Publications

13 pages, 2850 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Data Science Tools for Monitoring the Global Repository Eco-System and its Lines of Evolution

by Friedrich Summann, Andreas Czerniak, Jochen Schirrwagen and Dirk Pieper

Publications 2020, 8(2), 35; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020035 - 22 Jun 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5163

The global network of scholarly repositories for the publication and dissemination of scientific publications and related materials can already look back on a history of more than twenty years. During this period, there have been many developments in terms of technical optimization and [...] Read more.

The global network of scholarly repositories for the publication and dissemination of scientific publications and related materials can already look back on a history of more than twenty years. During this period, there have been many developments in terms of technical optimization and the increase of content. It is crucial to observe and analyze this evolution in order to draw conclusions for the further development of repositories. The basis for such an analysis is data. The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) service provider Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (BASE) started indexing repositories in 2004 and has collected metadata also on repositories. This paper presents the main features of a planned repository monitoring system. Data have been collected since 2004 and includes basic repository metadata as well as publication metadata of a repository. This information allows an in-depth analysis of many indicators in different logical combinations. This paper outlines the systems approach and the integration of data science techniques. It describes the intended monitoring system and shows the first results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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16 pages, 523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Empirical Test of the Inter-Relationships between Various Bibliometric Creative Scholarship Indicators

by Boris Forthmann and Mark A. Runco

Publications 2020, 8(2), 34; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020034 - 19 Jun 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3750

Abstract

Quantifying the creative quality of scholarly work is a difficult challenge, and, unsurprisingly, empirical research in this area is scarce. This investigation builds on the theoretical distinction between impact (e.g., citation counts) and creative quality (e.g., originality) and extends recent work on using [...] Read more.

Quantifying the creative quality of scholarly work is a difficult challenge, and, unsurprisingly, empirical research in this area is scarce. This investigation builds on the theoretical distinction between impact (e.g., citation counts) and creative quality (e.g., originality) and extends recent work on using objective measures to assess the originality of scientific publications. Following extensive evidence from creativity research and theoretical deliberations, we operationalized multiple indicators of openness and idea density for bibliometric research. Results showed that in two large bibliometric datasets (creativity research: N = 1643; bibliometrics dataset: N = 2986) correlations between impact and the various indicators for openness, idea density, and originality were negligible to small; this finding supports the discriminant validity of the new creative scholarship indicators. The convergent validity of these indicators was not as clear, but correlations were comparable to previous research on bibliometric originality. Next, we explored the nomological net of various operationalizations of openness and idea density by means of exploratory graph analysis. The openness indicators of variety (based on cited journals and cited first authors) were found to be made up of strongly connected nodes in a separate cluster; the idea density indicators (those based on abstracts or titles of scientific work) also formed a separate cluster. Based on these findings, we discuss the problems arising from the potential methodological overlap among indicators and we offer future directions for bibliometric explorations of the creative quality of scientific publications. Full article

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13 pages, 337 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Providing Digital Infrastructure for Audio-Visual Linguistic Research Data with Diverse Usage Scenarios: Lessons Learnt

by Hanna Hedeland

Publications 2020, 8(2), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020033 - 11 Jun 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3464

Abstract

This article describes the development of the digital infrastructure at a research data centre for audio-visual linguistic research data, the Hamburg Centre for Language Corpora (HZSK) at the University of Hamburg in Germany, over the past ten years. The typical resource hosted in [...] Read more.

This article describes the development of the digital infrastructure at a research data centre for audio-visual linguistic research data, the Hamburg Centre for Language Corpora (HZSK) at the University of Hamburg in Germany, over the past ten years. The typical resource hosted in the HZSK Repository, the core component of the infrastructure, is a collection of recordings with time-aligned transcripts and additional contextual data, a spoken language corpus. Since the centre has a thematic focus on multilingualism and linguistic diversity and provides its service to researchers within linguistics and other disciplines, the development of the infrastructure was driven by diverse usage scenarios and user needs on the one hand, and by the common technical requirements for certified service centres of the CLARIN infrastructure on the other. Beyond the technical details, the article also aims to be a contribution to the discussion on responsibilities and services within emerging digital research data infrastructures and the fundamental issues in sustainability of research software engineering, concluding that in order to truly cater to user needs across the research data lifecycle, we still need to bridge the gap between discipline-specific research methods in the process of digitalisation and generic digital research data management approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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16 pages, 2381 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Internal Capability of Vietnam Social Sciences and Humanities: A Perspective from the 2008–2019 Dataset

by Manh-Toan Ho, Thu-Trang Vuong, Thanh-Hang Pham, Anh-Phuong Luong, Thanh-Nhan Nguyen and Quan-Hoang Vuong

Publications 2020, 8(2), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020032 - 9 Jun 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5454 | Correction

Abstract

International collaboration contributes significantly to improving scientific performance in Vietnam, but it also results in Vietnamese researchers depending on foreign partners to get their work published. The current study is an initial effort to examine the domestic research capability of Vietnam’s Social Science [...] Read more.

International collaboration contributes significantly to improving scientific performance in Vietnam, but it also results in Vietnamese researchers depending on foreign partners to get their work published. The current study is an initial effort to examine the domestic research capability of Vietnam’s Social Science and Humanities (SSH) disciplines through scientific productivity. The research focuses on investigating various aspects, including leading Vietnamese authors, solo authors, and gender difference, as well as international and domestic collaboration networks. The study extracts the data of 2040 Vietnamese SSH authors, 1981 foreign authors, and 3160 publications during the period of 2008–2019, from the exclusive Social Sciences and Humanities Peer Awards (SSHPA) database. Findings show a steadily rising contribution from leading domestic authors in SSH research, with an annual growth rate of approximately 22.33%. Moreover, 77.26% of publications are led by Vietnamese researchers. The proportion of publications by Vietnamese authors increased dramatically and surpassed the proportion of internationally collaborated publications in 2019, at 55.83%. The domestic research collaboration network has expanded in an observable manner. However, the participation rate of women in SSH research was relatively low, at an average of 37.30%. While the self-sustaining capacity of SSH researchers and institutes in Vietnam has been rising, gender inequality remains prevalent. In order to further strengthen and promote the scholarly community, as well as their research capacity, and to maintain public trust in SSH research, we recommend that policymakers encourage self-sustaining research, nationwide collaboration, and empower female researchers. Full article

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11 pages, 1461 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Stewarding National User Groups to Strengthen Open Source Software Communities

by Pascal-Nicolas Becker, Michele Mennielli and Katharina Trachte

Publications 2020, 8(2), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020031 - 4 Jun 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4218

Abstract

Open Source Software (OSS) communities are often international, bringing together people from diverse regions with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. National user groups can bolster these international communities by convening local events, championing the software to peers, welcoming and onboarding new contributors, raising [...] Read more.

Open Source Software (OSS) communities are often international, bringing together people from diverse regions with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. National user groups can bolster these international communities by convening local events, championing the software to peers, welcoming and onboarding new contributors, raising money to support the broader community, and collecting important information on user’s needs. The open source community-led software DSpace has had great success encouraging the creation of national user groups; in the UK, North America, and Germany, the Groups have been active for many years. However, it was in 2018, thanks to a renewed focus on international engagement and more diverse representation of the global community in governance groups, that the national communities entered into a new phase: 15 new national User Groups have been formed all over the world since then, while the German user group evolved into the “DSpace-Konsortium Deutschland”, founded by 25 institutions, marking a pivotal point for membership options and National User Group participation within DSpace Governance. This article will offer an overview of the historical development of the DSpace community and its governance model, as well as DuraSpace’s international engagement strategy, including its benefits and challenges. Subsequently, we will present a case study on the DSpace-Konsortium Deutschland and explain its relation to the broader context of how to build national user groups within global communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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10 pages, 580 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Time to Acceptance of 3 Days for Papers About COVID-19

by Ádám Kun

Publications 2020, 8(2), 30; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020030 - 3 Jun 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 7647

Abstract

Time to acceptance from submission and time to publication (publication lag) determines how quickly novel information is made available to other scientists and experts. In the medical field, the review process and revisions usually takes 3–4 months; the total time from submission to [...] Read more.

Time to acceptance from submission and time to publication (publication lag) determines how quickly novel information is made available to other scientists and experts. In the medical field, the review process and revisions usually takes 3–4 months; the total time from submission to publication is 8–9 months. During the COVID-19 pandemic, information should be available much faster. The analysis of 833 documents published on SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 prior to 19 March 2020 shows that these times shrunk by a factor of ten. The median time to acceptance was three days for all publications, six days for research papers and reviews, four days for case studies and two days for other publication types. The median publication lag was nine days for all publications together, 11 days for research papers, nine days for case studies, 13 days for reviews and seven days for other publications. This demonstrates that the publication process—if necessary—can be sped up. For the sake of scientific accuracy, review times should not be pushed down, but the time from acceptance to actual publication could be shorter. Full article

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17 pages, 282 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Incentives to Open Access: Perspectives of Health Science Researchers

by Carmen López-Vergara, Pilar Flores Asenjo and Alfonso Rosa-García

Publications 2020, 8(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020029 - 28 May 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3534

Abstract

Technological development has transformed academic publication over the past two decades and new publication models, especially Open Access, have captured an important part of the publishing market, traditionally dominated by the Subscription publication model. Although Health Sciences have been one of the leading [...] Read more.

Technological development has transformed academic publication over the past two decades and new publication models, especially Open Access, have captured an important part of the publishing market, traditionally dominated by the Subscription publication model. Although Health Sciences have been one of the leading fields promoting Open Access, the perspectives of Health Science researchers on the benefits and possibilities of Open Access remain an open question. The present study sought to unveil the perspective of researchers on scientific publication decisions, in terms of the Subscription and Open Access publication model, Gold Road. With this aim, we surveyed Spanish researchers in Health Sciences. Our findings show that the value of publishing in Open Access journals increases as the experience of the researcher increases and the less she/he values the impact factor. Moreover, visibility and dissemination of the results are the main determinants of publication when choosing an Open Access journal as the first option. According to the response of the researchers, the reduction of fees and the increase in financing are important economic incentive measures to promote the Open Access publication model. It is widely accepted that the volume of Open Access publications will increase in the future. Full article

8 pages, 1661 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Toward Easy Deposit: Lowering the Barriers of Green Open Access with Data Integration and Automation

by Hui Zhang

Publications 2020, 8(2), 28; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020028 - 20 May 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4775

Abstract

This article describes the design and development of an interoperable application that supports green open access with long-term sustainability and improved user experience of article deposit. The lack of library resources and the unfriendly repository user interface are two significant barriers that hinder [...] Read more.

This article describes the design and development of an interoperable application that supports green open access with long-term sustainability and improved user experience of article deposit. The lack of library resources and the unfriendly repository user interface are two significant barriers that hinder green open access. Tasked to implement the open access mandate, librarians at an American research university developed a comprehensive system called Easy Deposit 2 to automate the support workflow of green open access. Easy Deposit 2 is a web application that is able to harvest new publications, to source manuscripts on behalf of the library, and to facilitate self-archiving to a university’s institutional repository. The article deposit rate increased from 7.40% to 25.60% with the launch of Easy Deposit 2. The results show that a computer system can implement routine tasks to support green open access with success. Recent developments in digital repository provide new opportunities for innovation, such as Easy Deposit 2, in supporting open access. Academic librarians are vital in promoting “openness” in scholarly communication, such as transparency and diversity in the sharing of publication data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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15 pages, 298 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Copyright in the Scientific Community. The Limitations and Exceptions in the European Union and Spanish Legal Frameworks

by Itziar Sobrino-García

Publications 2020, 8(2), 27; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020027 - 19 May 2020

Viewed by 4252

Abstract

The increase of visibility and transfer of scholar knowledge through digital environments have been followed by the author’s rights abuses such as plagiarism and fraud. For this reason, copyright is increasingly a topic of major importance since it provides authors with a set [...] Read more.

The increase of visibility and transfer of scholar knowledge through digital environments have been followed by the author’s rights abuses such as plagiarism and fraud. For this reason, copyright is increasingly a topic of major importance since it provides authors with a set of rights to enable them to utilize their work and to be recognized as the creators. The new research methods linked to technological advances (such as data mining) and the emergence of systems such as Open Access (OA) are currently under debate. These issues have generated legislative changes at the level of the European Union (EU) and its Member States. For this reason, it is relevant that the researchers know how to protect their work and the proper use of another’s work. Consequently, this research aims to identify the limitations of copyright in the EU and as a specific case in Spain, within the framework of scientific research. For this, the changes in the European and Spanish copyright regulations are analyzed. The results confirm new exceptions and limitations for researchers related to technological evolution, such as data mining. Additionally, the article incorporates several guidelines and implications for the scientific community. Full article

2 pages, 141 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial−Embracing How Scholarly Publishing Can Build a New Research Culture, Post-COVID-19

by Gemma E. Derrick

Publications 2020, 8(2), 26; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020026 - 19 May 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3415

Abstract

It is an absolute pleasure to be writing this, my first Editorial as Editor in Chief for Publications [...] Full article

9 pages, 390 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

The Fast and the FRDR: Improving Metadata for Data Discovery in Canada

by Clara Turp, Lee Wilson, Julienne Pascoe and Alex Garnett

Publications 2020, 8(2), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020025 - 2 May 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3712

Abstract

The Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR), developed through a partnership between the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Portage initiative and the Compute Canada Federation, improves research data discovery in Canada by providing a single search portal for research data stored across Canadian governmental, [...] Read more.

The Federated Research Data Repository (FRDR), developed through a partnership between the Canadian Association of Research Libraries’ Portage initiative and the Compute Canada Federation, improves research data discovery in Canada by providing a single search portal for research data stored across Canadian governmental, institutional, and discipline-specific data repositories. While this national discovery layer helps to de-silo Canadian research data, challenges in data discovery remain due to a lack of standardized metadata practices across repositories. In recognition of this challenge, a Portage task group, drawn from a national network of experts, has engaged in a project to map subject keywords to the Online Computer Library Center’s (OCLC) Faceted Application of Subject Terminology (FAST) using the open source OpenRefine software. This paper will describe the task group’s project, discuss the various approaches undertaken by the group, and explore how this work improves data discovery and may be adopted by other repositories and metadata aggregators to support metadata standardization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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8 pages, 940 KiB

Open AccessArticle

R-Shiny as an Interface for Data Visualization and Data Analysis on the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD)

by Lucca de Farias Ramalho and Washington R. de Carvalho Segundo

Publications 2020, 8(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020024 - 2 May 2020

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5281

Abstract

This work presents a use case of building a data visualization interface for open-access repositories. The case in the analysis is the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD). From the almost 670,000 records of BDTD, one applies statistical methods using the [...] Read more.

This work presents a use case of building a data visualization interface for open-access repositories. The case in the analysis is the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (BDTD). From the almost 670,000 records of BDTD, one applies statistical methods using the language R. One of the visualization packages of R is called Shiny, which makes it easy to build interactive web applications straight from R. Through the app, a user can visualize data in a fast and customizable way. It could help to keep track of metadata and usage statistics over the repositories and also can be applied to discovering scientific information, such as bibliographic data and lists of specialists in a certain research domain. These data visualization tools can stimulate others to create open repositories and join either national, regional or international repositories networks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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14 pages, 11840 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Vertical Cooperation Model to Manage Digital Collections and Institutional Resources

by Jack Maness, Kim Pham, Fernando Reyes and Jeff Rynhart

Publications 2020, 8(2), 23; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020023 - 26 Apr 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3278

Abstract

The technology space of the University of Denver Libraries to manage digital collections and institutional resources isn’t relegated to one department on campus – rather, it distributed across a network of collaborators with the skills and expertise to provide that support. The infrastructure, [...] Read more.

The technology space of the University of Denver Libraries to manage digital collections and institutional resources isn’t relegated to one department on campus – rather, it distributed across a network of collaborators with the skills and expertise to provide that support. The infrastructure, which is comprised of an archival metadata management system (Archivespace), a digital repository (Node.js + ElasticSearch), preservation storage (ArchivesDirect), and a streaming server (Kaltura) is independently but cooperatively managed across IT, library departments and vendors. The coordinated effort of digital curation activities still allows each group to focus on the service they have the most vested interest in providing. This paper will talk about the different management and development practices involved in developing our integrated infrastructure to provide digital collections as a service. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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10 pages, 212 KiB

Open AccessCase Report

Bridge2Hyku: Meeting Practitioners’ Needs in Digital Collection Migration to Open Source Samvera Repository

by Annie Wu, Santi Thompson, Anne Washington, Sean Watkins, Andrew Weidner, Dean Seeman and Nicholas Woodward

Publications 2020, 8(2), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020022 - 21 Apr 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3229

Abstract

The University of Houston Libraries, in partnership and consultation with numerous institutions, was awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership/Project Grant to create the Bridge2Hyku (B2H) Toolkit. Content migration from proprietary systems to open source repositories remains a barrier [...] Read more.

The University of Houston Libraries, in partnership and consultation with numerous institutions, was awarded an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership/Project Grant to create the Bridge2Hyku (B2H) Toolkit. Content migration from proprietary systems to open source repositories remains a barrier for many institutions due to lack of tools, tutorials, and documentation. The B2H Toolkit, which includes migration strategies, migration tools, as well as system requirements for transitioning from CONTENTdm to Hyku, acts as a comprehensive resource to facilitate repository migration. Through a phased toolkit development process, the project team solicited inputs and feedback from peer migration practitioners via survey and pilot testing. The analysis of the feedback data was built into use cases which informed the development and enhancement of the migration strategies and tools. Working across institutions with migration practitioners’ needs in mind, the project team was able to successfully release a Toolkit that mitigates migration barriers and fills gaps in the migration process. Providing a path to a community-supported open source digital solution, the Bridge2Hyku Toolkits ensures access and expanded use of digital content and collections of libraries and cultural heritage institutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

17 pages, 1646 KiB

Open AccessArticle

FAIR Digital Objects for Science: From Data Pieces to Actionable Knowledge Units

by Koenraad De Smedt, Dimitris Koureas and Peter Wittenburg

Publications 2020, 8(2), 21; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020021 - 11 Apr 2020

Cited by 59 | Viewed by 9685

Abstract

Data science is facing the following major challenges: (1) developing scalable cross-disciplinary capabilities, (2) dealing with the increasing data volumes and their inherent complexity, (3) building tools that help to build trust, (4) creating mechanisms to efficiently operate in the domain of scientific [...] Read more.

Data science is facing the following major challenges: (1) developing scalable cross-disciplinary capabilities, (2) dealing with the increasing data volumes and their inherent complexity, (3) building tools that help to build trust, (4) creating mechanisms to efficiently operate in the domain of scientific assertions, (5) turning data into actionable knowledge units and (6) promoting data interoperability. As a way to overcome these challenges, we further develop the proposals by early Internet pioneers for Digital Objects as encapsulations of data and metadata made accessible by persistent identifiers. In the past decade, this concept was revisited by various groups within the Research Data Alliance and put in the context of the FAIR Guiding Principles for findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable data. The basic components of a FAIR Digital Object (FDO) as a self-contained, typed, machine-actionable data package are explained. A survey of use cases has indicated the growing interest of research communities in FDO solutions. We conclude that the FDO concept has the potential to act as the interoperable federative core of a hyperinfrastructure initiative such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue FAIR Data, FAIR Services, and the European Open Science Cloud)

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8 pages, 1269 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integration of a National E-Theses Online Service with Institutional Repositories

by Vasily Bunakov and Frances Madden

Publications 2020, 8(2), 20; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020020 - 9 Apr 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3453

Abstract

We present an information resource prototype that was developed by the FREYA project for the integration of a national e-thesis service and institutional repositories supported by a large national laboratory. The integration allows us to mutually enrich the metadata in the e-thesis service [...] Read more.

We present an information resource prototype that was developed by the FREYA project for the integration of a national e-thesis service and institutional repositories supported by a large national laboratory. The integration allows us to mutually enrich the metadata in the e-thesis service and institutional repositories with new entities and attributes, and can offer novel ways of reasoning over research outcomes that are supported by direct funding and funding-in-kind by large research facilities. The integrated information resource can be presented as a labeled-property graph for its exploration with a declarative query language and visualizations. We emphasize the role of persistent identifiers (PIDs), including for entities that are currently not necessarily or not consistently assigned PIDs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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11 pages, 1748 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Building NED: Open Access to Australia’s Digital Documentary Heritage

by Barbara Lemon, Kerry Blinco and Brendan Somes

Publications 2020, 8(2), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020019 - 8 Apr 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 6572

Abstract

This article charts the development of Australia’s national edeposit service (NED), from concept to reality. A world-first collaboration between the national, state and territory libraries of Australia, NED was launched in 2019 and transformed our approach to legal deposits in Australia. NED is [...] Read more.

This article charts the development of Australia’s national edeposit service (NED), from concept to reality. A world-first collaboration between the national, state and territory libraries of Australia, NED was launched in 2019 and transformed our approach to legal deposits in Australia. NED is more than a repository, operating as a national online service for depositing, preserving and accessing Australian electronic publications, with benefits to publishers, libraries and the public alike. This article explains what makes NED unique in the context of global research repository infrastructure, outlining the ways in which NED member libraries worked to balance user needs with technological capacity and the variations within nine sets of legal deposit legislation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue 14th International Conference on Open Repositories 2019 – All The User Needs)

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10 pages, 251 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Three Commonly Utilized Scholarly Databases and a Social Network Site Provide Different, But Related, Metrics of Pharmacy Faculty Publication

by Kyle J. Burghardt, Bradley H. Howlett, Audrey S. Khoury, Stephanie M. Fern and Paul R. Burghardt

Publications 2020, 8(2), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020018 - 1 Apr 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2914

Abstract

Scholarly productivity is a critical component of pharmacy faculty effort and is used for promotion and tenure decisions. Several databases are available to measure scholarly productivity; however, comparisons amongst these databases are lacking for pharmacy faculty. The objective of this work was to [...] Read more.

Scholarly productivity is a critical component of pharmacy faculty effort and is used for promotion and tenure decisions. Several databases are available to measure scholarly productivity; however, comparisons amongst these databases are lacking for pharmacy faculty. The objective of this work was to compare scholarly metrics from three commonly utilized databases and a social networking site focused on data from research-intensive colleges of pharmacy and to identify factors associated with database differences. Scholarly metrics were obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate for faculty from research-intensive (Carnegie Rated R1, R2, or special focus) United States pharmacy schools with at least two million USD in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Metrics were compared and correlations were performed. Regression analyses were utilized to identify factors associated with database differences. Significant differences in scholarly metric values were observed between databases despite the high correlations, suggestive of systematic variation in database reporting. Time since first publication was the most common factor that was associated with database differences. Google Scholar tended to have higher metrics than all other databases, while Web of Science had lower metrics relative to other databases. Differences in reported metrics between databases are apparent, which may be attributable to the time since first publication and database coverage of pharmacy-specific journals. These differences should be considered by faculty, reviewers, and administrative staff when evaluating scholarly performance. Full article

12 pages, 816 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

How Frequently Are Articles in Predatory Open Access Journals Cited

by Bo-Christer Björk, Sari Kanto-Karvonen and J. Tuomas Harviainen

Publications 2020, 8(2), 17; https://doi.org/10.3390/publications8020017 - 26 Mar 2020

Cited by 52 | Viewed by 19422

Abstract

Predatory journals are Open Access journals of highly questionable scientific quality. Such journals pretend to use peer review for quality assurance, and spam academics with requests for submissions, in order to collect author payments. In recent years predatory journals have received a lot [...] Read more.

Predatory journals are Open Access journals of highly questionable scientific quality. Such journals pretend to use peer review for quality assurance, and spam academics with requests for submissions, in order to collect author payments. In recent years predatory journals have received a lot of negative media. While much has been said about the harm that such journals cause to academic publishing in general, an overlooked aspect is how much articles in such journals are actually read and in particular cited, that is if they have any significant impact on the research in their fields. Other studies have already demonstrated that only some of the articles in predatory journals contain faulty and directly harmful results, while a lot of the articles present mediocre and poorly reported studies. We studied citation statistics over a five-year period in Google Scholar for 250 random articles published in such journals in 2014 and found an average of 2.6 citations per article, and that 56% of the articles had no citations at all. For comparison, a random sample of articles published in the approximately 25,000 peer reviewed journals included in the Scopus index had an average of 18, 1 citations in the same period with only 9% receiving no citations. We conclude that articles published in predatory journals have little scientific impact. Full article

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