Featuring the evolving landscape of scientific publishing in the wake of COVID-19, the new journal dedicated to COVID-19 research, best practice for social media communication in the medical community, the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy’s R&D roadmap, a ‘How To’ guide for patient engagement and case studies in open science.
Change is coming for scientific journals via Bloomberg Opinion
This comprehensive historical analysis of the evolution of the scientific journal is an ode to the medium’s resilience. It also raises questions as to what the scientific publishing landscape will look like when we emerge on the other end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Justin Fox, Bloomberg columnist, examines the impact that the transition towards open access publishing has had, and will have, on the publishing industry and suggests that a coordinated approach across the academic community will be necessary to prevent the monopolization of publishing companies as they shift away from subscription-based business models.
Rapid Reviews: COVID-19, the coronavirus journal via Inside Higher Ed
COVID-19 has upended the traditional, slow-moving publication process through expedited peer review and increased use of preprint servers, aided by a huge boom in funding in an international bid to combat the pandemic. However, this has also allowed for the spread of rampant misinformation and false science. To minimize this spread, MIT Press and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health have launched a brand new overlay journal dedicated to multidisciplinary coronavirus and COVID-19 science that sources its articles not by author submission, but by the screening and selection of relevant preprints.
O’Glasser et al. 2020: #MedTwitter via Seminars in Nephrology
Social media platforms have transformed how people communicate; accordingly, the role of social media within medical research and practice has also undergone significant change. The authors of this review break down the intricacies of Twitter as a platform for “learning, teaching, networking, professional development, mentorship/sponsorship and advocacy within medicine” and provide suggestions for best practice within the medical community.
Navigating the R&D roadmap via Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
The UK government’s investment in research and development (R&D) is set to increase by 2.4% of GDP by 2027, with £22 billion of public funding set aside per year to drive industrial growth following the COVID-19 pandemic. This policy paper, from the Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, outlines the plans for how this funding could be spent and invites discussion from industry professionals to guide and develop future proposals.
Kaisler and Missbach 2020: co-creation and PPIE via Research Involvement and Engagement
Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) is a crucial element of research across all disciplines that is underutilized and exists on a spectrum from passive dissemination of information to active involvement. Using the Ludwig Boltzmann Society’s organizational framework as a case study, the authors of this paper employed multi-stakeholder steering committees and workshops to inform a literature review of PPIE methods and to develop a ‘How To’ guide for researchers.
Case studies in open science via Open Research Community
Here, Pablo Markin, the Community Manager at Open Research Community, presents several case studies on how academia is prospering under open access publishing models from the University of Reading’s Open Research Case Studies series. From antimicrobial resistance and neuroscience to experimental philosophy and pedagogy, the benefits endowed by open access approaches are being felt across academic disciplines.
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