Very few academics do a great deal to share their often important and relevant research with the general public. What’s holding them back?
Too many academic careers are shaped around writing journal articles nobody reads and planning twice-weekly lectures to a diminishing class of students.
flickr/Sixth Lie
Prime Minister Turnbull has signalled a desire to move away from a ‘publish or perish’ academic culture toward one that prioritises public impact and engagement. It’s a challenge scholars should embrace.
There is amazing research and knowledge coming out of Africa – you just need to know where to look.
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African research is largely invisible, kept in the shadows by publishing barriers and structural obstacles. A platform built in Brazil and rolled out across the developing world could be the solution.
There are sharks in the research water – predatory journals are becoming more common in Africa.
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African academics and universities have been caught in the predatory journal web. It’s time for the continent’s universities to start taking this threat to their integrity seriously.
Access to free, accurate information is as important to learning as access to desks, chairs and science labs.
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We have the technology and the will to expand open access to publicly funded research, but large vested interests are still putting up stiff resistance.
Somali university students celebrate their graduation. Universities that fare well on national measures may be ignored by international ranking systems.
Feisal Omar/Reuters
The news that African universities will soon be ranked has generated a great deal of hype. But the initiative seems likely to be doomed from the start.
Pay wall or no pay wall? Students study at the Humboldt University Library in Berlin, one of the most advanced scientific libraries in Germany.
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Much of what’s being said in support of open access publishing misses one key point: that is there is always a value chain and costs are incurred. Someone somewhere is paying for open access.
Open access is crucial for South Africa and other developing countries.
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South Africa does some amazing research but cannot share it globally because of restrictive copyright laws or unreasonable policies and embargo periods set by publishers that limit their audience.
If academics are willing to steal others’ ideas and concepts, what’s stopping their students from doing the same?
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Academic metrics are only problematic if they’re poorly implemented. If they’re used carefully, they can be a powerful tool to allow talent to rise to the top.
When McDonald’s came under sustained criticism from campaigners in the 1980s, the company responded by constructing a carefully crafted image of corporate social responsibility. It insisted that it cared…
When the International Studies Association attempted to regulate the blogging activities of some of its members, the reaction was unsurprisingly hostile. The row has prompted coverage in academic outlets…
Journal publishing is changing at a breakneck pace.
Loughborough University Library
According to Peter Suber open access is academic literature which is “digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions”. Open access delivered by journals is called…
Publishing a peer-reviewed paper isn’t easy, but new research confirms it’s worth the fight.
Cartoon by Nick Kim, Massey University, Wellington
It doesn’t matter whether or not you think it’s fair: if you’re an academic, your publishing record will have a crucial impact on your career. It can profoundly affect your prospects for employment, for…
It’s time to move past outdated ideas about porn.
hansol
The launch of a new academic journal doesn’t usually grab popular media interest. But the first journal of Porn Studies seems to have bucked the trend. For the most part, media coverage has contained more…
It’s time to let the journal impact factor die.
Ben McLeod
Science is a highly competitive business so measuring the impact of scientific research, meaningfully and objectively, is essential. The journal impact factor (JIF) has emerged over the past few decades…
It’s easy to put open-access publishing on a pedestal, but it’s important to consider the ramifications first.
smileham
In recent weeks we’ve seen a renewed push to introduce open access to science research publications. The concept is simple: research that is paid for by public funds should be made freely available, not…
Previous Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DSI-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor in Genetics, University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria
Director of Centre for Postgraduate Studies, Rhodes University & Visiting Research Professor in Center for International Higher Education, Boston College, Rhodes University
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology and Models Theme Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Flinders University