Weekly digest: harnessing microsites, Sci60 launch and publishing null results

Deya Deb

This week, we spotlight a partnership between Johnson & Johnson and Kudos and an initiative from Karger Publishers that aim to make research content more accessible and discoverable to healthcare professionals. We read two articles about publication integrity: one reflecting on how to encourage the sharing of null results and the other about increasing adherence to COPE’s principles of transparency to enhance the reliability of research. Finally, we highlight an extension to the registration deadline for the OASPA 2024 Conference and share a message from the NIH inviting public viewpoints on its public access policies.

Johnson & Johnson enhances research discoverability with Kudos via Kudos | 6-minute read

As the domain of medical information expands, it is crucial that complex content is presented in accessible formats. To achieve this, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine has partnered with Kudos, a platform for displaying research content to its vast number of registered users. The initiative aims to integrate various resources – such as plain language summaries (PLS), infographics and layered publications – into a centralized, highly discoverable microsite.

Karger Publishers launches Sci60 via Karger Publishers | 5-minute read

Are reels and videos paving the way to a new age of science communication? Karger Publishers is introducing bite-sized video summaries of published journal articles through its Science in 60 Seconds (Sci60) platform. Distilling research findings into 1-minute narratives could overcome issues with the readability of PLS. Alastair Cook (Head of Commercial Operations, Outreach at Karger) hopes this collaboration will help research findings reach a “larger audience on social media platforms”.

Turning nulls into notables in scientific publishing via Nature | 9-minute read

Concerns about publication bias towards positive findings in science have plagued the research field for decades. Now, journals are adopting strategies to encourage researchers to not let their null results gather dust. Registered reports, first launched in 2012, are one such approach that has now been adopted by over 300 journals. This article explores the value of preregistration models in addressing publication bias and identifies roadblocks that can dissuade authors from choosing these processes.

COPEing with publication malpractice via Nature | 7-minute read

The Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines aim to provide a watertight framework for publication integrity, but recent journal investigations have unveiled that some fraudulent research has slipped through the cracks. In this article, the authors consider how journals can go beyond current guidance to further embed the ‘principles of transparency’ in their publication practices.

OASPA 2024 Conference via OASPA

Early bird registration for the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA) 2024 conference has been extended to 14 August. The conference programme is set to cover a broad range of topics about open access publications, including discussions around building equity and maintaining the integrity of authorship in the age of AI and panels led by authors and publishers on their experiences in the academic landscape.

Have your say on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy via NIH

The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback from the public on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy to improve the accessibility of scholarly publications to the public. Comments can be submitted anonymously until 19 August and will be posted on the NIH Office of Science Policy website after review.


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