Author Archives: Donna

NIH-funded Authors: Addressing Non-compliant Papers!

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As we all know, it is important for NIH awardees to ensure their papers are compliant with the NIH Public Access Policy.  There are four reasons why a non-compliant paper may actually be exempt from the policy:

  1. The paper was not peer-reviewed.
  2. The paper was accepted for publication before April 7, 2008.
  3. The paper was published in a script other than Latin (e.g., Russian, Japanese)
  4. The paper indicated in the text (e.g., in the acknowledgements section) that the research was a result of a NIH grant.  Sometimes authors mention grants that did not directly fund the creation of their paper. Although this information is incorrect, it is captured in the compliance monitor.   Continue reading →

We Don’t Know What We Don’t Know … but We Can Learn!

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Recently I gave a high level presentation and overview of Library Services and focused attention on three major talking points – Content/Website, Services, and reaching Library Staff.  I didn’t want to overload the audience because I really wanted them to walk away with at least one piece of information they felt was relevant to them. 

When I give this type of presentation, I often wonder when I start talking about various resources available through the Library – what is/are their current “GoTo” info resource(s) they count on when conducting research?  Well, this time around, I decided to ask!  The target audience was incoming graduate students and after going around the table to find out what resources they use, PubMed and Wikipedia rose to the top.  Continue reading →

Evaluating Scientific Research: Recommendations from DORA

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When I first saw the word “DORA”, I automatically thought of Dora the Explorer, an American animated television series that focuses on a Latina girl named Dora Marquez who embarks on quests escorted by her talking purple backpack and anthropomorphic monkey companion named Boots. Each episode is based on Dora’s travels and the various obstacles and conundrums they must solve to the delight of young television viewers.

Another “DORA” recently surfaced and the intended audience is the scientific research community (declaration went public on May 17, 2013).  The acronym stands for “Declaration of Research Assessment” and as of the writing of this post, has signatures from 310 organizations and 8,106 individuals who support this initiative.  Like Dora the Explorer, the originators are also embarking on a quest to change the way in which the output of scientific research is evaluated by funding agencies, academic institutions, and other parties – to find a better way to assess the impact of scientific research. Continue reading →