Featuring an examination of open access publishing in North Africa, a new patient-centric data-sharing project, and the announcement of African Academy of Sciences Open Research.
A case study of open access journals in North Africa via Zenodo
Open access publishing in North Africa has been experiencing problems for several years: of 500 open access journals, only 23 are listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals. This poster examines best and worst case practices and policies to help these journals be recognized on an international stage.
ICO gives the go-ahead for patient-centric data-sharing project via UKA data4good
This article examines a new data-sharing project that was recently backed by the UK’s Information Comissioner’s Office. The project is designed to facilitate the secure sharing of medical information by developing an interface to involve patients and enable them to provide consent for the use of their records for research.
Introducing Open Knowledge Maps via Open Knowledge Maps
This site is a very useful tool for locating research on areas of interest by grouping subgroups of research and providing quick access to open access articles.
Is peer reviewing a hobby or a job? via Medscape
Peer reviewing is a painstaking business for those undertaking it, often taking hours for little or no real reward beyond the satisfaction of participating in the scientific process. This blog, written by a reviewer, argues that as physicians and researchers struggle under increasing workloads, some form of compensation should be provided to keep the system going.
The importance of access to older research via SciELO in Perspective
Inspired by the recent ResearchGate legal battles, this article makes the case that it is not just new research that should be made open access but older papers too. The author recommends that a full open access licence should be granted automatically to all research papers exactly 1 year after official publication in order to maximize access to research funded by different organizations and for all disciplines.
Introducing AAS Open Research via AASciences
The African Academy of Sciences has become the latest of a growing number of funding bodies to announce the launch of its own Open Research platform, based on the F1000Research model.
The growth of hybrid open access via PeerJ
This paper tracks the growth of hybrid open access publishing since 2010, putting it in the context of the evolving open access landscape.
ORCID included in Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 via REF 2021
Decisions on the latest edition of the REF have been announced. One of the parts of the framework for open science advocates is the strong endorsement (although no requirement) of ORCID identifiers for research staff.
