Research assessment exercises are necessary — but we need to learn to do them better

Posted on May 17, 2023 by OATP primary

“Research evaluation at the Australian Research Council (ARC), one of the country’s main funding bodies, is set to get a makeover. Last month, an independent expert review recommended that the ARC scrap its 13-year-old research-scoring system, known as Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA), and its companion exercise, the Engagement and Impact assessment, which grades the real-world benefits of institutions’ work. Both had been on hold since last August, awaiting the findings of the review.

This is a rare case in which an evaluation system can be rewritten from scratch. The ARC should take this opportunity to improve how it measures and communicates the value of Australia’s research workforce, on the basis of not just lessons learnt from the ERA’s deficiencies, but also principles that have been developed and implemented elsewhere in the world. In doing so, it will help to create a research culture that reflects the best possible values that research should represent….”

Guest Post: Start at the Beginning – The Need for ‘Research Practice’ Training – The Scholarly Kitchen

Posted on March 26, 2023 by OATP primary

“Something is rotten in the state of research. And while retracting work that is fraudulent or incorrect is very important, it is expensive and too late. We should be nipping the problem in the bud much earlier – back with the training researchers receive at university. Achieving Open Research (and therefore increasing reproducibility) requires the provision of systematic research training that focuses specifically on research practice….”

Productivity Commission backs open access push

Posted on March 22, 2023 by OATP primary

“Removing the paywalls on research literature would boost Australian innovation, according to the Productivity Commission, which is recommending the Albanese government give consideration to the world-first open access model being developed by the chief scientist.

Australia’s chief scientist Dr Cathy Foley is currently finalising her advice to government on an Australian open access model she says would go much further than global efforts to unlock research.

The Productivity Commission’s (PC) five-yearly productivity inquiry, published on Friday, throws support behind open access because of the “significant benefits for diffusion and productivity growth”. …”

Data Sharing Policy Development Guidelines | ARDC

Posted on February 26, 2023 by peter.suber's bookmarks

“Read our guide to developing a data sharing policy (DSP), which can be crucial to good data management and the data governance framework for your research project.

Our Data Sharing Policy Development Guidelines provide information and guidance on developing a data sharing policy (DSP), a policy written by an organisation or a group to address:

the types of data the agencies have in their custody
the principles and strategy around the sharing of that data
the governance and management procedures that should be followed when that data is being shared.

It lays out, in general terms, how that organisation or group will respond to requests to share the data.

A data sharing policy should be agreed on whenever there is a need or an intention to share data created by a research project or projects. The policy ensures that all data requests are handled consistently and appropriately. It also ensures that both the data holder and potential data requesters understand the process of making and assessing requests.

These guidelines discuss the ‘how’ and ‘what’ of developing a data sharing policy, specifically how one can be created and what components it usually has….”

Understanding the source of funds used by authors in Australian

Posted on February 14, 2023 by OATP primary

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Read & Publish (R&P) deals with publishers consolidate the cost of subscription access and open access publication into a single payment. This is a significant shift in the way access to research outputs is managed, and has implications for university acquisition budgets. Currently funds used across institutions to pay for Article Processing Charges (APCs) are unquantified and their sources unidentified.

OBJECTIVE: The study aims to identify the sources of funding for APCs across Flinders University. The findings are intended to stimulate debate across the sector to potentially replicate the study at other institutions.

METHOD: The research outputs of Flinders University during 2020-2021 were filtered for a Creative Commons license on the assumption that these were available open access, and articles where the corresponding author was a Flinders University academic were identified. A survey tool was developed to understand the amount the author paid for the APC and the source(s) of that money.

The amounts reported as payment for APCs were converted to AUD using a point in time exchange rate. The figures were extrapolated across the two years of research outputs of the university. The authors acknowledge this method provides a raw assumption, however this analysis is sufficient to identify the general scale of the issue.

FINDINGS: A significant proportion of respondents did not pay any APCs for their article. Those that did funded their APC directly from the university, or from grants, consultancy funds or in rare cases, personal payment.

INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: R&P deals shift the responsibility of payment for open access from external funds to the university acquisition budget. It is essential that the extent of this financial shift be quantified and negotiation occur with funding bodies to ensure they contribute directly to supporting these deals. This work indicates the need for evidence-based discussions about the risks associated with the sector embracing R&P deals and the value of reinvigorating the path to open access using repositories and strong rights retention polices.

Understanding the source of funds used by authors in Australian universities to pay Article Processing Charges — Research @ Flinders

Posted on February 14, 2023 by OATP primary

Abstract: Read & Publish (R&P) deals with publishers consolidate the cost of subscription access and open access publication into a single payment. This is a significant shift in the way access to research outputs is managed, and has implications for university acquisition budgets. Currently funds used across institutions to pay for Article Processing Charges (APCs) are unquantified and their sources unidentified.

New from WorldFAIR: Cross-national Social Sciences survey FAIR implementation case studies report – CODATA, The Committee on Data for Science and Technology

Posted on February 9, 2023 by OATP primary

“New from the WorldFAIR project (https://worldfair-project.eu/), this report provides an overview of the data harmonisation practices of comparative (cross-national) social surveys, through case studies of: (1) the European Social Survey (ESS) and (2) a satellite study, the Australian Social Survey International – European Social Survey (AUSSI-ESS). To do this, we compare and contrast the practices between the Australian Data Archive and Sikt.no, the organisations responsible for the data management of ESS and AUSSI-ESS.

The case studies consider the current data management and harmonisation practices of study partners in the ESS, including an analysis of the current practices with FAIR data standards, particularly leveraging FAIR Information Profiles (FIPs) and FAIR Enabling Resources (FERs).

The comparative analysis of the two case studies considers key similarities and differences in the management of the two data collections. Core differences in the use of standards and accessible, persistent registry services are highlighted, as these impact on the potential for shared, integrated reuse of services and content between the two partner organisations.

The report concludes with a set of recommended practices for improved management and automation of ESS data going forward—setting the stage for Phase 2 of WorldFAIR Work Package 6—and outlines the proposed means for implementing this management in the two partner organisations.

These recommendations focus on three areas of shared interest:
• Aligning standards
• Establishing common tools
• Establishing and using registries
in order to advance implementation of the FAIR principles, and to improve interoperability and reusability of digital data in social sciences research….”

Trove in trouble: why does it cost money to keep the resource online?

Posted on January 29, 2023 by peter.suber's bookmarks

“The online database Trove may go offline in the middle of the year without additional funding.

Trove, which is owned and operated by the National Library of Australia (NLA), is a free resource which provides access to billions of digital documents, images, media and records of physical documents. It also contains millions of digitised Australian newspaper pages and issues.

Trove receives around 22 million hits per year, and is widely used by both academic researchers and members of the public.

So what does it cost to run an archive like it?…

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the NLA requires $7-$10 million per year to keep Trove running in its current form….”

Transformative Agreements in Australian Academic Libraries

Posted on January 19, 2023 by OATP primary

Open access means making research available online, free of cost for anyone to access it. Open access is part of a wider ‘open’ movement to encourage free exchange of knowledge and resources to broaden access and encourage innovation, creativity and economic activity. Publishing in academic peer-reviewed journals is a critical part of the academic process that maintains research integrity.[1] However, most academic journal articles are behind a paywall which means only those with subscription can access these publications. This blog post will discuss transformative agreements (TA) negotiated by the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) which aims to provide authors the opportunity to publish open access immediately on acceptance, and free of any transactional Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Wikidata Fellowships – Wikimedia Australia

Posted on January 15, 2023 by peter.suber's bookmarks

“Keen to try something with Wikidata! Got a crazy idea? Or a provocation? Or an idea that needs investigating?

Wikimedia Australia and Wikimedia Aotearoa New Zealand are offering two creative fellowships grants of $1000 (AUD) and one of $1000 (NZD) to curate a data set, develop a prototype or undertake an investigation using Wikidata. You will be matched with a Wikimedian who will mentor you throughout your project offering resources, feedback and support.

We are open to applicants from all backgrounds and skill levels, and support proposals that involve investigations. We are looking for proposals that are enthusiastic and innovative as opposed to requiring pre-existing technical skills.”

How was the transition to open access advanced in 2022? | Research Information

Posted on January 12, 2023 by OATP primary

“Undoubtedly, 2022 has been a year of growth for open access (OA). Funder policies and deadlines have come into play and, as a result of the pandemic, the impact and benefits of open research and open access are now better understood by people beyond academia.

Overall, two themes featured strongly – the need for OA take up to become more global and the importance for authors to remain able to publish in their journal of choice. Taken together these themes were instrumental to enabling OA growth in 2022….

And when we look at the policy developments that have taken place this year with a number of countries reviewing their approach to OA and considering policy recommendations to speed up the transition, this move beyond Europe is likely to continue:

US- The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)) has updated the US policy guidance to make the results of taxpayer-supported research immediately available to the American public at no cost

Australia – Australian funding agency, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), has introduced the requirement that scholarly publications arising from the research it funds be made freely available and accessible

India – the Ministry of Education has announced the deadline for the launch of the “One Nation, One Subscription” (ONOS) policy for scientific research papers and academic journals from April 2023 to ensure countrywide access for researchers and the broader public.

Come 2023, we are likely to see even greater take up by authors of OA. Moreover publishers, such as Springer Nature, continue to be ready to work with funders and others to ensure that these policies drive the OA transition in a sustainable way while ensuring the needs of the researchers continue to be met. For a long time we have had the ‘supply’ (the ability to publish OA), what we have been waiting for is the ‘demand’ (authors wanting to publish OA)….”

CAUL announcement 2023 – The Company of Biologists

Posted on December 15, 2022 by OATP primary

“The Company of Biologists’ 2022-2024 Read & Publish Open Access agreement with the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) continues to be a great success, and we are delighted to announce that the number of institutions participating in 2023 will increase from 11 to 20.

All institutions that participated in the agreement in 2022 have chosen to renew, and a further nine institutions will be joining in 2023. Three institutions have also upgraded their Read & Publish package to include all our journals – Development, Journal of Cell Science, Journal of Experimental Biology, Disease Models & Mechanisms and Biology Open – bringing the total number of institutions with our five-journal package to 15….”

SAGE Publishing and Council of Australian University Librarians reach new “Read and Publish” agreement

Posted on December 15, 2022 by OATP primary

“SAGE Publishing and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), the negotiating body representing universities in Australia and New Zealand), have announced a new Open Access Agreement which will expand publishing opportunities for ANZ researchers. The three year agreement, which begins on the 1st January 2023 and will last through to the 31st December 2025, provides researchers with: • Unlimited open access publishing rights in SAGE’s 900+ hybrid journals. • A discount on article publishing charges for SAGE’s 150+ pure Gold Open Access journals….”

Everything Open 2023 | Everything Open, All At Once!

Posted on December 14, 2022 by OATP primary

“We invite you to submit a session proposal on a topic you are familiar with via our proposals portal. The Call for Sessions will remain open until 11:59 pm on Sunday 15 January 2023 anywhere on earth (AoE).

There will be multiple streams catering for a wide range of interest areas across the many facets of open technology, including Linux, open source software, open hardware, standards, formats and documentation, and our communities. In keeping with the conference’s aim to be inclusive to all community members, presentations can be aimed at any level, ranging from technical deep-dives through to beginner and intermediate level presentations for those who are newer to the subject. Where possible, talks on a related subject will be arranged sequentially in the schedule.

There will be two types of sessions at Everything Open: talks and tutorials. Talks will nominally be 45 minutes long on a single topic presented in lecture format. We will also have a few short talk slots (25 minutes) available, which are perfect for people new to presenting at a conference. Tutorials are interactive and hands-on in nature, presented in classroom format. Each accepted session will receive one Professional level ticket to attend the conference….”

SAGE Publishing and Council of Australian University Libraries reach new “Read and Publish” agreement — SAGE Publishing

Posted on December 12, 2022 by OATP primary

SAGE Publishing and the Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL), the negotiating body representing universities in Australia and New Zealand, have announced a new Open Access Agreement which will expand publishing opportunities for ANZ researchers. The three year agreement, which begins on the 1st January 2023 and will last through to the 31st December 2025, provides researchers with:

About Open Science

(All that comes with it, (but not by itself)

Category Archives: oa.australia