For many decades, research assessment has been predominantly determined based on the Journal Impact Factor and article citation count.

In May 2013, a group of journal publishers and editors released the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) to express their concerns over journal-based metrics.  In DORA, they put forth recommendations that would change the traditional way of evaluating research and explore new indicators of significance and impact.

Nowadays, researchers and scholars have found other ways to communicate, share, and comment on research, as they leverage online channels such as Twitter, blogs, social networks, open data portals and apps, and digital repositories. These online activities present a different way –  or perhaps an additional way – to assess research impact. Often referred to as Alt-Metrics – these online scores provide an opportunity for real-time feedback. Continue reading →

This year marks Open Access (OA) Week’s eighth year and events have been scheduled around the world to bring attention to what open access means for research, researchers, and publishers.

OA Week continues to be an important event designed to raise awareness of the benefits of supporting an open access environment, as well as, the value and impact open access content delivers to the reader. For our part, the MSK Library is committed to the principles of open access to scholarly peer-reviewed literature as a means to accelerate scientific discovery and improve patient care.

Again this year during OA Week, the Library website will feature OA publications by MSK authors in our Today’s Science Sparks section. You can also look for the open access button located next to OA citations found in the Today’s Science Sparks archives. Continue reading →

For an excellent blog post about predatory publishing or deceptive publishing, check out what Rick Anderson shares (The Scholarly Kitchen, Aug 17, 2015). This is an issue that continues to plague the scholarly communication landscape with some publishers truly behaving like wolves in sheep’s clothing. The most important thing we can do for our researchers, whether they are just starting their publishing careers or are seasoned authors, is to highlight and make them aware of unscrupulous publishers. Continue reading →