We are sure that like us, you will be waiting impatiently for the UKSG Conference and looking forward to the lively exchange of views and ideas. We have a couple of months to wait but, meanwhile, we have a host of recently published articles to keep you informed. Most recently we published an article by Sara Bosshart, Rod Cookson and Philipp Hess about how IWA Publishing, a society publisher, has transitioned to the Subscribe to Open (S2O) model. It is a fascinating and inspiring case study about a transition to open access.
Openness in the scholarly communications environment provides the underlying theme for several of our other recent articles. Demmy Verbeke and Laura Mesotten, from KU Leuven, explain the decision of their institution to cease financing article processing charges and to instead stimulate the development of non-profit and community-led initiatives. This is achieved through library memberships which sustain an open scholarship infrastructure, by supporting diamond OA programmes and by subsidizing OA books published by Leuven University Press.
Andy Tattersall, Nick Sheppard, Thom Blake, Kate O’Neill and Christopher Carroll take a very different perspective, using data obtained from Altmetric.com and Unpaywall, to look at research from the White Rose Universities (Sheffield, Leeds and York) that is cited on Wikipedia. They found almost half of their research sample was not openly available for Wikipedia users wishing to dig deeper into certain topics. Wikipedia is an important and influential platform that assists with the communication of science to a global audience, and they argue that given the potential value of such citations to academics and wider society, there is value in seeking to increase the open accessibility of these works.
Research Data Management (RDM) has become a major issue for universities over the last decade and supports the drive towards more open scholarship. Andrea Chiarelli, Neil Beagrie, Lotte Boon, Ruth Mallalieu, Rob Johnson, Amy Warner May and Rowan Wilson provide a case study that outlines the review of RDM services carried out at the University of Oxford. The recommendations in their article will be of interest and value to other institutions seeking to enhance their support for research data management.
As citizen science projects increase in number the conduct of the underlying research is likely to come under greater scrutiny, particularly if any resulting research findings are to be regarded as legitimate. Among the most important aspects of research ethics scrutiny is the handling of data. Robin Pierce and Mariana Evram provide all the advice needed to ensure projects correctly implement data protection in citizen science research
For those of you working in academic libraries, we also want to draw your attention to the article that Helen Fallon has written for Insights about how Maynooth University (MU) Library ran an academic writing programme for library staff. It is a highly practical article that we hope will inspire you and which will provide a great model with tips for any other library thinking about running a similar programme.
And while we are on the topic of writing, can we take the opportunity to remind you that we would be delighted to receive articles for Insights? Please take a look at our 2022 call for papers. We continue to welcome article submissions and proposals for new research themes and topics, so please do send in your ideas.
Lorraine and Steve