements were checked against references using content analysis. Of all references cited in the advertisements studied, 66.7% were accessed. Of 639 promotional statements identified, 346 (54%) were analyzed. The analysis showed that 67.7% of promotional statements in the advertisements were consistent with their references, while the remaining was either partially consistent or inconsistent. Of the material analyzed, an average 2.5 (1-28) references was cited per advertisement. In the text body, there were identified 639 pieces of information clearly associated with at least one cited reference (average 3.5 pieces of information per advertisement). The study results evidenced difficult access to the references. Messages on efficacy, safety and cost, among others, are not always supported by scientific studies. There is a need for regulation changes and effective monitoring of drug promotional materials.

  11. [On-line journals--are they the future? ].

    PubMed

    Geges, József; Vasas, Lívia

    2007-01-21

    The significant growth of the online literature usage, and the conspicuously differing interest of publishers, procurers and users raise the question whether the electronic or the paper journals will be the primary information sources in the future. The price of the scientific literature has gotten out of control in the last two decades. At the same time websites showed up providing open access, and this may make all participants of the market to change their marketing policy. Instead of the extra-profit accumulation strategy, publishers should take individual users' interests into consideration. Although the technical conditions of value-added option-enriched online services to surpass the paper journals are given already, there is still a demand for the latter, due to ingrained user habits. At the same time, the electronic version is attracting the users with e-versions, three-dimensional images, video records, sound, hypertext, content and relation analysis, which are limited only by the imagination. According to the authors, the development of information media is unstoppable, and the main challenge in the future will be still to find the most effective way of processing information, make it available for professional research and preserve it for the scientific heritage.

  12. Scientific publications from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in integrative and complementary medicine journals: a ten-year literature survey.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiao-Qian; Tao, Kun-Ming; Zhou, Qing-Hui; Ling, Chang-Quan

    2011-01-01

    Practitioners and researchers from China, the largest user of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), have been publishing an increasing number of scientific articles in world-famous CAM journals in recent years. However, the status of CAM research in the three major regions of China, the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong has, until now, not been reported. In this study, we compared articles from these three regions published in international CAM journals from 2000 to 2009 using PubMed database and the Journal Citation Reports. The study results showed that the number of published articles from Mainland China increased significantly from 2000 to 2009, particularly since 2005. Meanwhile, the number of published articles from Taiwan also increased, whereas those from Hong Kong remained steady. Clinical trials and randomized controlled trials from Chinese authors both took a small percentage of the total. The impact factors of the journals in which these articles were published suggested similar academic levels whereas the average number of citation of articles from the Mainland was less than those from the other two regions. Journal of Ethnopharmacology, American Journal of Chinese Medicine, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine and Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine were the most popular journals for Chinese authors.

  13. CrossCheck plagiarism screening : Experience of the Journal of Epidemiology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hashimoto, Katsumi

    Due to technological advances in the past two decades, researchers now have unprecedented access to a tremendous amount of useful information. However, because of the extreme pressure to publish, this abundance of information can sometimes tempt researchers to commit scientific misconduct. A serious form of such misconduct is plagiarism. Editors are always concerned about the possibility of publishing plagiarized manuscripts. The plagiarism detection tool CrossCheck allows editors to scan and analyze manuscripts effectively. The Journal of Epidemiology took part in a trial of CrossCheck, and this article discusses the concerns journal editors might have regarding the use of CrossCheck and its analysis. In addition, potential problems identified by CrossCheck, including self-plagiarism, are introduced.

  14. Scientific publications: now a marketing decision?

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Scientists have been publishing in journals related to their disciplines. Now with the advent of the internet, many more options are now available and scientific publication has become a marketing decision. Scientific journals are rated by "impact factor" which is based on the average number of cita...

  15. Restricting access to publications from funded research: ethical issues and solutions.

    PubMed

    Manikandan, S; Vani, N Isai

    2010-01-01

    India is becoming one of the hubs of clinical research. Commensurate with these advances, the government funding for biomedical research in thrust areas is also increasing. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Department of Science and Technology (DST) are some of the government organizations which provide financial support for various research projects. The results of the funded research projects are published in various international journals. Most of these journals have an access to paid subscribers only. Hence it is unethical to use the research grants from government (people's money) and not allow the scientific community free access to the results of the study. To tackle such issues, these agencies should sign the Berlin declaration and create open access repositories. A public access policy should be formulated and listed in JULIET. The funding bodies in India should also join Pubmed Central (PMC) to form PMC India so that every investigator who has received grants would submit the full text of the paper published from his study and these can be made freely accessible to everyone. Universities and research institutions should also develop institutional open access repositories. The public access policy has definitive advantages and should be implemented.

  16. Virtual slides in peer reviewed, open access medical publication.

    PubMed

    Kayser, Klaus; Borkenfeld, Stephan; Goldmann, Torsten; Kayser, Gian

    2011-12-19

    Application of virtual slides (VS), the digitalization of complete glass slides, is in its infancy to be implemented in routine diagnostic surgical pathology and to issues that are related to tissue-based diagnosis, such as education and scientific publication. Electronic publication in Pathology offers new features of scientific communication in pathology that cannot be obtained by conventional paper based journals. Most of these features are based upon completely open or partly directed interaction between the reader and the system that distributes the article. One of these interactions can be applied to microscopic images allowing the reader to navigate and magnify the presented images. VS and interactive Virtual Microscopy (VM) are a tool to increase the scientific value of microscopic images. The open access journal Diagnostic Pathology http://www.diagnosticpathology.org has existed for about five years. It is a peer reviewed journal that publishes all types of scientific contributions, including original scientific work, case reports and review articles. In addition to digitized still images the authors of appropriate articles are requested to submit the underlying glass slides to an institution (DiagnomX.eu, and Leica.com) for digitalization and documentation. The images are stored in a separate image data bank which is adequately linked to the article. The normal review process is not involved. Both processes (peer review and VS acquisition) are performed contemporaneously in order to minimize a potential publication delay. VS are not provided with a DOI index (digital object identifier). The first articles that include VS were published in March 2011. Several logistic constraints had to be overcome until the first articles including VS could be published. Step by step an automated acquisition and distribution system had to be implemented to the corresponding article. The acceptance of VS by the reader is high as well as by the authors. Of specific value

  17. [Self-archiving of biomedical papers in open access repositories].

    PubMed

    Abad-García, M Francisca; Melero, Remedios; Abadal, Ernest; González-Teruel, Aurora

    2010-04-01

    Open-access literature is digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. Self-archiving or deposit of scholarly outputs in institutional repositories (open-access green route) is increasingly present in the activities of the scientific community. Besides the benefits of open access for visibility and dissemination of science, it is increasingly more often required by funding agencies to deposit papers and any other type of documents in repositories. In the biomedical environment this is even more relevant by the impact scientific literature can have on public health. However, to make self-archiving feasible, authors should be aware of its meaning and the terms in which they are allowed to archive their works. In that sense, there are some tools like Sherpa/RoMEO or DULCINEA (both directories of copyright licences of scientific journals at different levels) to find out what rights are retained by authors when they publish a paper and if they allow to implement self-archiving. PubMed Central and its British and Canadian counterparts are the main thematic repositories for biomedical fields. In our country there is none of similar nature, but most of the universities and CSIC, have already created their own institutional repositories. The increase in visibility of research results and their impact on a greater and earlier citation is one of the most frequently advance of open access, but removal of economic barriers to access to information is also a benefit to break borders between groups.

  18. Plants: An International Scientific Open Access Journal to Publish All Facets of Plants, Their Functions and Interactions with the Environment and Other Living Organisms

    PubMed Central

    Fernando, W.G. Dilantha

    2012-01-01

    Plants are one of the two major groups of living organisms that are an essential entity to the function of the biosphere. Plants can be found in all known parts of the earth, in all shapes and sizes. They include the green algae, mosses, ferns, vines, grasses, bushes, herbs, flowering plants and trees. Although some plants are parasitic, most produce their own food through photosynthesis. Most plants initiate from a seed. The importance of plants in the food chain dates back to ancient times. The first humans gathered wild plants for food. As settlements developed, food crops were cultivated, leading to selection of high-yielding cultivated varieties to feed the growing populations. Unlike plants, humans and other animals are unable to manufacture their own food. Therefore, they are dependent, directly or indirectly, on plants. Plants are found in natural ecosystems such as rain forests, and also in agricultural areas and urbanized settings. They are an essential part of our daily lives providing food, clean air, and important ecosystem functions. The study of plants and their function could be considered the most complex of interactions. From the time a seed germinates, it goes through a myriad of physiological processes that can be closely studied using modern tools and molecular biological methods. An open access journal such as Plants will give millions of readers access to that information around the world. PMID:27137635

  19. [The fate of scientific articles when errors and scientific misconduct are detected].

    PubMed

    Vinther, Siri; Rosenberg, Jacob

    2014-01-20

    When a minor error is noted in a scientific article, the publishing journal should issue a correction. Issuing an expression of concern is relevant when scientific misconduct is suspected. If the suspicion proves to be well founded, the journal should retract the article. The number of retractions is increasing, and this emphasizes the need for unequivocal concepts and guidelines. The reason a given article is corrected or retracted should be unambiguous and articles as well as notices should be indexed properly.

  20. Source diversity among journals cited in Science Times.

    PubMed

    Kiernan, Vincent

    2016-02-01

    A content analysis of The New York Times' Science Times section from 1998 to 2012 found evidence of increased source diversity in use of scientific journals as news sources. Science Times increased the frequency at which it cited journals, the number of different journals that it cited, and the number of disciplines represented by cited journals. The results suggest that online availability of a wide array of scientific journals has changed sourcing behaviors. © The Author(s) 2014.

  1. Document of standardization of enteral nutrition access in adults.

    PubMed

    Arribas, Lorena; Frías, Laura; Creus, Gloria; Parejo, Juana; Urzola, Carmen; Ashbaugh, Rosana; Pérez-Portabella, Cleofé; Cuerda, Cristina

    2014-07-01

    The group of standardization and protocols of the Spanish Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (SENPE) published in 2011 a consensus document SENPE/SEGHNP/ANECIPN/SECP on enteral access for paediatric nutritional support. Along the lines of this document, we have developed another document on adult patients to homogenize the clinical practice and improve the quality of care in enteral access in this age group. The working group included health professionals (nurses, dietitians and doctor) with extensive experience in enteral nutrition and access. We tried to find scientific evidence through a literature review and we used the criteria of the Agency for Health-care Research and Quality (AHRQ) to classify the evidence (Grade of Recommendation A, B or C). Later the document was reviewed by external experts to the group and requested the endorsement of the Scientific and Educational Committee (CCE) and the group of home artificial nutrition (NADYA) of the SENPE. The full text will be published as a monograph number in this journal. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  2. Wishing away Plagiarism in Scientific Publications! Will it work? A situational analysis of Plagiarism policy of journals in PubMed.

    PubMed

    Debnath, Jyotindu; Cariappa, M P

    2018-04-01

    Plagiarism remains a scourge for the modern academia. There are inconsistencies in the plagiarism policy scientific journals. The aims of this study was to analyze types of published articles on 'Plagiarism' available on PubMed over last two decades against a backdrop of the plagiarism policy of the journals publishing such articles. A literature search on PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed) was made using the search term "plagiarism" from 01 January 1997 till 29 March 17. All publications having 'plagiarism' in the title formed the study group. The following were noted: types of articles published, ethical and plagiarism policy of the journal as available in the Instructions to authors and or in the journal home page. A total of 582 publications from 320 journals were studied. Editorials (165, 28.3%) and Letters to the Editor (159, 27.3%) formed the bulk. Research articles (56, 9.6%), Review articles (51, 8.7%) and Commentaries (47, 8%) formed the remainder. Detailed ethical guidelines were present in 221 (69%). Outline ethical guidelines only were present in 15 (4.7%) journals. 49 (15.3%) journals did not have any ethical guidelines. Detailed description of the policy on plagiarism was found in 80 (25%) journals. Only an outline description was found in 29 (9%) journals while a plagiarism policy/statement was totally absent in 176 (55%) journals. There is a need to have a well defined plagiarism policy/statement for all scholarly journals easily visible on their home pages on the internet and also in their Instructions to Authors.

  3. Impact of GDP, spending on R&D, number of universities and scientific journals on research publications in pharmacological sciences in Middle East.

    PubMed

    Meo, S A; Usmani, A M; Vohra, M S; Bukhari, I A

    2013-10-01

    Research in pharmacological science is vital to support the health needs of human beings. Measuring the research output provides information that forms the basis of strategic decisions. This study aimed to investigate the impact of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), spending on Research and Development (R&D), number of universities and scientific journals on research documents (papers), citable documents, citations per document and H-index in pharmacological science among Middle East countries. All the 16 Middle East countries were included in the study. The information regarding GDP, spending on R&D, total number of universities and indexed scientific journals were collected. We recorded the total number of research documents, citable documents, citations per document and H-index in pharmacological science during the period 1996-2011. The main sources for information were World Bank, Web of Science, Journal Citation Reports (Thomson Reuters) and SCI-mago/Scopus. The mean per capita GDP of all the Middle East countries is 18125.49±5386.28 US$, spending on R&D 0.63±0.28% of GDP in US$, number of universities 36.56±11.33 and mean ISI indexed journal are 8.25±3.93. The number of research documents published in pharmacological science among the Middle East countries during the period 1996-2011 is 1344.44±499.34; citable documents 1286.37±476.34; citations per document 7.62± 0.84; and H-index is 30.68±6.32. There was a positive correlation between spending on R&D and citations per documents (r = 0.56, p = 0.02), H-Index (r = 0.56, p = 0.02); number of universities and research documents (r = 0.72, p = 0.002), citable documents (r = 0.72, p = 0.001); ISI indexed journals and research documents (r = 0.88, p = 0.0001), citable documents (r = 0.88, p = 0.0001), H-Index (r = 0.67, p = 0.004). However, there was no correlation between the GDP per capita and research outcome in pharmacological science. There is a positive association between spending on R&D, number of

  4. Scientific publications in public, environmental and occupational health journals by authors from China, Japan and Korea in East Asia: A 10-year literature survey from 2003 to 2012.

    PubMed

    Li, Meina; Liu, Xiaodong; Zhang, Lulu

    2015-01-01

    To compare the number and quality of public, environmental and occupational health articles published in international journals from the 3 major non-English speaking countries of East Asia: China, Japan and Korea. Public, environmental and occupational health articles from China, Japan and Korea that were published in 161 journals from 2003 to 2012 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database. We recorded the numbers of total articles, impact factors (IF), citations, number of articles in top 10 journals, references as well as the article distribution from various regions in China. From 2003 to 2012, China, Japan and Korea published 5713, 3802 and 1967 papers respectively, with accumulated impact factor of 14 934.55, 8758.36 and 6189.25, the average impact factor of 2.61, 2.30 and 3.15 and the average citation numbers per document of 5.08, 6.49 and 5.25. In the top 10 high-impact public, environmental and occupational health journals, China, Japan and Korea accounted for 50.19%, 20.34% and 29.47% of all the papers published in those journals, respectively. Total impact factors of the most popular 10 papers for China, Japan and Korea were: 26.23, 27.08 and 26.91. Distribution of scientific papers among regions was unbalanced in China, for Hong Kong and Taiwan it accounted for 47.31% of the papers from China. From 2003 to 2012, both the quality and number of papers from China published in public, environmental and occupational health journals have greatly improved. China exceeded Japan and Korea in the number, accumulated impact factor, total citation times and the average number of references, while Korea had the highest average impact factor. Japan had the highest journal impact factor among the most popular journals, and the highest average citation number per document. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  5. [Analysis of literature citations in original articles published in Spanish and international nursing journals and journals in 2 closely related disciplines].

    PubMed

    Muñoz-Soler, Verónica; Flores-López, María José; Cabañero-Martínez, María José; Richart-Martínez, Miguel

    2007-01-01

    To compare Spanish nursing journals with 2 English-language standard journals, as well as Spanish journals in closely related disciplines, to identify possible quantitative and qualitative shortcomings in scientific documentation. We performed a descriptive, cross-sectional study of the references contained in 796 articles from 6 Spanish journals from 3 health disciplines (2000-2002) and 2 English-language nursing journals (2000-2001). The number of references, type of publication cited, and language of the document cited were compared in individual journals, and in journals grouped by discipline and according to language. Spanish-language nursing journals had the lowest mean number of references per article (X- = 16.20) when compared with psychology journals (X- = 31.24), medical journals (X- = 31.39) and international nursing journals (X- = 37.11). Among Spanish journals, citation of English-language publications was most frequent in medical journals (X- = 26.28) and least frequent in nursing journals (X- = 6.04). In contrast, citation of Spanish documents was most frequent in nursing journals (X- = 9.79) and least frequent in medical journals (X- = 4.43). Although scientific publication of Spanish nursing has improved, it is not comparable to publication of closely related disciplines and international nursing. The low citation of English documents clearly reveals the risk of scientific insularity.

  6. The economics of electronic journals.

    PubMed

    Budd, K W

    2000-01-01

    High print journal subscription costs, access to desktop publishing software, and awareness of Internet capability are among several reasons that interest in the electronic publishing of scholarly journals is increasing rapidly. The economic considerations of electronic publishing are not as familiar, however, although the fingertip accessibility of electronic journals, and in some cases, the lack of subscription charges gives the impression that electronic journal publishing is a much less costly means of publishing. Such an impression receives qualified confirmation in this article as an overview of the costs of scholarly publishing is provided, and the costs of print and electronic journals are compared. Also addressed are ways to recover costs of publishing electronic journals, and predictions for the future of such journals.

  7. Disappearing Act: Persistence and Attrition of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) in an Open Access Medical Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nagaraja, Aragudige; Joseph, Shine A.; Polen, Hyla H.; Clauson, Kevin A.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this paper is to assess and catalogue the magnitude of URL attrition in a high-impact, open access (OA) general medical journal. Design/methodology/approach: All "Public Library of Science Medicine (PLoS Medicine)" articles for 2005-2007 were evaluated and the following items were assessed: number of entries per issue; type of…

  8. Enhancing Scientific Collaboration, Transparency, and Public Access: Utilizing the Second Life Platform to Convene a Scientific Conference in 3-D Virtual Space

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGee, B. W.

    2006-12-01

    Recent studies reveal a general mistrust of science as well as a distorted perception of the scientific method by the public at-large. Concurrently, the number of science undergraduate and graduate students is in decline. By taking advantage of emergent technologies not only for direct public outreach but also to enhance public accessibility to the science process, it may be possible to both begin a reversal of popular scientific misconceptions and to engage a new generation of scientists. The Second Life platform is a 3-D virtual world produced and operated by Linden Research, Inc., a privately owned company instituted to develop new forms of immersive entertainment. Free and downloadable to the public, Second Life offers an imbedded physics engine, streaming audio and video capability, and unlike other "multiplayer" software, the objects and inhabitants of Second Life are entirely designed and created by its users, providing an open-ended experience without the structure of a traditional video game. Already, educational institutions, virtual museums, and real-world businesses are utilizing Second Life for teleconferencing, pre-visualization, and distance education, as well as to conduct traditional business. However, the untapped potential of Second Life lies in its versatility, where the limitations of traditional scientific meeting venues do not exist, and attendees need not be restricted by prohibitive travel costs. It will be shown that the Second Life system enables scientific authors and presenters at a "virtual conference" to display figures and images at full resolution, employ audio-visual content typically not available to conference organizers, and to perform demonstrations or premier three-dimensional renderings of objects, processes, or information. An enhanced presentation like those possible with Second Life would be more engaging to non- scientists, and such an event would be accessible to the general users of Second Life, who could have an

  9. JoVE: the Journal of Visualized Experiments.

    PubMed

    Vardell, Emily

    2015-01-01

    The Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE) is the world's first scientific video journal and is designed to communicate research and scientific methods in an innovative, intuitive way. JoVE includes a wide range of biomedical videos, from biology to immunology and bioengineering to clinical and translation medicine. This column describes the browsing and searching capabilities of JoVE, as well as its additional features (including the JoVE Scientific Education Database designed for students in scientific fields).

  10. Where on earth to publish? A sample survey comparing traditional and open access publishing in the oncological field

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    Background The paper intends to help scientific authors to make the best choice of journals in which to publish, by describing and comparing journal features in the area of oncology. For this purpose, the authors identified impact factor (IF) ranking, cost options and copyright conditions offered to authors wishing to publish in full open access (OA), subscription-based or hybrid journals. Methods Data referring to articles published in 2010 by three Italian research institutions (National Institute of Health – Rome (ISS), Regina Elena National Cancer Institute – Rome (IRE), National Cancer Institute – Milan (INT) in journals (78) managed according to different business models, all listed in the Journal Citation Reports, subject category Oncology, were collected and analysed. The journals surveyed were ranked according to IF, position in quartiles, publication charges, usage rights in published articles, self-archiving conditions in OAI-compliant repositories digital archives. Results Almost half (34) the journals surveyed were included in the first quartile, thus revealing authors’ preference for journals with a high IF. The prevalent journal business model was the hybrid formula (based on subscriptions but also offering a paid OA option) with 51 journals, followed by subscription-based only journals accounting for 22, while just 5 full OA journals were identified. In general, no relationship was found between IF and article publication charges, in terms of correspondence between more expensive fees and higher IF. Conclusions The issue of OA journals as compared with traditional subscription-based journals is highly debated among stakeholders: library administrators facing financial restrictions, authors seeking to locate the best outlet for their research, publishers wishing to increase their revenues by offering journals with wider appeal. Against this background, factors such as the quest for alternatives to high-cost business models, investments in

  11. Unified Access Architecture for Large-Scale Scientific Datasets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karna, Risav

    2014-05-01

    Data-intensive sciences have to deploy diverse large scale database technologies for data analytics as scientists have now been dealing with much larger volume than ever before. While array databases have bridged many gaps between the needs of data-intensive research fields and DBMS technologies (Zhang 2011), invocation of other big data tools accompanying these databases is still manual and separate the database management's interface. We identify this as an architectural challenge that will increasingly complicate the user's work flow owing to the growing number of useful but isolated and niche database tools. Such use of data analysis tools in effect leaves the burden on the user's end to synchronize the results from other data manipulation analysis tools with the database management system. To this end, we propose a unified access interface for using big data tools within large scale scientific array database using the database queries themselves to embed foreign routines belonging to the big data tools. Such an invocation of foreign data manipulation routines inside a query into a database can be made possible through a user-defined function (UDF). UDFs that allow such levels of freedom as to call modules from another language and interface back and forth between the query body and the side-loaded functions would be needed for this purpose. For the purpose of this research we attempt coupling of four widely used tools Hadoop (hadoop1), Matlab (matlab1), R (r1) and ScaLAPACK (scalapack1) with UDF feature of rasdaman (Baumann 98), an array-based data manager, for investigating this concept. The native array data model used by an array-based data manager provides compact data storage and high performance operations on ordered data such as spatial data, temporal data, and matrix-based data for linear algebra operations (scidbusr1). Performances issues arising due to coupling of tools with different paradigms, niche functionalities, separate processes and output

  12. Factors Affecting Journal Quality Indicator in Scopus (SCImago Journal Rank) in Obstetrics and Gynecology Journals: a Longitudinal Study (1999-2013).

    PubMed

    Jamali, Jamshid; Salehi-Marzijarani, Mohammad; Ayatollahi, Seyyed Mohammad Taghi

    2014-12-01

    Awareness of the latest scientific research and publishing articles in top journals is one of the major concerns of health researchers. In this study, we first introduced top journals of obstetrics and gynecology field based on their Impact Factor (IF), Eigenfactor Score (ES) and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator indexed in Scopus databases and then the scientometric features of longitudinal changes of SJR in this field were presented. In our analytical and bibiliometric study, we included all the journals of obstetrics and gynecology field which were indexed by Scopus from 1999 to 2013. The scientometric features in Scopus were derived from SCImago Institute and IF and ES were obtained from Journal Citation Report through the Institute for Scientific Information. Generalized Estimating Equation was used to assess the scientometric features affecting SJR. From 256 journals reviewed, 54.2% and 41.8% were indexed in the Pubmed and the Web of Sciences, respectively. Human Reproduction Update based on the IF (5.924±2.542) and SJR (2.682±1.185), and American Journal of obstetrics and gynecology based on the ES (0.05685±0.00633) obtained the first rank among the other journals. Time, Index in Pubmed, H_index, Citable per Document, Cites per Document, and IF affected changes of SJR in the period of study. Our study showed a significant association between SJR and scientometric features in obstetrics and gynecology journals. According to this relationship, SJR may be an appropriate index for assessing journal quality.

  13. The continued movement for open access to peer-reviewed literature.

    PubMed

    Liesegang, Thomas J

    2013-09-01

    To provide a current overview of the movement for open access to the peer review literature. Perspective. Literature review of recent advances in the open access movement with a personal viewpoint of the nuances of the movement. The open access movement is complex, with many different constituents. The idealists for the open access movement are seeking open access to the literature but also to the data that constitute the research within the manuscript. The business model of the traditional subscription journal is being scrutinized in relation to the surge in the number of open access journals. Within this environment authors should beware predatory practices. More government and funding agencies are mandating open access to their funded research. This open access movement will continue to be disruptive until a business model ensures continuity of the scientific record. A flood of open access articles that might enrich, but also might pollute or confuse, the medical literature has altered the filtering mechanism provided by the traditional peer review system. At some point there may be a shake-out, with some literature being lost in cyberspace. The open access movement is maturing and must be embraced in some format. The challenge is to establish a sustainable financial business model that will permit the use of digital technology but yet not endanger the decades-old traditional publication model and peer review system. Authors seem to be slower in adopting open access than the idealists in the movement. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Developing and Managing a Local Digital Archive for Integrated Access to Journals and Other Publications.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stackpole, Laurie

    2001-01-01

    The Naval Research Laboratory Library has made significant progress providing its distributed user community with a single point-of-access to information needed to support scientific research through TORPEDO "Ultra," a digital archive that in many respects functions as an electronic counterpart of a traditional library. It consists of…

  15. Using Remote Access to Scientific Instrumentation to Create Authentic Learning Activities in Pharmaceutical Analysis

    PubMed Central

    Albon, Simon P.; Cancilla, Devon A.; Hubball, Harry

    2006-01-01

    Objectives To pilot test and evaluate a gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) case study as a teaching and learning tool. Design A case study incorporating remote access to a GCMS instrument through the Integrated Laboratory Network (ILN) at Western Washington University was developed and implemented. Student surveys, faculty interviews, and examination score data were used to evaluate learning. Assessment While the case study did not impact final examination scores, approximately 70% of students and all faculty members felt the ILN-supported case study improved student learning about GCMS. Faculty members felt the “live” instrument access facilitated more authentic teaching. Students and faculty members felt the ILN should continue to be developed as a teaching tool. Conclusion Remote access to scientific instrumentation can be used to modify case studies to enhance student learning and teaching practice in pharmaceutical analysis. PMID:17149450

  16. Going beyond the textbook: The need to integrate open access primary literature into the Chemistry curriculum

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Unrestricted, open access to scholarly scientific literature provides an opportunity for chemistry educators to go beyond the textbook, introducing students to the real work of scientists. Despite the best efforts of textbook authors to provide information about recent research results, textbooks are not a substitute for learning to use the primary literature. Chemical educators can use open access articles to develop research-related skills, to foster curiosity, and to cultivate the next generation of scientists. It is becoming increasingly important for chemical educators to teach undergraduates how online journals are changing the nature of chemical research. Some institutions can not afford online subscription costs, and open access journals can be an important resource to provide practical experience. Open access publications eliminate the barriers to the central work of scientists providing chemistry educators (whether at well-endowed or economically limited colleges) with the key resources for enhancing student learning through current, relevant research. PMID:21470429

  17. Achieving Open Access to Conservation Science

    PubMed Central

    Fuller, Richard A; Lee, Jasmine R; Watson, James E M

    2014-01-01

    Conservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay-per-view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per-article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation-oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees. Obtención de Acceso Abierto a la Ciencia de la Conservación Resumen La ciencia de la conservación es una

  18. Factors Affecting Journal Quality Indicator in Scopus (SCImago Journal Rank) in Obstetrics and Gynecology Journals: a Longitudinal Study (1999-2013)

    PubMed Central

    Jamali, Jamshid; Salehi-Marzijarani, Mohammad; Ayatollahi, Seyyed Mohammad Taghi

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: Awareness of the latest scientific research and publishing articles in top journals is one of the major concerns of health researchers. In this study, we first introduced top journals of obstetrics and gynecology field based on their Impact Factor (IF), Eigenfactor Score (ES) and SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator indexed in Scopus databases and then the scientometric features of longitudinal changes of SJR in this field were presented. Method and material: In our analytical and bibiliometric study, we included all the journals of obstetrics and gynecology field which were indexed by Scopus from 1999 to 2013. The scientometric features in Scopus were derived from SCImago Institute and IF and ES were obtained from Journal Citation Report through the Institute for Scientific Information. Generalized Estimating Equation was used to assess the scientometric features affecting SJR. Result: From 256 journals reviewed, 54.2% and 41.8% were indexed in the Pubmed and the Web of Sciences, respectively. Human Reproduction Update based on the IF (5.924±2.542) and SJR (2.682±1.185), and American Journal of obstetrics and gynecology based on the ES (0.05685±0.00633) obtained the first rank among the other journals. Time, Index in Pubmed, H_index, Citable per Document, Cites per Document, and IF affected changes of SJR in the period of study. Discussion: Our study showed a significant association between SJR and scientometric features in obstetrics and gynecology journals. According to this relationship, SJR may be an appropriate index for assessing journal quality. PMID:25684846

  19. Surprise Value in Scientific Discourse.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Huckin, Thomas N.

    An analysis of journal articles from physics and molecular biology carried out with the help of six specialists in those disciplines reveals that scientists read journal articles by searching for the most newsworthy information, a behavior similar to that of newspaper readers. For this reason the scientific journal article is gradually taking on…

  20. Virtual slides in peer reviewed, open access medical publication

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background Application of virtual slides (VS), the digitalization of complete glass slides, is in its infancy to be implemented in routine diagnostic surgical pathology and to issues that are related to tissue-based diagnosis, such as education and scientific publication. Approach Electronic publication in Pathology offers new features of scientific communication in pathology that cannot be obtained by conventional paper based journals. Most of these features are based upon completely open or partly directed interaction between the reader and the system that distributes the article. One of these interactions can be applied to microscopic images allowing the reader to navigate and magnify the presented images. VS and interactive Virtual Microscopy (VM) are a tool to increase the scientific value of microscopic images. Technology and Performance The open access journal Diagnostic Pathology http://www.diagnosticpathology.org has existed for about five years. It is a peer reviewed journal that publishes all types of scientific contributions, including original scientific work, case reports and review articles. In addition to digitized still images the authors of appropriate articles are requested to submit the underlying glass slides to an institution (DiagnomX.eu, and Leica.com) for digitalization and documentation. The images are stored in a separate image data bank which is adequately linked to the article. The normal review process is not involved. Both processes (peer review and VS acquisition) are performed contemporaneously in order to minimize a potential publication delay. VS are not provided with a DOI index (digital object identifier). The first articles that include VS were published in March 2011. Results and Perspectives Several logistic constraints had to be overcome until the first articles including VS could be published. Step by step an automated acquisition and distribution system had to be implemented to the corresponding article. The acceptance of

  1. Open access publishing: a study of current practices in orthopaedic research.

    PubMed

    Sabharwal, Sanjeeve; Patel, Nirav; Johal, Karanjeev

    2014-06-01

    Open access (OA) publications have changed the paradigm of dissemination of scientific research. Their benefits to low-income countries underline their value; however, critics question exorbitant publication fees as well as their effect on the peer review process and research quality. This study reports on the prevalence of OA publishing in orthopaedic research and compares benchmark citation indices as well as evidence quality derived from OA journals with conventional subscription based orthopaedic journals. All 63 orthopaedic journals listed in ISI's Web of Knowledge Journal Citation Report (JCR) were examined. Bibliometric data attributed to each journal for the year 2012 was acquired from the JCR. Studies that fulfilled the criteria of level I evidence were identified for each journal within PubMed. Individual journal websites were reviewed to identify their open access policy. A total of 38 (60.3 %) journals did not offer any form of OA publishing; however, 20 (31.7 %) hybrid journals were identified which offered authors the choice to publish their work as OA if a publication fee was paid. Only five (8 %) journals published all their articles as OA. There was variability amongst the different publication fees for OA articles. Journals that published OA articles did not differ from subscription based journals on the basis of 2012 impact factor, citation number, self citation proportion or the volume of level I evidence published (p > 0.05). OA journals are present in orthopaedic research, though in small numbers. Over a third of orthopaedic journals catalogued in the ISI Web of Knowledge JCR® are hybrid journals that provide authors with the opportunity to publish their articles as OA after a publication fee is paid. This study suggests equivalent importance and quality of articles between OA and subscription based orthopaedic journals based on bibliometric data and the volume of level I evidence produced. Orthopaedic researchers must recognize the

  2. Discriminating Between Legitimate and Predatory Open Access Journals: Report from the International Federation for Emergency Medicine Research Committee

    PubMed Central

    Hansoti, Bhakti; Langdorf, Mark I.; Murphy, Linda S.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Open access (OA) medical publishing is growing rapidly. While subscription-based publishing does not charge the author, OA does. This opens the door for “predatory” publishers who take authors’ money but provide no substantial peer review or indexing to truly disseminate research findings. Discriminating between predatory and legitimate OA publishers is difficult. Methods We searched a number of library indexing databases that were available to us through the University of California, Irvine Libraries for journals in the field of emergency medicine (EM). Using criteria from Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado librarian and an expert on predatory publishing, and the Research Committee of the International Federation for EM, we categorized EM journals as legitimate or likely predatory. Results We identified 150 journal titles related to EM from all sources, 55 of which met our criteria for OA (37%, the rest subscription based). Of these 55, 25 (45%) were likely to be predatory. We present lists of clearly legitimate OA journals, and, conversely, likely predatory ones. We present criteria a researcher can use to discriminate between the two. We present the indexing profiles of legitimate EM OA journals, to inform the researcher about degree of dissemination of research findings by journal. Conclusion OA journals are proliferating rapidly. About half in EM are legitimate. The rest take substantial money from unsuspecting, usually junior, researchers and provide no value for true dissemination of findings. Researchers should be educated and aware of scam journals. PMID:27625710

  3. Discriminating Between Legitimate and Predatory Open Access Journals: Report from the International Federation for Emergency Medicine Research Committee.

    PubMed

    Hansoti, Bhakti; Langdorf, Mark I; Murphy, Linda S

    2016-09-01

    Open access (OA) medical publishing is growing rapidly. While subscription-based publishing does not charge the author, OA does. This opens the door for "predatory" publishers who take authors' money but provide no substantial peer review or indexing to truly disseminate research findings. Discriminating between predatory and legitimate OA publishers is difficult. We searched a number of library indexing databases that were available to us through the University of California, Irvine Libraries for journals in the field of emergency medicine (EM). Using criteria from Jeffrey Beall, University of Colorado librarian and an expert on predatory publishing, and the Research Committee of the International Federation for EM, we categorized EM journals as legitimate or likely predatory. We identified 150 journal titles related to EM from all sources, 55 of which met our criteria for OA (37%, the rest subscription based). Of these 55, 25 (45%) were likely to be predatory. We present lists of clearly legitimate OA journals, and, conversely, likely predatory ones. We present criteria a researcher can use to discriminate between the two. We present the indexing profiles of legitimate EM OA journals, to inform the researcher about degree of dissemination of research findings by journal. OA journals are proliferating rapidly. About half in EM are legitimate. The rest take substantial money from unsuspecting, usually junior, researchers and provide no value for true dissemination of findings. Researchers should be educated and aware of scam journals.

  4. Auto-correlation of journal impact factor for consensus research reporting statements: a cohort study.

    PubMed

    Shanahan, Daniel R

    2016-01-01

    journal in which a reporting statement was published was shown to influence the number of citations that statement will gather over time. Similarly, the number of article accesses also influenced the number of citations, although to a lesser extent than the impact factor. This demonstrates that citation counts are not purely a reflection of scientific merit and the impact factor is, in fact, auto-correlated.

  5. Quality of pharmaceutical advertising and gender bias in medical journals (1998-2008): a review of the scientific literature.

    PubMed

    Cambronero Saiz, Belén; Ruiz Cantero, María Teresa; Papí Gálvez, Natalia

    2012-01-01

    To review the scientific literature on pharmaceutical advertising aimed at health professionals in order to determine whether gender bias has decreased and the quality of information in pharmaceutical advertising has improved over time. We performed a content analysis of original articles dealing with medical drug promotion (1998-2008), according to quality criteria such as (a) the number, validity and accessibility of bibliographic references provided in pharmaceutical advertising and (b) the extent to which gender representations were consistent with the prevalence of the diseases. Databases: PUBMED, Medline, Scopus, Sociological Abstract, Eric and LILACS. We reviewed 31 articles that analyzed advertising in medical journals from 1975-2005 and were published between 1998 and 2008. We found that the number of references used to support pharmaceutical advertising claims increased from 1975 but that 50% of these references were not valid. There was a tendency to depict men in paid productive roles, while women appeared inside the home or in non-occupational social contexts. Advertisements for psychotropic and cardiovascular drugs overrepresented women and men respectively. The use of bibliographic references increased between 1998 and 2008. However, representation of traditional male-female roles was similar in 1975 and 2005. Pharmaceutical advertisements may contribute to reinforcing the perception that certain diseases are associated with the most frequently portrayed sex. Copyright © 2011 SESPAS. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  6. Public availability of research data in dentistry journals indexed in Journal Citation Reports.

    PubMed

    Vidal-Infer, Antonio; Tarazona, Beatriz; Alonso-Arroyo, Adolfo; Aleixandre-Benavent, Rafael

    2018-01-01

    Dentistry is a medical discipline with an increasing scientific production in the last years. Due to the importance of data sharing in science, this study aims at analyzing the availability of raw data in articles from scientific journals indexed in the Dentistry category of the 2014 edition of the Journal Citation Reports. A review of the 88 websites of journals from the Dentistry category was conducted to determine the data-sharing editorial policies. Furthermore, a search in the PubMed Central repository to collect information about the characteristics of the supplementary material of articles from those journals was carried out. The possibility of publishing a supplementary material was higher in the first quartile journals. A percentage of 7.6% of the articles registered in PubMed Central contained a supplementary material, especially text documents, but the presence of spreadsheets was scarce. There is a relationship between openness policies and the impact of the journals according to their quartile or position ranking by the impact factor in the JCR, but the willingness of sharing raw data in spreadsheets format is still limited. This study will reveal the resources of raw data which will improve quality of research and clinical practice.

  7. Information sources in biomedical science and medical journalism: methodological approaches and assessment.

    PubMed

    Miranda, Giovanna F; Vercellesi, Luisa; Bruno, Flavia

    2004-09-01

    Throughout the world the public is showing increasing interest in medical and scientific subjects and journalists largely spread this information, with an important impact on knowledge and health. Clearly, therefore, the relationship between the journalist and his sources is delicate: freedom and independence of information depend on the independence and truthfulness of the sources. The new "precision journalism" holds that scientific methods should be applied to journalism, so authoritative sources are a common need for journalists and scientists. We therefore compared the individual classifications and methods of assessing of sources in biomedical science and medical journalism to try to extrapolate scientific methods of evaluation to journalism. In journalism and science terms used to classify sources of information show some similarities, but their meanings are different. In science primary and secondary classes of information, for instance, refer to the levels of processing, but in journalism to the official nature of the source itself. Scientists and journalists must both always consult as many sources as possible and check their authoritativeness, reliability, completeness, up-to-dateness and balance. In journalism, however, there are some important differences and limits: too many sources can sometimes diminish the quality of the information. The sources serve a first filter between the event and the journalist, who is not providing the reader with the fact, but with its projection. Journalists have time constraints and lack the objective criteria for searching, the specific background knowledge, and the expertise to fully assess sources. To assist in understanding the wealth of sources of information in journalism, we have prepared a checklist of items and questions. There are at least four fundamental points that a good journalist, like any scientist, should know: how to find the latest information (the sources), how to assess it (the quality and

  8. Acknowledgement of reviewer services to the International Journal Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van der Meer, Freek

    2017-06-01

    Peer review is the backbone of the scientific process. In 2016 a total of 866 scientist provided reviewer services for the International Journal Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation. Frequent reviewers receive a recognition from the publisher in form of a Certificate of Outstanding Contribution in Reviewing and receive a 30 days free access to Scopus and ScienceDirect. More importantly they gain first hand insight into the latest developments in science as they are the first to read exciting new scientific papers. Nevertheless it is hard to find reviewers as the number of papers submitted to our journal has increased substantially over the last years and more remote sensing journals are put in the market each year. We are grateful to all those individuals that have devoted their precious time to reviewing papers for JAG. This has improved the quality of our communications which is well reflected in the number of citations our papers receive and the impact factor of the journal. JAG ranks third of all 28 remote sensing journals not the least because of the quality of the reviews we provide. As a token of our appreciation it is my pleasure to thank all reviewers that were active in 2016 on behalf of the editorial board, the associate editors, the Publisher and myself as Editor-in-Chief of JAG. To honor them we list all reviewers that provide four or more reviews in 2016:

  9. Traditional Chinese Medical Journals currently published in mainland China.

    PubMed

    Fan, Wei-Yu; Tong, Yuan-Yuan; Pan, Yan-Li; Shang, Wen-Ling; Shen, Jia-Yi; Li, Wei; Li, Li-Jun

    2008-06-01

    Traditional Chinese Medical (TCM) journals have been playing an important role in scholarly communication in China. However, the information in those periodicals was not enough for international readers. This study aims to provide an overview of TCM journals in China. TCM journals currently published in mainland China were identified from Chinese databases and journal subscription catalogs. Data on publication start year, publishing region, language, whether core journals, whether indexed in famous international databases, with/without accessible URL were investigated, and subjects of journals were categorized. One hundred and forty-nine (149) TCM journals are currently published in mainland China; 88.59% of them are academic journals. The subjects of those journals are various, ranging from the general TCM, integrative medicine, herbal medicines, to veterinary TCM. The publishing areas are distributed in 27 regions, with Beijing having the most TCM journals published. One hundred and forty-two (142) of those periodicals are in Chinese, while 4 are also in English, and 3 in other languages. Only 8 TCM journals were recognized as core journals, and 5 were identified as both core journals and journals with high impacted articles by all evaluation systems in China. A few of the TCM journals from mainland China are indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE (10), EMBASE (5), Biological Abstracts (2), or AMED (1). Online full-text Chinese databases CJFD, COJ, and CSTPD cover most of TCM the journals published in the country. One hundred (100) TCM journals have accessible URLs, but only 3 are open access with free full texts. Publication of TCM journals in China has been active in academic communication in the past 20 years. However, only a few of them received recognized high evaluation. English information from them is not sufficient. Open access is not extensively acceptable. The accessibility of those journals to international readers needs to be improved.

  10. Best Practices for Making Scientific Data Discoverable and Accessible through Integrated, Standards-Based Data Portals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lucido, J. M.

    2013-12-01

    Scientists in the fields of hydrology, geophysics, and climatology are increasingly using the vast quantity of publicly-available data to address broadly-scoped scientific questions. For example, researchers studying contamination of nearshore waters could use a combination of radar indicated precipitation, modeled water currents, and various sources of in-situ monitoring data to predict water quality near a beach. In discovering, gathering, visualizing and analyzing potentially useful data sets, data portals have become invaluable tools. The most effective data portals often aggregate distributed data sets seamlessly and allow multiple avenues for accessing the underlying data, facilitated by the use of open standards. Additionally, adequate metadata are necessary for attribution, documentation of provenance and relating data sets to one another. Metadata also enable thematic, geospatial and temporal indexing of data sets and entities. Furthermore, effective portals make use of common vocabularies for scientific methods, units of measure, geologic features, chemical, and biological constituents as they allow investigators to correctly interpret and utilize data from external sources. One application that employs these principles is the National Ground Water Monitoring Network (NGWMN) Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/ngwmn), which makes groundwater data from distributed data providers available through a single, publicly accessible web application by mediating and aggregating native data exposed via web services on-the-fly into Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) compliant service output. That output may be accessed either through the map-based user interface or through the aforementioned OGC web services. Furthermore, the Geo Data Portal (http://cida.usgs.gov/climate/gdp/), which is a system that provides users with data access, subsetting and geospatial processing of large and complex climate and land use data, exemplifies the application of International Standards

  11. Open access to biomedical engineering publications.

    PubMed

    Flexman, Jennifer A

    2008-01-01

    Scientific research is disseminated within the community and to the public in part through journals. Most scientific journals, in turn, protect the manuscript through copyright and recover their costs by charging subscription fees to individuals and institutions. This revenue stream is used to support the management of the journal and, in some cases, professional activities of the sponsoring society such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). For example, the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) manages seven academic publications representing the various areas of biomedical engineering. New business models have been proposed to distribute journal articles free of charge, either immediately or after a delay, to enable a greater dissemination of knowledge to both the public and the scientific community. However, publication costs must be recovered and likely at a higher cost to the manuscript authors. While there is little doubt that the foundations of scientific publication will change, the specifics and implications of an open source framework must be discussed.

  12. Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: A Step Forward towards an International Journal

    PubMed Central

    Ghazli, Nur Farahin; Che Annual, Norfatiha; Abdullah, Jafri Malin

    2015-01-01

    In 1986, the Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences (MJMS) began as the small and newly established journal Diagnosa, established by the Universiti Sains Malaysia School of Medicine. After 28 years in the publishing industry, we have received the honor of a listing as a local journal in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) created by Thomson Reuters (TR) to spotlight emerging high-quality scientific publications. The editorial team of MJMS looks forward to the next step in the march of progress toward the status of an international journal. PMID:28223878

  13. Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences: A Step Forward towards an International Journal.

    PubMed

    Ghazli, Nur Farahin; Che Annual, Norfatiha; Abdullah, Jafri Malin

    2015-11-01

    In 1986, the Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences (MJMS) began as the small and newly established journal Diagnosa, established by the Universiti Sains Malaysia School of Medicine. After 28 years in the publishing industry, we have received the honor of a listing as a local journal in the Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI) created by Thomson Reuters (TR) to spotlight emerging high-quality scientific publications. The editorial team of MJMS looks forward to the next step in the march of progress toward the status of an international journal.

  14. What kind of a life for a scientific journal?

    PubMed

    Perbal, Bernard

    2015-09-01

    In June 2015, Thomson Reuters informed our publisher Springer that the Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling, the official journal of the International CCN Society, « had been selected for coverage in Thomson Reuter's products and services. Beginning with V. 1 (1) 2007, this publication would be indexed and abstracted in Science Citation Index Expanded (also known as SciSearch), Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition, Biological Abstracts and BIOSIS Previews ». In this fall editorial I briefly revisit a few milestones of the JCCS life since it was first created in 1988, with the deep and genuine willingness to help in the dissemination, in the highly competitive world of publishing, of the best quality science regarding the roles of CCN proteins in signaling.

  15. Our Journal Unites Us: Global Responsibilities and Possibilities for Pediatric Physical Therapy.

    PubMed

    Van Sant, Ann F

    2018-04-01

    This article was designed to describe personal and social responsibilities for strengthening the science of pediatric physical therapy and effective international research collaboration and communication. Common flaws in research design and analysis are reviewed with recommendations for developing research students' design and analytical skills. Our social responsibility to be informed by global knowledge is highlighted. Barriers to scientific collaboration and communication including international disparities in scientific development and language barriers are presented. Suggestions to reduce these barriers are outlined. The importance of free access to scientific literature in developing countries is reviewed. The journal should assume a leadership role in building a strong science of pediatric physical therapy through encouraging personal and social responsibility in research and serving as a model of international collaboration and communication. Treatment for children with movement disorders will be improved by stronger science, international collaboration, and communication.

  16. Scholarly Communication in AERA Journals, 1931 to 2014

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vanderstraeten, Raf; Vandermoere, Frédéric; Hermans, Maarten

    2016-01-01

    Scientific disciplines build on social structures, such as scholarly associations and scholarly journals, that facilitate the formation of communities of specialists. Analyses of such social structures can thus also be used to shed light on the morphogenesis of scientific specializations. The authors analyze how two journals of the American…

  17. Expanding Access: An Evaluation of ReadCube Access as an ILL Alternative.

    PubMed

    Grabowsky, Adelia

    2016-01-01

    ReadCube Access is a patron-driven, document delivery system that provides immediate access to articles from journals owned by Nature Publishing Group. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of ReadCube Access as an interlibrary loan (ILL) alternative for nonsubscribed Nature journals at Auburn University, a research university with a School of Pharmacy and a School of Veterinary Medicine. An analysis of ten months' usage and costs are presented along with the results of a user satisfaction survey. Auburn University Libraries found ReadCube to be an acceptable alternative to ILL for unsubscribed Nature journals and at current levels of use and cost, consider ReadCube to be financially sustainable.

  18. Open access for the non-English-speaking world: overcoming the language barrier

    PubMed Central

    Fung, Isaac CH

    2008-01-01

    This editorial highlights the problem of language barrier in scientific communication in spite of the recent success of Open Access Movement. Four options for English-language journals to overcome the language barrier are suggested: 1) abstracts in alternative languages provided by authors, 2) Wiki open translation, 3) international board of translator-editors, and 4) alternative language version of the journal. The Emerging Themes in Epidemiology announces that with immediate effect, it will accept translations of abstracts or full texts by authors as Additional files. Editorial note: In an effort towards overcoming the language barrier in scientific publication, ETE will accept translations of abstracts or the full text of published articles. Each translation should be submitted separately as an Additional File in PDF format. ETE will only peer review English-language versions. Therefore, translations will not be scrutinized in the review-process and the responsibility for accurate translation rests with the authors. PMID:18173854

  19. Scientific misconduct encountered by APAME journals: an online survey.

    PubMed

    Looi, Lai-Meng; Wong, Li Xuan; Koh, Cing Chai

    2015-12-01

    In June 2015, invitations were sent by email to 151 APAME journals to participate in an online survey with an objective of gaining insight into the common publication misconduct encountered by APAME editors. The survey, conducted through SurveyMonkey over a 20-day-period, comprised 10 questions with expansions to allow anecdotes limited to 400 characters, estimated to take less than 10 minutes to complete. Only one invitation was issued per journal, targeting (in order of priority) editors, editorial board members and editorial staff, and limited by email availability. 54 (36%) journals responded. 98% of respondents held Editor or Editorial Board positions. All respondent journals have editorial policies on publication ethics and 96% provide instructions related to ethics. 45% use anti-plagiarism software to screen manuscripts, the most popular being iThenticate, CrossCheck and Turnitin. Up to 50% of journals had encountered studies without IRB approval. Author misconduct encountered were (in rank order): plagiarism (75%), duplicate publication (58%), unjustified authorship (39%), authorship disputes (33%), data falsification (29%), data/image manipulation (27%), conflict of interest (25%), copyright violation (17%) and breach of confidentiality (10%). Reviewer misconduct encountered were: conflict of interest (19%), plagiarism (17%), obstructive behavior (17%), abusive language (13%) and breach of confidentiality (13%). Notwithstanding the limitations of the survey and the response rate, a few insights have been gained: (1) the need for strengthening the ethical culture of researchers/authors and reviewers, (2) anti-plagiarism software can improve plagiarism detection by about 15%, and (3) the need for technical support to detect plagiarism, duplicate publication and image manipulation.

  20. EDP Sciences and A&A: partnering to providing services to support the scientific community

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henri, Agnes

    2015-08-01

    Scholarly publishing is no longer about simply producing and packaging articles and sending out to subscribers. To be successful, as well as being global and digital, Publishers and their journals need to be fully engaged with their stakeholders (authors, readers, funders, libraries etc), and constantly developing new products and services to support their needs in the ever-changing environment that we work in.Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a high quality, major international Journal that belongs to the astronomical communities of a consortium of European and South American countries supported by ESO who sponsor the journal. EDP Sciences is a non-profit publisher belonging to several learned societies and is appointed by ESO to publish the journal.Over the last decade, as well as publishing the results of worldwide astronomical and astrophysical research, A&A and EDP Sciences have worked in partnership to develop a wide range of services for the authors and readers of A&A:- A specialist language editing service: to provide a clear and excellent level of English ensuring full understanding of the high-quality science.- A flexible and progressive Open Access Policy including Gold and Green options and strong links with arXiv.- Enriched articles: authors are able to enhance their articles using a wide range of rich media such as 3D models, videos and animations.Multiple publishing formats: allowing readers to browse articles on multiple devices including eReaders and Kindles.- “Scientific Writing for Young Astronomers”: In 2008 EDP Sciences and A&A set up the Scientific Writing for Young Astronomers (SWYA) School with the objective to teach early PhD Students how write correct and efficient scientific papers for different mediums (journals, proceedings, thesis manuscripts, etc.).

  1. Where to publish? Some considerations among English-language addiction journals.

    PubMed

    Arciniega, L T; Miller, W R

    1997-12-01

    A search and survey of specialty periodicals in the addiction field identified 35 English-language scientific journals that publish unsolicited research manuscripts. Among these, the typical addiction journal publishes a variety of types of articles in one of many different citation and referencing formats, releases four issues per year to about 1000 subscribers, annually receives more than 100 manuscripts for scientific review, and accepts 53 of them to be published without payment of an author fee. Together these 35 addiction journals publish over 1700 new articles each year. Addiction journals vary widely in acceptance rates, ranging from 26% to 95%, and averaging 53%. For better or worse, these journals offer ample opportunity for the reporting of scientific data in the addiction field.

  2. The Future of Research Publishing: The eReport and eJournal.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krantz, Murray

    2003-01-01

    Considers the future of online publication of scientific journals and how electronic research reports (eReports) and electronic research journals (eJournals) will change the way research is reported, disseminated, consumed, and conducted by the scientific community. Suggests there will be a more interactive dynamic discourse between authors and…

  3. Chemical datuments as scientific enablers.

    PubMed

    Rzepa, Henry S

    2013-01-23

    This article is an attempt to construct a chemical datument as a means of presenting insights into chemical phenomena in a scientific journal. An exploration of the interactions present in a small fragment of duplex Z-DNA and the nature of the catalytic centre of a carbon-dioxide/alkene epoxide alternating co-polymerisation is presented in this datument, with examples of the use of three software tools, one based on Java, the other two using Javascript and HTML5 technologies. The implications for the evolution of scientific journals are discussed.

  4. Chemical datuments as scientific enablers

    PubMed Central

    2013-01-01

    This article is an attempt to construct a chemical datument as a means of presenting insights into chemical phenomena in a scientific journal. An exploration of the interactions present in a small fragment of duplex Z-DNA and the nature of the catalytic centre of a carbon-dioxide/alkene epoxide alternating co-polymerisation is presented in this datument, with examples of the use of three software tools, one based on Java, the other two using Javascript and HTML5 technologies. The implications for the evolution of scientific journals are discussed. PMID:23343381

  5. Purchasing online journal access for a hospital medical library: how to identify value in commercially available products.

    PubMed

    Carter, Thomas P; Carter, Anne O; Broomes, Gwendolyn

    2006-07-12

    Medical practice today requires evaluating large amounts of information which should be available at all times. This information is found most easily in a digital form. Some information has already been evaluated for validity (evidence based medicine sources) and some is in unevaluated form (paper and online journals). In order to improve access to digital information, the School of Clinical Medicine and Research at the University of the West Indies and Queen Elizabeth Hospital decided to enhance the library by offering online full text medical articles and evidence based medicine sources. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the relative value of online journal commercial products available for a small hospital and medical school library. Three reference standards were chosen to represent the ideal list of core periodicals for a broad range of medical care: 2 Brandon/Hill selected lists of journals for the small medical library (BH and BH core) and the academic medical library core journal collection chosen for the Florida State University College of Medicine Medical Library. Six commercially available collections were compared to the reference standards and to the current paper journal subscription list as regards to number of journals matched and cost per journal matched. Ease of use and presence of secondary sources were also considered. The cost per journal matched ranged from US $3194 to $81. Because of their low subscription prices, the Biomedical Reference Collection and Proquest products were the most cost beneficial. However, they provided low coverage of the ideal lists (12-17% and 21-32% respectively) and contained significant embargoes on current editions, were not user friendly and contained no secondary sources. The Ovid Brandon/Hill Plus Collection overcame these difficulties but had a much higher cost-benefit range while providing higher coverage of the ideal lists (14-47%). After considering costs, benefits, ease of use, embargoes, presence of

  6. Scientific Platform as a Service - Tools and solutions for efficient access to and analysis of oceanographic data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vines, Aleksander; Hansen, Morten W.; Korosov, Anton

    2017-04-01

    Existing infrastructure international and Norwegian projects, e.g., NorDataNet, NMDC and NORMAP, provide open data access through the OPeNDAP protocol following the conventions for CF (Climate and Forecast) metadata, designed to promote the processing and sharing of files created with the NetCDF application programming interface (API). This approach is now also being implemented in the Norwegian Sentinel Data Hub (satellittdata.no) to provide satellite EO data to the user community. Simultaneously with providing simplified and unified data access, these projects also seek to use and establish common standards for use and discovery metadata. This then allows development of standardized tools for data search and (subset) streaming over the internet to perform actual scientific analysis. A combinnation of software tools, which we call a Scientific Platform as a Service (SPaaS), will take advantage of these opportunities to harmonize and streamline the search, retrieval and analysis of integrated satellite and auxiliary observations of the oceans in a seamless system. The SPaaS is a cloud solution for integration of analysis tools with scientific datasets via an API. The core part of the SPaaS is a distributed metadata catalog to store granular metadata describing the structure, location and content of available satellite, model, and in situ datasets. The analysis tools include software for visualization (also online), interactive in-depth analysis, and server-based processing chains. The API conveys search requests between system nodes (i.e., interactive and server tools) and provides easy access to the metadata catalog, data repositories, and the tools. The SPaaS components are integrated in virtual machines, of which provisioning and deployment are automatized using existing state-of-the-art open-source tools (e.g., Vagrant, Ansible, Docker). The open-source code for scientific tools and virtual machine configurations is under version control at https

  7. Rewriting the Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fredette, Michelle

    2012-01-01

    With faculty balking at the price of academic journals, can other digital publishing options get traction? University libraries are no strangers to one of the most popular online alternatives, the open-access archive. These archives enable scholars to upload work--including drafts of articles that are published later in subscription journals--so…

  8. The ranking of scientists based on scientific publications assessment.

    PubMed

    Zerem, Enver

    2017-11-01

    It is generally accepted that the scientific impact factor (Web of Science) and the total number of citations of the articles published in a journal, are the most relevant parameters of the journal's significance. However, the significance of scientists is much more complicated to establish and the value of their scientific production cannot be directly reflected by the importance of the journals in which their articles are published. Evaluating the significance of scientists' accomplishments involves more complicated metrics than just their publication records. Based on a long term of academic experience, the author proposes objective criteria to estimate the scientific merit of an individual's publication record. This metric can serve as a pragmatic tool and the nidus for discussion within the readership of this journal. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. [Bibliometric study of scientific output published by the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health from 1997-2012].

    PubMed

    Sanz-Valero, Javier; Casterá, Vicente Tomás; Wanden-Berghe, Carmina

    2014-02-01

    To characterize the scientific output of the Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública/Pan American Journal of Public Health (RPSP) as a scientific publication of reference in the public health sector in the Americas. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted based on the articles published in the RPSP from 1997-2012. Bibliometric indicators of productivity (documents published, languages, authorship, and indices of productivity and collaboration); impact (impact factor according to the SciELO Network, Journal Citation Report and SCImago); key words; and bibliographic references, their structure (document type and main nucleus of Bradford) and degree of obsolescence (Burton and Kebler half-life, and Price index), were analyzed. A total of 2 815 articles with a median of 3 authors and 2 institutions per article were published. The percentage of original research articles increased in 2008-2012 compared to 2003-2007 and 1997-2002 (P < 0.001). The predominant language was Spanish, displaced by English in the last 5 years. A total of 88.76% of the key words referred to the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) and had a public health and community orientation related to the Americas. The Burton and Kebler half-life of bibliographic references was 8 years, although it decreased to 5 years in 2012. The Price index was 20.47% and the nucleus of Bradford was made up of 20 mainstream journals. The percentage of self-citation was low (2.07%). The RPSP is an international publication with bibliometric indicators similar to those of the most representative Latin American health science journals, with improvements in the recent years studied that lead it to fully meet international publishing criteria.

  10. The European physical and rehabilitation medicine journal network: historical notes on national journals.

    PubMed

    Negrini, S; Ilieva, E; Moslavac, S; Zampolini, M; Giustini, A

    2010-06-01

    In the last 40 years, physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) has made significant steps forward in Europe with the foundation of the European Federation of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (EFPMR) (1963) which gave rise to the European Society of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ESPRM) (2004) the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (1970), the PRM Section of the European Union of Medical Specialists (1974), and the European Board of PRM (1991). Our journal, formerly Europa Medico-physica (1964), the official journal of the EFPMR, now European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (EJPRM) and official journal of the ESPRM since 2008, is distinct for its steadfast European vocation, long-standing Mediter-ranean interests and connections with various national scientific societies. Jointly with the ESPRM, efforts are under way to set up the European Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Journal Network (EPRMJN). The aim of this article is to present a profile of the national journals in the EPRMJN so as to give a better overview of how the scientific part of PRM in Europe has developed within a national perspective. A profile of the following national journals is presented: Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (France), Fizikalna i rehabilitacijska medicina (Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine) (Croatia), Neurorehabilitation (Bulgaria), Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Portuguese Society Journal (Portugal), Physical Medicine, Rehabilitaton, Health (Bulgaria), Physikalische Medizin - Rehabilitationsmedizin - Kurort-medizin/Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (Germany and Austria) Prevention and Rehabilitation (Bulgaria), Rehabilitacija (Rehabilitation) (Slovenia), Rehabilitación (Madr) (Spain), Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Turkey). Some national journals in Europe have a very long history and tradition of research and education. Having a better knowledge of these realities, usually

  11. Development of Disruptive Open Access Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anderson, Terry; McConkey, Brigette

    2009-01-01

    Open access (OA) publication has emerged, with disruptive effects, as a major outlet for scholarly publication. OA publication is usually associated with on-line distribution and provides access to scholarly publications to anyone, anywhere--regardless of their ability to pay subscription fees or their association with an educational institution.…

  12. The Disconnect Between Journalism and Science and its Role in Public Misunderstanding of Important Scientific Issues

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yulsman, T.

    2006-12-01

    Research shows that Americans' knowledge of science is sorely inaccurate. U.S. adults get most of their knowledge from the popular media, so it has been claimed that problems with media coverage of science are to blame. But this is a simplistic analysis. At their roots, scientific and journalistic modes of inquiry actually share two important normative standards: empiricism and skepticism. On the other hand, news and new scientific knowledge are two very different things. News gathering is guided in large measure by criteria that help journalists decide what is worth covering, as well as by standards of fairness and balance. The overarching goal is to report on things considered newsworthy in a neutral manner. In science, the goal is to ruthlessly discard incorrect ideas to get at the truth about nature. This talk will examine the "good" -- the normative standards that journalists and scientists share, as well as the "bad" -- how the significant disconnects between science and journalism may be contributing to a lack of public understanding of critical scientific issues such as climate change. Among the questions that will be addressed: How do journalists decide what is news? How does science fare when these newsworthiness standards are applied to it? How does the journalistic standard of balance result in inaccurate reporting on climate change? And how might we improve the situation by enhancing communication between scientists and journalist?

  13. [Productivity of doctoral programs in Psychology with Quality Mention in journal articles included in Journal Citation Reports].

    PubMed

    Musi-Lechuga, Bertha; Olivas-Ávila, José; Castro, Angel

    2011-08-01

    The main objective of the present study was to classify doctoral programs with Quality Mention in Psychology based on their scientific productivity. For this purpose, articles in the Web of Science published by professors teaching in these doctoral programs were analyzed. In addition, we analyzed scientific journals in which these professors tend to publish more papers and the evolution in the number of papers published until 2009. Results showed that the most productive doctoral program was the Neurosciences program at the University of Oviedo. This program showed a ratio of 40 articles--published in journals included in Journal Citation Reports--by each professor. In contrast, other programs did not reach a ratio of 10 articles per professor. Regarding journals, results showed that 9 out of the 20 most popular journals are Hispanic and a gradual increase in the number of published papers was also observed. Lastly, results and implications for quality assessment are discussed.

  14. [New bibliometric indicators for the scientific literature: an evolving panorama].

    PubMed

    La Torre, G; Sciarra, I; Chiappetta, M; Monteduro, A

    2017-01-01

    Bibliometrics is a science which evaluates the impact of the scientific work of a journal or of an author, using mathematical and statistical tools. Impact Factor (IF) is the first bibliometric parameter created, and after it many others have been progressively conceived in order to go beyond its limits. Currently bibliometric indexes are used for academic purposes, among them to evaluate the eligibility of a researcher to compete for the National Scientific Qualification, in order to access to competitive exams to become professor. Aim of this study is to identify the most relevant bibliometric indexes and to summarized their characteristics. A revision of bibliometric indexes as been conducted, starting from the classic ones and completing with the most recent ones. The two most used bibliometric indexes are the IF, which measures the scientific impact of a periodical and bases on Web of Science citation database, and the h-index, which measures the impact of the scientific work of a researcher, basing on Scopus database. Besides them other indexes have been created more recently, such as the SCImago Journal Rank Indicator (SJR), the Source Normalised Impact per Paper (SNIP) and the CiteScore index. They are all based on Scopus database and evaluate, in different ways, the citational impact of a periodic. The i10-index instead is provided from Google Scholar database and allows to evaluate the impact of the scientific production of a researcher. Recently two softwares have been introduced: the first one, Publish or Perish, allows to evaluate the scientific work of a researcher, through the assessment of many indexes; the second one, Altmetric, measure the use in the Web of the academic papers, instead of measuring citations, by means of alternative metrics respect to the traditional ones. Each analized index shows advantages but also criticalities. Therefore the combined use of more than one indexes, citational and not, should be preferred, in order to correctly

  15. [Scientific production in online journals on the practice of psychological harassment: an integrative review].

    PubMed

    Cahú, Graziela Pontes Ribeiro; Rosenstock, Karelline Izaltemberg Vasconcelos; da Costa, Solange Fátima Geraldo; Leite, Alice Iana Tavares; Costa, Isabelle Cristinne Pinto; Gomes e Claudino, Hellen

    2011-09-01

    The discussion about the practice of psychological harassment has gained notoriety due to the intensification and the severity of the phenomenon in various scenarios, such as educational institutions, public agencies and private companies. This study aims to characterize the scientific production about the scenarios of psychological harassment in online journals in the areas of Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities from 2002 to 2010. This is an integrative literature review. Its sample consists of 24 publications. The survey revealed that most of the publications were made from 2005 to 2010. Highlighted areas of knowledge were Health Sciences and Humanities. We identified three scenarios of psychological harrassment: education institutions, public agencies and private companies. We conclude that psychological harrassment affects workers employed in various work scenarios, and that the discussion about this phenomenon stands in the interdisciplinary field.

  16. [Increasing difficulties for scientific publication in Venezuela].

    PubMed

    Ryder, Elena

    2014-03-01

    A very important increase in the costs of the edition of scientific journals has taken place in Venezuela, due to difficulties in obtaining imported free acid paper and other materials used for handling documents. Like other journals, Investigaci6n Clinica has been considering switching completely to a digital publication format; however there are several reasons that prevent us to doing it at this time: the journal is distributed in printed form to many national institutions, which do not have immediate access to digital information. In addition, there exists a commitment of shipment of printed issues for some international indices and in exchange with other national and foreign journals, whose printed format we receive. Another important aspect is that our University maintains a weak technological platform that makes difficult the immediacy required for the interchange with authors and consulted referees of received papers; and there is a latent danger of limitations in the use of digital technologies, due to current national politic problems. Consequently, we need to continue with the printed format, but must reduce the amount of printed issues, so as not to limit the number of papers published in each edition. Nevertheless, there is an ever increasing number of contributions from foreign researches and Investigaci6n Clinica has been recently included in two new international indices, the SEIIC from Argentina and the Infobase Index from India, reasons that obligate us to maintain our levels of excellence and commitment to our authors and readers.

  17. Multiple Motives, Conflicting Conceptions: Parsing the Contexts of Differentiated Access to Scientific Information in the Federal Government

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oltmann, Shannon M.

    2012-01-01

    Scientific information, used by the U.S. federal government to formulate public policy in many arenas, is frequently contested and sometimes altered, blocked from publication, deleted from reports, or restricted in some way. This dissertation examines how and why restricted access to science policy (RASP) occurs through a comparative case study.…

  18. Journaling: A Bridge between School and Home

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    McGough, Julie

    2013-01-01

    This article describes how first-grade students create meaningful communication with families and help build the student-teacher-parent relationship through journaling. Journals are a useful tool to bridge school and home. A journal can communicate learning goals, develop scientific vocabulary, and create dialogue through oral and written…

  19. How do medical student journals fare? A global survey of journals run by medical students.

    PubMed

    Alamri, Yassar

    2016-01-01

    Medical students have made significant contributions to the medical and scientific fields in the past. Today, medical students still contribute to biomedical research; however, they often face disappointment from journals when trying to publish their findings. This led to the development of medical student journals, which take a more "student-friendly" approach. This article reviews the current medical student journals published in English and sheds light on current trends and challenges.

  20. Scientific publications in Nepal.

    PubMed

    Magar, A

    2012-09-01

    Scientific publications have become a mainstay of communication among readers, academicians, researchers and scientists worldwide. Although, its existence dates back to 17 th century in the West, Nepal is still struggling to take few steps towards improving its local science for last 50 years. Since the start of the first medical journal in 1963, the challenges remains as it were decades back regarding role of authors, peer reviewers, editors and even publishers in Nepal. Although, there has been some development in terms of the number of articles being published and appearances of the journals, yet there is a long way to go. This article analyzes the past and present scenario, and future perspective for scientific publications in Nepal.

  1. A Case Study in E-Journal Developments: The Scandinavian Position.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Joa, Harald

    1997-01-01

    Provides an overview of peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly electronic journals in Scandinavia from a publisher's point of view. Discusses the electronic journals market in Scandinavia, international electronic publishing, the Institute for Scientific Information's Electronic Library Project, the one-stop shopping concept, and copyright and…

  2. Scientific publications in international anaesthesiology journals: a 10-year survey.

    PubMed

    Li, Z; Qiu, L-X; Wu, F-X; Yang, L-Q; Sun, S; Yu, W F

    2011-03-01

    Significant growth has been seen in the field of anaesthesiology in recent decades. The current geographic distribution of the publications on anaesthesia research may be different from ten years ago. We performed this literature survey to examine the national origin of articles published in international anaesthesiology journals and to evaluate their contribution to anaesthesia research. Articles published in 18 major anaesthesiology journals from 2000 to 2009 were identified from the PubMed database and the Science Citation Index. A total of 30,191 articles were published in the selected 18 journals from 2000 to 2009. The country responsible for the largest number of articles was the United States of America (29.4%), followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia and France. Denmark, Switzerland and Finland had the largest number of articles per capita. Anesthesia & Analgesia published the most number of articles from 2000 to 2009, followed by Anesthesiology, Pain and the British Journal of Anaesthesia. The numbers of clinical studies and randomised controlled trials decreased markedly from 2000 to 2009.

  3. Bibliometric analysis of regional Latin America's scientific output in Public Health through SCImago Journal & Country Rank

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background In the greater framework of the essential functions of Public Health, our focus is on a systematic, objective, external evaluation of Latin American scientific output, to compare its publications in the area of Public Health with those of other major geographic zones. We aim to describe the regional distribution of output in Public Health, and the level of visibility and specialization, for Latin America; it can then be characterized and compared in the international context. Methods The primary source of information was the Scopus database, using the category “Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health”, in the period 1996–2011. Data were obtained through the portal of SCImago Journal and Country Rank. Using a set of qualitative (citation-based), quantitative (document recount) and collaborative (authors from more than one country) indicators, we derived complementary data. The methodology serves as an analytical tool for researchers and scientific policy-makers. Results The contribution of Latin America to the arsenal of world science lies more or less midway on the international scale in terms of its output and visibility. Revealed as its greatest strengths are the high level of specialization in Public Health and the sustained growth of output. The main limitations identified were a relative decrease in collaboration and low visibility. Conclusions Collaboration is a key factor behind the development of scientific activity in Latin America. Although this finding can be useful for formulating research policy in Latin American countries, it also underlines the need for further research into patterns of scientific communication in this region, to arrive at more specific recommendations. PMID:24950735

  4. Rapid Scientific Promotion of Scientific Productions in Stem Cells According to The Indexed Papers in The ISI (web of knowledge).

    PubMed

    Alijani, Rahim

    2015-01-01

    In recent years emphasis has been placed on evaluation studies and the publication of scientific papers in national and international journals. In this regard the publication of scientific papers in journals in the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) database is highly recommended. The evaluation of scientific output via articles in journals indexed in the ISI database will enable the Iranian research authorities to allocate and organize research budgets and human resources in a way that maximises efficient science production. The purpose of the present paper is to publish a general and valid view of science production in the field of stem cells. In this research, outputs in the field of stem cell research are evaluated by survey research, the method of science assessment called Scientometrics in this branch of science. A total of 1528 documents was extracted from the ISI database and analysed using descriptive statistics software in Excel. The results of this research showed that 1528 papers in the stem cell field in the Web of Knowledge database were produced by Iranian researchers. The top ten Iranian researchers in this field have produced 936 of these papers, equivalent to 61.3% of the total. Among the top ten, Soleimani M. has occupied the first place with 181 papers. Regarding international scientific participation, Iranian researchers have cooperated to publish papers with researchers from 50 countries. Nearly 32% (452 papers) of the total research output in this field has been published in the top 10 journals. These results show that a small number of researchers have published the majority of papers in the stem cell field. International participation in this field of research unacceptably low. Such participation provides the opportunity to import modern science and international experience into Iran. This not only causes scientific growth, but also improves the research and enhances opportunities for employment and professional development. Iranian

  5. Dynamic file-access characteristics of a production parallel scientific workload

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Kotz, David; Nieuwejaar, Nils

    1994-01-01

    Multiprocessors have permitted astounding increases in computational performance, but many cannot meet the intense I/O requirements of some scientific applications. An important component of any solution to this I/O bottleneck is a parallel file system that can provide high-bandwidth access to tremendous amounts of data in parallel to hundreds or thousands of processors. Most successful systems are based on a solid understanding of the expected workload, but thus far there have been no comprehensive workload characterizations of multiprocessor file systems. This paper presents the results of a three week tracing study in which all file-related activity on a massively parallel computer was recorded. Our instrumentation differs from previous efforts in that it collects information about every I/O request and about the mix of jobs running in a production environment. We also present the results of a trace-driven caching simulation and recommendations for designers of multiprocessor file systems.

  6. Journal impact factors and the influence of age and number of citations

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    The impact factor (IF) of a scientific journal is considered a measure of how important a journal is within its discipline, and it is based on a simple relationship between the number of citations of the journal’s articles divided by the number of articles in the scientific journal (http://en.wikipe...

  7. What's science? Where's science? Science journalism in German print media.

    PubMed

    Summ, Annika; Volpers, Anna-Maria

    2016-10-01

    This article examines the current state of science coverage in German print media. It deals with the following questions: (1) how the main characteristics of science journalism can be described, (2) whether there is a difference between various scientific fields, and (3) how different definitions of science journalism lead to differing findings. Two forms of science coverage were analyzed in a standardized, two-part content analysis of German newspapers (N = 1730 and N = 1640). The results show a significant difference between a narrow and a broad definition of science journalism. In the classic understanding, science journalism is prompted by scientific events and is rather noncritical. Science coverage in a broad sense is defined by a wider range of journalistic styles, driven by non-scientific events, and with a focus on the statements of scientific experts. Furthermore, the study describes the specific role of the humanities and social sciences in German science coverage. © The Author(s) 2015.

  8. An international survey and modified Delphi process revealed editors’ perceptions, training needs, and ratings of competency-related statements for the development of core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals

    PubMed Central

    Galipeau, James; Cobey, Kelly D.; Barbour, Virginia; Baskin, Patricia; Bell-Syer, Sally; Deeks, Jonathan; Garner, Paul; Shamseer, Larissa; Sharon, Straus; Tugwell, Peter; Winker, Margaret; Moher, David

    2017-01-01

    Background: Scientific editors (i.e., those who make decisions on the content and policies of a journal) have a central role in the editorial process at biomedical journals. However, very little is known about the training needs of these editors or what competencies are required to perform effectively in this role. Methods: We conducted a survey of perceptions and training needs among scientific editors from major editorial organizations around the world, followed by a modified Delphi process in which we invited the same scientific editors to rate the importance of competency-related statements obtained from a previous scoping review. Results: A total of 148 participants completed the survey of perceptions and training needs. At least 80% of participants agreed on six of the 38 skill and expertise-related statements presented to them as being important or very important to their role as scientific editors. At least 80% agreed on three of the 38 statements as necessary skills they perceived themselves as possessing (well or very well).  The top five items on participants’ list of top training needs were training in statistics, research methods, publication ethics, recruiting and dealing with peer reviewers, and indexing of journals. The three rounds of the Delphi were completed by 83, 83, and 73 participants, respectively, which ultimately produced a list of 23 “highly rated” competency-related statements and another 86 “included” items. Conclusion: Both the survey and the modified Delphi process will be critical for understanding knowledge and training gaps among scientific editors when designing curriculum around core competencies in the future. PMID:28979768

  9. An international survey and modified Delphi process revealed editors' perceptions, training needs, and ratings of competency-related statements for the development of core competencies for scientific editors of biomedical journals.

    PubMed

    Galipeau, James; Cobey, Kelly D; Barbour, Virginia; Baskin, Patricia; Bell-Syer, Sally; Deeks, Jonathan; Garner, Paul; Shamseer, Larissa; Sharon, Straus; Tugwell, Peter; Winker, Margaret; Moher, David

    2017-01-01

    Background: Scientific editors (i.e., those who make decisions on the content and policies of a journal) have a central role in the editorial process at biomedical journals. However, very little is known about the training needs of these editors or what competencies are required to perform effectively in this role. Methods: We conducted a survey of perceptions and training needs among scientific editors from major editorial organizations around the world, followed by a modified Delphi process in which we invited the same scientific editors to rate the importance of competency-related statements obtained from a previous scoping review. Results: A total of 148 participants completed the survey of perceptions and training needs. At least 80% of participants agreed on six of the 38 skill and expertise-related statements presented to them as being important or very important to their role as scientific editors. At least 80% agreed on three of the 38 statements as necessary skills they perceived themselves as possessing (well or very well).  The top five items on participants' list of top training needs were training in statistics, research methods, publication ethics, recruiting and dealing with peer reviewers, and indexing of journals. The three rounds of the Delphi were completed by 83, 83, and 73 participants, respectively, which ultimately produced a list of 23 "highly rated" competency-related statements and another 86 "included" items. Conclusion: Both the survey and the modified Delphi process will be critical for understanding knowledge and training gaps among scientific editors when designing curriculum around core competencies in the future.

  10. Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center (DDEAMC) Staff Preferences: Electronic Journals versus Print Journals

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2003-04-01

    Access Cost Benefit Analysis. Journal of Academic Librarianship , 22(2), 105-9. Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations...Electronic Journal Use in an Academic Health Science Library. Issues in Science and Technology Librarianship , 00(0), 1-7. Retrieved September 23, 2002

  11. Open Access Centre at the Nature Research Centre: a facility for enhancement of scientific research, education and public outreach in Lithuania

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Šerpenskienė, Silvija; Skridlaitė, Gražina

    2014-05-01

    Open Access Centre (OAC) was established in Vilnius, Lithuania in 2013 as a subdivision of the Nature Research Centre (NRC) operating on the principle of open access for both internal and external users. The OAC consists of 15 units, i.e. 15 NRC laboratories or their branches. Forty four sets of research equipment were purchased. The OAC cooperates with Lithuanian science and studies institutions, business sector and other governmental and public institutions. Investigations can be carried in the Geosciences, Biotaxonomy, Ecology and Molecular Research, and Ecotoxicology fields. Environmental radioactivity, radioecology, nuclear geophysics, microscopic and chemical composition of natural compounds (minerals, rocks etc.), paleomagnetic, magnetic and environmental investigations, as well as ground and water contamination by oil products and other organic environment polluting compounds, identification of fossils, rocks and minerals can be studied in the Georesearch field. Ecosystems and identification of plants, animals and microorganisms are main subjects of the Biotaxonomy, Ecology and Molecular Research field. The Ecotoxicologal Research deals with toxic and genotoxic effects of toxic substances and other sources of pollution on macro- and microorganisms and cell cultures. Open access is guaranteed by: (1) providing scientific research and experimental development services; (2) implementing joint business and science projects; (3) using facilities for the training of specialists of the highest qualifications; (4) providing properly qualified and technically trained users with opportunities to carry out their scientific research and/or experiments in the OAC laboratories by themselves. Services provided in the Open Access Centre can be received by both internal and external users: persons undertaking innovative economic activities, students of other educational institutions, interns, external teams of researchers engaged in scientific research activities, teachers

  12. Biomedical research platforms and their influence on article submissions and journal rankings: An update.

    PubMed Central

    Lippi, Giuseppe; Favaloro, Emmanuel J; Simundic, Ana-Maria

    2012-01-01

    After being indexed in 2006 in EMBASE/Excerpta Medica and Scopus, and later in Science Citation Index Expanded and Journal Citation Reports/Science Edition citation databases, Biochemia Medica launched a new web page and online manuscript submission system in 2010, and celebrated its first Impact Factor in the same year. Now, starting from the end of the 2011, the journal will also be indexed in PubMed/Medline, and this will contribute to increase the journal’s exposure and accessibility worldwide. This is an important breakthrough, which is expected to further increase the popularity of the journal, as well as the submission rate and citations. Although several tools are currently available as Web resources to retrieve scientific articles, whose functioning and basic criteria are thought to be rather similar, the functionality, coverage, notoriety and prominence may differ widely. The recent indexing of Biochemia Medica in PubMed/Medline has thereby given us the opportunity to provide a timely update on biomedical research platforms, their relationship with article submissions and journal rankings. PMID:22384515

  13. Open Access Publishing in the Field of Medical Informatics.

    PubMed

    Kuballa, Stefanie

    2017-05-01

    The open access paradigm has become an important approach in today's information and communication society. Funders and governments in different countries stipulate open access publications of funded research results. Medical informatics as part of the science, technology and medicine disciplines benefits from many research funds, such as National Institutes of Health in the US, Wellcome Trust in UK, German Research Foundation in Germany and many more. In this study an overview of the current open access programs and conditions of major journals in the field of medical informatics is presented. It was investigated whether there are suitable options and how they are shaped. Therefore all journals in Thomson Reuters Web of Science that were listed in the subject category "Medical Informatics" in 2014 were examined. An Internet research was conducted by investigating the journals' websites. It was reviewed whether journals offer an open access option with a subsequent check of conditions as for example the type of open access, the fees and the licensing. As a result all journals in the field of medical informatics that had an impact factor in 2014 offer an open access option. A predominantly consistent pricing range was determined with an average fee of 2.248 € and a median fee of 2.207 €. The height of a journals' open access fee did not correlate with the height of its Impact Factor. Hence, medical informatics journals have recognized the trend of open access publishing, though the vast majority of them are working with the hybrid method. Hybrid open access may however lead to problems in questions of double dipping and the often stipulated gold open access.

  14. Impact factor evolution of nursing research journals: 2009 to 2014.

    PubMed

    Cáceres, Macarena C; Guerrero-Martín, Jorge; González-Morales, Borja; Pérez-Civantos, Demetrio V; Carreto-Lemus, Maria A; Durán-Gómez, Noelia

    The use of bibliometric indicators (impact factor [IF], impact index, h-index, etc.) is now believed to be a fundamental measure of the quality of scientific research output. In this context, the presence of scientific nursing journals in international databases and the factors influencing their impact ratings is being widely analyzed. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence of scientific nursing journals in international databases and track the changes in their IF. A secondary analysis was carried out on data for the years 2009 to 2014 held in the JCR database (subject category: nursing). Additionally, the presence of scientific nursing journals in Medline, CINAHL, Scopus, and SJR was analyzed. During the period studied, the number of journals indexed in the JCR under the nursing subject category increased from 70 in 2009 (mean IF: 0.99, standard deviation: 0.53) to 115 in 2014 (mean IF: 1.04, standard deviation: 0.42), of which only 70 were listed for the full six years. Although mean IF showed an upward trend throughout this time, no statistically significant differences were found in the variations to this figure. Although IF and other bibliometric indicators have their limitations, it is nonetheless true that bibliometry is now the most widely used tool for evaluating scientific output in all disciplines, including nursing, highlighting the importance of being familiar with how they are calculated and their significance when deciding the journal or journals in which to publish the results of our research. That said, it is also necessary to consider other possible alternative ways of assessing the quality and impact of scientific contributions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Barriers and Facilitators to Scientific Writing Among Applied Epidemiologists.

    PubMed

    Pittman, Jessica; Stahre, Mandy; Tomedi, Laura; Wurster, Jessica

    Communication in the form of written and oral reports and presentations is a core competency for epidemiologists at governmental public health agencies. Many applied epidemiologists do not publish peer-reviewed articles, limiting the scientific literature of best practices in evidence-based public health. To describe the writing and publishing experiences of applied epidemiologists and identify barriers and facilitators to publishing. Telephone focus groups and an 18-question multiple-choice and short-answer Web-based assessment were fielded in 2014. Six focus groups composed of 26 applied epidemiologists and an online assessment answered by 396 applied epidemiologists. Sample selection was stratified by years of experience. Past publishing experience, current job duties as related to publishing, barriers and facilitators to writing and publishing, and desired training in writing and publishing were assessed through focus groups and the online assessment. Focus groups identified 4 themes: job expectations, barriers to publishing, organizational culture, and the understanding of public health practice among reviewers as issues related to writing and publishing. Most respondents (80%) expressed a desire to publish; however, only 59% had published in a peer-reviewed journal. An academic appointment (among doctoral educated respondents) was identified as a facilitator to publishing as was access to peer-reviewed literature. Time (68%) was identified as the greatest barrier to writing and publishing. Other major barriers included lack of encouragement or support (33%) within the public health agency and agency clearance processes (32%). Assistance with journal selection (62%), technical writing skills (60%), and manuscript formatting (57%) were listed as the most needed trainings. Public health agencies can be facilitators for epidemiologists to contribute to the scientific literature through increasing access to the peer-reviewed literature, creating a supportive

  16. The Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Jones, E.M.

    1995-08-01

    The material included in the Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Journal has been assembled so that an uninitiated reader can understand, in some detail, what happened during Apollo 17 and why and what was learned, particularly about living and working on the Moon. At its heart, the Journal consists a corrected mission transcript which is interwoven with commentary by the crew and by Journal Editor -- commentary which, we hope, will make the rich detail of Apollo 17 accessible to a wide audience. To make the Journal even more accessible, this CD-ROM publication contains virtually all of the Apollo 17 audio,more » a significant fraction of the photographs and a selection of drawings, maps, video clips, and background documents.« less

  17. Comparing published scientific journal articles to their pre-print versions

    DOE PAGES

    Klein, Martin; Broadwell, Peter; Farb, Sharon E.; ...

    2018-02-05

    Academic publishers claim that they add value to scholarly communications by coordinating reviews and contributing and enhancing text during publication. These contributions come at a considerable cost: US academic libraries paid $1.7 billion for serial subscriptions in 2008 alone. Library budgets, in contrast, are flat and not able to keep pace with serial price inflation. Here, we have investigated the publishers’ value proposition by conducting a comparative study of pre-print papers from two distinct science, technology, and medicine corpora and their final published counterparts. This comparison had two working assumptions: (1) If the publishers’ argument is valid, the text ofmore » a pre-print paper should vary measurably from its corresponding final published version, and (2) by applying standard similarity measures, we should be able to detect and quantify such differences. Our analysis revealed that the text contents of the scientific papers generally changed very little from their pre-print to final published versions. These findings contribute empirical indicators to discussions of the added value of commercial publishers and therefore should influence libraries’ economic decisions regarding access to scholarly publications.« less

  18. Comparing published scientific journal articles to their pre-print versions

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Klein, Martin; Broadwell, Peter; Farb, Sharon E.

    Academic publishers claim that they add value to scholarly communications by coordinating reviews and contributing and enhancing text during publication. These contributions come at a considerable cost: US academic libraries paid $1.7 billion for serial subscriptions in 2008 alone. Library budgets, in contrast, are flat and not able to keep pace with serial price inflation. Here, we have investigated the publishers’ value proposition by conducting a comparative study of pre-print papers from two distinct science, technology, and medicine corpora and their final published counterparts. This comparison had two working assumptions: (1) If the publishers’ argument is valid, the text ofmore » a pre-print paper should vary measurably from its corresponding final published version, and (2) by applying standard similarity measures, we should be able to detect and quantify such differences. Our analysis revealed that the text contents of the scientific papers generally changed very little from their pre-print to final published versions. These findings contribute empirical indicators to discussions of the added value of commercial publishers and therefore should influence libraries’ economic decisions regarding access to scholarly publications.« less

  19. Pushing Traditional Publishing Boundaries in the Journal of Astronomy & Earth Science Education JAESE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Slater, T. F.

    2017-12-01

    Responding to the community's need for an archival journal to document program evaluation and educational impact of programs and innovations, the Journal of Astronomy & Earth Science Education (JAESE.org) is a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal designed to serve the discipline-based astronomy, planetary, and geosciences education research community. JAESE's first issue was published on December 31, 2014 and has published four volumes and seven issues since that time. By far, the median article topic has been focused on planetarium education research, while there have only been a few articles on conventional solid-Earth geosciences education research. Although there is not yet an even distribution of topics across the field, there is a relatively even distribution among author demographics. Authors include a range of both junior and senior members of the field. There have been significantly more female authors than male authors. Submissions are distributed as blind-copies to two or three peer reviewers with authors' names and identifying information redacted from the manuscript. The average time to complete the first round of peer-review reviewers is 6.2-weeks. There have been too few manuscripts to reliably publish a "percentage acceptance rate." Taken together, JAESE's guiding Editorial Advisory Board judges this to be a successful first few years. In a purposeful effort to make JAESE authors' scholarly works as widely accessible as possible, JAESE adopted an open-access business model. JAESE articles are available to read free-of-charge over the Internet, delivered as PDFs. To date, the most common way articles are downloaded by readers is through Google Scholar. Instead of charging readers and libraries recurring subscription fees, JAESE charges authors a nominal submission fee and a small open-access fee, averaging about $700 USD. These charges are far lower than the traditional page charges and gold-package open-access fees typically charged to authors or their

  20. So, why do we still have journals?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hut, R.

    2014-12-01

    The academic article is a relic from a bygone age. Form and style have not changed much since the days of Einstein and Wegener, nor have the institutions that publish our academic knowledge. When I google-scholar an article, I do not care if it was published in nature, PNAS, or the annals of the cambodian society of herbologists. I care about the scientific knowledge contained in the article, that I would like to use in my own work. So: why do we have journals again? The journal-based system of scientific publication is cracking under its own weight. The publish or perish culture leads to an ever increasing number of articles, each containing less actual science, because spreading over multiple papers helps your career. Journal editors complain that the average number of scientists that they approach for reviewing has gone up because there is no incentive in being a reviewer, only in being reviewed. And finally: much research money is wasted because reviewers point out fundamental flaws in experiment setups after the fact. In this talk, I will present a new way of publishing scientific knowledge. A departure of the classic systems, my way aims to keep the thoroughness of the peer reviewed system, increase the effective use of funding and make more scientific knowledge publically available. Also, it abolishes the need for journals.

  1. Open access to journal articles in oncology: current situation and citation impact.

    PubMed

    Hua, F; Sun, H; Walsh, T; Glenny, A-M; Worthington, H

    2017-10-01

    Recent years have seen numerous efforts and resources devoted to the development of open access (OA), but the current OA situation of the oncology literature remains unknown. We conducted this cross-sectional study to determine the current share and provision methods of OA in the field of oncology, identify predictors of OA status (OA versus non-OA), and study the association between OA and citation counts. PubMed was searched for oncology-related, peer-reviewed journal articles published in December 2014. Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, ResearchGate, OpenDOAR and OAIster were manually checked to assess the OA status of each included article. Citation data were extracted from Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the OA proportion (primary outcome) and OA provision methods. Multivariable logistic regression and multilevel generalized linear model analyses were performed to study predictors of OA status and the association between OA and citation counts, respectively. In a random sample of 1000 articles, 912 were deemed eligible and therefore included. Of these, the full-texts of 530 articles (58.1%; 95% CI: 54.9-61.3) were freely available online: 314 (34.4%) were available from publishers ('Gold road' to OA), 424 (46.5%) were available via self-archiving ('Green road' to OA). According to multivariable regression analyses, impact factor, publisher type, language, research type, number of authors, continent of origin, and country income were significant predictors of articles' OA status; OA articles received a citation rate 1.24 times the incidence rate for non-OA articles (95% CI: 1.05-1.47; P = 0.012). Based on our sample, in the field of oncology, 42% of recent journal articles are behind the pay-wall (non-OA) 1 year after publication; the 'Green road' of providing OA is more common than the 'Gold road'; OA is associated with higher citation counts. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press

  2. [Use of multiple regression models in observational studies (1970-2013) and requirements of the STROBE guidelines in Spanish scientific journals].

    PubMed

    Real, J; Cleries, R; Forné, C; Roso-Llorach, A; Martínez-Sánchez, J M

    In medicine and biomedical research, statistical techniques like logistic, linear, Cox and Poisson regression are widely known. The main objective is to describe the evolution of multivariate techniques used in observational studies indexed in PubMed (1970-2013), and to check the requirements of the STROBE guidelines in the author guidelines in Spanish journals indexed in PubMed. A targeted PubMed search was performed to identify papers that used logistic linear Cox and Poisson models. Furthermore, a review was also made of the author guidelines of journals published in Spain and indexed in PubMed and Web of Science. Only 6.1% of the indexed manuscripts included a term related to multivariate analysis, increasing from 0.14% in 1980 to 12.3% in 2013. In 2013, 6.7, 2.5, 3.5, and 0.31% of the manuscripts contained terms related to logistic, linear, Cox and Poisson regression, respectively. On the other hand, 12.8% of journals author guidelines explicitly recommend to follow the STROBE guidelines, and 35.9% recommend the CONSORT guideline. A low percentage of Spanish scientific journals indexed in PubMed include the STROBE statement requirement in the author guidelines. Multivariate regression models in published observational studies such as logistic regression, linear, Cox and Poisson are increasingly used both at international level, as well as in journals published in Spanish. Copyright © 2015 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  3. Authorial and institutional stratification in open access publishing: the case of global health research.

    PubMed

    Siler, Kyle; Haustein, Stefanie; Smith, Elise; Larivière, Vincent; Alperin, Juan Pablo

    2018-01-01

    Using a database of recent articles published in the field of Global Health research, we examine institutional sources of stratification in publishing access outcomes. Traditionally, the focus on inequality in scientific publishing has focused on prestige hierarchies in established print journals. This project examines stratification in contemporary publishing with a particular focus on subscription vs. various Open Access (OA) publishing options. Findings show that authors working at lower-ranked universities are more likely to publish in closed/paywalled outlets, and less likely to choose outlets that involve some sort of Article Processing Charge (APCs; gold or hybrid OA). We also analyze institutional differences and stratification in the APC costs paid in various journals. Authors affiliated with higher-ranked institutions, as well as hospitals and non-profit organizations pay relatively higher APCs for gold and hybrid OA publications. Results suggest that authors affiliated with high-ranked universities and well-funded institutions tend to have more resources to choose pay options with publishing. Our research suggests new professional hierarchies developing in contemporary publishing, where various OA publishing options are becoming increasingly prominent. Just as there is stratification in institutional representation between different types of publishing access, there is also inequality within access types.

  4. Authorial and institutional stratification in open access publishing: the case of global health research

    PubMed Central

    Haustein, Stefanie; Smith, Elise; Larivière, Vincent; Alperin, Juan Pablo

    2018-01-01

    Using a database of recent articles published in the field of Global Health research, we examine institutional sources of stratification in publishing access outcomes. Traditionally, the focus on inequality in scientific publishing has focused on prestige hierarchies in established print journals. This project examines stratification in contemporary publishing with a particular focus on subscription vs. various Open Access (OA) publishing options. Findings show that authors working at lower-ranked universities are more likely to publish in closed/paywalled outlets, and less likely to choose outlets that involve some sort of Article Processing Charge (APCs; gold or hybrid OA). We also analyze institutional differences and stratification in the APC costs paid in various journals. Authors affiliated with higher-ranked institutions, as well as hospitals and non-profit organizations pay relatively higher APCs for gold and hybrid OA publications. Results suggest that authors affiliated with high-ranked universities and well-funded institutions tend to have more resources to choose pay options with publishing. Our research suggests new professional hierarchies developing in contemporary publishing, where various OA publishing options are becoming increasingly prominent. Just as there is stratification in institutional representation between different types of publishing access, there is also inequality within access types. PMID:29479492

  5. Media-Savvy Scientific Literacy: Developing Critical Evaluation Skills by Investigating Scientific Claims

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brickman, Peggy; Gormally, Cara; Francom, Greg; Jardeleza, Sarah E.; Schutte, Virginia G. W.; Jordan, Carly; Kanizay, Lisa

    2012-01-01

    Students must learn content knowledge and develop scientific literacy skills to evaluate and use scientific information in real-world situations. Recognizing the accessibility of scientific information to the average citizen, we developed an instructional approach to help students learn how to judge the quality of claims. We describe a…

  6. Publishers Hire PR Firm to Counter Open-Access Publishing Movement: Former Board of "Topology" Starts a Rival Journal

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Susan; Monastersky, Richard

    2007-01-01

    The Association of American Publishers has hired a public-relations firm with a hard-hitting reputation to respond to the open-access-publishing movement, which campaigns for scientific results to be made freely available to the public. The firm, Dezenhall Resources, designs aggressive public-relations campaigns to counter activist groups. The…

  7. Biosecurity policies at international life science journals.

    PubMed

    van Aken, Jan; Hunger, Iris

    2009-03-01

    The prospect of bioterrorism has raised concerns about the potential abuse of scientific information for malign purposes and the pressure on scientific publishers to prevent the publication of "recipes" for weapons of mass destruction. Here we present the results of a survey of 28 major life science journals--20 English-language international journals and 3 Chinese and 5 Russian journals--with regard to their biosecurity policies and procedures. The survey addressed the extent to which life science journals have implemented biosecurity procedures in recent years, how authors and reviewers are advised about these procedures and the underlying concerns, and what the practical experiences have been. Few of the English-language publishers and none of the Russian and Chinese publishers surveyed implement formal biosecurity policies or inform their authors and reviewers about potentially sensitive issues in this area.

  8. Open access and beyond

    PubMed Central

    Mathur, Shawn; Schmidt, Christian; Das, Chhaya; Tucker, Philip W

    2006-01-01

    Uncensored exchange of scientific results hastens progress. Open Access does not stop at the removal of price and permission barriers; still, censorship and reading disabilities, to name a few, hamper access to information. Here, we invite the scientific community and the public to discuss new methods to distribute, store and manage literature in order to achieve unfettered access to literature. PMID:16956402

  9. Open Access and beyond.

    PubMed

    Mathur, Shawn; Schmidt, Christian; Das, Chhaya; Tucker, Philip W

    2006-09-06

    Uncensored exchange of scientific results hastens progress. Open Access does not stop at the removal of price and permission barriers; still, censorship and reading disabilities, to name a few, hamper access to information. Here, we invite the scientific community and the public to discuss new methods to distribute, store and manage literature in order to achieve unfettered access to literature.

  10. Journal pricing issues: an economic perspective.

    PubMed Central

    Hafner, A W; Podsadecki, T J; Whitely, W P

    1990-01-01

    Scientific journal prices have increased markedly in the past two decades, outpacing inflation by severalfold. Such increases challenge the librarian's ability to manage acquisitions resources effectively and threaten the mission of the health sciences library as a resource for present and future scientific information needs. Explanations for serial price increases vary with the point of view considered. Publishers, librarians, faculty, and consumers of scientific information perceive the situation differently. This paper provides an economic analysis of each group's views. Particular emphasis is given to the aspects of journal publishing and pricing that foster price increases. In addition, the paper examines the problems of dual-pricing structures and narrowly focused journals that cater to subspecialties of medicine. Suggested responses to subscription rate increases are offered to curtail further increases and to avoid the potential detrimental effects of reduced library collections. Since one of the underpinnings of education is threatened by reductions in library collections, actions must be taken by publishers, librarians, faculty, and professional associations to ameliorate the present situation and to limit additional increases in serial prices. PMID:2203496

  11. Principles and ethics in scientific communication in biomedicine.

    PubMed

    Donev, Doncho

    2013-12-01

    To present the basic principles and standards of scientific communication and writing a paper, to indicate the importance of honesty and ethical approach to research and publication of results in scientific journals, as well as the need for continuing education in the principles and ethics in science and publication in biomedicine. An analysis of relevant materials and documents, sources from the internet and published literature and personal experience and observations of the author. In the past more than 20 years there is an increasingly emphasized importance of respecting fundamental principles and standards of scientific communication and ethical approach to research and publication of results in peer review journals. Advances in the scientific community is based on honesty and equity of researchers in conducting and publishing the results of research and to develop guidelines and policies for prevention and punishment of publishing misconduct. Today scientific communication standards and definitions of fraud in science and publishing are generally consistent, but vary considerably policies and approach to ethics education in science, prevention and penal policies for misconduct in research and publication of results in scientific journals. It is necessary to further strengthen the capacity for education and research, and raising awareness about the importance and need for education about the principles of scientific communication, ethics of research and publication of results. The use of various forms of education of the scientific community, in undergraduate teaching and postgraduate master and doctoral studies, in order to create an ethical environment, is one of the most effective ways to prevent the emergence of scientific and publication dishonesty and fraud.

  12. Potential predatory and legitimate biomedical journals: can you tell the difference? A cross-sectional comparison.

    PubMed

    Shamseer, Larissa; Moher, David; Maduekwe, Onyi; Turner, Lucy; Barbour, Virginia; Burch, Rebecca; Clark, Jocalyn; Galipeau, James; Roberts, Jason; Shea, Beverley J

    2017-03-16

    The Internet has transformed scholarly publishing, most notably, by the introduction of open access publishing. Recently, there has been a rise of online journals characterized as 'predatory', which actively solicit manuscripts and charge publications fees without providing robust peer review and editorial services. We carried out a cross-sectional comparison of characteristics of potential predatory, legitimate open access, and legitimate subscription-based biomedical journals. On July 10, 2014, scholarly journals from each of the following groups were identified - potential predatory journals (source: Beall's List), presumed legitimate, fully open access journals (source: PubMed Central), and presumed legitimate subscription-based (including hybrid) journals (source: Abridged Index Medicus). MEDLINE journal inclusion criteria were used to screen and identify biomedical journals from within the potential predatory journals group. One hundred journals from each group were randomly selected. Journal characteristics (e.g., website integrity, look and feel, editors and staff, editorial/peer review process, instructions to authors, publication model, copyright and licensing, journal location, and contact) were collected by one assessor and verified by a second. Summary statistics were calculated. Ninety-three predatory journals, 99 open access, and 100 subscription-based journals were analyzed; exclusions were due to website unavailability. Many more predatory journals' homepages contained spelling errors (61/93, 66%) and distorted or potentially unauthorized images (59/93, 63%) compared to open access journals (6/99, 6% and 5/99, 5%, respectively) and subscription-based journals (3/100, 3% and 1/100, 1%, respectively). Thirty-one (33%) predatory journals promoted a bogus impact metric - the Index Copernicus Value - versus three (3%) open access journals and no subscription-based journals. Nearly three quarters (n = 66, 73%) of predatory journals had editors or

  13. [The impact of the annual scientific meetings of the Israel Society of Rheumatology as measured by publication rates of the abstracts in peer-reviewed journals].

    PubMed

    Perez, Shira; Hashkes, Philip J; Uziel, Yosef

    2004-04-01

    We aimed to examine the impact and quality of the research presented in the Israel Society of Rheumatology (ISR) annual scientific meetings by measuring publication rates of the abstracts in peer-reviewed journals and investigating the factors that influenced publication. We examined the outcome of all 79 abstracts submitted to the ISR for the 1998-2000 annual meetings. A MEDLINE search of all abstracts, by authors, topics and keywords was performed. Senior authors of abstracts not found to be published in this search were interviewed regarding publication and factors influencing submission. We described the effect of variable factors on the rate of publication. As of September 2002, 63 (80%) abstracts were published in peer-reviewed journals or are currently in-press. Most abstracts were published in prominent journals (with a high impact factor). The majority of the abstracts (61%) were published in rheumatologic journals, 65% of the studies originated from tertiary centers and 19% of the studies were multicenter. The most common diseases studied were antiphospholipid syndrome (20%), systemic lupus erythematosus (19%) and inflammatory arthritis (18%). Most of the studies were of disease pathogenesis (35%) and clinical manifestations (33%). The most common study designs were basic science (34%). An overall 57% of the studies reported "positive" results and 9% reported "negative" results. None of the factors studied were associated with publication or non-publication. The main cause cited by authors for not publishing their abstract was lack of time to prepare a full paper or a desire to further expand the study. Within this group of 16 authors of abstracts, 11 authors still plan to submit a paper. The ISR annual meetings have an important clinical scientific impact as measured by the high rate of abstracts published as full length articles in leading peer-reviewed journals.

  14. Illogical and Unethical Scientific Sanctions Against Iranian Authors

    PubMed Central

    Zarghami, Mehran

    2013-01-01

    Restriction of free submission of Iranian manuscripts is not a new matter. However, the recent political decision of the USA Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury saying who can and who cannot publish scientific papers in journals is completely against free distribution of data in scholarly and scientific communities and scientific journals and publications which requires discussions and challenges with the statutory authorities. Publishers’ mission requires bringing suit against this illogical and unethical decision. Science should not be involved in the political game of sanctions. Policies of governments and the origins of the manuscript, including the race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and political belief of the authors should not affect the editorial decisions of scientific publications. Declaration of interest: None. PMID:24644503

  15. Illogical and unethical scientific sanctions against Iranian authors.

    PubMed

    Zarghami, Mehran

    2013-01-01

    Restriction of free submission of Iranian manuscripts is not a new matter. However, the recent political decision of the USA Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury saying who can and who cannot publish scientific papers in journals is completely against free distribution of data in scholarly and scientific communities and scientific journals and publications which requires discussions and challenges with the statutory authorities. Publishers' mission requires bringing suit against this illogical and unethical decision. Science should not be involved in the political game of sanctions. Policies of governments and the origins of the manuscript, including the race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, and political belief of the authors should not affect the editorial decisions of scientific publications. None.

  16. Oceans of Data: In what ways can learning research inform the development of electronic interfaces and tools for use by students accessing large scientific databases?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Krumhansl, R. A.; Foster, J.; Peach, C. L.; Busey, A.; Baker, I.

    2012-12-01

    The practice of science and engineering is being revolutionized by the development of cyberinfrastructure for accessing near real-time and archived observatory data. Large cyberinfrastructure projects have the potential to transform the way science is taught in high school classrooms, making enormous quantities of scientific data available, giving students opportunities to analyze and draw conclusions from many kinds of complex data, and providing students with experiences using state-of-the-art resources and techniques for scientific investigations. However, online interfaces to scientific data are built by scientists for scientists, and their design can significantly impede broad use by novices. Knowledge relevant to the design of student interfaces to complex scientific databases is broadly dispersed among disciplines ranging from cognitive science to computer science and cartography and is not easily accessible to designers of educational interfaces. To inform efforts at bridging scientific cyberinfrastructure to the high school classroom, Education Development Center, Inc. and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography conducted an NSF-funded 2-year interdisciplinary review of literature and expert opinion pertinent to making interfaces to large scientific databases accessible to and usable by precollege learners and their teachers. Project findings are grounded in the fundamentals of Cognitive Load Theory, Visual Perception, Schemata formation and Universal Design for Learning. The Knowledge Status Report (KSR) presents cross-cutting and visualization-specific guidelines that highlight how interface design features can address/ ameliorate challenges novice high school students face as they navigate complex databases to find data, and construct and look for patterns in maps, graphs, animations and other data visualizations. The guidelines present ways to make scientific databases more broadly accessible by: 1) adjusting the cognitive load imposed by the user

  17. Medical journals of Nigeria, quo vadis?

    PubMed

    Eke, N; Nkanginieme, K E O

    2002-01-01

    The Nigerian health sector is beset with an underdeveloped Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme, a scarcity of reading materials and the lack of a reading culture. Recent issues of available journals were obtained and read to identify data such as: the ownership and base, presence of mission statement, print quality, administrative and editorial matters, abstract format, CME value of articles, advertisements, subscription information and communication channels and practice. The availability of the journals in the libraries of the three 'first generation' teaching hospitals and accessibility through the Medline were ascertained. Twenty-eight current journals were obtained. Lagos has the highest number of editorial bases. Fifteen journals belong to national medical associations, 2 to regions and 11 to institutions. The journal title was considered appropriate in 13, cover design was good in 15, paper quality was good in 20 and legibility was good in 11 journals. Poor editing was manifested by bad grammar, spelling and punctuation. Six journals contained review articles of good CME value. Eight journals had a full compliment of communication facilities. The existence of a functional independent administrative office or staff was indicated in 7 journals. No journal indicated the dates of submission and acceptance of articles. Twenty-one journals were on the shelf of the library of ABUTH, Zaria. Two journals are accessible through the Medline and another is on-line. Adequate funding and improved management will effectively address most of the problems identified.

  18. Open Access Publishing in the Electronic Age.

    PubMed

    Kovács, Gábor L

    2014-10-01

    The principle of open-access (OA) publishing is more and more prevalent also on the field of laboratory medicine. Open-access journals (OAJs) are available online to the reader usually without financial, legal, or technical barriers. Some are subsidized, and some require payment on behalf of the author. OAJs are one of the two general methods for providing OA. The other one is self-archiving in a repository. The electronic journal of the IFCC (eJIFCC) is a platinum OAJ- i.e. there is no charge to read, or to submit to this journal. Traditionally, the author was required to transfer the copyright to the journal publisher. Publishers claimed this was necessary in order to protect author's rights. However, many authors found this unsatisfactory, and have used their influence to affect a gradual move towards a license to publish instead. Under such a system, the publisher has permission to edit, print, and distribute the article commercially, but the author(s) retain the other rights themselves. An OA mandate is a policy adopted by a research institution, research funder, or government which requires researchers to make their published, peer-reviewed journal articles and conference papers OA by self-archiving their peer-reviewed drafts in a repository ("green OA") or by publishing them in an OAJ ("gold OA"). Creative Commons (CC) is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. The free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use creative work. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of "all rights reserved" to "some rights reserved." OA publishing also raises a number of new ethical problems (e.g. predatory publishers, fake papers). Laboratory scientists are encouraged to publish their scientific results OA (especially in eJIFCC). They should, however, be aware of their rights, institutional mandate

  19. Open access, open education resources and open data in Uganda.

    PubMed

    Salvo, Ivana Di; Mwoka, Meggie; Kwaga, Teddy; Rukundo, Priscilla Aceng; Ernest, Dennis Ssesanga; Osaheni, Louis Aikoriogie; John, Kasibante; Shafik, Kasirye; de Sousa, Agostinho Moreira

    2015-01-01

    As a follow up to OpenCon 2014, International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) students organized a 3 day workshop Open Access, Open Education Resources and Open Data in Kampala from 15-18 December 2014. One of the aims of the workshop was to engage the Open Access movement in Uganda which encompasses the scientific community, librarians, academia, researchers and students. The IFMSA students held the workshop with the support of: Consortium for Uganda University Libraries (CUUL), The Right to Research Coalition, Electronic Information for Libraries (EIFL), Makerere University, International Health Sciences University (IHSU), Pan African Medical Journal (PAMJ) and the Centre for Health Human Rights and Development (CEHURD). All these organizations are based or have offices in Kampala. The event culminated in a meeting with the Science and Technology Committee of Parliament of Uganda in order to receive the support of the Ugandan Members of Parliament and to make a concrete change for Open Access in the country.

  20. Physical Review: a family of journals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sprouse, Gene

    2013-03-01

    The expansion of research in physics in the last 100 years has been reflected in the expansion of the Physical Review(PR). Reviews of Modern Physics was the first ``new'' journal, starting in 1929. Physical Review Letters commenced in 1958, and was the first ``letters'' type of journal for important new results in all fields. By 1970 the Physical Review itself had grown so large that it was necessary to separate it by field into manageable volumes: PRA, PRB, PRC and PRD, and subsequently PRE, which was split off from PRA. More recently, two Special Topics journals for accelerator physics and physics education were pioneers of the open access business model, and the newest member of the family, Physical Review X, continues this trend. PRX is broad scope and very selective, setting it well above many of the new open access journals with a review standard of ``not incorrect.'' Some possible future directions for the Physical Review journals will be discussed.

  1. Retraction policies of high-impact biomedical journals

    PubMed Central

    Atlas, Michel C.

    2004-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose is to review the issue of retraction in the scientific literature and to examine the policies on retraction of major biomedical journals. Method: The historical background of this issue was investigated through a literature search. The Instructions to Authors of 122 major biomedical journals were reviewed for evidence of a policy on the retraction of articles. Editors of those journals with no mention of retraction in their Instructions to Authors were contacted by email and/or postal mail. Results: Sixty-two percent of the journals investigated did not post or report having a policy on issuing retractions. Only twenty-one (18%) did. The remainder did not post any policy and did not respond to inquiries. Discussion: Including policies in Instructions to Authors relating to the principled conduct of research and publication will improve the ethical environment in which the scientific community works. PMID:15098054

  2. [Good ending and better beginning. What future for medical journals?].

    PubMed

    De Fiore, Luca

    2015-12-01

    Scientific journals play an increasingly important role in the dissemination of research results, but also in the adoption of pharmaceutical innovation and technology in medicine. Healthcare decision makers are strongly influenced by the academic literature and for this reason medical journals should retain their independence and autonomy, preventing conflicts of interest. In a recently published editorial, the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine seems to be pleased with the results achieved. On the contrary, according to the editor of a respected specialized cardiovascular journal, Harlan Krumholz, journals are facing a number of important challenges. Medical journals are too expensive, too limited, too unreliable, too focused on wrong metrics, too powerful, too parochial, too static, and too dependent on a distorted model of business. In conclusion, medical journals do not seem to be the most appropriate educational tool in a scientific context that assigns value to transparency and sharing.

  3. Correction and Use of Biomedical Literature Affected by Scientific Misconduct

    PubMed Central

    Neale, Anne Victoria; Northrup, Justin; Dailey, Rhonda; Marks, Ellen; Abrams, Judith

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify and describe published research articles that were named in official findings of scientific misconduct and to investigate compliance with the administrative actions contained in these reports for corrections and retractions, as represented in PubMed. Between 1993 and 2001, 102 articles were named in either the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts (“Findings of Scientific Misconduct”) or the U.S. Office of Research Integrity annual reports as needing retraction or correction. In 2002, 98 of the 102 articles were indexed in PubMed. Eighty-five of these 98 articles had indexed corrections: 47 were retracted; 26 had an erratum; 12 had a correction described in the “comment” field. Thirteen had no correction, but 10 were linked to the NIH Guide “Findings of Scientific Misconduct”, leaving only 3 articles with no indication of any sort of problem. As of May 2005, there were 5,393 citations to the 102 articles, with a median of 26 citations per article (range 0–592). Researchers should be alert to “Comments” linked to the NIH Guide as these are open access, and the “Findings of Scientific Misconduct’ reports are often more informative than the statements about the retraction or correction found in the journals. PMID:17703606

  4. Fake Peer Reviews, the Latest Form of Scientific Fraud, Fool Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fischman, Josh

    2012-01-01

    This article reports on how some scientists impersonate outside reviewers for journals and give high marks to their own manuscripts. Scientists appear to have figured out a new way to avoid any bad prepublication reviews that dissuade journals from publishing their articles: Write positive reviews themselves, under other people's names. In…

  5. How to respond to referee comments for scientific articles?

    PubMed

    Kalemci, Mustafa Serdar; Turna, Burak

    2013-09-01

    Currently, the increasing number of article submissions to scientific journals forces editors to be more selective in their acceptance of papers. Consequently, editors have increased the frequency of their use of scientific referee mechanisms. For many researchers, the publication of a scientific article in a high impact factor journal is a gradual and difficult process. After preparation and submission of a manuscript, one of the most important issue is responding to the comments of referees. However, there is a paucity of published reports in the literature describing how to respond to these comments. The aim of this review is to assist researchers/authors in responding to referee comments as part of the publication process for scientific articles.

  6. [The iberoamerican scientific production in nutritional sciences: the indexation in PubMed and Google Scholar].

    PubMed

    Franco-Pérez, Alvaro Moisés; Sanz-Valero, Javier; Wanden-Berghe, Carmina; Melian-Fleitas, Liliana

    2014-11-01

    Analyze by bibliometric technique, the Iberoamerican scientific literature related to the nutritional sciences and retrieved on main search engines with free access through Internet (PubMed and Google Scholar). Bibliometric analysis of scientific production recovered in the different selected search tools. The data were obtained by applying to each of them, a composed search equation according to the scheme: Population (neoplasms), Intervention (nutritional status), Outcome (quality of life). 789 references were reviewed, 604 of those were papers published in 277 journals, presenting 20 or more references: Supportive Care in Cancer 27 (4.47%; CI 95% 2.82-6.12) and Clinical Nutrition 20 (3.31%; CI 95% 1.88-4.74). Mean age of documents: 8.08 ± 6.40 (CI 95% 7.63-8.53), median 6 years (Burton Kleber Index), maximum 34 years and Price Index of 43.90%. The predominant geographical distribution among the authors was American, while the articles were written primarily in English. Dispersion of literature (Bradford Law): core (1st tertile), 22 journals (7.94%; CI 95% 4.76-11.13) with 202 articles published (33.44%; CI 95% 29.68-37.21). Statistics related to the impact factor of the core: mean 4.033 ± 4.022 and maximum 18,038 (Journal of Clinical Oncology). The studied thematic continues in force according to the current indicators, with a dominance of English as language of publication and United States filiation. The most referenced journals matching with high Impact publications on nutritional sciences and oncology. Highlighting the presence of an Iberoamerican journal (Nutrición Hospitalaria) with a clear international vocation. Copyright AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2014. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

  7. Principles and Ethics in Scientific Communication in Biomedicine

    PubMed Central

    Donev, Doncho

    2013-01-01

    Introduction and aim: To present the basic principles and standards of scientific communication and writing a paper, to indicate the importance of honesty and ethical approach to research and publication of results in scientific journals, as well as the need for continuing education in the principles and ethics in science and publication in biomedicine. Methods: An analysis of relevant materials and documents, sources from the internet and published literature and personal experience and observations of the author. Results: In the past more than 20 years there is an increasingly emphasized importance of respecting fundamental principles and standards of scientific communication and ethical approach to research and publication of results in peer review journals. Advances in the scientific community is based on honesty and equity of researchers in conducting and publishing the results of research and to develop guidelines and policies for prevention and punishment of publishing misconduct. Today scientific communication standards and definitions of fraud in science and publishing are generally consistent, but vary considerably policies and approach to ethics education in science, prevention and penal policies for misconduct in research and publication of results in scientific journals. Conclusion: It is necessary to further strengthen the capacity for education and research, and raising awareness about the importance and need for education about the principles of scientific communication, ethics of research and publication of results. The use of various forms of education of the scientific community, in undergraduate teaching and postgraduate master and doctoral studies, in order to create an ethical environment, is one of the most effective ways to prevent the emergence of scientific and publication dishonesty and fraud. PMID:24505166

  8. Ready! Aim! Fire! targeting the right medical science journal.

    PubMed

    Hardman, Timothy C; Serginson, James M

    2017-09-01

    Inadvertently submitting a paper to a journal that is unlikely to publish it is a waste of resources and ultimately delays dissemination of one's research. A high proportion of manuscripts are rejected by their author's first-choice journal. The aim of the present work was to review guidance provided within the literature for journal selection that might minimize the chance of manuscript rejection. We also consider papers that encompass more than one main medical science and describe the selection process that we used with a paper that was published in Cardiovascular Endocrinology . A database search (Embase, PubMed and Medworm) was performed for all articles published in the scientific literature providing guidance on journal selection. Articles were identified that either had journal selection as their principal topic or included journal selection as part of a broader discussion of publishing. The relative performance of four free-to-use, web-based applications that claim to provide guidance on journal selection was compared. The searches identified 286 hits, of which 249 were in English. Of these papers, 16 discussed journal selection and a further 10 articles were identified from citations within the original 16 articles. Only one article described a comprehensive model for submission decision-making. Identification of appropriate candidate journals by various web-based applications was erratic, with the Jane database providing the most robust suggestions. Our work suggests that little attention has been focused in the scientific literature on the mechanisms that authors use to select a journal for their work. Nevertheless, scientists for the most part seem to have a good sense of where their papers are most likely to be accepted. Beyond ensuring that a manuscript fulfils all the target journal's requirements, the literature suggests that it is important to have an objective view of the scientific contribution or 'value' of your work.

  9. Predatory Open Access in Rehabilitation.

    PubMed

    Manca, Andrea; Martinez, Gianluca; Cugusi, Lucia; Dragone, Daniele; Mercuro, Giuseppe; Deriu, Franca

    2017-05-01

    Increasingly scholars and researchers are being solicited by predatory open access journals seeking manuscript submissions and abusing the author-pays model by charging authors with publishing fees without any or proper peer review. Such questionable editorial practices are threatening the reputation and credibility of scholarly publishing. To date, no investigation has been conducted on this phenomenon in the field of rehabilitation. This study attempts to identify specific predatory journals operating in this field to quantify the phenomenon and its geographic distribution. Beall's List has been used to this end which, although not perfect, is a comprehensive and up-to-date report of predatory publishers. Of the 1113 publishers on the list, 59 journals were identified, for a total of 5610 published articles. The median number of articles published by each journal was 21, and the median amount of article processing charges was $499. Only 1 out of 59 journals was included in the Directory of Open Access Journals, whereas 7 (12%) were indexed by PubMed. Most of the publishers were based in India (36%) followed by the United States (25%) and Pakistan (5%), and 25% were without a verifiable address. The data indicate that the threat of predatory publishing in rehabilitation is real. Physiatrists, physiotherapists, researchers, and academics operating in this field are advised to use the tools available to recognize predatory practices before considering publishing in open access journals. Copyright © 2017 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Semantic networks based on titles of scientific papers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pereira, H. B. B.; Fadigas, I. S.; Senna, V.; Moret, M. A.

    2011-03-01

    In this paper we study the topological structure of semantic networks based on titles of papers published in scientific journals. It discusses its properties and presents some reflections on how the use of social and complex network models can contribute to the diffusion of knowledge. The proposed method presented here is applied to scientific journals where the titles of papers are in English or in Portuguese. We show that the topology of studied semantic networks are small-world and scale-free.

  11. Enabling the Use of Authentic Scientific Data in the Classroom--Lessons Learned from the AccessData and Data Services Workshops

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lynds, S. E.; Buhr, S. M.; Ledley, T. S.

    2007-12-01

    Enabling the Use of Authentic Scientific Data in the Classroom--Lessons Learned from the AccessData and Data Services Workshops Since 2004, the annual AccessData and DLESE Data Services workshops have gathered scientists, data managers, technology specialists, teachers, and curriculum developers to work together creating classroom- ready scientific data modules. Teams of five (one participant from each of the five professions) develop topic- specific online educational units of the Earth Exploration Toolbook (serc.carleton.edu/eet/). Educators from middle schools through undergraduate colleges have been represented, as have scientific data professionals from many organizations across the United States. Extensive evaluation has been included in the design of each workshop. The evaluation results have been used each year to improve subsequent workshops. In addition to refining the format and process of the workshop itself, evaluation data collected reveal attendees' experiences using scientific data for educational purposes. Workshop attendees greatly value the opportunity to network with those of other professional roles in developing a real-world education project using scientific data. Educators appreciate the opportunity to work directly with scientists and technology specialists, while researchers and those in technical fields value the classroom expertise of the educators. Attendees' data use experiences are explored every year. Although bandwidth and connectivity were problems for data use in 2004, that has become much less common over time. The most common barriers to data use cited now are discoverability, data format problems, incomplete data sets, and poor documentation. Most attendees agree that the most useful types of online documentation and user support for scientific data are step-by-step instructions, examples, tutorials, and reference manuals. Satellite imagery and weather data were the most commonly used types of data, and these were often

  12. Seventy Years of the Journal “Medical Archives”

    PubMed Central

    Masic, Izet

    2016-01-01

    This year journal “Medical Archives” celebrates 70th anniversary of its continuing publication. Medical Archives is oldest biomedical journal in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of the oldest medical journals in Europe, established in the year 1947, as official scientific and professional journal of Association of Physicians of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until present Medical Archives has published over 5000 articles. Today Medical Archives is internationally recognized medical peer-reviewed indexed journal, visible in more than 30 international on-line databases. PMID:26980925

  13. [Open availability of articles and raw research data in Spanish pediatrics journals].

    PubMed

    Aleixandre-Benavent, R; Vidal-Infer, A; Alonso-Arroyo, A; González de Dios, J; Ferrer-Sapena, A; Peset, F

    2015-01-01

    The open Access to publications and the raw data allows its re-use and enhances the advancement of science. The aim of this paper is to identify these practices in Spanish pediatrics journals. We reviewed the author's instructions in 13 Spanish pediatrics journals, identifying their open access and deposit policy. Eight journals allow open access without restriction, and 5 provide information on the ability to re-use and depositing data in repositories or websites. Most of the journals have open access, but do not promote the deposit of additional material or articles in repositories or websites. Copyright © 2013 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  14. Author-based journal selection system that helps authors save time in article submission.

    PubMed

    Ozturk, Onur; Ileri, Fatih

    2018-01-01

    Submission to journals takes a lot of time and format related submission requirements vary greatly from one journal to another. Lack of time and motivation in academia reduces scientific outputs and demotivates researchers. Author-based journal selection system (ABJSS) is a platform for pooling manuscripts conceived to minimize the time spent for manuscript submission and to increase scientific output. The system will provide two types of account: "Author" and "Journal Administrator". Each account type will have its own abilities and permissions. The ABJJS system is an ongoing project that will be designed in cooperation with IT experts and academicians and it will be presented to the scientific world as soon as it secures sufficient support.

  15. Accessing and Visualizing scientific spatiotemporal data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Katz, Daniel S.; Bergou, Attila; Berriman, Bruce G.; Block, Gary L.; Collier, Jim; Curkendall, David W.; Good, John; Husman, Laura; Jacob, Joseph C.; Laity, Anastasia; hide

    2004-01-01

    This paper discusses work done by JPL 's Parallel Applications Technologies Group in helping scientists access and visualize very large data sets through the use of multiple computing resources, such as parallel supercomputers, clusters, and grids These tools do one or more of the following tasks visualize local data sets for local users, visualize local data sets for remote users, and access and visualize remote data sets The tools are used for various types of data, including remotely sensed image data, digital elevation models, astronomical surveys, etc The paper attempts to pull some common elements out of these tools that may be useful for others who have to work with similarly large data sets.

  16. Analyzing Data Citations to Assess the Scientific and Societal Value of Scientific Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, R. S.; Downs, R. R.

    2012-12-01

    Stakeholders in the creation, distribution, support, funding, and use of scientific data can benefit by understanding the value that the data have for society and science. For decades, the scientific community has been using citations of articles in the published scientific literature as one of the primary measures used for evaluating the performance of scientists, departments, institutions, and scientific disciplines. Similarly, citations in the published literature of scientific data may be useful for measuring and assessing the value of the scientific data and the performance of the individuals, projects, programs, and organizations that have contributed to the data and their use. The results of citation analysis and other assessments of the value of data also can contribute to planning for future data collection, development, distribution, and preservation efforts. The planned release of new data citation indexes and the more widespread adoption of unique data identifiers and automated attribution mechanisms have the potential to improve significantly the capabilities for analyzing citations of scientific data. In addition, rapid developments in the systems and capabilities for disseminating data, along with education and workforce development on the importance of data attribution and on techniques for data citation, can improve practices for citing scientific data. Such practices need to lead not only to better aggregate statistics about data citation, but also to improved characterization and understanding of the impact of data use in terms of the benefits for science and society. Analyses of citations in the scientific literature were conducted for data that were distributed by an interdisciplinary scientific data center during a five-year period (1997 - 2011), to identify the scientific fields represented by the journals and books in which the data were cited. Secondary citation analysis also was conducted for a sample of scientific publications that used

  17. Digital Scholarship and Open Access

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Losoff, Barbara; Pence, Harry E.

    2010-01-01

    Open access publications provide scholars with unrestricted access to the "conversation" that is the basis for the advancement of knowledge. The large number of open access journals, archives, and depositories already in existence demonstrates the technical and economic viability of providing unrestricted access to the literature that is the…

  18. Examining the Impact of the National Institutes of Health Public Access Policy on the Citation Rates of Journal Articles

    PubMed Central

    De Groote, Sandra L.; Shultz, Mary; Smalheiser, Neil R.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose To examine whether National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded articles that were archived in PubMed Central (PMC) after the release of the 2008 NIH Public Access Policy show greater scholarly impact than comparable articles not archived in PMC. Methods A list of journals across several subject areas was developed from which to collect article citation data. Citation information and cited reference counts of the articles published in 2006 and 2009 from 122 journals were obtained from the Scopus database. The articles were separated into categories of NIH funded, non-NIH funded and whether they were deposited in PubMed Central. An analysis of citation data across a five-year timespan was performed on this set of articles. Results A total of 45,716 articles were examined, including 7,960 with NIH-funding. An analysis of the number of times these articles were cited found that NIH-funded 2006 articles in PMC were not cited significantly more than NIH-funded non-PMC articles. However, 2009 NIH funded articles in PMC were cited 26% more than 2009 NIH funded articles not in PMC, 5 years after publication. This result is highly significant even after controlling for journal (as a proxy of article quality and topic). Conclusion Our analysis suggests that factors occurring between 2006 and 2009 produced a subsequent boost in scholarly impact of PubMed Central. The 2008 Public Access Policy is likely to be one such factor, but others may have contributed as well (e.g., growing size and visibility of PMC, increasing availability of full-text linkouts from PubMed, and indexing of PMC articles by Google Scholar). PMID:26448551

  19. Preparing manuscript: Scientific writing for publication.

    PubMed

    Bajwa, Sukhminder Jit Singh; Sawhney, Chhavi

    2016-09-01

    Publication has become a burning issue among Indian medical fraternity owing to certain academic and professional necessities. The large number of submissions to the anaesthesia journals has resulted in accumulation of too much below average scientific material. A properly written manuscript is the dream of every editor and reviewer. The art of preparing a manuscript can be acquired only by following certain basic rules and technical aspects, besides knowledge and skills. Before preparing the manuscript, a target journal should be considered. All the instructions to the authors pertaining to that particular journal should be followed meticulously before preparing the manuscript for submission. The basic structure of the manuscript to be followed can be summarised by the acronym IMRaD (introduction, methods, results and discussion). The current review article aims to highlight all those mandatory and desirable features which should be kept in consideration while preparing a scientific manuscript for publication.

  20. [Communication of scientific fraud].

    PubMed

    Zeitoun, Jean-David; Rouquette, Sébastien

    2012-09-01

    There is for a scientific journal several levels of communication depending of the degree of suspicion or certainty of a case of error or fraud. The task is increasingly difficult for journal editors as disclosed cases of fraud are more common and scientific communication on this topic is growing. Biomedical fraud is fairly little reported by the mainstream press and causes of this low interest are not currently well understood. The difficulty of processing this type of news for journalists appears to be one possible reason. The potentially numerous and significant consequences of fraud on health professionals are poorly documented. Though it is likely to cause a feeling of distrust and create controversy, the impact of fraud on the general public is poorly studied and appears multifactorial. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  1. The Electronic Astrophysical Journal Letters Project

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalterio, H. J.; Boyce, P. B.; Biemesderfer, C.; Warnock, A., III; Owens, E.; Fullton, J.

    The American Astronomical Society has developed a comprehensive system for the electronic dissemination of refereed astronomical research results. Our current focus is the production of an electronic version of the Astrophysical Journal Letters. With the help of a recent National Science Foundation grant, we have developed a system that includes: LATEX-based manuscript preparation, electronic submission, peer review, production, development of a database of SGML-tagged manuscripts, collection of page charges and other fees, and electronic manuscript storage and delivery. Delivery options include World-Wide Web access through HTML browsers such as Mosaic and Netscape, an email gateway, and a stand-alone client accessible through astronomical software packages such as IRAF. Our goal is to increase the access and usefulness of the journal by providing enhanced features such as faster publication, advanced search capabilities, forward and backward referencing, links to underlying data and links to adjunct materials in a variety of media. We have based our journal on open standards and freely available network tools wherever possible.

  2. Use of scientific social networking to improve the research strategies of PubMed readers.

    PubMed

    Evdokimov, Pavel; Kudryavtsev, Alexey; Ilgisonis, Ekaterina; Ponomarenko, Elena; Lisitsa, Andrey

    2016-02-18

    Keeping up with journal articles on a daily basis is an important activity of scientists engaged in biomedical research. Usually, journal articles and papers in the field of biomedicine are accessed through the Medline/PubMed electronic library. In the process of navigating PubMed, researchers unknowingly generate user-specific reading profiles that can be shared within a social networking environment. This paper examines the structure of the social networking environment generated by PubMed users. A web browser plugin was developed to map [in Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms] the reading patterns of individual PubMed users. We developed a scientific social network based on the personal research profiles of readers of biomedical articles. A browser plugin is used to record the digital object identifier or PubMed ID of web pages. Recorded items are posted on the activity feed and automatically mapped to PubMed abstract. Within the activity feed a user can trace back previously browsed articles and insert comments. By calculating the frequency with which specific MeSH occur, the research interests of PubMed users can be visually represented with a tag cloud. Finally, research profiles can be searched for matches between network users. A social networking environment was created using MeSH terms to map articles accessed through the Medline/PubMed online library system. In-network social communication is supported by the recommendation of articles and by matching users with similar scientific interests. The system is available at http://bioknol.org/en/.

  3. Literature information in PubChem: associations between PubChem records and scientific articles.

    PubMed

    Kim, Sunghwan; Thiessen, Paul A; Cheng, Tiejun; Yu, Bo; Shoemaker, Benjamin A; Wang, Jiyao; Bolton, Evan E; Wang, Yanli; Bryant, Stephen H

    2016-01-01

    PubChem is an open archive consisting of a set of three primary public databases (BioAssay, Compound, and Substance). It contains information on a broad range of chemical entities, including small molecules, lipids, carbohydrates, and (chemically modified) amino acid and nucleic acid sequences (including siRNA and miRNA). Currently (as of Nov. 2015), PubChem contains more than 150 million depositor-provided chemical substance descriptions, 60 million unique chemical structures, and 225 million biological activity test results provided from over 1 million biological assay records. Many PubChem records (substances, compounds, and assays) include depositor-provided cross-references to scientific articles in PubMed. Some PubChem contributors provide bioactivity data extracted from scientific articles. Literature-derived bioactivity data complement high-throughput screening (HTS) data from the concluded NIH Molecular Libraries Program and other HTS projects. Some journals provide PubChem with information on chemicals that appear in their newly published articles, enabling concurrent publication of scientific articles in journals and associated data in public databases. In addition, PubChem links records to PubMed articles indexed with the Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) controlled vocabulary thesaurus. Literature information, both provided by depositors and derived from MeSH annotations, can be accessed using PubChem's web interfaces, enabling users to explore information available in literature related to PubChem records beyond typical web search results. Graphical abstractLiterature information for PubChem records is derived from various sources.

  4. Seabird databases and the new paradigm for scientific publication and attribution

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hatch, Scott A.

    2010-01-01

    For more than 300 years, the peer-reviewed journal article has been the principal medium for packaging and delivering scientific data. With new tools for managing digital data, a new paradigm is emerging—one that demands open and direct access to data and that enables and rewards a broad-based approach to scientific questions. Ground-breaking papers in the future will increasingly be those that creatively mine and synthesize vast stores of data available on the Internet. This is especially true for conservation science, in which essential data can be readily captured in standard record formats. For seabird professionals, a number of globally shared databases are in the offing, or should be. These databases will capture the salient results of inventories and monitoring, pelagic surveys, diet studies, and telemetry. A number of real or perceived barriers to data sharing exist, but none is insurmountable. Our discipline should take an important stride now by adopting a specially designed markup language for annotating and sharing seabird data.

  5. [Evaluation of formal elements of Spanish pediatrics journals].

    PubMed

    Aleixandre-Benavent, R; González de Dios, J; Valderrama-Zurián, F J; Bolaños Pizarro, M; Valderrama-Zurián, J C

    2007-03-01

    Standardization of scientific journals is indispensable for accurate transmission of knowledge, since it guarantees the universality and reproducibility of research. The objective of this study was to evaluate the formal elements of Spanish pediatrics journals. In 2005, we studied the characteristics of Spanish biomedical journals with special emphasis on Spanish pediatrics journals. The form used for the selection of journals for inclusion in the database Indice Médico Español (IME) was employed to evaluate 65 distinct characteristics in each journal. The parameters were grouped in the following five categores: journal presentation, presentation of the articles, scientific and editorial committees, content characteristics, and dissemination parameters. The journals with the highest overall scores were Anales de Pediatría (63 points out of a maximum of 82), followed by Pediatría de Atención Primaria (53 points), Acta Pediátrica Española and Cirugía Pediátrica (55 points each), Pediatrika (53 points), and Revista Española de Pediatría (48 points). The score obtained by Anales de Pediatría places this journal in the top 10 Spanish journals included in IME. Spanish pediatrics journals meet most of the formal elements required of biomedical journals, although some aspects could be improved, such as deficiencies in the frequency and regularity of publication, mention of the dates of manuscript receipt and acceptance, the lack of a clear description of the editorial process of manuscript selection and peer review, the absence of committee members' institutional affiliations, and the absence of articles by non-Spanish authors.

  6. Expanding Access to NCAR's Digital Assets: Towards a Unified Scientific Data Management System

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stott, D.

    2016-12-01

    In 2014 the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Directorate created the Data Stewardship Engineering Team (DSET) to plan and implement the strategic vision of an integrated front door for data discovery and access across the organization, including all laboratories, the library, and UCAR Community Programs. The DSET is focused on improving the quality of users' experiences in finding and using NCAR's digital assets. This effort also supports new policies included in federal mandates, NSF requirements, and journal publication rules. An initial survey with 97 respondents identified 68 persons responsible for more than 3 petabytes of data. An inventory, using the Data Asset Framework produced by the UK Digital Curation Centre as a starting point, identified asset types that included files and metadata, publications, images, and software (visualization, analysis, model codes). User story sessions with representatives from each lab identified and ranked desired features for a unified Scientific Data Management System (SDMS). A process beginning with an organization-wide assessment of metadata by the HDF Group and followed by meetings with labs to identify key documentation concepts, culminated in the development of an NCAR metadata dialect that leverages the DataCite and ISO 19115 standards. The tasks ahead are to build out an SDMS and populate it with rich standardized metadata. Software packages have been prototyped and currently are being tested and reviewed by DSET members. Key challenges for the DSET include technical and non-technical issues. First, the status quo with regard to how assets are managed varies widely across the organization. There are differences in file format standards, technologies, and discipline-specific vocabularies. Metadata diversity is another real challenge. The types of metadata, the standards used, and the capacity to create new metadata varies across the organization. Significant effort is required to develop tools to create

  7. Plagiarism in scientific publishing.

    PubMed

    Masic, Izet

    2012-12-01

    Scientific publishing is the ultimate product of scientist work. Number of publications and their quoting are measures of scientist success while unpublished researches are invisible to the scientific community, and as such nonexistent. Researchers in their work rely on their predecessors, while the extent of use of one scientist work, as a source for the work of other authors is the verification of its contributions to the growth of human knowledge. If the author has published an article in a scientific journal it cannot publish the article in any other journal h with a few minor adjustments or without quoting parts of the first article, which are used in another article. Copyright infringement occurs when the author of a new article with or without the mentioning the author used substantial portions of previously published articles, including tables and figures. Scientific institutions and universities should,in accordance with the principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) have a center for monitoring,security, promotion and development of quality research. Establish rules and compliance to rules of good scientific practice are the obligations of each research institutions,universities and every individual-researchers,regardless of which area of science is investigated. In this way, internal quality control ensures that a research institution such as a university, assume responsibility for creating an environment that promotes standards of excellence, intellectual honesty and legality. Although the truth should be the aim of scientific research, it is not guiding fact for all scientists. The best way to reach the truth in its study and to avoid the methodological and ethical mistakes is to consistently apply scientific methods and ethical standards in research. Although variously defined plagiarism is basically intended to deceive the reader's own scientific contribution. There is no general regulation of control of

  8. Accessing and visualizing scientific spatiotemporal data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Katz, Daniel S.; Bergou, Attila; Berriman, G. Bruce; Block, Gary L.; Collier, Jim; Curkendall, David W.; Good, John; Husman, Laura; Jacob, Joseph C.; Laity, Anastasia; hide

    2004-01-01

    This paper discusses work done by JPL's Parallel Applications Technologies Group in helping scientists access and visualize very large data sets through the use of multiple computing resources, such as parallel supercomputers, clusters, and grids.

  9. Latin American scientific contribution to ecology.

    PubMed

    Wojciechowski, Juliana; Ceschin, Fernanda; Pereto, Suelen C A S; Ribas, Luiz G S; Bezerra, Luis A V; Dittrich, Jaqueline; Siqueira, Tadeu; Padial, André A

    2017-01-01

    Latin America embodies countries of special interest for ecological studies, given that areas with great value for biodiversity are located within their territories. This highlights the importance of an evaluation of ecological research in the Latin America region. We assessed the scientific participation of Latin American researchers in ecological journals, patterns of international collaboration, and defined the main characteristics of the articles. Although Latin American publications have increased in fourteen years, they accounted up to 9% of publications in Ecology. Brazil leaded the scientific production in Latin America, followed by Argentina and Mexico. In general, Latin American articles represented a low percentage of most journals total publication, with particularly low expression in high impact-factor journals. A half of the Latin American publications had international collaboration. Articles with more than five authors and with international collaboration were the most cited. Descriptive studies, mainly based in old theories, are still majority, suggesting that Ecology is in a developing stage in Latin America.

  10. Core List of Astronomy and Physics Journals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bryson, Liz; Fortner, Diane; Yorks, Pamela

    This is a list of highly-used and highly-cited physics and astronomy journals. "Use" is measured largely on paper-journal counts from selective academic research-level libraries. Citation count titles are drawn from Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) data. Recognition is given to entrepreneurial electronic-only or new-style electronic journals. Selective news, magazine, and general science journals are omitted. The compilers welcome questions, suggestions for additions, or other advice. Comments may be sent c/o Diane Fortner, Physics Library, University of California, Berkeley. Dfortner@library.berkeley.edu

  11. Biomedical journals in Republic of Macedonia: the current state.

    PubMed

    Polenakovic, Momir; Danevska, Lenche

    2014-01-01

    Several biomedical journals in the Republic of Macedonia have succeeded in maintaining regular publication over the years, but only a few have a long-standing tradition. In this paper we present the basic characteristics of 18 biomedical journals that have been published without a break in the Republic of Macedonia. Of these, more details are given for 14 journals, a particular emphasis being on the journal Prilozi/Contributions of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Section of Medical Sciences as one of the journals with a long-term publishing tradition and one of the journals included in the Medline/PubMed database. A brief or broad description is given for the following journals: Macedonian Medical Review, Acta Morphologica, Physioacta, MJMS-Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, International Medical Journal Medicus, Archives of Public Health, Epilepsy, Macedonian Orthopaedics and Traumatology Journal, BANTAO Journal, Macedonian Dental Review, Macedonian Pharmaceutical Bulletin, Macedonian Veterinary Review, Journal of Special Education and Rehabilitation, Balkan Journal of Medical Genetics, Contributions of the Macedonian Scientific Society of Bitola, Vox Medici, Social Medicine: Professional Journal for Public Health, and Prilozi/Contributions of the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Journals from Macedonia should aim to be published regularly, should comply with the Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals, and with the recommendations of reliable organizations working in the field of publishing and research. These are the key prerequisites which Macedonian journals have to accomplish in order to be included in renowned international bibliographic databases. Thus the results of biomedical science from the Republic of Macedonia will be presented to the international scientific arena.

  12. The martial art of scientific publication

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Parker, E. N.

    Publication of scientific results in refereed journals is an essential part of the scientific process. It is the final payoff for the obscure labors that compose scientific research. Unfortunately, effective operation of the publication procedure requires simultaneous rational scientific judgment on the part of the author, the referee, and the editor, and the coincidence of all of these cannot be taken for granted on every given occasion. There are times when the working definition of truth is taken to be the consensus of one's scientific intimates: the “good old boys.” Anything outside that limited horizon is discomforting and improper and is to be barred from consideration.

  13. [General principles for scientific reading and writing].

    PubMed

    Seda Diestro, José; Garrido Díaz, Isabel; López Rodríguez, Luis; Aparcero Bernet, Luis; Chacartegui Martínez, E Ildefonso

    2002-10-01

    To present an introduction to scientific writing and reading. To analyse the most frequently used different formats of scientific-technical documents as reported by UNESCO (1983) including Scientific journals, books, monographs, presentations to congresses, technical reports, yearbooks and bulletins. We describe the main characteristics of each one. To emphasize the importance of written communication, in its different formats, in health sciences, for health care professionals formation and information.

  14. How to run a successful Journal

    PubMed Central

    Jawaid, Shaukat Ali; Jawaid, Masood

    2017-01-01

    Publishing and successfully running a good quality peer reviewed biomedical scientific journal is not an easy task. Some of the pre-requisites include a competent experienced editor supported by a team. Long term sustainability of a journal will depend on good quality manuscripts, active editorial board, good quality of reviewers, workable business model to ensure financial support, increased visibility which will ensure increased submissions, indexation in various important databases, online availability and easy to use website. This manuscript outlines the logistics and technical issues which need to be resolved before starting a new journal and ensuring sustainability of a good quality peer reviewed journal. PMID:29492089

  15. Writing a Scientific Paper III. Ethical Aspects

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sterken, C.

    2011-07-01

    The main theme of this paper is truthful communication of scientific results. Therefore, concepts of truth, error, quality and value are elaborated. The following bibliometric parameters are explained: the journal impact factor, the journal cited half-life, and the journal immediacy index, as well as paper counts, citation rates, citation index and the Hirsch index. These bibliometric indices and indicators are illustrated with examples derived from bibliometric analyses of the astronomical literature. Scientific misconduct in the broadest sense is discussed by category: researcher misconduct, author misconduct, referee and grant-reviewer misconduct. But also publisher misconduct, editorial misconduct and mismanagement, and research supervisor misbehavior are dealt with. The overall signatures of scientific misconduct are focused on, as well as the causes and the cures. This is followed by a Section devoted to whistleblowing. The biases of bibliometric indices, and the use and abuse of bibliometrics are illustrated. Moreover, suggestions for remediating the present defective system of bibliometric measurement and evaluation are worked out. Finally, the hopes and concerns of our students - either expressed during or after the lectures, or through subsequent private contacts - are passed on.

  16. Ten tips for authors of scientific articles.

    PubMed

    Hong, Sung-Tae

    2014-08-01

    Writing a good quality scientific article takes experience and skill. I propose 'Ten Tips' that may help to improve the quality of manuscripts for scholarly journals. It is advisable to draft first version of manuscript and revise it repeatedly for consistency and accuracy of the writing. During the drafting and revising the following tips can be considered: 1) focus on design to have proper content, conclusion, points compliant with scope of the target journal, appropriate authors and contributors list, and relevant references from widely visible sources; 2) format the manuscript in accordance with instructions to authors of the target journal; 3) ensure consistency and logical flow of ideas and scientific facts; 4) provide scientific confidence; 5) make your story interesting for your readers; 6) write up short, simple and attractive sentences; 7) bear in mind that properly composed and reflective titles increase chances of attracting more readers; 8) do not forget that well-structured and readable abstracts improve citability of your publications; 9) when revising adhere to the rule of 'First and Last' - open your text with topic paragraph and close it with resolution paragraph; 10) use connecting words linking sentences within a paragraph by repeating relevant keywords.

  17. An analysis of trends in globalisation of origin of research published in major general medical journals.

    PubMed

    Falagas, M E; Alexiou, V G

    2008-01-01

    There is an ongoing discussion in the scientific community that even the leading scientific journals publish mainly research that is produced in the countries where these journals are based. We analysed data regarding the origin of publications in 11 leading general medical journals during the last 35 years: The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Journal of the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, American Journal of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Medical Journal of Australia and Journal of Internal Medicine (previously called Acta Medica Scandinavica). Among the examined journals, The Lancet has been the most diverse regarding the origin of publications; in the period 1971-1975, 62.6% of its publications originated from the UK while the relevant figure dropped to 43.2% in the period 2001-2005 (19.4% decrease). During the period 2000-2005, the proportion of publications that originated from the country in which each one of the rest of the examined journals has been based ranged from 71.7% to 95.1%. This figure decreased by a proportion ranging from 10.9% to 19.4% for some major US- and UK-based medical journals during the 35-year study period. Our own interpretation of the findings of this study is that scientific journals will better serve the global scientific community as well as the public by adopting policies that increase the mixture of the origin of research that they publish, including work from scientists in developing countries, especially during the era we live.

  18. Does language matter? A case study of epidemiological and public health journals, databases and professional education in French, German and Italian

    PubMed Central

    Baussano, Iacopo; Brzoska, Patrick; Fedeli, Ugo; Larouche, Claudia; Razum, Oliver; Fung, Isaac C-H

    2008-01-01

    Epidemiology and public health are usually context-specific. Journals published in different languages and countries play a role both as sources of data and as channels through which evidence is incorporated into local public health practice. Databases in these languages facilitate access to relevant journals, and professional education in these languages facilitates the growth of native expertise in epidemiology and public health. However, as English has become the lingua franca of scientific communication in the era of globalisation, many journals published in non-English languages face the difficult dilemma of either switching to English and competing internationally, or sticking to the native tongue and having a restricted circulation among a local readership. This paper discusses the historical development of epidemiology and the current scene of epidemiological and public health journals, databases and professional education in three Western European languages: French, German and Italian, and examines the dynamics and struggles they have today. PMID:18826570

  19. Facilitating Scientific Collaboration and Education with Easy Access Web Maps Using the AGAP Antarctic Geophysical Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abdi, A.

    2012-12-01

    Science and science education benefit from easy access to data yet often geophysical data sets are large, complex and difficult to share. The difficulty in sharing data and imagery easily inhibits both collaboration and the use of real data in educational applications. The dissemination of data products through web maps serves a very efficient and user-friendly method for students, the public and the science community to gain insights and understanding from data. Few research groups provide direct access to their data, let alone map-based visualizations. By building upon current GIS infrastructure with web mapping technologies, like ArcGIS Server, scientific groups, institutions and agencies can enhance the value of their GIS investments. The advantages of web maps to serve data products are many; existing web-mapping technology allows complex GIS analysis to be shared across the Internet, and can be easily scaled from a few users to millions. This poster highlights the features of an interactive web map developed at the Polar Geophysics Group at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University that provides a visual representation of, and access to, data products that resulted from the group's recently concluded AGAP project (http://pgg.ldeo.columbia.edu). The AGAP project collected more than 120,000 line km of new aerogeophysical data using two Twin Otter aircrafts. Data included ice penetrating radar, magnetometer, gravimeter and laser altimeter measurements. The web map is based upon ArcGIS Viewer for Flex, which is a configurable client application built on the ArcGIS API for Flex that works seamlessly with ArcGIS Server 10. The application can serve a variety of raster and vector file formats through the Data Interoperability for Server, which eliminates data sharing barriers across numerous file formats. The ability of the application to serve large datasets is only hindered by the availability of appropriate hardware. ArcGIS is a proprietary

  20. Student Moon Observations and Spatial-Scientific Reasoning

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cole, Merryn; Wilhelm, Jennifer; Yang, Hongwei

    2015-07-01

    Relationships between sixth grade students' moon journaling and students' spatial-scientific reasoning after implementation of an Earth/Space unit were examined. Teachers used the project-based Realistic Explorations in Astronomical Learning curriculum. We used a regression model to analyze the relationship between the students' Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI) post-test score variables and several predictors, including moon journal score, number of moon journal entries, student gender, teacher experience, and pre-test score. The model shows that students who performed better on moon journals, both in terms of overall score and number of entries, tended to score higher on the LPCI. For every 1 point increase in the overall moon journal score, participants scored 0.18 points (out of 20) or nearly 1% point higher on the LPCI post-test when holding constant the effects of the other two predictors. Similarly, students who increased their scores by 1 point in the overall moon journal score scored approximately 1% higher in the Periodic Patterns (PP) and Geometric Spatial Visualization (GSV) domains of the LPCI. Also, student gender and teacher experience were shown to be significant predictors of post-GSV scores on the LPCI in addition to the pre-test scores, overall moon journal score, and number of entries that were also significant predictors on the LPCI overall score and the PP domain. This study is unique in the purposeful link created between student moon observations and spatial skills. The use of moon journals distinguishes this study further by fostering scientific observation along with skills from across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

  1. Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively

    PubMed Central

    Subramanyam, RV

    2013-01-01

    Background: Reading scientific literature is mandatory for researchers and clinicians. With an overflow of medical and dental journals, it is essential to develop a method to choose and read the right articles. Objective: To outline a logical and orderly approach to reading a scientific manuscript. By breaking down the task into smaller, step-by-step components, one should be able to attain the skills to read a scientific article with ease. Methods: The reader should begin by reading the title, abstract and conclusions first. If a decision is made to read the entire article, the key elements of the article can be perused in a systematic manner effectively and efficiently. A cogent and organized method is presented to read articles published in scientific journals. Conclusion: One can read and appreciate a scientific manuscript if a systematic approach is followed in a simple and logical manner. PMID:23798833

  2. Accelerated Peer-Review Journal Usage Technique for Undergraduates

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wallace, J. D.

    2008-01-01

    The internet has given undergraduate students ever-increasing access to academic journals via search engines and online databases. However, students typically do not have the ability to use these journals effectively. This often poses a dilemma for instructors. The accelerated peer-review journal usage (APJU) technique provides a way for…

  3. Bibliometric analysis of scientific literature on intestinal parasites in Argentina during the period 1985-2014.

    PubMed

    Basualdo, Juan A; Grenóvero, María S; Bertucci, Evangelina; Molina, Nora B

    2016-01-01

    The study of scientific production is a good indicator of the progress in research and knowledge generation. Bibliometrics is a scientific discipline that uses a set of indicators to quantitatively express the bibliographic characteristics of scientific publications. The scientific literature on the epidemiology of intestinal parasites in Argentina is scattered in numerous sources, hindering access and visibility to the scientific community. Our purpose was to perform a quantitative, bibliometric study of the scientific literature on intestinal parasites in humans in Argentina published in the period 1985-2014. This bibliometric analysis showed an increase in the number of articles on intestinal parasites in humans in Argentina published over the past 30 years. Those articles showed a collaboration index similar to that of the literature, with a high index of institutionality for national institutions and a very low one for international collaboration. The original articles were published in scientific journals in the American Continent, Europe and Asia. The use of bibliometric indicators can provide a solid tool for the diagnosis and survey of the research on epidemiology of intestinal parasites and contributes to the dissemination and visibility of information on the scientific production developed in Argentina. Copyright © 2016 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  4. Recommendation on the Status of Scientific Researchers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Paul Davidson

    1975-01-01

    This article contains the verbatim text of the Recommendation on the Status of Scientific Researchers adopted by the General Conference of Unesco at its eighteenth session in 1974. Also listed are international instruments and other texts concerning workers in general or scientific researchers in particular. For journal availability see SO 504…

  5. Publishing corruption discussion: predatory journalism.

    PubMed

    Jones, James W; McCullough, Laurence B

    2014-02-01

    Dr Spock is a brilliant young vascular surgeon who is up for tenure next year. He has been warned by the chair of surgery that he needs to increase his list of publications to assure passage. He has recently had a paper reviewed by one of the top journals in his specialty, Journal X-special, with several suggestions for revision. He received an e-mail request for manuscript submission from a newly minted, open access, Journal of Vascular Disease Therapy, which promises a quick and likely favorable response for a fee. What should be done? A. Send the paper to another peer reviewed journal with the suggested revisions. B. Resubmit the paper to Journal X-special. C. Submit to the online journal as is to save time. D. Submit to the online journal and another regular journal. E. Look for another job. Copyright © 2014 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Electronic Journal Delivery in Academic Libraries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crothers, Stephen; Prabhu, Margaret; Sullivan, Shirley

    2007-01-01

    The authors recount experiences of the variety of problems and issues involved in providing access to electronic journals in a large academic library. The paper excludes concerns emanating from decisions to subscribe to aggregations such as those produced by vendors like EBSCO, but concentrates on scholarly journals ordered individually, or as…

  7. Lowering the Barrier to Cross-Disciplinary Scientific Data Access via a Brokering Service Built Around a Unified Data Model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lindholm, D. M.; Wilson, A.

    2012-12-01

    The steps many scientific data users go through to use data (after discovering it) can be rather tedious, even when dealing with datasets within their own discipline. Accessing data across domains often seems intractable. We present here, LaTiS, an Open Source brokering solution that bridges the gap between the source data and the user's code by defining a unified data model plus a plugin framework for "adapters" to read data from their native source, "filters" to perform server side data processing, and "writers" to output any number of desired formats or streaming protocols. A great deal of work is being done in the informatics community to promote multi-disciplinary science with a focus on search and discovery based on metadata - information about the data. The goal of LaTiS is to go that last step to provide a uniform interface to read the dataset into computer programs and other applications once it has been identified. The LaTiS solution for integrating a wide variety of data models is to return to mathematical fundamentals. The LaTiS data model emphasizes functional relationships between variables. For example, a time series of temperature measurements can be thought of as a function that maps a time to a temperature. With just three constructs: "Scalar" for a single variable, "Tuple" for a collection of variables, and "Function" to represent a set of independent and dependent variables, the LaTiS data model can represent most scientific datasets at a low level that enables uniform data access. Higher level abstractions can be built on top of the basic model to add more meaningful semantics for specific user communities. LaTiS defines its data model in terms of the Unified Modeling Language (UML). It also defines a very thin Java Interface that can be implemented by numerous existing data interfaces (e.g. NetCDF-Java) such that client code can access any dataset via the Java API, independent of the underlying data access mechanism. LaTiS also provides a

  8. Availability and Accessibility in an Open Access Institutional Repository: A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Jongwook; Burnett, Gary; Vandegrift, Micah; Baeg, Jung Hoon; Morris, Richard

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: This study explores the extent to which an institutional repository makes papers available and accessible on the open Web by using 170 journal articles housed in DigiNole Commons, the institutional repository at Florida State University. Method: To analyse the repository's impact on availability and accessibility, we conducted…

  9. Bringing "Scientific Expeditions" into the Schools

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Watson, Val; Kutler, Paul (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    Schools can obtain scientific information over the information superhighway. However, information suppliers use formats that permit access and analysis by the "least common denominator" tools for access and analysis. The result: most sources of dynamic representations of science are in the format of flat movies. We can shorten the time to get the "scientific expeditions" into schools and provide a unifying focus to vendors and information suppliers by establishing a target and goals for the "least common denominator" for tools to be used to access and analyze information over the information superhighway.

  10. Electronic Journals, the Internet, and Scholarly Communication.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kling, Rob; Callahan, Ewa

    2003-01-01

    Examines the role of the Internet in supporting scholarly communication via electronic journals. Topics include scholarly electronic communication; a typology of electronic journals; models of electronic documents and scholarly communication forums; publication speed; costs; pricing; access and searching; citations; interactivity; archiving and…

  11. Ready! Aim! Fire! targeting the right medical science journal

    PubMed Central

    Serginson, James M.

    2017-01-01

    Objective Inadvertently submitting a paper to a journal that is unlikely to publish it is a waste of resources and ultimately delays dissemination of one’s research. A high proportion of manuscripts are rejected by their author’s first-choice journal. The aim of the present work was to review guidance provided within the literature for journal selection that might minimize the chance of manuscript rejection. We also consider papers that encompass more than one main medical science and describe the selection process that we used with a paper that was published in Cardiovascular Endocrinology. Methods A database search (Embase, PubMed and Medworm) was performed for all articles published in the scientific literature providing guidance on journal selection. Articles were identified that either had journal selection as their principal topic or included journal selection as part of a broader discussion of publishing. The relative performance of four free-to-use, web-based applications that claim to provide guidance on journal selection was compared. Results The searches identified 286 hits, of which 249 were in English. Of these papers, 16 discussed journal selection and a further 10 articles were identified from citations within the original 16 articles. Only one article described a comprehensive model for submission decision-making. Identification of appropriate candidate journals by various web-based applications was erratic, with the Jane database providing the most robust suggestions. Conclusion Our work suggests that little attention has been focused in the scientific literature on the mechanisms that authors use to select a journal for their work. Nevertheless, scientists for the most part seem to have a good sense of where their papers are most likely to be accepted. Beyond ensuring that a manuscript fulfils all the target journal’s requirements, the literature suggests that it is important to have an objective view of the scientific contribution or

  12. Excluding the poor from accessing biomedical literature: a rights violation that impedes global health.

    PubMed

    Yamey, Gavin

    2008-01-01

    Most biomedical journals charge readers a hefty access toll to read the full text version of a published research article. These tolls bring enormous profits to the traditional corporate publishing industry, but they make it impossible for most people worldwide--particularly in low and middle income countries--to access the biomedical literature. Traditional publishers also insist on owning the copyright on these articles, making it illegal for readers to freely distribute and photocopy papers, translate them, or create derivative educational works. This article argues that excluding the poor from accessing and freely using the biomedical research literature is harming global public health. Health care workers, for example, are prevented from accessing the information they need to practice effective medicine, while policymakers are prevented from accessing the essential knowledge they require to build better health care systems. The author proposes that the biomedical literature should be considered a global public good, basing his arguments upon longstanding and recent international declarations that enshrine access to scientific and medical knowledge as a human right. He presents an emerging alternative publishing model, called open access, and argues that this model is a more socially responsive and equitable approach to knowledge dissemination.

  13. Targeting the right journal.

    PubMed

    Piterman, L; McCall, L

    1999-07-01

    While research is scientific, publication is a mixture of science and political pragmatism. Targeting the right journal is influenced by the following factors: the discipline that best represents the subject; the purpose of the message; the audience who are to be recipients of the message; the realities of geographic parochialism; the desire of authors to maximise personal and professional opportunities. If the originally targeted journal rejects the article, authors should have alternative publication strategies that give them professional recognition without requiring them to compromise the message or their ethics.

  14. PLAGIARISM IN SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING

    PubMed Central

    Masic, Izet

    2012-01-01

    Scientific publishing is the ultimate product of scientist work. Number of publications and their quoting are measures of scientist success while unpublished researches are invisible to the scientific community, and as such nonexistent. Researchers in their work rely on their predecessors, while the extent of use of one scientist work, as a source for the work of other authors is the verification of its contributions to the growth of human knowledge. If the author has published an article in a scientific journal it cannot publish the article in any other journal h with a few minor adjustments or without quoting parts of the first article, which are used in another article. Copyright infringement occurs when the author of a new article with or without the mentioning the author used substantial portions of previously published articles, including tables and figures. Scientific institutions and universities should,in accordance with the principles of Good Scientific Practice (GSP) and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) have a center for monitoring,security, promotion and development of quality research. Establish rules and compliance to rules of good scientific practice are the obligations of each research institutions,universities and every individual-researchers,regardless of which area of science is investigated. In this way, internal quality control ensures that a research institution such as a university, assume responsibility for creating an environment that promotes standards of excellence, intellectual honesty and legality. Although the truth should be the aim of scientific research, it is not guiding fact for all scientists. The best way to reach the truth in its study and to avoid the methodological and ethical mistakes is to consistently apply scientific methods and ethical standards in research. Although variously defined plagiarism is basically intended to deceive the reader’s own scientific contribution. There is no general regulation of control of

  15. The dawn of open access to phylogenetic data.

    PubMed

    Magee, Andrew F; May, Michael R; Moore, Brian R

    2014-01-01

    The scientific enterprise depends critically on the preservation of and open access to published data. This basic tenet applies acutely to phylogenies (estimates of evolutionary relationships among species). Increasingly, phylogenies are estimated from increasingly large, genome-scale datasets using increasingly complex statistical methods that require increasing levels of expertise and computational investment. Moreover, the resulting phylogenetic data provide an explicit historical perspective that critically informs research in a vast and growing number of scientific disciplines. One such use is the study of changes in rates of lineage diversification (speciation--extinction) through time. As part of a meta-analysis in this area, we sought to collect phylogenetic data (comprising nucleotide sequence alignment and tree files) from 217 studies published in 46 journals over a 13-year period. We document our attempts to procure those data (from online archives and by direct request to corresponding authors), and report results of analyses (using Bayesian logistic regression) to assess the impact of various factors on the success of our efforts. Overall, complete phylogenetic data for [Formula: see text] of these studies are effectively lost to science. Our study indicates that phylogenetic data are more likely to be deposited in online archives and/or shared upon request when: (1) the publishing journal has a strong data-sharing policy; (2) the publishing journal has a higher impact factor, and; (3) the data are requested from faculty rather than students. Importantly, our survey spans recent policy initiatives and infrastructural changes; our analyses indicate that the positive impact of these community initiatives has been both dramatic and immediate. Although the results of our study indicate that the situation is dire, our findings also reveal tremendous recent progress in the sharing and preservation of phylogenetic data.

  16. JournalMap: Research. Reimagined.

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    JournalMap is a scientific literature search engine that empowers you to find relevant research based on location and biophysical variables as well as traditional keyword searches. All publications are geotagged based on reported location information and plotted on a world map showing where the rese...

  17. Statistical Indicators of Scientific and Technical Communication (1960-1980), 1977 Edition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, D. W.; And Others

    This report describes results of the second year of research in developing statistical indicators of scientific and technical communication. This effort placed special emphasis on the periodical literature including new estimates of the number of journals and other periodicals, characteristics of journals, journal prices, number of subscribers,…

  18. [Scientific publications: a resource for the physician's intellectual development].

    PubMed

    Zárate, Arturo

    2013-01-01

    The physician's professional life involves reading and analysis of scientific journals, regardless of the specialization field. The hospital and academic areas lead to the scientific-literary activity development. The aim of this editorial is to make some reflections about the way a physician reaches intellectual development, through the creation of a culture of writing and reading scientific publications.

  19. Reinvigorating Science Journals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bricker, Patricia

    2007-01-01

    Science-themed books are wonderful tools for emphasizing the importance of observation and journaling. They can also be used to effectively promote literacy skills in science. This article shares a selection of nature books and the ways teachers and students used them to engage in the process of scientific inquiry. (Contains 3 figures and 10…

  20. An analysis of science conceptual knowledge in journals of students with disabilities and normally achieving students

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grigg, Gail S.

    Science education reforms of the last two decades have focused on raising the bar for ALL students which includes students with mild to moderate disabilities. Formative assessment can be used to assess the progress of these students to inquire, understand scientific concepts, reason scientifically, make decisions, and communicate effectively in science. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of science journals as a formative assessment in a guided inquiry unit of study for students with learning disabilities. Two normally achieving students (NA) and five students with learning disabilities (SLD) participated in a study of mammals that utilized journals to record the development of student knowledge through the course of study. Students were interviewed after the lessons were complete using the same prompts required in the journals. Themes were developed from the student writings and their verbal discourse using Grounded Theory. Journals and verbal discourse were rated following the themes of Knowledge Telling (KT) and Knowledge Transformation (KTR). Concept maps were developed for the Pre and Post test lessons (written and verbal discourses) by the raters in an attempt to further explain the knowledge that the students conveyed. The results of this study suggest that SLD are able to demonstrate knowledge about mammals better through verbal discourse than written discourse. While the NA students wrote more and used more technical discourse than did their SLD peers, the conceptual understanding of the topic by the SLD was no less inclusive than their NA peers when accessed verbally. The journals demonstrated limited conceptual growth for the SLD. Further, while lexical density is important to the development of knowledge in science, this study suggests the "conceptual density" may be another important indicator to examine.

  1. HOW TO WRITE A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE

    PubMed Central

    Manske, Robert C.

    2012-01-01

    Successful production of a written product for submission to a peer‐reviewed scientific journal requires substantial effort. Such an effort can be maximized by following a few simple suggestions when composing/creating the product for submission. By following some suggested guidelines and avoiding common errors, the process can be streamlined and success realized for even beginning/novice authors as they negotiate the publication process. The purpose of this invited commentary is to offer practical suggestions for achieving success when writing and submitting manuscripts to The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy and other professional journals. PMID:23091783

  2. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences: A bibliometric assessment 2001-2010

    PubMed Central

    Baladi, Zameer Hussain; Umedani, Loung V.

    2017-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study was to measure the growth of scientific research, authors’ productivity, affiliation with the institute and geographic locations published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences during the period of 2001 – 2010. Methods: This numerical analysis was conducted during mid-August 2016 to mid-October, 2016. The data for the study was downloaded from websites of e-journal of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (PJMS) and Pak Medi-Net Com. Results: A total number of 1199 articled were covered by PJMS in 10 volumes and 40 issues with contribution of 3798 (3%) authors during 2001 – 2010. The average number of papers per issue is 30%. A gender wise contribution of males was higher 3050 (80%) than the females 748 (20%). A majority of articles were multi-authored 1052 (87%) as opposed to single author contribution 147 (13%). All 1199 articles were covered under four major disciplines i.e Basic medical sciences, medicine & allied, surgery & allied and radiological sciences and 39 sub-specialties according to medical subject headings (MeSH). It observed that 467 (39%) articles were published in Pakistan and 732 (61%) articles produced by other 32 countries. The Karachi city of Pakistan has produced 199 (16%) articles as highest as its national level and followed by Tehran (Iran) 77 (6%) as followed internationally. Conclusion: This study reveals that the participation of 32 countries in the PJMS publications proves it to be an internationally circulated journal to support research with the constant approach of publishing articles to each volume in basic medical sciences, biomedical, clinical and public health sciences. Abbreviations: DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals IMEMR: Index Medicus Eastern Mediterranean Region HEC: Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) PJMS: Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences MeSH: Medical Subject Headings PMDC: Pakistan Medical & Dental Council SCIE: Science Citation Index Expanded PMID:28811801

  3. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences: A bibliometric assessment 2001-2010.

    PubMed

    Baladi, Zameer Hussain; Umedani, Loung V

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this study was to measure the growth of scientific research, authors' productivity, affiliation with the institute and geographic locations published in the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences during the period of 2001 - 2010. This numerical analysis was conducted during mid-August 2016 to mid-October, 2016. The data for the study was downloaded from websites of e-journal of Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences (PJMS) and Pak Medi-Net Com. A total number of 1199 articled were covered by PJMS in 10 volumes and 40 issues with contribution of 3798 (3%) authors during 2001 - 2010. The average number of papers per issue is 30%. A gender wise contribution of males was higher 3050 (80%) than the females 748 (20%). A majority of articles were multi-authored 1052 (87%) as opposed to single author contribution 147 (13%). All 1199 articles were covered under four major disciplines i.e Basic medical sciences, medicine & allied, surgery & allied and radiological sciences and 39 sub-specialties according to medical subject headings (MeSH). It observed that 467 (39%) articles were published in Pakistan and 732 (61%) articles produced by other 32 countries. The Karachi city of Pakistan has produced 199 (16%) articles as highest as its national level and followed by Tehran (Iran) 77 (6%) as followed internationally. This study reveals that the participation of 32 countries in the PJMS publications proves it to be an internationally circulated journal to support research with the constant approach of publishing articles to each volume in basic medical sciences, biomedical, clinical and public health sciences. Abbreviations: DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals IMEMR: Index Medicus Eastern Mediterranean Region HEC: Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) PJMS: Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences MeSH: Medical Subject Headings PMDC: Pakistan Medical & Dental Council SCIE: Science Citation Index Expanded.

  4. Editorial: Journal article reporting standards.

    PubMed

    Kazak, Anne E

    2018-01-01

    In this editorial, the author notes that this issue of American Psychologist features a pair of important articles related to newly updated standards for reporting research in psychology in scientific journals, covering both quantitative (Appelbaum et al., 2018) and qualitative (Levitt et al., 2018) research. The increasing breadth and complexity of research, and the importance of communicating it effectively, requires user-friendly resources that can be applied widely to scientific studies. These two articles are intended to serve that purpose, and to encourage thoroughness and accuracy in research reporting, for psychologists and other scientists in broader academic communities. The articles, known as the Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) reports, are based on the work of a task force appointed by the American Psychological Association (APA) Publications and Communications Board in 2015. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Scientific publications about DNA structure-function and PCR technique in Costa Rica: a historic view (1953-2003).

    PubMed

    Albertazzi, Federico J

    2004-09-01

    The spreading of knowledge depends on the access to the information and its immediate use. Models are useful to explain specific phenomena. The scientific community accepts some models in Biology after a period of time, once it has evidence to support it. The model of the structure and function of the DNA proposed by Watson & Crick (1953) was not the exception, since a few years later the DNA model was finally accepted. In Costa Rica, DNA function was first mentioned in 1970, in the magazine Biologia Tropical (Tropical Biology Magazine), more than 15 years after its first publication in a scientific journal. An opposite situation occurs with technical innovations. If the efficiency of a new scientific technique is proved in a compelling way, then the acceptance by the community comes swiftly. This was the case of the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR. The first PCR machine in Costa Rica arrived in 1991, only three years after its publication.

  6. The top-ten in journal impact factor manipulation.

    PubMed

    Falagas, Matthew E; Alexiou, Vangelis G

    2008-01-01

    A considerable part of the scientific community is, at least to some degree, involved in the "impact factor game". Editors strive to increase their journals' impact factor (IF) in order to gain influence in the fields of basic and applied research and scientists seek to profit from the "added value" of publishing in top IF journals. In this article we point out the most common "tricks" of engineering and manipulating the IF undertaken by a portion of professionals of the scientific publishing industry. They attempt to increase the nominator or decrease the denominator of the IF equation by taking advantage of certain design flaws and disadvantages of the IF that permit a degree of artificial and arbitrary inflation. Some of these practices, if not scientifically unethical, are at least questionable and should be abandoned. Editors and publishers should strive for quality through fair and thoughtful selection of papers forwarded for peer review and editorial comments that enhance the quality and scientific accuracy of a manuscript.

  7. The Role of Scientific Collections in Scientific Preparedness

    PubMed Central

    2015-01-01

    Building on the findings and recommendations of the Interagency Working Group on Scientific Collections, Scientific Collections International (SciColl) aims to improve the rapid access to science collections across disciplines within the federal government and globally, between government agencies and private research institutions. SciColl offered a novel opportunity for the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to explore the value of scientific research collections under the science preparedness initiative and integrate it as a research resource at each stage in the emergence of the infectious diseases cycle. Under the leadership of SciColl’s executive secretariat at the Smithsonian Institution, and with multiple federal and international partners, a workshop during October 2014 fully explored the intersections of the infectious disease cycle and the role scientific collections could play as an evidentiary scientific resource to mitigate risks associated with emerging infectious diseases. PMID:26380390

  8. [Journal "Surgery" (1934-2004): (historiographical and cognitological study-cadastre)].

    PubMed

    Kumanova, A; Iarŭmov, N; Kumanov, M

    2005-01-01

    The study is based on the methodology of the contemporary interdisciplinary cognitive images of the information entity of the surgical sphere, reflected in the phenomenology of the journal "Surgery", which is gathering --as a publication of the Scientific Society of Surgeons--the kaleidoscope of the genealogy of the scientific and practical thought in Bulgaria in the treated area for an impressive historical lapse of time. The information image observed is represented in the form of a triptych: I. Macrostructure of the periodicals in the field of medicine in the years 30 of XX century: Bibliographic analysis: Historiographical description [: Background]; II. Microstructure of the journal "Surgery" (1934-2004): Periodization [1934-1944: non-party system with priority of the monarchy; 1944-1989: totalitarian epoch; 1989-2004: democracy and pluralism]: Scientometrical synthesis: Transformatism of the information modeling [: History]; III. Status of the surgical field in the intelligible prism of the journal "Surgery" (1934-2004): Interdisciplinary deduction: Cognitological proscopy [: Classification]. The ontological synthesis concludes the study by which is expressed the systemic dynamical entity of the relation "surgical field"--"its scientific expression in a periodical" as a base of future scientific research--as well as a complex scientific and applied field of knowledge, and a social important phenomenon. The Supplements and References and notes are an empirical base and a fragment of the expose.

  9. Peer Review and Publication of Research Protocols and Proposals: A Role for Open Access Journals

    PubMed Central

    2004-01-01

    Peer-review and publication of research protocols offer several advantages to all parties involved. Among these are the following opportunities for authors: external expert opinion on the methods, demonstration to funding agencies of prior expert review of the protocol, proof of priority of ideas and methods, and solicitation of potential collaborators. We think that review and publication of protocols is an important role for Open Access journals. Because of their electronic form, openness for readers, and author-pays business model, they are better suited than traditional journals to ensure the sustainability and quality of protocol reviews and publications. In this editorial, we describe the workflow for investigators in eHealth research, from protocol submission to a funding agency, to protocol review and (optionally) publication at JMIR, to registration of trials at the International eHealth Study Registry (IESR), and to publication of the report. One innovation at JMIR is that protocol peer reviewers will be paid a honorarium, which will be drawn partly from a new submission fee for protocol reviews. Separating the article processing fee into a submission and a publishing fee will allow authors to opt for “peer-review only” (without subsequent publication) at reduced costs, if they wish to await a funding decision or for other reasons decide not to make the protocol public. PMID:15471763

  10. Peer-review and publication of research protocols and proposals: a role for open access journals.

    PubMed

    Eysenbach, Gunther

    2004-09-30

    Peer-review and publication of research protocols offer several advantages to all parties involved. Among these are the following opportunities for authors: external expert opinion on the methods, demonstration to funding agencies of prior expert review of the protocol, proof of priority of ideas and methods, and solicitation of potential collaborators. We think that review and publication of protocols is an important role for Open Access journals. Because of their electronic form, openness for readers, and author-pays business model, they are better suited than traditional journals to ensure the sustainability and quality of protocol reviews and publications. In this editorial, we describe the workflow for investigators in eHealth research, from protocol submission to a funding agency, to protocol review and (optionally) publication at JMIR, to registration of trials at the International eHealth Study Registry (IESR), and to publication of the report. One innovation at JMIR is that protocol peer reviewers will be paid a honorarium, which will be drawn partly from a new submission fee for protocol reviews. Separating the article processing fee into a submission and a publishing fee will allow authors to opt for "peer-review only" (without subsequent publication) at reduced costs, if they wish to await a funding decision or for other reasons decide not to make the protocol public.

  11. Peer reviews and the role of a journal editor

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Obtaining peer reviews for manuscripts submitted to scientific journals is becoming increasingly difficult. Changes to the system are necessary, and editors must cultivate and maintain a solid base of reviewers to help evaluate journal submissions. This article outlines some steps editors can and sh...

  12. The Cost and Price Dilemma of Scholarly Journals.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    King, Donald W.; Tenopir, Carol

    2000-01-01

    Examines overall costs of the scientific scholarly journal system and finds that relative system costs have not increased since the late 1970s. Describes scholarly publishing costs; factors that have contributed to spiraling price increases and changes in journal subscription demand; and alternative pricing policies that might help in the future.…

  13. Peer-Reviewed Veterinary Journals From Arabic-Speaking Countries: A Systematic Review.

    PubMed

    Robertson, Kristen M; Bowser, Jacquelyn E; Bernstein, Joshua; Aboul-Enein, Basil H

    The prevalence of diseases of foodborne and zoonotic origin in Arabic-speaking countries highlights the importance of collaboration between human and animal health professionals. However, accessibility of research and evidence-based practices in these countries is not well characterized. This brief report determines the availability of professional veterinary journals within the Arabic-speaking region. An electronic search using 6 databases assessed for publication period, activity status, and available languages incorporated all aspects of veterinary medicine and specialties. Among 29 veterinary journals identified, the oldest current publication originated 63 years ago, with 10 journals currently interrupted or ceased. All 19 currently active journals are available electronically as open access, with 8 also offered in paper format. Veterinary journals published within Arabic-speaking countries are predominantly produced in Egypt, Iraq, and Sudan. Electronic access is lacking compared with English-speaking countries, and there is a lack of journals with an Arabic-language option. The reasons associated with language options in veterinary publications are not immediately apparent, yet may highlight differences among public health, health education, and zoonotic professionals and the populations they serve. Veterinary journals in Arabic-speaking countries do not adequately represent the overall region and are limited in access. Further evaluation of regional culture and publisher preferences is indicated to identify new collaboration opportunities among health professionals and local stakeholders. Copyright © 2017 Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Profile and scientific production of Brazilian National Council of Technological and Scientific Development researchers in Pediatrics.

    PubMed

    Oliveira, Maria Christina L; Martelli, Daniella Reis B; Pinheiro, Sergio Veloso; Miranda, Debora Marques; Quirino, Isabel Gomes; Leite, Barbara Gusmão L; Colosimo, Enrico Antonio; e Silva, Ana Cristina S; Martelli-Júnior, Hercílio; Oliveira, Eduardo Araujo

    2013-09-01

    To evaluate the profile and the scientific production of researchers in Pediatrics with scholarship from the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development. The Lattes curricula of 34 researchers in Pediatrics with active scholarships, from 2006 to 2008 were included in the analysis. The variables of interest were: gender, affiliation, time since PHD, tutoring of undergraduate students, mentorship of masters and doctors, scientific production and the papers' impact. In a total of 411 researchers in Medicine, 34 (8%) belonged to Pediatrics. Males (77%) and scholars in the category 2 of productivity (62%) prevailed. Three states of Brazil were responsible for approximately 90% of the researchers: São Paulo (53%), Minas Gerais (21%), and Rio Grande do Sul (15%). During their academic career, the Pediatrics researchers have published 3,122 articles with a median of 89 articles per researcher (interquartile range - IQ=51-119). Of the total, 40 and 59% articles were indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, respectively. The Pediatrics researchers have published papers in 599 journals with a median impact factor of 2.35 (IQ=1.37-3.73) for the 323 indexed journals. The Pediatrics researchers have a relevant scientific output from the quantity point of the view, but there is a need to improve quality.

  15. Ten Tips for Authors of Scientific Articles

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Writing a good quality scientific article takes experience and skill. I propose 'Ten Tips' that may help to improve the quality of manuscripts for scholarly journals. It is advisable to draft first version of manuscript and revise it repeatedly for consistency and accuracy of the writing. During the drafting and revising the following tips can be considered: 1) focus on design to have proper content, conclusion, points compliant with scope of the target journal, appropriate authors and contributors list, and relevant references from widely visible sources; 2) format the manuscript in accordance with instructions to authors of the target journal; 3) ensure consistency and logical flow of ideas and scientific facts; 4) provide scientific confidence; 5) make your story interesting for your readers; 6) write up short, simple and attractive sentences; 7) bear in mind that properly composed and reflective titles increase chances of attracting more readers; 8) do not forget that well-structured and readable abstracts improve citability of your publications; 9) when revising adhere to the rule of 'First and Last' - open your text with topic paragraph and close it with resolution paragraph; 10) use connecting words linking sentences within a paragraph by repeating relevant keywords. PMID:25120310

  16. Scientific research of Italian neurologists from 2008 to 2011.

    PubMed

    Tinazzi, Michele; Toni, Danilo; Veronese, Marco; Ajena, Domenico; Cruccu, Giorgio; Calabresi, Paolo

    2014-03-01

    Quantifying the number of publications is the easiest way to estimate the scientific production of a country in any scientific field. The aim of this article is to provide information about the scientific production from 2008 to 2011 of Italian neurologists and to compare it with scientific production data of other countries. The analysis regarded the research in Web of Science, in the Subject Category Clinical Neurology, of the publications published from 2008 to 2011, with at least one Italian author belonging to a scientific Italian institution. The overall data, their quality and scientific impact were compared with those of the first 15 world countries for scientific production. We observed that even if the Gross National Product of Italy registered a slight and gradual reduction from 2008 to 2011, the neurological scientific production of Italian neurologists showed an increase in the number of papers, maintaining the fifth position in these four years after USA, Germany, England and Japan. Moreover, dividing the neurological journals in quartiles according to the impact factor, we observed constant increase of the numbers of Italian publications in the highest quartile journals during the considered period. These data suggest that from 2008 to 2011 Italian neurologists have increased the number of publications, also improving the quality of works.

  17. Chinese journals: a guide for epidemiologists

    PubMed Central

    Fung, Isaac CH

    2008-01-01

    Chinese journals in epidemiology, preventive medicine and public health contain much that is of potential international interest. However, few non-Chinese speakers are acquainted with this literature. This article therefore provides an overview of the contemporary scene in Chinese biomedical journal publication, Chinese bibliographic databases and Chinese journals in epidemiology, preventive medicine and public health. The challenge of switching to English as the medium of publication, the development of publishing bibliometric data from Chinese databases, the prospect of an Open Access publication model in China, the issue of language bias in literature reviews and the quality of Chinese journals are discussed. Epidemiologists are encouraged to search the Chinese bibliographic databases for Chinese journal articles. PMID:18826604

  18. NASA Scientific and Technical Information System (STI) and New Directory of Numerical Data Bases

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wilson, J.

    1984-01-01

    The heart of NASA's STI system is a collection of scientific and technical information gathered from worldwide sources. Currently containing over 2.2 million items, the data base is growing at the rate of 140,000 items per year. In addition to announcement journals, information is disseminated through the NASA RECON on-line bibliographic search system. One part of RECON is NALNET which lists journals and books held by the NASA Centers. Another service now accessible by recon is a directory of numerical data bases (DND) which can be shared by NASA staff and contractors. The DND describes each data base and gives the name and phone number of a contact person. A NASA-wide integrated library system is being developed for the Center libraries which will include on-line catalog and subsystems for acquisition, circulation control, information retrieveal, management information, and an authority file. These subsystems can interact with on-line bibliographic, patron, and vendor files.

  19. [French astronomical journals an interactivity of the scientific world].

    PubMed

    Vassilieff, Catherine

    2014-01-01

    Astronomical data issued from observatories find multiple uses on land, as well as on sea. Due to their structure and periodicity, scientific reviews are particularly adapted to peer review and sharing of data between astronomers as well as between astronomers and hobbyists. During the 19(th) century regional observatories first gather together professionals interested in the practical applications of the observations and later, under the influence of personalities such as Camille Flammarion, they bring together a larger non-professional audience. Being the epicentre of scientific exchange, the reviews have in the 20(th) century found their place on the websites of academic institutions as well as users forums.

  20. Using Journals to Show Students What Social Psychology Is All about

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Harrod, Wendy J.

    2009-01-01

    Professional journals serve the vital scientific function of disseminating knowledge to colleagues. In so doing, journals become the "face" and "voice" of the professional disciplines they represent. Journal content shows the major topics of interest, the scope, and the boundaries of the profession. It shows the techniques and methods of research…