Communicating Knowledge: How and Why UK Researchers Publish and Disseminate Their Findings from the Research Information Network (September 2009)

The report outlines not only reasons why researchers publish and their diverse methods for doing so, but also the tensions between researchers’ desires to enhance knowledge and understanding and funders’ goals of seeing social and economic return on their investment. The pressures from funders (especially the government) to “demonstrate impact,” especially strongly conveyed (in the UK) through the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), very strongly influence (and limit) researchers’ publishing decisions. The major findings of the report, while not surprising, highlight the needs both for clarity and for flexibility in the publishing assessment process:

1. Researchers need clearer and more consistent guidance on the comparative value placed by funders, departments, and institutions on the various and increasingly diverse communication channels open to them. Researchers currently feel great pressure to publish articles in “high impact” journals, almost to the exclusion of any other venue, even if journal articles are not the best vehicle for disseminating their research. If funders, departments, and institutions are open to a variety of publishing modes, they need to spell out clearly what they would find acceptable and reward dissemination that use those outlets.

2. Because there is no one standard across disciplines for how multiple authors on a paper or other work are listed, practice can vary widely – but assessment of this work by those determining “contribution” often fails to take these differences into account. The report suggest that funders, societies, and publishers might work together to recommend “best practices” in this area.

3. Citation practices vary widely, depending on the age and discipline of the researcher and on limitations to citations placed upon researchers by journals. Particular shifts show an increasing focus on citing already well-known authors or works published in only certain journals or by selected presses, as well as to what is available online. These citation predispositions, combined with restrictions that some journals put on the number of citations allowed within a piece, may severely curtail the usefulness of bibliographic citations as a useful assessment measure.

4. The RAE heavily influences researchers in their selection of the journals in which to publish and in their publishing output (i.e., they are rewarded for journal articles almost to the exclusion of any other output) – and researchers are very concerned that discipline-specific contributions are not recognized and rewarded equally within the format of the Research Excellence Framework by which everyone’s work is judged.

Read the full report and supporting documents at http://www.rin.ac.uk/communicating-knowledge.

–Rebecca, CDRS Director

Columbia's New Copyright Website

This week, Columbia’s Copyright Advisory Office (CAO) relaunched its website with a brand new look and a range of updated content. CAO’s director, Kenneth Crews, partnered with CDRS and its Scholarly Communication Program to redesign and develop the site.

The CAO is a leading provider of copyright resources for the educational community. The Office’s website offers a trove of information on ownership and publication of scholarly works, fair use in the context of scholarship and teaching, and the creation of digital libraries and preservation initiatives at universities.

Resources available on the new site include:

• A “QuickGuide” outlining succinctly the basics of copyright law.
• Guidance for understanding and applying fair use, including the popular “Checklist for Fair Use” conceived by Dr. Crews and now utilized at a wide range of educational institutions.
• Explanations and tools addressing library copying for research, preservation, and more.
• Details about identifying materials in the public domain and understanding the rules of copyright duration.
• Instructions for requesting and securing permissions from copyright owners.
• Pointers and tips for authors about publication agreements and the importance of negotiating and retaining records.
• A blog of postings from the CAO on Google Books and many other issues.
• Extensive links to a wealth of copyright information.

Visit the new site at http://copyright.columbia.edu! Read the press release.

Are researchers ready to share their data? Join us for a discussion on this and more on Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 12:30 pm in Alfred Lerner Hall, Room 555, on Columbia University’s Morningside Campus. The event is sponsored by Columbia University’s Scholarly Communication Program and CIESIN, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network.

Appearing as panelists are John Wilbanks, Robert Chen, and Andrew Rundle. Wilbanks is the Vice President for Science at Creative Commons, where he runs the Science Commons project. His background includes roles at the World Wide Web Consortium, Harvard Law School, and the US House of Representatives, as well work as a software entrepreneur. Chen is director of CIESIN, a research unit of the Earth Institute at Columbia. He is currently Secretary-General of the Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) of the International Council for Science (ICSU), and a member of the ICSU ad hoc Strategic Coordinating Committee on Information and Data. Rundle is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and runs several research projects studying how built and social environments of neighborhoods in New York City influence health. To a large degree his research relies upon access to data generated by New York City governmental agencies.

The term “open data” refers to a range of initiatives and policies that share the common goal of creating more access to scientific data and fewer restrictions on its reuse. Advocates argue that open data is the future of science, allowing researchers around the world to take full advantage of web-based technologies to access data from an unprecedented number of sources. Data-sharing requirements are already attached to some grants from the National Institutes for Health (NIH), and other research funders are considering similar policies.

The panelists will discuss the advantages of sharing data openly as well as the practical implications for researchers, particularly those who work with confidential information or who plan to mine a data set for years to come.

This event is free and open to the public. It is the third of six events this academic year in a speaker series organized by the Scholarly Communication Program. Follow the series remotely via Twitter at http://twitter.com/ScholarlyComm. Video will be distributed through the Program’s website and Columbia University’s iTunesU and YouTube pages. For information on the series, Research without Borders: The Changing World of Scholarly Communication, please email Kathryn Pope at kp2002@columbia.edu.

The Scholarly Communication Program explores effective uses of digital technology for sharing new knowledge. The Program, based at the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) within Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, highlights innovative approaches to communicating scholarly work and examines related debates over policy and practice, particularly in the context of global research.

Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is one of the top five academic research library systems in North America. The collections include over 10 million volumes, over 100,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, graphic and audio-visual materials. The services and collections are organized into 22 libraries and various academic technology centers. The Libraries employs more than 550 professional and support staff. The website of the Libraries at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb is the gateway to its services and resources.

CIESIN, the Center for International Earth Science Information Network, is a research center in Columbia University’s Earth Institute that addresses human interactions with the environment. Its focus is on integrating data, information, and knowledge from the natural, social, and health sciences to address problems related to climate change, natural disasters, emerging infectious disease, environment and conflict, and other pressing interdisciplinary issues. CIESIN provides a range of online information resources and tools for research, education, and policy, and partners with researchers and organizations from around the world in innovative research and development of cyberinfrastructure. Share this

]]> http://cdrs.columbia.edu/cdrsmain/?feed=rss2&p=730 http://cdrs.columbia.edu/cdrsmain/?p=720 http://cdrs.columbia.edu/cdrsmain/?p=720#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:14:12 +0000 dp2065 http://cdrs.columbia.edu/cdrsmain/?p=720

CDRS video team supports Columbia's ongoing World Leaders Forum

It’s been a very busy couple of weeks for us in Video Services. In addition to the move into our new address, we’re now headlong into the Fall semester, and as expected, videotaping requests have been pouring in. We’re always happy to assist the greater Columbia community—and at a university like ours there is never a shortage of conferences, lectures, and symposia begging to be videotaped! This year, as in previous years, we were once again thrilled to be involved with the Columbia University World Leaders Forum. Coinciding with the UN General Assembly, the World Leaders Forum invites heads of state from all over the globe to speak on campus. Some of this year’s participants included President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva of Thailand, and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Republic of Nepal, as well as a special keynote address given by former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan. You can learn more about the WLF (and watch the full videos) by visiting the World Leaders Forum website.

—Vin Aliberto, Video Services Manager @ CDRS

The panelists are James O’Donnell, Provost of Georgetown University, and Erick Weinberg, Professor of Physics at Columbia University. O’Donnell has published widely on the history and culture of the late antiquian Mediterranean world and is a recognized innovator in the application of networked information technology in higher education. He is currently Vice President for Publications, as well as past president and director, of the American Philological Association. Since 1996, Erick Weinberg has been Editor of Physical Review D, the American Physical Society’s journal covering elementary particle physics, gravitation, and cosmology. His research is in elementary particle physics, quantum field theory, and related areas of early universe cosmology.

In most academic disciplines, learned societies publish important scholarly journals. In turn, subscription sales to these journals can serve as a crucial source of revenue for societies. But the long-term viability of subscription-based society journals is now in question due to dwindling library subscription budgets and the growing number of voices calling for open access to peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles. What is a learned society to do?

This event is free and open to the public. It is the second of six events this academic year in a speaker series on today’s pivotal issues in scholarly communication organized by the Scholarly Communication Program. Follow the series remotely via Twitter at http://twitter.com/ScholarlyComm. Video will be distributed through the Program’s website and Columbia University’s iTunesU and YouTube pages. Previous events in the series are available online now. For information on the series, Research without Borders: The Changing World of Scholarly Communication, please email Kathryn Pope at kp2002@columbia.edu, or visit http://scholcomm.columbia.edu/events.

The Scholarly Communication Program explores effective uses of digital technology for sharing new knowledge. The Program, based at the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) within Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, highlights innovative approaches to communicating scholarly work and examines related debates over policy and practice, particularly in the context of global research.

Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is one of the top five academic research library systems in North America. The collections include over 10 million volumes, over 100,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, graphic and audio-visual materials. The services and collections are organized into 22 libraries and various academic technology centers. The Libraries employs more than 550 professional and support staff. The website of the Libraries at www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb is the gateway to its services and resources.

Top 10 Web Conferencing Vendors – 2009: Profiles of the Leading Vendors from Business-Software.com
The right web conferencing software can improve communication and collaboration while also realizing advantages in convenience and cost-efficiency. This evaluation of current Web conferencing vendors looks at the top 10 enterprise vendors in the field: iLinc, Saba, Citrix, WebEx, Genesys, Microsoft, InterCall, IBM, Cisco Systems, and Adobe.
–Rebecca, Director

Best Practices in UX from Forrester Research
“Know your constraints; design for differences” were the two best nuggets of advice in this fairly basic primer on User Interface Design.
–Risa, Production Manager

NY publisher releases Deveraux novel as video book
An interesting look at how technology is making its mark in the literary world, with input from authors and publishers on whether this is a positive or unfortunate development. The ‘increasing elasticity’ of books is something CDRS is very familiar with–we partner with Columbia faculty and university presses to produce online monographs enhanced with multimedia that couldn’t be accommodated in print. Visit our project blog on Dangerous Citizens to read about the work that is going into this book’s ‘hybridization.’
–Diana, Communications Coordinator

This is the first of weekly postings on recommended reading from CDRS staff members. Have something you want to recommend? Comment on this post!

CDRS featured in Columbia's The Record

Check us out in the September 25 issue of Columbia University newspaper, The Record. We’re featured in the article, “Click Here for Research” on page 5. Download the issue.

CDRS was previously located downtown at 330 Fifth Avenue. The Center’s staff includes Video, Usability Research, Production, Digital Initiatives, and Scholarly Communication Program teams, all of which are now housed in the new Lehman space.

Created in 2007 to support the Columbia research community, CDRS provides a suite of services. Offerings include online hosting and software development for scholarly journals, conferences, and monographs; online collaboration spaces for research groups (Wikischolars); Columbia’s research repository, Academic Commons; and video services for research events.

Interested faculty, staff, researchers, and scholars are welcome to visit the new office for more information. An open house will be held on Monday, October 19, 2009, at which visitors can try out software and browse the Center’s projects and services.

Hear from the women behind the popular blogs Bitch Ph.D., Tenured Radical, Oh! Industry, and Easternblot.net. Bitch Ph.D. author Tedra Osell is a writer, former English professor, mother, and sometime public intellectual. Claire Potter blogs as Tenured Radical and is a professor of history and American Studies at Wesleyan University. Alexandra T. Vazquez, one of three contributors to the blog Oh! Industry, is an assistant professor at the Center for African American Studies and in the Department of English at Princeton University. Eva Amsen blogs at Easternblot.net and recently completed her Ph.D. in biochemistry at the University of Toronto.

The speakers will discuss the interplay between their blogging and scholarship, attitudes towards blogging among their colleagues, how blogging should be valued in the academy, and blogging as a feminist act. The Columbia community is encouraged to send questions for the bloggers in advance to kp2002@columbia.edu.

This event is free and open to the public. It is the first of six events this academic year in the speaker series on today’s pivotal issues in scholarly communication organized by the Scholarly Communication Program. The second panel, The Future of Learned Societies, will take place on October 22, 2009. Subsequent events will focus on open data, open-access business models, and other topics. Follow the series remotely via Twitter at http://twitter.com/ScholarlyComm. Video will be distributed through the Program’s website and Columbia University’s iTunesU and YouTube pages. Previous events in the series are available online now. For information on the series, Research without Borders: The Changing World of Scholarly Communication, please email Kathryn Pope at kp2002@columbia.edu, or visit http://scholcomm.columbia.edu/events.

The Scholarly Communication Program explores effective uses of digital technology for sharing new knowledge. The Program, based at the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship within Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, highlights innovative approaches to communicating scholarly work and examines related debates over policy and practice, particularly in the context of global research.

Columbia University Libraries/Information Services is one of the top five academic research library systems in North America. The collections include over 10 million volumes, over 100,000 journals and serials, as well as extensive electronic resources, manuscripts, rare books, microforms, maps, graphic and audio-visual materials. The services and collections are organized into 25 libraries and various academic technology centers. The Libraries employs more than 550 professional and support staff. The website of the Libraries at www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb is the gateway to its services and resources.

The CDRS site in 2007

The CDRS site in 2008

We urge you to browse the site — and would very much like to hear from you if you would like to take advantage of one or more of our services, if you have any ideas for novel ways we might work together, or if you simply want to provide us with feedback. We encourage your questions, comments, and suggestions.

Within the next couple of weeks, CDRS will be moving from our current offices in Midtown to our new location in Lehman Library, on the second floor of the International Affairs Building. We are excited about this move for many reasons, not least for the opportunity it provides us to be physically located within the research community we serve. Once we have had the chance to get settled in, we will be hosting an open house. Please watch this space for more details about that event. We look forward to seeing many of you there!