Clarivate Global Research Report Examines Role of Research Assessment with a Review of Six Regional Systems

October 21, 2022

Clarivate Plc (NYSE:CLVT), a global leader in providing trusted information and insights to accelerate the pace of innovation, today released an in-depth look at formal regional research assessment, co-authored by the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate, together with esteemed industry partners: Kate Williams, University of Melbourne; Jonathan Grant, Different Angles; Lutz Bornmann, Max Planck Institute and Martin Szomszor, Electric Data Solutions.

Research assessment: Origins, evolution, outcomes examines the origins of research assessment, and how it works in different regions via the approaches of Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. It also considers the future of research assessment exercises and examines the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to replace traditional peer review.

Despite the differences in their approaches to research assessment, variation in their links to funding incentives and disparity in timing between similar systems, all the regions examined improved in comparative research performance, as measured by bibliometric performance. There is, however, no clear universal verdict on whether research assessment is a necessary or facilitating agent.

Jonathan Adams, Chief Scientist at the Institute for Scientific Information at Clarivate explains: “Research assessment has had major effects on institutional structures. It has unquestionably had pervasive effects on researcher behavior: demonstrable in the U.K. and widely reported elsewhere. The most important feature of any assessment system should arguably be the extent to which it attracts and retains the confidence of the researchers.”

The Global Research Report, “Research assessment: Origins, evolution, outcomes” finds that:

Australia has a comprehensive research assessment, seeking to measure both academic impact and wider societal benefit. Australian methodology distinguishes engagement from impact, in contrast to other research impact evaluations throughout the world such as the United Kingdom’s REF, but it does not influence direct research funding and may be unconnected to citation-indexed research performance. (Kate Williams, University of Melbourne).
Canada has a long history and culture of integrating knowledge mobilization and evaluation across the research life cycle and focuses on “knowledge mobilization” in specific research areas rather than assessing general research outcomes. (Jonathan Grant, Different Angles).
Germany has promoted its research status using ‘Excellence Initiative’ block funding to research organizations without regular nationwide evaluations. (Lutz Bornmann, Max Planck Institute).
While Hong Kong’s research assessment system is similar to the U.K. model, it draws on a distinctive conception of scholarship and on socio-economic benefit as well as excellence.
The introduction of New Zealand’s Performance-Based Research Fund can be associated with a marked improvement in its internationally comparative research performance.
The United Kingdom set the first model for regular research assessment, which has had pervasive effects on institutional management and on researcher behavior.

There have always been demands for technical solutions to reduce perceived assessment bureaucracy and the report acknowledges that Artificial Intelligence has a profound impact on research but machine learning solutions to assessment burdens may propagate existing biases. Models of assessment outcomes reveal that apparently important predictors may link to factors unrelated to research impact.

Martin Szomszor, Founder Electric Data Solutions: “What this debate has made clear is that both the research system and the data we collect about it capture many forms of prejudice relating to gender, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, age and more. Without proper consideration of these, machine learning solutions will only propagate these existing biases. This is a problem that is already familiar to those who make use of bibliometric indicators and an issue that has been at the forefront of the responsible metrics agenda.”

Jonathan Adams concludes, “Our report demonstrates there are many challenges, common to many regions. Research is a very long game, so assessment stability has great merit and, whatever the criticisms, the RAE/REF remains much as it did thirty years ago, with impact case studies added on.”

Optica Publishing Group signs Read and Publish agreements with IReL and Jisc

October 19, 2022

Optica Publishing Group (formerly OSA) is pleased to announce two new Read and Publish agreements, one with the Irish Research eLibrary (IReL) and another with Jisc, the UK higher, further education and skills sectors’ not-for-profit organization for digital services and solutions. The agreements allow authors at nine institutions in Ireland and at 22 institutions in the United Kingdom to publish in Optica Publishing Group’s portfolio of high-quality optics and photonics journals.

Both agreements run through December 2024 and cover access to read Optica Publishing Group’s collection of the most-cited, peer-reviewed content in the field as well as the fees associated with publishing articles openly and immediately with a CC BY license.

“Optics and photonics researchers in Ireland and the UK have long been active members of our community,” said Elizabeth Nolan, Optica Publishing Group’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Publishing Officer. “Throughout the years, they have regularly made significant and influential contributions to our journals. We are excited to be working with IReL and Jisc to support researchers in both of these countries and to ensure that they can continue to read and publish in our journals while simultaneously meeting the obligations of their funders.”

“We are thrilled to offer the UK sector an agreement that will allow optics and photonics researchers to publish their work as open access in 10 journals within the Optica Publishing Group portfolio,” said Anna Vernon, Head of portfolio and content licensing at Jisc. “It’s equally important that this deal enables greater access to a range of quality content in this field of research.”

Matthew Barber is a Ph.D. student and author based at the University of Southampton in the UK. On learning that his institution is participating in a new agreement with Optica Publishing Group, he said, “I’m very pleased there is now a Read and Publish agreement for the journals that are particularly important for our field. The Jisc agreement is a positive step forward that will allow us to easily make our work open access in line with our funder’s requirements.”

“IReL are excited to work with Optica Publishing Group on one of their first Read and Publish agreements,” said Jack Hyland, Director of IReL. “It is important that IReL provide the widest possible choice of open access publishing options to our members, so we are delighted to add Optica Publishing Group to our growing list of over 20 transformative agreements.”

Louise Bradley leads the Nanophotonics and Plasmonics group in the School of Physics at Trinity College Dublin. On learning that her recent article was eligible for publication as part of the new agreement she said, “I was delighted to learn that my institution has joined this agreement between Optica Publishing Group and IReL. Being able to both read and publish in Optica Publishing Group journals is very important to the success of my research.”

Details of the institutions and journals included in the agreements are available at https://opg.optica.org/submit/review/institutional_OA.cfm#institutionalOA.

PeerJ and the University of Kansas announce three year membership program, providing an alternative to APCs for Open Access publishing

October 19, 2022

We are delighted to announce an agreement with University of Kansas (KU) Libraries to join our Three-Year Memberships Program, giving their faculty a high-quality and sustainable Open Access publishing option. Under the agreement, which provides an alternative to Article Processing Charges (APCs) for OA, KU Libraries will cover the cost of Three-Year Memberships in their entirety, which means that there will be no out-of-pocket fees for KU authors to publish in any of our journals.

We are very happy that the team at KU Libraires see PeerJ Memberships for what they are: beneficial to their researchers, and a cost-effective approach to Open Access that provides an alternative to traditional APCs. We are delighted to renew our partnership, under a new membership model, with KU.

“The University of Kansas has a strong tradition of embracing Open Access through a variety of initiatives, many of which are based in KU Libraries. By enrolling in the PeerJ institutional membership program, KU Libraries is expanding our open and sustainable scholarship initiatives, providing direct support to KU authors to publish in PeerJ journals at no cost by covering author member fees,” says Josh Bolick, Head of the David Shulenburger Office of Scholarly Communication & Copyright, University of Kansas.

Three Year Memberships, priced at $239 per author, are valid from the date of an author’s first publication and for a further 36 months, during which they can publish two further articles at no additional cost, giving authors more flexibility as to when they publish. When authors use their full complement of three publications, the per-author cost borne by KU Libraries averages out at under $80/article. Under the agreement, any co-authors must hold a PeerJ Membership in order to publish; any Lifetime Memberships held by KU-affiliated authors remain valid.

We remain confident that our Membership options provide the best value for money to researchers who want to publish Open Access, and we look forward to continue working with KU researchers who choose to publish in any of our seven journals.

The University of Kansas become the sixth institution to join the program, along with UC Berkeley, the University of Ottawa, Iowa State University, the University of Sussex and Western University.

Please contact the Communities Team if your institution might be interested in joining the program.

Elsevier partners with World Federation for Mental Health to bring awareness to the global mental health crisis

October 19, 2022

Elsevier, a global leader in research publishing and information analytics, joins World Federation for Mental Health and all global citizens affected by mental illnesses to observe World Mental Health Day.

In 2019, an estimated one-in-eight people globally were living with a mental disorder of some kind. Combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, this has created a global mental health crisis According to the World Health Organization, “estimates put the rise in both anxiety and depressive disorders at more than 25% during the first year of the pandemic” and with the disruption to mental health services the treatment gap continues to grow. Stigma and discrimination continue to be a barrier to acceptance and access to mental health care.

World Mental Health Day is organized annually by World Federation for Mental Health to promote the advancement of mental health awareness, prevention of mental disorders, and to develop best practice recovery focused interventions worldwide. The goal of this international campaign is to create a unified voice to act and raise awareness in the global community about critical mental health agendas. The World Health Organization calls on us to “deepen the value and commitment we give to mental health as individuals, communities and governments and match that value with more commitment, engagement and investment by all stakeholders, across all sectors. We must strengthen mental health care so that the full spectrum of mental health needs is met through a community-based network of accessible, affordable and quality services and supports.”orld Mental Health Day is an opportunity for us to increase awareness about preventive mental health interventions, reducing the stigma and ensuring access to mental healthcare for all.

World Mental Health Day serves as a reminder of the global need to prioritize mental health, not just as an individual issue but as a collective responsibility. Mental health challenges affect millions of people worldwide, and yet, many still face barriers to accessing adequate care due to stigma, lack of resources, or insufficient support systems. To truly make a difference, we must embrace a holistic approach, one that integrates mental health care into every aspect of society, from schools and workplaces to healthcare systems and communities. This requires a collaborative effort from governments, organizations, and individuals alike to ensure that mental health services are both accessible and effective.

For healthcare professionals, this is also an opportunity to reflect on how they can contribute to addressing mental health gaps. For example, if you’re wondering how to start a private practice, it’s important to consider the increasing demand for mental health services and the potential role a private practice can play in meeting these needs. Establishing a private practice in mental health provides flexibility and personalized care for individuals who may prefer a more tailored treatment experience. However, it also requires thoughtful planning, access to resources, and a commitment to the well-being of the community.

To support this initiative, researchers, clinicians and other interested parties focusing on mental health, Elsevier has curated a collection of book chapters and articles freely available on their ScienceDirect platform. The collection is devoted to basic and clinical research on mental health, including important content addressing both general and targeted evidence-based interventions, which aligns with this year’s theme “Make Mental Health & Well-Being for All a Global Priority”. Some of the featured book chapters readily available include:

Featured book chapters include:

Mental Health in a Digital World – Chapter 18 – Apps for mental health
John Strauss, Jasmine Zhang, Madeleine L. Jarrett, Beth Patterson, Michael Van Ameringen
Read on ScienceDirect

Handbook of Mental Health and Aging (Third Edition) – Chapter 3 – Culture and ethnicity in the mental health of older adults
Lucas Torres Claire Bird, Felicia Mata-Greve
Read on ScienceDirect

Foundations of Art Therapy – Chapter 11 – Art therapy for psychological disorders and mental health
Meera Rastogi and Janet K. Kempf
Read on ScienceDirect

Elsevier is providing this content to help clinicians assess and treat patients, as well as serve as a source of information for non-clinicians. The hope is to take away some of the fears and stigmas around mental illness.

Click here to access the complete special issue collection.

New Free-to-Read Collection Shares Research Supporting Librarians

October 19, 2022

SAGE has launched a free-to-read collection of research and other resources supporting library professionals as they make improvements in their library, across their institutions, and build their own leadership skills. Categories in the collection include:

leadership and management
fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion
publishing and research support
library innovation
information literacy
professional development

SAGE believes that librarians are central to the teaching, learning, and research that occurs across campus and is dedicated to finding new ways to support their crucial work with patrons, as professionals and scholars, and beyond. As an independent company, SAGE can invest in lasting partnerships with library professionals and work together with them to create solutions for faculty and students.

Readers can access the Research Supporting Librarians microsite free for a limited time.

Call for Proposals is NOW Open for SSP’s 45th Annual Meeting

October 19, 2022

The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) is excited to begin planning our 45th Annual Meeting, scheduled for May 31 – June 2, 2023, in Portland, Oregon. Proposal submissions are now open!

Submission deadlines are as follows:

Educational Sessions – November 11, 2022
Industry Breakout Sessions – January 6, 2023
Educational Posters – January 27, 2023
5-minute Industry Previews – February 3, 2023

Our Annual Meeting will be an in-person learning and networking event, with a virtual component available for those who wish to attend remotely.

We are delighted to announce the theme for the 2023 SSP Annual Meeting:

Transformation, Trust, and Transparency

The pace of change in our industry continues unabated, with seismic shifts in areas such as the dissemination of research, business models, and the nature of the workplace. And yet, while pressure for change has become the new normal, fundamental change has proved more elusive. We invite you to join us in highlighting the Trust and Transparency issues that underlie many of the challenges we face and exploring what it takes to create more meaningful Transformation in scholarly publishing.

As always, the SSP community continues to focus on bringing together academics, funders, librarians, publishers, service providers, technologists, and countless others with a communal interest and stake in disseminating scholarly information. We look to the 45th Annual Meeting as an opportunity to continue this tradition and welcome all colleagues and community stakeholders, old and new.

Proposed Topics

We have identified a number of topics we think attendees will find of high interest. When you submit your proposal, you’ll be asked to select the topic most closely aligned with your proposed session.

Tools & Technology: The world of scholarly communication will always rely heavily on technology. Session proposals focused on the latest developments in the tools and infrastructure underlying the sharing of scholarship are encouraged.
New & Novel: Has your organization embraced a new concept or process, developed a new product, implemented a novel initiative? Understanding how these ideas were encouraged, envisioned, and implemented are of specific interest.
Trust: Matters of trust are a primary concern in the scholarly community, whether it be engendering trust, exhibiting trust, encouraging trust, and beyond, this area deserves special focus this year. We aim to focus on sessions that focus on the need for trust and spark discussion and debate around this topic.
Cultural Transformation: Traditional working practices are increasingly out of touch with the many pressing issues facing our industry, including addressing a lack of diversity; the need to examine equity, inclusion, and accessibility; adjusting to remote first working environments; and the generational shift arising from changing expectations in our communities. How is your organization transforming to address these shifts and what advice do you have for others hoping to address these shifts themselves?
Publishing Models: The sharing of research content is at the heart of our community. We continue to see the evolution around content distribution and dissemination, and value the experiences and thoughts of colleagues in exploring varying models.
External Drivers: Outside influences will always be a driver, whether predicted or unexpected. Session proposals designed to help attendees plan for the next external driver and develop creative solutions to incorporate these resulting changes into our strategies and workflows are especially encouraged.
Not seeing your topic listed? Don’t despair. We are open to ideas for additional topics, including business models, career advice, change management, editorial and production issues, global challenges, librarian-focused sessions, networking, sales and marketing, professional development, society publishers, sustainability, university presses, and more. And if you’re still not sure, note that your ideas for topic areas are always welcome!

Submission Process for 2023

SSP will again use Ex Ordo for proposal submissions. We thank Ex Ordo for their continued support and sponsorship of SSP’s submission system!

Three possible session proposal options are offered as part of the submission process as follows. Submitters must select their session type at the beginning of the submission process for each proposal. You are permitted to submit more than one proposal of one or more types.

Educational sessions: Educational sessions are designed for multiple speakers to present a specific topic that will benefit SSP attendees. Successful proposals will include concrete plans for interactivity, the inclusion of new voices, a diverse panel (with respect to gender, race, background, organization type, subject area), and clear learning objectives for the audience. Educational session time slots will likely be offered in varying lengths of 60, 75, and 90 minutes. Educational session proposals are being accepted through November 11, 2022.
Industry Breakout Sessions: These 30 minute sessions offer value by means of education, information, or professional development to attendees. Organizers may share information about a product or service, but sessions will be most effective if they present case studies/use cases, customer testimonials, timely information about industry issues, best practices, innovative solutions to everyday challenges, roundtable discussions, etc. If accepted, fees will apply. Industry Breakout session proposals are being accepted through January 6, 2023.
Posters: Poster presentations will provide an opportunity for information to be displayed and available to all attendees, and for poster authors to be able to discuss their poster’s content with interested parties. Poster proposals are being accepted through January 27, 2023.
5-minute Preview sessions: Brief, back-to-back presentations showcasing new products, platforms, and/or content from publishers and vendors. Preview session proposals are being accepted through February 3, 2023.

Tips for submitting a compelling proposal:

DO reflect a variety of voices and viewpoints in your submission. As documented in our Core Values, SSP deeply values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and submissions that reflect an inclusive pool of speakers are required. Session panels should include a diverse mix of genders, geography, race, and cultural backgrounds as much as possible. Single-speaker educational sessions will NOT be accepted. The strongest proposals will include the voices of key stakeholders (researchers/academics, librarians, students), will cross formats (books, journals, etc.), and will include perspectives across STEM, social sciences, and humanities.
DO develop your submission to appeal to a broad range of attendees in an engaging way. SSP Annual Meeting attendees value networking opportunities, insight into new developments, and practical applications they can use to advance their careers. Attendees include executives, editors, salespeople, marketing and product managers, librarians, technologists, vendors, academics, and more.
DO prepare a proposal focused on in-person learning for this primarily in-person event. Session speakers should be prepared to attend in person as well.
DO NOT submit an educational session focused on a single solution, a single organization, or material that is commercial in nature. These proposals will not be considered. Single solution/single organization presentations may be better positioned as a poster presentation. Submissions that are commercial in nature should be limited to the 5-minute Previews session or for Industry Breakout sessions.
DO pay attention to the deadlines! Our committee will begin reviewing proposals immediately after each deadline, so we regret that we cannot accept late submissions.
- For Educational sessions, the submission deadline is November 11, 2022.
- For Industry Breakout sessions, the submission deadline is January 6, 2023.
- For Poster sessions, the submission deadline is January 27, 2023.
- For 5-minute Preview sessions, the submission deadline is February 3, 2023.
DO contact Tracy Mitchell at tracy.mitchell@conferencedirect.com if you have any questions while submitting a session proposal.
DO read this detailed set of submission guidelines.

Ready to Submit?

Please proceed to the SSP abstract submission site to submit your proposal.

Final decisions to accept or decline educational sessions will be distributed to submitters in December. Notifications for the five-minute Previews sessions and Posters will follow within weeks’ of those submission deadline dates. Please see the submission guidelines for other important deadlines.

Thank you for your interest in participating in the 2023 SSP Annual Meeting. We look forward to receiving your submissions! Again, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email tracy.mitchell@conferencedirect.com.

Sincerely,
Lori Carlin, Tim Lloyd, and Emily Farrell
Annual Meeting Program Committee Co-Chairs

Wits University partners with ChronosHub to implement an automated APC management system

October 19, 2022

Over the last decade, Wits has more than tripled the number of research outputs published annually, with the share of Open Access (OA) publications increasing even faster. Today, about 50% of Wits’ more than 3,000 research articles are gold or hybrid OA, which require complex processes for handling payments of Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Through the ChronosHub platform, Wits will automate much of the otherwise manual work required to manage the APC invoices. Data collection is facilitated through many integrations with publisher systems combined with AI-technology for scanning invoices. This gives Wits an overview of all APC funding requests across all publishers on a single approval dashboard directly highlighting which approval criteria that are met or not for each invoice. Upon approval, ChronosHub also pays the publishers directly instead of the authors going through a complicated reimbursement process.

“An important part of our vision is that our staff and students should thrive at Wits in that we drive innovation throughout the University, and excellence should underpin everything that we do. With ChronosHub, we have found the platform and partner we need to fulfill that promise seen to our publishing and reporting processes. Effective open access management is key to securing our researchers’ success in this rapidly evolving research ecosystem. It’ll save significant staff time, optimize our funding from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), and keep our publishing expenditure under control.” Dr Robin Drennan, Director Research and Innovation at Wits

“We are pleased to welcome Wits to the rapidly growing global community of institutions, funders, and publishers that streamline their OAM through the ChronosHub platform.
This way, we automate otherwise time-consuming and often frustrating manual routine work. The researchers have more time for research, and the library and research office teams can spend more time on qualitative work.” Christian Grubak, co-CEO & founder

Furthermore, the collaboration also includes a journal finder featuring more than 45,000 journals. Here the researchers get guidance on which publishing routes comply with different funding policies and can see if they need to pay any publishing fees, considering Wits’ publisher agreements and conditions for the central APC fund. “Chronoshub is beneficial as an intermediary between librarians and researchers and serves as a one-stop tool that guides researchers with identifying reputable and accredited Open Access journals in which to publish,” says Dr. Daisy Selematsela, University Librarian at Wits Libraries.

Could China become the world’s loudest voice in research?

October 19, 2022

Five reasons why China’s influence is growing

China could surpass the US and the EU to become the most dominant voice in global research within a decade, according to a new analysis released this week by research technology company Digital Science.

The analysis – conducted by Digital Science CEO Daniel Hook and VP Research Futures Simon Porter – coincides with this week’s Communist Party Congress in which China’s political and economic might are a key focus. But what of its strength in research?

Dr Hook and Dr Porter have proposed five key metrics to rank countries’ influence in the world of research. In each of the metrics, China has either already overtaken its main rivals, is close to overtaking them, or has been making a sustained challenge that could see China rise to the top within the next 10 years.

The five metrics, in increasing importance and level of difficulty to achieve, are:

Percentage of GDP spent on research
Gold Open Access (OA) publication volume
Total publication volume
Proportion of global citations
Relative global influence

The authors write: “If the story of the 20th Century is one of the decline of the power and influence of the West, then the 21st Century tells the story of the ascent of Asia and more specifically China. Indeed, the era in which we live currently, with the cultural and economic dominance of the West, is something of a historical aberration.”

They say the five metrics are chosen “to show causal development” from one metric to the next.

So, how does China fare on each of the metrics?

Percentage of GDP spent on research: China (at 2.4% of GDP in 2020) is currently second behind the United States (at 3.45% of GDP in 2020. Source: World Bank.)
Gold Open Access (OA) publication volume: China nudging ahead of the European Union (EU) this year, based on extrapolated partial year data. (Source: Dimensions.)
Total publication volume: China overtaking the US this year and also likely to overtake the EU. (Source: Dimensions.)
Proportion of global citations: China ahead of the UK and EU but behind the US. On trend, China has been steadily increasing and the US steadily declining for more than 20 years. (Source: Dimensions.)
Relative global influence: China fourth, behind the EU, US and UK, but steadily rising for more than 20 years when others have either flatlined or declined. (Source: Dimensions.)

Dr Hook says: “China’s progress against all of these metrics is impressive. Within just a few years, China’s influence has developed to a point where it is clear that, if it continues on its current path, within a decade it will have surpassed the US and be vying with the EU-27 for global pre-eminence in its ability to influence the research conversation.”

See the full analysis – including charts based on data from Dimensions – here.

Underline Furthers Inclusion With Website Accessibility Update

October 19, 2022

Striving to lead the way on accessibility, Underline Science recently enhanced its website with the assistance of responsive web design services in order to achieve full WCAG and ADA compliance. These new features promote equitable access for the vision- and hearing-impaired and persons with photosensitive epilepsy and ADHD, among other disabilities impacting website user experience.

Libraries are the cornerstone of information access and educational material. As such equitable access to digital content should no longer be negotiable—but an ethical priority.

As a provider of public digital content to the university library community, Underline Science aims to promote the fullest use of its resources to the greatest number of people. The new website integrates AI technology to reduce common barriers that might otherwise hinder access to videos and library content for people with disabilities and impairments. This provides every visitor, student, faculty, staff member, and researcher equal access to a database filled with scholarly conference presentations.

Governments around the world have recently taken steps to center digital content accessibility for people of all abilities. Laws such as the 2019 Accessible Canada Act, EU Web Accessibility Directive, and European Accessibility Act strive to create an internet free of barriers.

The Underline site is now in full compliance with a range of recent American and Canadian accessibility guidelines, including WCAG and ADA guideline adherence. Users can configure the new Accessibility widget to meet their personal needs, clicking on the blue icon at the middle-left corner of their page.

Some of the measures readers can activate include: • Seizure-safe profiles with reduced color and flashing images • Vision-impaired profiles with ARIA best behavioral adjustments, enhanced visuals, and text size adjustability • ADHD-friendly profiles with fewer distractions and a highly focused layout • Cognitive disability profiles with assisted reading and a streamlined layouts • Optimized keyboard navigation for motor-impaired users • Content highlighting, to emphasize selected elements only • Audio muting • Printing mode • A search engine linked to Wiktionary and Wikipedia, so users with cognitive differences can easily grasp the meanings of phrases, slang, and complex terms

These are just a handful of the ways in which users can configure content to meet their precise needs. By putting these users in the driver’s seat of their own research experience, Underline democratizes the research experience like never before.

“University library patrons—faculty, students, researchers, and others—are a microcosm of the larger society; a society that includes between 10% and 20% of people with disabilities,” points out David Parker, Director of Product Management at Underline Science.

“Our website and our product must serve 100% of our community. It’s a good social practice and it’s good business,” he adds.

Centering accessibility is also an ongoing process. As such, the site will continue to change and develop to stay at the forefront of meeting compliance regulations and users’ needs.

Underline Science is leading the way in academic research capabilities. Grow your scientific network and tap into the global ecosystem to help solve some of the most pressing research challenges of our time. Join the community today.

www.underline.io

What to look forward to at this year’s ConTech conference?

October 19, 2022

Now in our 5th year, why do our chairs love working on ConTech Live and what are they particularly looking forward to at this year’s conference? We caught up with them a couple of weeks’ ago to find out.
Watch Clive Snell – MD at ConTech Live in conversation with Ann Michael – CTO, AIP Publishing and Sam Herbert – CEO and Co-founder of 67 Bricks in an insightful discussion.

To view the video in full (it’s only 14 minutes) go to https://www.contech.live/

This is a behind the scenes look at the programme development, what we are really looking forward to and what our attendees can expect to find at this years’ event. Our speaker line up will deliver the many reasons they have embraced change. What they have chosen to change and how they go about making those changes happen. With lots of opportunity for networking ConTech 2022 is the perfect platform to help navigate the changing content and information landscape.

Join our chairs in-person in London at this November’s #ConTech2022 or online at our hybrid event by securing your place today: https://bit.ly/ConTech22

Delegates are signing up daily to attend this event, they realise the importance it has to the industry so why not join them and see for yourself or continue that journey with the ConTech community.

Find out more about all of our events Contech.live

ScioWire: a newswire for open research

October 18, 2022

Finally: a bespoke newsfeed to seek, sort, summarise and share open-access research

SciencePOD proudly introduces its latest innovation: ScioWire^beta, at the 2022 Frankfurt Book Fair. Using artificial intelligence (AI), ScioWire helps any knowledge economy professional – from scientists to publishers – access the evidence they need, quickly.

ScioWireuses natural language processing algorithms, developed by our partner Juan-Manuel Torres Moreno, Senior Researcher at the LIA at Avignon Université.

The Process

ScioWire applies each user’s chosen keywords and filters to the latest open-access (OA) papers online, filtering out irrelevant work and ensuring nothing important is missed.
ScioWire’s AI engine generates a feed of contextualised summaries from the full OA papers. These summaries let researchers browse their list at speed and choose which articles are worth reading in full.
More time and evidence for the researcher, and more exposure for the right OA papers.

ScioWiresummaries combine a concise breakdown of the research paper with direct extracts highlighting relevant information and the answers to key questions about its findings. Each summary also provides contextual information, including lay definitions for technical jargon, expanded acronyms and a compilation of keywords for future reference.

ScioWireis also a powerful tool for scholarly publishers, enabling them to amplify the impact of research in their portfolio. ScioWire can expand its range of sources to include titles from publishers looking for author-centric productivity tools. Detailed summaries have been shown to increase engagement, helping readers decide to explore the original research. Offering this resource yields much higher impact than the full-size article alone, boosting discoverability and reach.

A chance to focus

Science communications are changing. Scientists are increasingly incentivised to promote their work at the post-publication stage, with the focus on impact. At the same time, researchers are facing significant pressure to publish quickly, secure more funding and fulfil funder requirements around OA and outreach.

The average researcher and knowledge economy professional consumes content in 5-15-min timeslots throughout the day. Much of this time is spent finding papers and deciding if they are worth diving into. A clear, thorough feed of digestible summaries saves time, energy and missed opportunities, allowing them to spend more time understanding the research itself.

Wiley Launches ‘Partner Solutions’ Division in Research to Support the Transition to Open Access Publishing

October 18, 2022

In the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Wiley (NYSE: WLY), a global leader in research and education, today announced Wiley Partner Solutions, a new division within its Research business. Wiley Partner Solutions serves associations, scientific publishers, societies and corporations as they transform their business strategies and publishing processes in the open research era. The Partner Solutions team will operate globally under the leadership of Wiley Senior Vice President Dr. Guido F. Herrmann, based in Germany.

Wiley Partner Solutions delivers a broad array of digital platforms, publishing solutions, and services to help partners scale, collaborate, and accelerate their publishing programs, while at the same time supporting the value chain of scholarly publishing. The range of offerings address all stages of the academic publishing process from manuscript submission through publication and beyond. Among the solutions available are those that drive and improve author submissions, scale high quality editorial and production services, provide peer review, grow engagement, diversify revenue, offer career center services, manage open access payments, and enable connections between researchers and the organizations that serve them.

Current customers include the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), academic institutions, and global corporations in the pharmaceutical, life sciences and chemical industries.

“No other company today can provide the same comprehensive support across the researcher’s journey. As the world’s number one society publisher with over 900 partnerships, we have the expertise, knowledge, and global network to deliver on scholarly publishing needs at scale,” said Jay Flynn, Wiley Executive Vice President and General Manager, Research. “Through organic growth and acquisitions, we have assembled a dream team of leaders and solutions to solve the big problems facing the academic publishing ecosystem.”

“The transition to open access is the driving force in research publishing today. All stakeholders in the research ecosystem play an important role in ensuring that findings are widely accessible to better support researchers and to enable solutions to real-world problems,” said Guido F. Herrmann, Wiley Senior Vice President of Partner Solutions. “This new offering further showcases Wiley’s expertise as a partner to societies, reinforces our commitment to innovation, and advances a shared goal among the industry to make peer-reviewed research more broadly available.”

Recent successes coming out of Wiley Partner Solutions include delivering Oable, the innovative open access payment management solution that connects libraries, authors and publishers, to a fast-growing number of institutions . In addition, Wiley and the International League Against Epilepsy recently launched the Epilepsy Knowledge Hub to provide health care professionals with the latest research and guidelines to aid in diagnosis, classification, and treatment for people with epilepsy syndromes. Both projects highlight Wiley’s dedication to supporting its partners in solving real-world problems, underpinned by peer-reviewed research.

The acquired brands integrated into Wiley Partner Solutions include Atypon, Inera, J&J Editorial, eJournalPress, Knowledge Unlatched, and Madgex. With the products, services, and talent available across the division, Wiley will continue to deliver the best of its portfolio in new and innovative ways. Wiley Partner Solutions will operate separately from Wiley’s Research Publishing business and will be reported as “Research Solutions” or “Research Partner Solutions” in the Company’s public filings and financial statements.