scrazzl: semantic technology for evaluating research tools and products in scholarly literature

Scholarly research content contains vast stores of valuable, untapped knowledge and records the practical experiences of millions of research scientists. Analysis of this data to create useful actionable information promises to yield not only significant benefits for individual researchers, but also to provide a valuable market intelligence tool for companies that view scientists as their main customers. This article outlines some of the work that we are doing to unlock the intrinsic value of research content for the benefit of readers and advertisers. We report some findings of our internal market research, which illustrates the importance of documentary evidence and collegial recommendations to scientists when it comes to evaluating materials for scientific research. Furthermore, we outline some of the steps that we are taking to deliver this valuable, structured information to scientists and customers, in a fashion that is commercially viable and mutually beneficial for our company and the publishers with which we work.     

Global perspectives of research data sharing: A systematic literature review

Studies investigating data sharing from a world perspective are seemingly rare. By employing a quantitative design,this systematic review investigates and presents a comprehensive account of factors hampering data sharing at three levels of the global research hierarchy (individual, institutional and international). The study analyses secondary data extracted from 105 publications (n=105). Journal publishers and research grant organisations are key players in promoting data sharing activities by formulating, adopting and implementing policies on data sharing. Despite concerted efforts to promote data sharing, various factors frustrate these initiatives; they include lack of time and data misappropriation (individual level); data sharing training, absence of compensation and unfavourable internal policies (institutional level); and weak policies, ethical and legal norms, lack of data infrastructure and interoperability issues (international level). To counter these challenges, there is a need for research stakeholders to recognise researchers who share data through data citations, acknowledgement and incentives; invest in infrastructure, conduct training and advocacy programs; formulate stringent and fair policies. Data sharing will only become a success if research stakeholders apply equal efforts in managing data to that of research publications in general. The study offers a unique and comprehensive account of factors hampering data sharing from a global perspective. Solutions suggested could be adopted by research stakeholders in their efforts to enhance data sharing activities at various research levels.     

How research becomes impact: Librarians helping faculty use scholarly metrics to select journals

Many librarians support faculty with the publishing process, which includes journal selection and evaluating the impact of their scholarly output. While large universities have the resources for entire departments devoted to bibliometrics, the authors of this article give strategies for faculty publishing support at a smaller liberal arts university. The authors created a LibGuide with publishing resources and presented the initiative to several academic divisions. Faculty were surveyed, and the results indicated that the majority of respondents were interested in assessing journal quality and viewed the library as a resource for help with the publishing process.     

Practices of quality and trustworthiness in scholarly communication: A case from Pakistan

This paper aims to investigate the practices of Pakistani academic researchers with respect to using, citing, and publishing their scholarly work. The quantitative survey method adopted to collect data from local researchers was based on an instrument developed and used by CIBER. Their notions and practices involved in deciding trust and quality of scholarly journals were obtained. The findings revealed that national and institutional policies have significantly influenced their decisions regarding the publishing outlets. The credibility of indexing services was found to be an important factor in choosing the journal for publishing research. ISI Web of Science Impact Factor was not considered as the top source for determining quality and trustworthiness. This study is the first of its kind that targets the top two universities of the country. A comparison of the findings with another international study shows that some of the behavioural traits are compatible with scholars from less‐developed countries like India and China, while others are more similar to the ones from highly developed countries like USA and UK.     

学术期刊办刊方略对科学研究和人才培养的作用——以美国《物理评论》为例

<物理评论>创立于美国实用主义思想盛行的时期.20世纪,伴随着美国基础物理学从世界科学的边缘走向中心,<物理评论>也成为物理学界最重要的专业期刊.本文尝试通过分析20世纪美国诺贝尔物理学获奖者与<物理评论>的关联,解读<物理评论>在美国基础物理发展壮大和物理学研究人才培养中的作用.提出关于中国学术期刊办刊方略的建议.     

Theory talk in the library science scholarly literature: An exploratory analysis

In the discipline of library and information science (LIS), a qualitative analysis of the meaningful use of theory in contemporary scholarly literature is critical to helping scholars expand their repertoire of knowledge about various theories and helping them make informed decisions about how to skillfully integrate theory in their research. This study explored how theory was presented and talked about in seven prominent library science-focused journals from 2009 to 2011. Through a process of analytic induction, categories representing a continuum of theory talk were identified and their relationships examined. Three main types of theory talk in library research are defined, ranging from minimal (theory dropping), moderate (theory conversation), to major (theory generation). The categories and their relationships generate a rich discussion about the intensity and degree to which theory is being discussed and used in a less-examined subset of library and information science research journals. This research contributes both an explanatory structure and substantive discussion regarding theory use in library science to the professional literature.     

The citation impact of information behavior theories in scholarly literature

Theories of information behavior have been developed and used in a variety of disciplines to describe the needs, seeking/search/sharing behaviors, and uses of information among individuals and groups in a variety of contexts. While the development of a theory is a complex, evolutionary process, often involving many thinkers over a long period of time, there is generally a single or small group of publications that can be pointed to as the genesis of a theory. The genesis publications for information behavior theories were examined to determine the information behavior theories receiving the most direct citations in scholarly literature. The findings of this study may be beneficial to library and information science researchers in identifying influential and growing theories of information behavior for incorporation as the foundation of their own research.     

A promising phenomenon of open data: A case study of the Chicago open data project

This article presents a case study of the open data project in the Chicago area. The main purpose of the research is to explore empowering potential of an open data phenomenon at the local level as a platform useful for promotion of civic engagement projects and provide a framework for future research and hypothesis testing. Today the main challenge in realization of any e-government projects is a traditional top–down administrative mechanism of their realization itself practically without any input from members of the civil society. In this respect, the author of the article argues that the open data concept realized at the local level may provide a real platform for promotion of proactive civic engagement. By harnessing collective wisdom of the local communities, their knowledge and visions of the local challenges, governments could react and meet citizens' needs in a more productive and cost-efficient manner. Open data-driven projects that focused on visualization of environmental issues, mapping of utility management, evaluating of political lobbying, social benefits, closing digital divide, etc. are only some examples of such perspectives. These projects are perhaps harbingers of a new political reality where interactions among citizens at the local level will play a more important role than communication between civil society and government due to the empowering potential of the open data concept.     

Historical case study: A research strategy for diachronic analysis

History and case study are two diachronic research strategies commonly used to study political discourse as it relates to public libraries. Though suitable for some studies, these strategies are inexhaustive. A new, blended research strategy is therefore needed to accomplish what history and case study alone cannot. This hybrid strategy, historical case study, must analyze cases from the distant past to the present, using eclectic data sources, in order to produce both idiographic and nomothetic knowledge. To develop historical case study, the universal components of diachronic analysis are first identified. A general research design for historical case study is then introduced. Finally, historical case study is tested in an actual research project. Findings from this project reveal that historical case study is a successful diachronic research strategy. Historical case study is a new and valuable research design suitable for addressing questions related to change, continuity, development, and evolution.     

The ethics of scholarly peer review: a review of the literature

This review summarizes the literature of a subset of the published research and commentary on peer review – the ethics of peer review. It attempts to track the various ethical issues that arise among the key participants in peer‐review systems: authors, editors, referees, and readers. These issues include: bias, courtesy, conflict of interest, redundant publication, honesty, transparency, and training. It concludes that debates over such issues as open vs. blind reviews continue unresolved but that new technologies offer some prospects for resolving old issues while they also may create new challenges.     

Network analysis of temporal trends in scholarly research productivity

We propose a method to identify the journals or proceedings that are most highly esteemed by a research group over some time frame. Using open publication databases, we identify the experts in the community, and analyse their publication pattern, and then use this as a guideline for evaluating scientific outputs of other groups of researchers publishing in the same domain. To illustrate the practicality of our method, we analyse the scientific output of Korean researchers in the security subject domain from 2004 to 2009, and comparing this groups’ output with that of well-known researchers. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that there is a persistent gap between these two research groups’ publications impact over this period, although the absolute number of journal publications greatly increased over recent years.     

The economics of scholarly journals: a case study on a society‐published journal

This article re‐examines the economics of publishing scholarly journals and illustrates the dilemma of publisher identity and publication format with a case study of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication's Media Management and Economics division. The study investigates the perceived interest and demand for a society‐published journal for the field of media management and economics and the preferred format for that journal – print or online. Results showed a divided opinion on the support of a society‐published journal and no consideration of the benefits or harms of journal publishing to the society. The print journal, though a desirable format for authors, is deemed uneconomical. The online journal is viewed as a feasible publication outlet, but its status as a prestigious journal is doubtful. Applications of scholarly journal publishing and economic models to the case are discussed.     

国际学术出版开放式访问(OA):Ⅰ.实践与前沿问题研究进展

综述当前国际学术出版界开放式访问(Open Access,OA)运动实践和理论研究的部分热点问题.主要讨论OA期刊和OA知识库的概念、实施方式,提高OA文献的可见性和可获取性的若干措施,OA带来的学术文献引用影响力的提高和一些发展趋势.     

How students use their libraries: A case study of four academic libraries

The purpose of this study was to explore the similarities and differences in student behavior in or uses of four academic libraries in the greater New York City area. Using on-site observations and semistructured interviews, the authors collected data about resources and tools used by students as well as their academic and nonacademic activities and contributing factors. Across all four libraries, the study identified that students were actively engaged in academic pursuits utilizing multiple library resources while working with print and digital tools. Students were also observed resting, eating, and engaging in other nonacademic activities. The variations in student behaviors across the four libraries can be explained by contextual variables that influence students' behavior in a library, including student demographics, academic requirements, work habits, and disciplinary affiliations.     

参考文献引证在研究型论文中的分布特征

统计表明:参考文献引证数量分布在研究型论文的引言、正文及结论中的比例分别为61.4%、38.6%和0.对参考文献在论文各部分中的主要作用特征进行了分析.     

How to spot Ugly Black Ducklings: the next competitive frontiers in scholarly publishing

This paper reviews events of SSP 2013 and AAUP 2013 within the context of Nassim Nicholas Taleb's notions of Black Swans (unexpected game changers) to anticipate the formation of competitive arenas (i.e. new models and revenue streams) for scholarly communications. It examines Tim O'Reilly's keynote address at SSP 2013, the advice of Michael Schrage from the opening Plenary at AAUP 2013, and Tim Sullivan's discussion of Harvard Business Publication's use of a topical blog network as new publishing platform to access global digital communications networks. The essay extrapolates from the case studies presented to overlay the strategies of successful practitioner presses and the advice of sought‐after business consultants on the work of academic houses, to imagine the next competitive frontier(s) in scholarly publishing.