Proceedings of the Workshop Exploring National Infrastructure for Public Access Usage and Impact Reporting

“Invited international experts and leading scholarly cyberinfrastructure representatives joined workshop organizers Christina Drummond and Charles Watkinson for an eight-hour facilitated workshop on April 2, 2023. Together they aimed to: ? identify the challenges preventing cross-platform public and open scholarship impact analytics at scale, ? explore open infrastructure opportunities to improve the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reuse i.e. “FAIRness” of usage data, and ? identify what’s needed to scaffold America’s national infrastructure for scholarly output impact reporting in light of a) the August 2022 Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) “Nelson Memo” regarding “Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research,” and b) the European Open Science Cloud Core and Interoperability Framework. Participants were encouraged to consider the challenges related to impact reporting and storytelling for research outputs ranging from data, articles, and books to simulations, 3D models, and other multimedia. The workshop objectives shared in advance of the meeting with participants were: ? identify what’s needed to scaffold America’s national infrastructure for scholarly output impact reporting, ? develop recommendations for national infrastructure and investment, and ? prioritize and begin to map out what activities we need to undertake next to support these recommendations. 1…”

Exploring the Consequences of Full-Scale Open Science – Open and Universal Science (OPUS) Project

“Imagine a world where the doors of knowledge swing wide open for everyone, where scientists across the globe freely share their findings, and collaboration becomes the norm. What if open science, the idea of making all scientific research accessible to everyone, was fully implemented? Let’s take a closer look at the potential consequences of such a revolutionary shift.

Knowledge for All: The most immediate and significant consequence of fully implementing open science would be the widespread access to knowledge. No longer would valuable research be tucked away behind expensive paywalls. Instead, information would flow freely, empowering students, researchers, and curious minds worldwide to explore and contribute to the vast pool of human knowledge.
Accelerated Discoveries: With the removal of barriers to information, the pace of scientific discovery would likely skyrocket. Researchers could build upon each other’s work seamlessly, reducing redundancy and allowing for faster progress. The collaborative nature of open science would enable scientists to tackle complex problems collectively, potentially leading to groundbreaking discoveries and innovative solutions.
Global Collaboration: Open science would break down the walls that separate researchers around the world. Collaboration would become the standard rather than the exception. Experts from different cultures and regions could join forces to address pressing global issues, fostering a sense of unity in the pursuit of knowledge and problem-solving.
Empowerment of Citizen Scientists: The full implementation of open science would not be limited to professional researchers. Everyday individuals with a passion for science, known as citizen scientists, would have the tools and resources to actively participate in the scientific process. This democratization of science could bring fresh perspectives and ideas, enriching the scientific landscape.
Challenges in Data Privacy and Security: While the benefits of open science are immense, challenges related to data privacy and security would need careful consideration. The open sharing of research data could raise concerns about the protection of sensitive information. Striking a balance between openness and safeguarding individual and collective interests would be crucial.
Rethinking Funding Models: The traditional funding models for scientific research, often reliant on subscription fees and paywalls, would need a significant overhaul. A sustainable funding model that supports open access to research while ensuring the financial well-being of researchers and institutions would be imperative for the long-term success of open science.
Intellectual Property Considerations: The concept of intellectual property and ownership of ideas may undergo a transformation in a fully open science environment. Striking a balance between recognizing and rewarding innovation while ensuring widespread access to knowledge would be a delicate task….”

Where are we with repositories in Europe today?

Open Science is becoming the default in Europe and researchers are getting unprecedented access to the full corpus of research for analysis, text and data mining, and other new research methods. […]

The post Where are we with repositories in Europe today? appeared first on SPARC Europe.

Where Did the Open Access Movement Go Wrong?: An Interview with Richard Poynder – The Scholarly Kitchen

“Richard Poynder has long been one of the most respected and insightful commentators on the scholarly communication ecosystem, and in particular on the development and progress of the open access (OA) movement – to which he has always been a friend, but one admirably willing to speak truth even when the truth was uncomfortable or inconvenient. Recently he announced that he has decided the OA movement has failed, and that he is turning his attention to other topics and issues. I invited him to sit for an email interview to discuss his thinking and conclusions.”

Unlocking Knowledge with Open Access: Models and Licensing Demystified

“Open access (OA) content?allows unrestricted access and reuse, making it free to read and use without a paid subscription. To learn more about this rapidly evolving trend in publishing—and why it’s important to public, academic, and special libraries—join Holly Taylor, Customer Engagement & Content Manager, and Cynthia Busse, Director of Accounts, Content Solutions, for this free, hourlong webinar.

Together, we will:

Decode Creative Commons license tools
Unravel OA publication types and illuminate what OA means for your library
Share open access resources…”

Unlocking OER for Public Libraries

“Open educational resources (OER) are free teaching and learning materials that are in the public domain or released under an open copyright license. These materials can be accessed, repurposed, adapted, and redistributed for free. Rooted in the human right to education, OER gained attention by making information and education more affordable and accessible, especially as tuition at colleges and universities increased. While conversations about their use have focused on academic and school libraries, OER have much to offer public libraries.

OER advocates often cite the sharp rise in textbook costs as a reason for growing interest in open education, and academic librarians now partner with faculty to support the use of open and low-cost course materials to reduce costs for students. However, the talking points academics use may not seem relevant to public librarians or their patrons.

Alex Houff, Digital Equity and Virtual Services Manager at the Baltimore County Public Library, argues OER have a “marketing problem.” In a recent Library Futures learning circle, she explained that people often don’t know what open resources are. Because of this, it’s hard to create an “elevator pitch” for OER in public libraries. Houff believes the critical first step in expanding OER programs is helping people understand how OER initiatives can benefit their communities.”

Clarivate Connects 172M+ Cited References from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses to the Web of Science – Clarivate

“Clarivate Plc…today announced it has enriched ProQuestTM Dissertations & Theses Citation Index, integrating over 172 million cited references from ProQuest™ Dissertations & Theses Global within the Web of ScienceTM platform and interconnecting both platforms.

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index opens new possibilities in the research workflow for students and researchers, enabling them to explore the development of a topic across varied, multidisciplinary research outputs or to look back at the research foundation of post-graduate works. This enhancement deepens the connection between published and unpublished scholarship, enriching the entire research experience.

The solution enables students and researchers to discover new research sources on diverse, novel or niche topics and easily expand their discovery to related works. As new cited references are captured, dissertations and theses will accrue citations from indexed research, helping users understand the impact or influence of dissertations and theses to scholarship over time….”

4Science

“4Science was established in 2015 to support universities, research and cultural institutes all around the world in managing and realizing digital projects.

We guarantee full compliance with methodological and scientific international standards and we strongly support open source, open standards and interoperability protocols.

The 4Science team of experts has gained decades of domain expertise and experience resulting from numerous collaborations with universities and research institutes.

Visit our pages through the links below to know more about our contributions to free software communities, our clients, our certifications and our partnerships with the major players of the Open Science world.”

OPEN SCIENCE IN CHINA: AN OPEN OR CLOSED CASE?

“China’s place in the global system of science has become increasingly prominent. In 2016, China published the highest number of scientific articles and in 2022 it was home to the most cited papers.1 However, whether the world’s population can access and benefit from these scientific outputs largely depends on them being openly available. Academic and governmental institutions, as well as the public, connect the open science (OS) movement with two main practices, the publishing of open access (OA) research articles and sharing open data. Since the early 1990s, OS has been an umbrella term used to refer to all the different technology-enabled initiatives to strengthen openness, one core ethos of science.”

Where Did the Open Access Movement Go Wrong?: An Interview with Richard Poynder

Noted journalist and scholarly communication observer Richard Poynder explains why he has given up on the open access movement.

The post Where Did the Open Access Movement Go Wrong?: An Interview with Richard Poynder appeared first on The Scholarly Kitchen.

Citizen science projects tend to attract white, affluent, well-educated volunteers ? here’s how we recruited a more diverse group to identify lead pipes in homes

“Recruiting participants for a citizen science project produced a more diverse group when people were signed up through partner organizations, such as schools and faith-based organizations, than when they joined on their own. We used this approach to recruit volunteers for Crowd the Tap, a citizen science initiative that crowdsources the locations of lead plumbing in homes.

We signed up 2,519 households through partner organizations, in addition to 497 households that signed up on their own. We recruited households from all 50 states, though the majority came from North Carolina. Our project was initially funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, which led to nationwide sampling, but additional funding from the North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute led to prioritizing sampling in North Carolina.

We recruited 2.2 times more Black participants and 2.3 times more Hispanic or Latino participants through partnerships than we did through individual sign-ups. This allowed us to assemble a group of volunteers that more accurately represented the U.S. population. In addition, 11.2 times more lower-income participants took part in Crowd the Tap through partner organizations than on their own….”

NASA Transform to Open Science

“NASA’s Transform to Open Science (TOPS) initiative is designed to transform agencies, organizations, and communities to an inclusive culture of open science. TOPS’s first priority is to develop the infrastructure to train scientists and researchers as part of our 5-year program. The open science curriculum will introduce those beginning their open science journey to important definitions, tools, and resources; and provide participants at all levels recommendations on best practices.”