Publishing Landscape Research Articles

A qualitative analysis of the information science needs of public health researchers in an academic setting.

ObjectivesThe University of Minnesota (UMN) Health Sciences Libraries conducted a needs assessment of public health researchers as part of a multi-institutional study led by Ithaka S+R. The aims of the study were to capture the evolving needs, opportunities, and challenges of public health researchers in the current environment and provide actionable recommendations. This paper reports on the data collected at the UMN site.MethodsParticipants (n=24) were recruited through convenience sampling. One-on-one interviews, held November 2016 to January 2017, were audio-recorded. Qualitative analyses were conducted using NVivo 11 Pro and were based on the principles of grounded theory.ResultsThe data revealed that a broad range of skill levels among participants (e.g., literature searching) and areas of misunderstanding (e.g., current publishing landscape, open access options). Overall, data management was an afterthought. Few participants were fully aware of the breadth of librarian knowledge and skill sets, although many did express a desire for further skill development in information science.ConclusionsLibraries can engage more public health researchers by utilizing targeted and individualized marketing regarding services. We can promote open science by educating researchers on publication realities and enhancing our data visualization skills. Libraries might take an institution-wide leadership role on matters of data management and data policy compliance. Finally, as team science emerges as a research priority, we can offer our networking expertise. These support services may reduce the stresses that public health researchers feel in the current research environment.

Who is Publishing Diverse Books Best?

Small independent publishers are frequently lauded as the bastions of diversity while the Big Five are vilified as the primary contributors to the overwhelming whiteness of book publishing—yet no statistical data has been offered to support either claim. Moreover, the overall percentages of authors of color have remained the same year after year (Low in Where is the diversity in publishing? The 2015 diversity baseline survey results. Lee and Low (blog), 2016). The following study is a comparison of the Big Five publishers and small independent publishers with respect to author diversity. As social media outlets are now claiming to change the landscape of publishing by making diverse books more accessible to readers, data was sourced from an independent, reader-driven list to determine which publishers—if any—are promoting authors of color and whether their books are making it into the hands of readers.

A Snapshot of Open Access Journals in Science

This study is a snapshot of OA publishing in science. The quick development of OA publishing has greatly changed the landscape of academic publishing.

Times They Are a Changin’ - The Altered Landscape of Technical Publishing

Times They Are a Changin’ - The Altered Landscape of Technical Publishing

Making accessibility more accessible to publishers

Making accessibility more accessible to publishers

Scientific Society Journals: the Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

In the 1950s and 1960s the increased specialization of science led to the formation of discipline-based scientific societies. Some of these, among them the Astronomical Society of Australia, began their own refereed journals. The Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, which has now been continuously published by the Society for over 50 years, has undergone many changes in that time in response to the changes in the publication landscape. The method of production has advanced from manual to computer typesetting and from printed volumes to purely electronic publishing. The content of the journal has changed from short conference papers to formal research papers that now, under the impact of citation indices, face strict refereeing and are mixed with major invited review papers. Dedicated editors have maintained the journal despite a preference from many members to publish in better known overseas journals as well as strong opposition from within the society to the costs involved in maintaining a research journal.

State of the Journal

Welcome to 2018's first issue of the IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems (TPDS). I'm excited with my new role as incoming Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of TPDS and look forward to serving the community over the next few years. My goal as EIC is to continue to work on increasing the visibility and relevance and impact of TPDS, as well as the quality and timeliness of the review process, to ensure that TPDS is the premier Transactions in the field. The IEEE is a hallmark of quality for technical publication. The value TPDS brings to the international community is in its collection of the highest quality research that is relevant to academia, industry, and laboratories. I will investigate new opportunities for TPDS to capture the best research while maintaining its emphasis on highest quality papers. TPDS also needs to respond to a dynamic and rapidly evolving research and publication landscape. As EIC, I will work with the IEEE community to ensure that TPDS does respond appropriately, and will carefully work with the editorial board to revisit the scope and recruit new editorial board members as needed. An important and rapid growing conversation is related to the repeatability of published research and the submission of supplementary material such as code and data. I am part of this conversation, and will work with the EB and the community to explore how to bring these practices in meaningful and measured ways to TPDS.

Women, Gender, and "Specifically Historical" Research on Ghana: A Retrospective

This essay identifies some divergences in understandings and applications of the terms "women" and "gender" since the 1980s. It suggests how these divergences might help us to analyze the Ghana-focused scholarship in relation to broader trends in African studies, women's history, and gender history. Gender has permeated Ghana Studies in articles and special issues on contemporary migration, work, households, health, sexualities, and politics; but comparatively few articles have aimed to complement this thematic breadth with historical depth. The essay concludes with some reflections on the chronological distribution of research interests, the dissemination strategies of historians, and the place of country-specific journals within the broader publication landscape.

Women, Gender, and “Specifically Historical” Research on Ghana

This essay identifies some divergences in understandings and applications of the terms “women” and “gender” since the 1980s. It suggests how these divergences might help us to analyze the Ghana-focused scholarship in relation to broader trends in African studies, women’s history, and gender history. Gender has permeated <i>Ghana Studies</i> in articles and special issues on contemporary migration, work, households, health, sexualities, and politics; but comparatively few articles have aimed to complement this thematic breadth with historical depth. The essay concludes with some reflections on the chronological distribution of research interests, the dissemination strategies of historians, and the place of country-specific journals within the broader publication landscape.

Changing proxies for evaluating research performance: what matters to university programme heads?

ABSTRACTThe tourism and hospitality research and publishing landscape have faced radical changes over the last decade. As a result, there have been calls for more holistic approaches for evaluating an academic’s research performance. Yet, updated research on the perceptions of what constitutes ‘good’ research performance remain under-studied. To address this gap, the objective of this study is to examine how current university programme heads in tourism and hospitality evaluate and define ‘good’ research performance. In doing so, this study offers insights to academics on how the goal posts are indeed shifting for performance evaluation, and provides information for programme heads to assess the relative salience of their own research targets.

Textbooks and digital resources: current transformations in France / Libros de texto y recursos digitales: transformaciones actuales en Francia

Abstract: Many discourses emphasize the great educational potential of digital technologies. These technologies can renew both the activities carried out with students, the management of their learning paths, working methods, etc. In theory, this will be beneficial for education. But the evolution of these technologies in the field of education does not necessarily lead to idyllic results. In reality, the changes observed in these areas are slow and are based on very localized, rarely convergent, and often incomplete. Several elements are likely to determine the uses of computer technologies: the strategies of publishers and links with «EdTech» companies; political choices (in terms of curricula, equipment, examinations, etc.); materials (tablets, smartphones, etc.); educational resources, their modes of production and exchange, the place of free educational resources; changes in national and European legislation about digital matters. In this paper, we will try to show how the French publishing landscape and access to educational resources is currently undergoing important changes, starting from a configuration where textbooks are central to sketch out the current situation, where the supply of online digital resources seems to open up alternatives. We will rely in particular on the case of a portal of resources financed by the Ministry of National Education and published by consortia bringing together publishers and EdTech structures.

Landscape study on open access monographs: Policies, funding and publishing in eight European countries

Watch the VIDEO here.The monograph is one of the most prestigious scholarly publication outlets – a hallmark of reputation, a tool for career progression and a means of disseminating fundamental ideas of scholarship. Open access policies from funders, publishers and institutions have been relatively quiet on monographs and other long form publications, predominantly focusing on journals. However the beginnings of a transition to open access for monographs has commenced and there are several projects and initiatives exploring and experimenting in this area.I would like to report on an in-depth study covering eight European countries (including Norway, Finland and Denmark) that compares and contrasts the monograph publishing landscape, where policy on OA for monographs stands, and how OA monograph publishing is now moving quickly forward.Librarians, who are increasingly being asked to support OA initiatives may be interested in the developments reported here.The primary goal of the Landscape study was to assemble comparable data and analysis from Germany, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria and France. This includes the costs of OA books; the fees charged for OA books; the range of non-BPC models; the adoption of OA policies for books by funders (both public and private), universities, and publishers. An overview of OA book publishing along with a review of policies and mandates highlights the various national differences as well as similarities. While including examples from all eight countries the presentation will pay special attention to developments and experiments in the Nordic countries.Financial support for the study came from Knowledge Exchange, the Current Research Information System in Norway (CRIStin), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), and the French library consortium Couperin. Eelco Ferwerda (OAPEN), Frances Pinter (KU Research) and Niels Stern (Nordic Council of Ministers) are joint Principal Investigators, with support from Lucy Montgomery (KU/Curtin University) and Ronald Snijder (OAPEN).

A landscape study on Open Access and monographs: policies, funding and publishing in eight European countries

Watch the VIDEO here. The monograph is one of the most prestigious scholarly publication outlets – a hallmark of reputation, a tool for career progression and a means of disseminating fundamental ideas of scholarship. Open access policies from funders, publishers and institutions have been relatively quiet on monographs and other long form publications, predominantly focusing on journals. However the beginnings of a transition to open access for monographs has commenced and there are several projects and initiatives exploring and experimenting in this area. I would like to report on an in-depth study covering eight European countries (including Norway, Finland and Denmark) that compares and contrasts the monograph publishing landscape, where policy on OA for monographs stands, and how OA monograph publishing is now moving quickly forward. Librarians, who are increasingly being asked to support OA initiatives may be interested in the developments reported here. The primary goal of the Landscape study was to assemble comparable data and analysis from Germany, Finland, Denmark, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Norway, Austria and France. This includes the costs of OA books; the fees charged for OA books; the range of non-BPC models; the adoption of OA policies for books by funders (both public and private), universities, and publishers. An overview of OA book publishing along with a review of policies and mandates highlights the various national differences as well as similarities. While including examples from all eight countries the presentation will pay special attention to developments and experiments in the Nordic countries. Financial support for the study came from Knowledge Exchange, the Current Research Information System in Norway (CRIStin), the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), and the French library consortium Couperin. Eelco Ferwerda (OAPEN), Frances Pinter (KU Research) and Niels Stern (Nordic Council of Ministers) are joint Principal Investigators, with support from Lucy Montgomery (KU/Curtin University) and Ronald Snijder (OAPEN).

Dissertation to Book? A Snapshot of Dissertations Published As Books in 2014 and 2015, Available in Open Access Institutional Repositories

INTRODUCTION Graduate students sometimes express consternation about whether the presence of their dissertation in an open access institutional repository (IR) will harm their chances of being able to publish the manuscript as a book. Several studies have addressed the question from different perspectives, but the avenue of examining what had actually been published had not been explored. METHODS This study examines books published in 2014 and 2015 that were listed as dissertations in one large book vendor database. A list of books was downloaded and searched in both ProQuest’s Dissertations &amp;amp; Theses Global database and Google to identify a matching dissertation. RESULTS Only a small percentage of books published as dissertations were found in ProQuest and then subsequently in IRs. The number of libraries holding book titles with corresponding dissertations in IRs dropped between 2014 and 2015. The lists of publishers who published dissertations as books was very similar between 2014 and 2015 data and included large, commercial publishers. DISCUSSION Students should be aware that only a small percentage of the total number of dissertations produced in a year are subsequently published as books, that the time between dissertation and book publication is substantial, and that some subject areas are more likely to be published than others. CONCLUSION These findings provide nuance to the discussions of dissertations in open access repositories and a starting point to monitor trends in this area. They should also provide librarians who are providing supplementary guidance to graduate students with information about the publishing landscape.

Peer Review – the future is here

Several divergent standpoints are hosted under the umbrella of Peer Review. Authors, who wish to see the results of scrupulous work published, in the anticipation of career promotion or secure funding. Editors, who are under pressure to identify sound and novel research. Reviewers, who try to fit a thoughtful and time-consuming process within busy schedules, often receiving no credit for it. And Publishers competing in a transforming landscape of fast and abundant science publishing. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Military writers and their readers: the transnational circulation of campaign narratives of the Eastern Cape Frontier Wars between 1834 and 1853

This article provides a discussion of selected campaign narratives associated with the Frontier Wars in the Eastern Cape between 1834 and 1853. Its intention is to insert these British military publications into their contemporary publishing landscape and consequently to make a contribution to the field of book history. It will be argued that the narrative accounts in the books and journal articles were indicative of both the geographical dispersion and of the interconnectedness of colonial “knowledge.” From this perspective, some of the publications portrayed a transnational, “horizontal” movement between colonies. But there were other routes: many publications demonstrated a more predictable north-south, vertical course which was evident in the campaign narratives printed in the influential metropolitan centre of London. The readership, that is the Warnerian “audience,” spanned both the colonies and the metropole, as the discussion on the commentary proffered by professional journal reviewers demonstrates. In an attempt to give substance to these textual confluences, the article provides a limited discussion of Harriet Ward’s and Edward Elers Napier’s narratives concerning the Cape and the 7th Frontier War. Their texts demonstrate how the global mesh of texts rematerialized and reconfigured itself in an array of publications during the 1840s and 1850s. Furthermore, it will be suggested that the integration of texts within the nineteenth-century knowledge and power nexus helped to shape metropolitan notions of the Xhosa and to delineate colonial relations with the Xhosa.Keywords: Nineteenth century, British campaign narratives, Xhosa, Eastern Cape, transnational, publishing spheres, audience

Promoting transparency and reproducibility in Behavioral Neuroscience: Publishing replications, registered reports, and null results.

The editors of Behavioral Neuroscience have been discussing several recent developments in the landscape of scientific publishing. The discussion was prompted, in part, by reported issues of reproducibility and concerns about the integrity of the scientific literature. Although enhanced rigor and transparency in science are certainly important, a related issue is that increased competition and focus on novel findings has impeded the extent to which the scientific process is cumulative. We have decided to join the growing number of journals that are adopting new reviewing and publishing practices to address these problems. In addition to our standard research articles, we are pleased to announce 3 new categories of articles: replications, registered reports, and null results. In joining other journals in psychology and related fields to offer these publication types, we hope to promote higher standards of methodological rigor in our science. This will ensure that our discoveries are based on sound evidence and that they provide a durable foundation for future progress. (PsycINFO Database Record

How the landscape of publishing is changing biogeography

Author(s): Dawson, Michael N; Stigall, Alycia L; Hortal, Joaquin | Abstract: Open access, shifting publishing mores, predatory journals, reviewer over-burden are just a few of the factors reshaping modern scientific publishing. How are changes in the publishing environment influencing biogeography? Over the past eight years, 63 different titles have been among the 25 journals publishing most “biogeography” articles in any given year; a small nucleus of journals has consistently published a large proportion of “biogeography” papers. Yet, the journals enjoying the largest positive trends—e.g. increasing share of biogeography publications and increasing Impact Factor—are outside of the nucleus; they are emerging open access ‘mega-journals’ that offer simplified criteria for publication. From the fault lines appearing across the publishing landscape, we see opportunities emerging for Frontiers of Biogeography as a vigorous hybrid model that leverages the strengths of ‘old world’ and ‘new world’ approaches to disseminating scientific knowledge and nurtures mutual benefits.

Preface: Emerging trends in aquatic ecology II

You are now consulting the celebratory volume 750 of Hydrobiologia, the international journal of aquatic sciences. The journal has, since its first volume in March 1948, now exactly 67 years ago, covered a lot of ground and has seen a lot of change in the landscape of scientific publishing in general, and in that of aquatic biodiversity in particular. It has evolved from a fairly locally managed journal, to an international journal with ever increasing impact and ranking. With an ISI 2013 Impact Factor of 2.212, it now ranks 32 out of 103 journals in ‘‘Marine and Freshwater Biology’’. But in the ‘‘Marine Sciences and Fisheries’’ Category of Google Scholar, Hydrobiologia ranks proudly at a 9th place with an H5 index of 39 (the highest being Marine Ecology Progress Series with an H5-index of 49). Of course, such metrics never tell the entire story, and if one wants to judge the quality of a journal, other measures of performance must also be taken into account. Of these, the quality of the authorship, of the readership and of the editorial board are paramount. The present volume is very much a joint effort of the editors of Hydrobiologia and their collaborators and we are proud to present you the result. Each paper in this volume has at least one editor of Hydrobiologia as (co-) author, but for some papers, several editors joined forces. For example, the bibliometric paper by Siqueira et al. (2015) has three editors as authors, while the review on aquatic invasive species (Havel et al., 2015) authors a team of five Hydrobiologia editors. The title of the present special issue, ‘‘Emerging Trends in Aquatic Ecology’’, promises a wide canvas of topics, and although we have certainly not covered all ‘‘Emerging Trends’’, we are convinced that the present volume features a fair number of them. In the opening paper, Siqueira et al. (2015) explore the differences in approach to biodiversity analyses (using species richness as a response variable) between aquatic and terrestrial ecologists. They analyse the results of a systematic literature search and conclude that differences between such aquatic and terrestrial studies are not substantial. However, they do stress that there is a need for more hypothesisdriven research by both groups of ecologists, and for more research on mechanisms driving species richness variability in aquatic systems. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) is central to EU policy on marine (biodiversity) conservation in European Seas. Yet, as with the EU Guest editor: Koen Martens / Emerging Trends in Aquatic Ecology

Message from the Executive Director: Interview with Pat Soranno, Editor‐in‐Chief, L&amp;O Letters

Message from the Executive Director: Interview with Pat Soranno, Editor‐in‐Chief, <i>L&amp;O Letters</i>