Featuring a win for transparency advocates in a federal lawsuit, the new ICMJE disclosure form, framework from cOAlition S on hybrid journals, inequalities in open access publishing, the future of scientific papers, ethical research practice, and clearing up the differences between Open Science and Open Access.
Victory for transparency advocates in clinical trial ruling via Yale Law School
A ruling from a federal lawsuit in the USA, brought about by the Yale Media Freedom and Information Access group, states that regulatory bodies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health have previously misinterpreted a 2007 mandate requiring the clinical trial results of all FDA-approved products to be published on ClinicalTrials.gov. The new ruling means that almost a decade’s worth of unpublished clinical trial results must be made public.
A new author disclosure form from the ICMJE via The Publication Plan
The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has introduced a new disclosure form to reduce the misinterpretation and improve the consistency of author disclosures. The update requires authors to disclose all relationships, whether these are considered to be relevant or not, and includes a checklist to help ensure everything is reported.
Are read-and-publish deals increasing inequalities in Open Access? via London School of Economics
Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and the UK all have read-and-publish deals with Springer Nature to cover open access publication fees charged to authors. As a result of these agreements, the proportion of open access publications in these countries has significantly grown. However, such deals further increase the polarization between the Global North and the Global South and all those excluded from these schemes.
cOAlition S gives new guidance for hybrid journals via The Publication Plan
A new framework for hybrid journals that follow a subscription-based business model from cOAlition S will help increase the proportion of open access publications, prevent financial ‘double-dipping’, and provide guidance to aid journals transitioning to full open access.
Is data dissemination evolving? via The Chronicle of Higher Education
The scientific paper has existed in its current static format since the 1600s. In 2020, however, this format is outdated and hinders scientific knowledge dissemination. Researchers should focus on exploring more radical and collaborative ways of sharing scientific knowledge, such as through software and code.
Investing in data stewardship via Nature
The FAIR principles of ethical research practice state that data should be ‘Findable, Accessible Interoperable and Reusable’. Institutions should be investing in data stewardship to ensure their outputs are FAIR – this includes organizing and coordinating metadata, expertise, technologies and infrastructure.
What’s the difference between Open Access and Open Science? via MyScienceWork
Open Access is the practice of making academic literature freely available, whereas Open Science is the broader philosophy behind the transparent access to and dissemination of scientific knowledge, including both informational content and systematic networks.
