20 years of cowardice: the pathetic response of American universities to the crisis in scholarly publishing

20 years of cowardice: the pathetic response of American universities to the crisis in scholarly publishing

Michael Eisen writes about the opportunities universities have missed.

Universities should have stopped paying for subscriptions, forcing publishers to adopt alternative economic models. And they should have started to reshape the criteria for hiring, promotion and tenure, so that current and aspiring faculty did not feel compelled to publish in journals that were bankrupting the system.

SCIENCE CODE MANIFESTO

SCIENCE CODE MANIFESTO

Software is a cornerstone of science. Without software, twenty-first century science would be impossible. Without better software, science cannot progress. But the culture and institutions of science have not yet adjusted to this reality. Source code must remain available, linked to related materials, for the useful lifetime of the publication.

Manifesto, Endorse, Discussion.

Wikipedia Academy: Research and Free Knowledge.

Wikipedia Academy: Research and Free Knowledge.

The free online Encyclopedia Wikipedia answers questions of millions of users every day. Wikipedia’s mere existence, growth, (social and technical) functioning and quality also raises an enormous number of research questions. The “Wikipedia Academy 2012: Research and Free Knowledge” provides a platform for the research community and the Wikipedia community to connect, present, discuss and advance research on Wikipedia in particular and on free knowledge in general.

The next revolution in Science: Open Access will open new ways to measure scientific output

The next revolution in Science: Open Access will open new ways to measure scientific output

Compared with the current practices, all of which are based on citations only, the inclusion of altmetrics plus online usage statistics and post-publication peer-review in an open access world will represent a true revolution in the way that science is perceived by all, scientists included.

Google Scholar Metrics

Google Scholar Metrics

Google Scholar Metrics provide an easy way for authors to quickly gauge the visibility and influence of recent articles in scholarly publications. While most researchers are familiar with the well-established journals in their field, that is often not the case with newer publications or publications in related fields - there’re simply too many of them to keep track of! Scholar Metrics summarize recent citations to many publications, to help authors as they consider where to publish their new research.

eLife

eLife

eLife is a researcher-driven initiative for the very best in science and science communication. We promote rapid, fair, and more constructive review. We will use digital media and open access to increase the influence of published works. We commit to serving authors and advancing careers in science.

Trust Acts to Open Research Findings to the Public

Trust Acts to Open Research Findings to the Public

Another New York Times article:

The trend toward open access scientific publishing gained strength last week when the Wellcome Trust, the second-largest nongovernmental funder of scientific research in the world, said it was considering sanctions against scientists who do not make the results of their research freely available to the public.