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RevMan Web, Cochrane’s systematic-review production software, is now available to the wider academic community

Cochrane is delighted to announce the availability of RevMan Web, its popular, web-based systematic-review production software, to the wider academic community beyond Cochrane – to support evidence synthesis development and evidence-based medicine education. Cochrane expects interest in use of the tool from those in universities and medical schools, and many other research sectors.

RevMan Web facilitates the creation of meta-analyses, forest plots, risk-of-bias tables, and other systematic review elements. It is acknowledged to be easy-to-use – and is also widely used in learning or training about systematic review production.

Cochrane is making RevMan Web available for use by institutions or individuals for their own systematic review development work. The product is presented on a Software-as-a-Service basis: Cochrane offers a hosted service, comprising the software and cloud storage of all review data uploaded.

Laura Ingle, Cochrane’s Director of Publishing and Technology, says this is a hugely positive step forward: “Cochrane’s investment and development of RevMan Web has allowed the preparing and maintaining of Cochrane Reviews to reach our high standards and methodologies – making Cochrane reviews the gold standard in health evidence. Cochrane is committed to making RevMan Web the platform of choice for all systematic review production, and now we are enabling access to RevMan Web for the wider review community at a reasonable and affordable cost.

“In addition to reviews of studies of the effects of healthcare interventions, you can use RevMan Web to write reviews that synthesize qualitative evidence, reviews of prognosis studies, reviews of studies of methodology, diagnostic test accuracy reviews, and overviews of reviews. RevMan Web is easy to use, is a safe and central place to manage all reviews, and allows collaboration across people to work on the same project. With its included learning and training materials, it also makes it a great training tool for teaching systematic review techniques.

“Cochrane authors have been using RevMan for 5 years and we are excited to offer this systematic review and meta-analysis software to individual researchers, those working on reviews together, and to those looking for licences for their university. It’s a great tool for those generating one-off meta-analyses and forest plots or conducting their own systematic reviews.”

PLOS Global Public Health and PLOS Digital Health now indexed in PubMed Central

The Public Library of Science (PLOS) is pleased to announce that PLOS Global Public Health and PLOS Digital Health are now fully indexed in PubMed Central (PMC), expanding our reach and furthering our mission of ensuring research content is accessible and discoverable as widely as possible.

Both journals have an explicit mandate to promote equity in research that can tackle the most urgent priorities for the field, such as access to healthcare, or addressing bias in AI and developing machine learning tools for underserved communities. PLOS is proud to feature perspectives from all over the world, and we make sure that research is peer reviewed by experts with significant, context-appropriate expertise.

“With over 1000 published articles, a diverse editorial board of over 600 editors, and now indexing in PubMed Central, PLOS Global Public Health is excited to continue our vision of enhancing diversity, equity and inclusion in global public health,” said Dr. Madhu Pai and Catherine Kyobutungi, Co-Editors-in-Chief of PLOS Global Public Health.

“Indexing in PubMed acknowledges the time and effort that our authors, reviewers, and editors have contributed to creating a community that values diversity in the research at the intersection of technology and healthcare,” said Dr. Leo Anthony Celi, Editor-in-Chief of PLOS Digital Health. “I’m excited to grow this village whose goal is to improve health equity through digital technologies.”

Work published in PLOS Digital Health and PLOS Global Public Health will now be accessible to an even wider audience, meeting researchers where it is convenient for them to access knowledge. With the vast majority of article views coming from PMC or Google Scholar searches, it is imperative that research in both journals be highly visible on these platforms.

Critically, the inclusion of PLOS Digital Health and PLOS Global Public Health in PMC is an endorsement of the rigor and reliability of the work published within and is the principle reason that researchers prefer to browse research on the platform. Journals indexed in PMC have undergone both technical and scientific benchmarking checks, allowing researchers to trust the findings, methods, and datasets shared. Of particular importance to the mission of both journals, this means local perspectives and expertise reported in rigorously reviewed published research will receive the attention and visibility that it deserves. 

For PLOS Global Public Health, PLOS hopes that this discoverability will help connect research and researchers from different parts of the world and will ultimately further our fundamental mission: to broaden the range and diversity of perspectives at the forefront of public health and advance the health of all humankind.

This news serves as an important milestone for a journal like PLOS Digital Health, which actively promotes code sharing and data accessibility as a means to further inclusive participation, trust and reproducibility within this growing field of research. Accessibility beyond the journal platform for a high-quality body of open research, as well as open research artifacts extends the reach, impact, and use of authors’ work. It’s a testament to the growing desire for researchers to share their work in a reputable Open Access title that encourages transparency.

ConTech Pharma 2023 first draft programme asks where will the ever-eternal promise of “Digital transformation in Drug Discovery” actually take us?

In 1834, “Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop to drink”. In 2023, Digital Transformation Everywhere, …? How would you finish the rhyme?

Professor Ashley George, Tech for Good explores: If only, we truly knew where the ever-lasting & ever-eternal promise of “Digital transformation in Drug Discovery” will really take us. Using real tangible examples, this presentation will seek to stimulate different perspectives. Especially, as society including citizens, patients, & those organisations whose vision is to deliver a demonstrable change in “quality of life”, whether via a classic Drug discovery physical entity, or a “digital-only Drug Discovery”, all enter the 4th Industrial Revolution. Where will you as Drug Discovery Leaders take us?

ConTech Pharma 2023 will be a 1-day hybrid event, taking place both online and at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, London Heathrow.  It will showcase the very latest thinking and help organisations to navigate this rapidly changing space. Our event includes a packed programme of expert speakers, plenty of networking and a cocktail reception for the in-person version.

ConTech Pharma 2023 is focused on three main themes:

A virtuous circle – from real world data – via pre-clinical data – to analytics – and back to treatments in the clinic (including manufacturing)

Aligning the semantics across clinical and pre-clinical applications

IDMP – Standards – knowledge sharing ahead of standards coming into operation.

Come and hear how the world’s best minds in data science, digital healthcare and precision drug development are thinking about these challenges and taking effective action.

Sign up today – go to https://www.contech.live/contech-pharma-2023 and learn more and book to get valuable early bird registration discounts.

With thanks to Elsevier – Main conference partner and Morressier, Gold sponsor

There are so many ways to become part of the ConTech community. Visit our website tofind out more about all of our events https://www.contechlive.com/

Wiley and Aries Systems Formalize Partnership to Elevate Service Solutions for Publishers

Wiley (NYSE: WLY), one of the world’s largest publishers and a global leader in scientific research and career-connected education, and Aries Systems Corporation, a leading technology provider of workflow management solutions, have formalized their partnership to deliver more robust support solutions and services for academic and scholarly publishers.

The agreement formalizes the ongoing collaboration between Aries Systems and J&J Editorial, part of Wiley Partner Solutions, to better serve publishers using Aries’ Editorial Manager® (EM) and ProduXion Manager® (PM), the leading peer review and production workflow management systems. Both new and existing EM/PM customers will be able to leverage Aries’ expertise in step with J&J Editorial’s ability to translate system capabilities into practical solutions for an enhanced workflow, user experience, and scholarly output. Expert services include smooth journal migration management, custom workflow design and implementations, editorial office training and onboarding, reporting optimizations, and more. J&J Editorial’s resources, which will be conveniently offered in a tiered package approach, will act as an extension of Aries’ existing global, in-house Client Services team.

“Our relationship with Aries Systems over the past several years has delivered strong results for a number of organizations during our time working together,” said Jenn Deyton, Wiley Senior Director. “Our long history of partnership makes it easier to leverage our combined capabilities to support the research ecosystem and continue our shared success in the future.”

“Aries is thrilled to welcome J&J Editorial resources to our repertoire. Our partnership is a testament to our combined commitment to delivering a superior customer experience to match our best-in-class software offerings”, said Ryan Walther, Aries Senior Director of Client Services. “Expanding our range of services and solutions will allow us to keep pace with growing customer needs and raise the customer experience to the next level, driving advancements across the scholarly publishing landscape.”

Wiley Partner Solutions provides market-leading solutions and services to help associations, scientific publishers, societies, and corporations transform their business strategies and publishing processes in the open research era. This formalized engagement reflects Wiley’s commitment to working across and throughout the research publishing industry to help partners scale, collaborate, and accelerate their publishing programs, while supporting the value chain of scholarly publishing. The addition of J&J Editorial to Aries’ extensive Partner Program introduces supplemental opportunities to prioritize the needs of publishers and the communities in which they serve.

Springer Nature makes data sharing easier with single data policy across all journals and books

Springer Nature has taken a further step forwards in its commitment to open science by requiring mandatory data availability statements (DAS) across its journals portfolio, and introducing its first unified data policy across the books portfolio. 

Despite researchers’ support for open data sharing, less than 40% of authors actively make their data available. Researchers tell us this can be down to practical challenges, including a lack of clarity about what is required. Increasingly, governments, funders and research institutes are adopting data sharing requirements in their policies. Encouraging data sharing across all publishing formats recognises this growing need for clearer, more accessible, actionable and measurable data policies. As a longstanding supporter of Open Research,  Springer Nature is Introducing DAS as standard for its journal portfolio to promote greater  transparency and reproducibility.  Adopting a unified policy for books for the first time, is a further exciting step towards encouraging open research practices across all publications  and driving forward open science for all.

Dr Maria Hodges, Executive Editor, BMC and Research Data commented:

“Reproducibility of scientific claims is crucial to the integrity of the scientific record. At the heart of research findings is the data from which results are obtained and conclusions are drawn, and its availability is key in supporting the reproducibility of that research and opening up science to rigorous interrogation.

“Moving to a single data policy for Springer Nature journals and introducing our first unified policy for books significantly reduces the complexity of the data policy for authors, helping them to know what is required. It makes clear our commitment to support authors in open research practice and better enable them to benefit from open science.”

The single journals policy will be rolled out across our journals progressively.  Springer Nature’s previous data policies set a precedent back in 2016 and have been widely reproduced by other publishers since. Nature Portfolio, BMC and SpringerOpen journals already require a DAS in original publications (BMC being one of the first with this requirement). Springer and Palgrave titles move to mandatory data availability statements following their earlier commitment.Recognising the different journey that books are on in the move to open science – the single books policy will strongly encourage data sharing, and the use of repositories, but DAS will not be mandatory. 

More on Springer Nature’s drive around open research practices can be found here and here.

Successful First Phase of Pilot of New Open Access Model: Subscribe to Open at Karger

Karger Publishers is piloting the new Open Access model Subscribe to Open to help pave the way for a broader, more equitable Open Science ecosystem. Two subscription journals are now Open Access for 2023.

Following the successful first phase of the Subscribe to Open (S2O) pilot, the Karger journals Pediatric Neurosurgery and Developmental Neuroscience will be Open Access (OA) in 2023. This means that all articles will be published OA at no cost to authors for the 2023 volumes of both journals. 

S2O applies when institutions subscribe or renew their subscriptions to a certain level, allowing publishers to make that year’s volume completely free of barriers to publish, read, share, and re-use. It also allows authors to comply easily with virtually all funder OA mandates. Under S2O, instead of charging authors an Article Processing Charge (APC), Karger covers publishing costs through subscriptions from libraries, leveraging existing funds and infrastructure. 

The subscription process will be repeated every year, so future volumes may remain fully OA or return to a hybrid model which includes a paid option to publish articles OA. So, the two journals will only remain OA if subscriptions again reach a pre-determined level for the next year, or otherwise they will return to a subscription model in 2024. Given that the journals may revert to the subscription model, subscribing is the only way to ensure continuous access. Those who subscribe under S2O also benefit financially, as they receive a discount. 

The S2O pilot is part of Karger’s “Open for Open” approach, a quest to diversify solutions for a sustainable transition to OA. Christian Box, Head of Academic and Research Markets at Karger Publishers says, “We are pleased that the successful first phase of our S2O pilot has enabled us to make both access and publishing possible for all – thanks to our ongoing partnerships with institutions and libraries. This allows us to keep advancing sustainably towards Open while supporting our stakeholders and putting their needs at the center of our activities.” 

The S2O model was originally created by Annual Reviews, which also spearheaded the S2O Community of Practice. Karger is one of a small number of publishers who are testing the model as a way to enable OA for all with minimal disruption to institutions’ budgets and infrastructure. 

PLOS Announces Newest Joiners to the CRL/NERL Agreement

The Public Library of Science (PLOS) welcomes several new participants to its ongoing three-year consortial agreement with Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and the Northeast Research Libraries (NERL) program. Joining twenty fellow member institutions who signed on during the first year, newly participating institutions for the second year include Duke University, Macalester College, University of Arizona, University of Denver, and University of Southern California, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Washington.

This agreement provides researchers with unlimited publishing privileges in PLOS journals without incurring fees. All PLOS journals are underpinned by institutional business models that move beyond article processing charges (APC) to ensure more equitable and regionally appropriate ways to support Open Access publishing. PLOS’ institutional models are Community Action Publishing (CAP)[1], Flat Fees [2], and the Global Equity model[3]

“These additions to our NERL/CRL agreement represent more momentum in our mission to advance Open Science,” said Sara Rouhi, Director of Strategic Partnerships for PLOS. “These institutions share our commitment to building business models that will move researchers and journals toward a more equitable and barrier free form of publishing.”

“This agreement will allow all researchers at Duke to publish their work in any PLOS journal without having to worry about article processing charges,” said Elena Feinstein, Head of Collection Strategy & Development, Duke University Libraries. “It also aligns with Duke University’s commitments to equity and knowledge in the service of society.”

“The CRL/NERL partnership with PLOS continues to support members’ desire for innovative models that make publishing and research more equitable and inclusive. This collaboration supports mutually beneficial progress toward fair and accessible publishing. We are thrilled to see the continued growth of this meaningful partnership,” said Lanette Garza, Director of NERL & CRL Licensing.

Alongside CRL/NERL members, a growing list of institutions including the Big Ten Academic Alliance, the University of California system, Jisc (including University College London, Imperial College London, University of Manchester), the Sachsen and TIB consortia’s in Germany, and the Canadian Research Knowledge Network among others have decided to support their researchers through publishing deals with PLOS.

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) recently honored PLOS as the 2021 co-winner for Innovation in Publishing for its Community Action Publishing model.

[1] Participating journals include PLOS Biology, PLOS Medicine and PLOS Sustainability and Transformation

[2] Participating journals include PLOS Digital Health, PLOS ONE, PLOS Computational Biology, PLOS Pathogens, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases and PLOS Genetics

[3] Participating journals include PLOS Climate, PLOS Water, PLOS Global Public Health

Springer Nature’s Research Integrity Director appointed to UK Committee on Research Integrity

Highly experienced integrity specialist, and Springer Nature’s Research Integrity Director – Chris Graf – becomes the latest appointee to the UK Committee on Research Integrity.

Drawing on his extensive experience delivering on transparency, open research and publishing ethics, Graf will lend his knowledge to collaborate on ways in which to support, promote and align around research integrity across research and research publishing. This will include looking at areas such as the need for an evidence based approach to integrity, and the exploration of new directions and opportunities following the launch of the committee’s  2023 to 2025 strategic plan.

Commenting on the appointment, Graf said:

“Research plays a central role in all of our day -to-day lives and as such ensuring the validity of that research has an important impact on everything from understanding climate change to developing reliable vaccines. The committee does a fantastic job of bringing together stakeholders across academia, research, funders and the corporate sector, to work together and take account of the numerous changes influencing research. By working together and combining unique knowledge sets, the committee plays an integral role in driving forward positive change in research integrity and publication best practice. I am delighted to have been appointed to the committee to have the opportunity to support, and be a part of, this vital work.”

Co-chair of the committee, Rachael Gooberman-Hill further commented:

“I am really looking forward to working with Chris. The committee and its work will benefit enormously from his knowledge and enthusiasm for high integrity in research.”  

More on the committee and the announcement can be read here. More on the work of Springer Nature’s Research Integrity Group can be found here.

ConTech Pharma 2023 announce speakers

ConTech Pharma 2023 features global thought leaders working at the intersection of data science, content and technology.  Our world class line-up includes Bayer, Pistoia Alliance, Pfizer, Astra Zeneca, Benevolent AI, Morressier and many more …

Another hype-cycle is born around generative AI and the ChatGPT models. The same truths apply, if not more so, rubbish in gives rubbish out. This is something that we cannot countenance in Medicine and Drug Development. As we look at patient first approaches of developing medicines using AI and Data Driven techniques, it is in these areas of intersection between real-world data, pre-clinical and clinical data that challenges and opportunities arise, and challenges are overcome.

Come and hear how the world’s best minds in data science, digital healthcare and precision drug development are thinking about these challenges and taking effective action. Confirmed speakers include:  Dr Becky Upton, President, Pistoia Alliance – Sheila Elz, Master Data Manager, Bayer -Catherine Snow, Curation Team Leader, Genomics England – Prof. Ashley George – Peter Henstock, Machine Learning & AI Lead, Pfizer – Eric Little, Innovation Principal Director, Life Sciences & Head of Product Strategy & Analytics, INTIENT, Accenture – Sabrina Toro, Assistant Research Professor, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus – Mathew Woodwark, Head of Data, Infrastructure and Tools, Data Science and AI, AstraZeneca – Sami Benchekroun, Co-Founder and CEO, Morressier – Hans Constandt,  Advisor, Mentor, Expert in Digital Health & Giovanni Nisato (Pistoia FAIR data group). Helen Malone, Director of Information Architecture at Benevolent AI and more to be announced.

ConTech Pharma 2023 taking place 8th June will be a 1-day hybrid event, taking place both online and at the Sheraton Skyline Hotel, London Heathrow, UK.  It will showcase the very latest thinking and help organisations to understand how these changes will affect them.

Sign up today – go to https://www.contech.live/contech-pharma-2023 and learn more and book to get valuable early bird registration discounts.

With thanks to Elsevier –Main conference partner and Morressier, Gold sponsor

There are so many ways to become part of the ConTech community. Visit our website tofind out more about all of our events https://www.contechlive.com/

Sage win OpenAthens UX award 2023

Sage announced as this year’s OpenAthens Best publisher UX award winners for Research Methods platform. 

OpenAthens is proud to announce Sage as the winner of its Best publisher user experience (UX) award 2023. Sage was declared the winner at OpenAthens’ annual online Access Labevent on Monday 20 March for their Research Methods resource.  

The panel of esteemed judges selected Sage as this year’s winner for their commitment to usability and their holistic user-centric approach. The publisher fended off stiff competition from finalists Oxford University Press and Yale University Press. 

Now in its fourth year, the award aims to showcase best practice in user-centred design on publisher websites. It aligns with OpenAthens’ mission to remove barriers to knowledge and make access to information as simple as possible. 

Sage Research Methods serves an integral need for comprehensive social research methods support for a range of researchers. The platform hosts over 7,000 resources, from traditional books and reference works to video and innovative research tools. Sage overhauled the site in 2022 with a more intuitive interface and renewed focus on researchers’ need for performance, accessibility, access and better navigation. 

All three finalists went through a rigorous application process and gave evidence of their strategic approach to user experience and learner and researcher engagement with their product. It was a tough decision but, in the end, judges declared Sage the winner because of their focus on solving user problems, simplifying user journeys and their dedication to ensuring easy access for library patrons. 

Alan Maloney who is Head of User Experience at Sage expressed his delight at winning the accolade: 

“We’re absolutely delighted to win this UX award. It’s the only award of its kind in our industry and after a very thorough process we are pleased to be crowned this year’s winner.  

Alan went on to say: 

Our library customers want and deserve a better user experience for their patrons. My team have worked exceptionally hard to simplify and expedite user journeys to Sage Research Methods.” 

Those whose job it is to lead on user experience understand the importance of good UX design, based on user needs and behaviours. Industry leaders also want to see quantitative survey and usage statistics. A combination of ‘data science’ allied with the expertise and insight of UX professionals will be the catalyst for creating digital experiences that keep users repeatedly engaged. 

Jane Charlton, international marketing manager at OpenAthens explained why the award was so important for the industry: 

“Getting the user journey right is critical to providing easy access for learners and researchers globally. Get it wrong and library patrons may choose to go elsewhere. Often they will go to freely available content on the web and sometimes to dubious sites such as SciHub.” 

“We hope that over time our UX award champions will lead the industry forward in ensuring researchers get to the content they need, quickly and easily by investing in a business-wide UX approach.” 

Transformative Agreement Signed between the Microbiology Society and Indian Institute of Science Bangalore

The Microbiology Society and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore are thrilled to announce a transformative Publish and Read agreement starting in 2023. This marks the Microbiology Society’s first agreement of its kind in India, continuing its goal to support Open Access (OA) publishing for microbiologists across the globe.

Publish and Read is designed to boost opportunities for researchers and institutions alike, with no author fees and minimal administration. Affiliate authors at the IISc Bangalore will be able to enjoy full read access and unlimited OA publishing in all six Society titles. What’s more, Publish and Read supports the work of the Microbiology Society, a not-for-profit with an international membership.

Peter Cotgreave, Chief Executive of the Microbiology Society:

“We are delighted to announce this new partnership with the IISc Bangalore, empowering its scientists to share internationally important research more widely than ever with uncapped OA. At the Microbiology Society, we’re proud to be growing the Publish and Read model into new regions, offering a simple, sustainable solution in an increasingly Open global scientific community.”

Francis Jayakanth, Scientific Officer at the IISc Bangalore:

“Implementing a Publish and Read license agreement in support of Open Access publishing is a win-win situation for our Institute and researchers. It promotes knowledge sharing, enhances the visibility and reputation of our researchers, and saves costs while providing access to the latest research.”

Affiliated researchers at Publish and Read institutions are entitled to:

  • Unlimited OA publishing: papers with a corresponding author from a Publish and Read institution will be OA by default. 
  • Unlimited usage: full access to the entire archive of Society content, back to 1947, for reading and for text and data mining.

Authors can check if their institution is eligible here.

Publish and Read covers the complete Society portfolio, including fully OA titles Microbiology, Microbial Genomics and Access Microbiology and hybrid titles Journal of General Virology, Journal of Medical Microbiology and International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

EDP Sciences Aligns with COPE’s Position on AI and Authorship in Research Publications

As the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in writing becomes more prevalent, discussions around ethics and authorship in academic publishing are on the rise.

At EDP Sciences, we recognize the importance of transparency and responsibility when it comes to the use of AI tools in research papers. We fully support the Committee on Publication Ethics’ (COPE) position statement that AI tools cannot be listed as authors and that authors must take full responsibility for the content of their manuscript, including parts produced by AI tools.

As a member of COPE, we are committed to staying up to date on advances in AI technology and their implications for academic publishing. We look forward to continuing discussions on this important topic as the use of AI in writing continues to evolve. 

Find out more: http://bit.ly/3YSMFuE

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