Scholarly Communication
Publishing Models
The foundation of modern scholarly publishing, mainly the academic journal and the peer review process, commemorated its 350th anniversary in 2015. Scholarly publishing is a vehicle for the global communication of knowledge. Traditional methods of scholarly publishing (i.e. the peer reviewed journal) target a specific and limited audience. However, today's digital age and new methods of scholarly communication provide more opportunities to connect with a broader and more inclusive audience.
The prevalence of inaccurate information online requires a more involved effort from the scientific community to actively advocate for the importance and value of their work to a broader audience, to improve access, and to promote reputable information. As scholars, we need to be proactive and assume ownership of our work to ensure it is communicated accurately.
For these, and many other reasons, scholars are developing new publishing and business models for sharing research.
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University PublishingIn addition to university presses, a wide range of campus units are publishing digital works, in both traditional and emerging formats.
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Digital RepositoriesRepositories often collect locally authored and produced works, providing a persistent method to ensure scholarly research and learning content can be discovered and used.
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Libraries as PublishersResearch libraries have been developing programs that offer a set of core publishing services to editors and partners. These program are not aspiring to replicate traditional publishing services, but generally focus on the capabilities and possibilities of new publishing models.
New Avenues of Scholarly Communication
Technology and online digital platforms present you with opportunities for new models of publishing and communicating scholarly research. In 2008, the Association of Research Libraries released New Models of Digital Scholarly Communication. In 2013, the Association of College and Research Libraries published Intersections of Scholarly Communication and Information Literacy which discusses how an evolving landscape changes the ways researchers create and share scholarship, and how we can help beginning researchers learn to critically engage and evaluate information.
Some of the innovative methods for sharing information which complement conventional models of publishing include:
- Social media
- Blogs
- Wikis
- Open Data sets
- Discussion forums
Professional websites
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The Programming Historian LessonsNovice-friendly, peer-reviewed tutorials that help humanists learn a wide range of digital tools, techniques, and workflows to facilitate research and teaching.
Getting Published
When preparing to publish your work, consider the issues related to the publication cycle early in the process. These include: complying with research regulations, locating funding, managing your information, selecting a journal or other publication venue, and understanding your rights as an author when signing a publishing agreement.
For more detailed information, see the "Getting Published" library guide.
Publication Cycle (click on image to expand).
Journal Impact
Journal impact measurements assess the prestige, importance, or rank of a journal in a particular field. Knowing the impact or importance of the journal can help you decide where to submit an article. The most commonly used metric is the Journal Impact Factor, issued by Journal Citation Reports. However, there are other methods of evaluating the importance of a particular journal. For an extensive list of sources, view the Citation Research and Impact Metrics: Journals library guide. For considerations other than impact, view Selecting a Journal Publisher on the Getting Published Library Guide.
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EigenfactorA free and searchable database, Eigenfactor covers the natural and social sciences. A journal's Eigenfactor score is our measure of the journal's total importance to the scientific community. The website includes several quick top ten lists in science, social science, university theses, newspapers, and magazines.
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Google Scholar MetricsGoogle Scholar Metrics provide an easy way for authors to quickly gauge the visibility and influence of recent articles in scholarly publications. Scholar Metrics summarize recent citations to many publications, to help authors as they consider where to publish their new research.
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SCImago Journal & Country RankThe SCImago Journal & Country Rank is a publicly available portal that includes the journals and country scientific indicators developed from the information contained in the Scopus database. Citation data is drawn from over 21,500 titles from more than 5,000 international publishers and country performance metrics from 239 countries worldwide.
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Eigenfactor Index of Open Access FeesThe Eigenfactor Index of Open Access Fees makes it easy for scholarly authors to engage in comparison shopping between scholarly journals. The tool assesses open access journals charging APCs to help author's gain the most value from the cost.
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The Retraction Watch DatabaseCreated by the team at Retraction Watch, this is the only database of article retractions. It includes more than 18,000 retracted papers and conference abstracts dating back to the 1970s.
Citation Metrics
While no number can truly measure the value of your work, citation metrics can provide a starting point for measuring a work's impact. There are several tools and methods available to measure various types of impact. For a detailed analysis of different citation metrics, consult the Citation Research and Impact Metrics library guide.
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Scopus A comprehensive suite of metrics embedded throughout Scopus is designed to help facilitate evaluation and provide a better view of the research's impact.
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Google Scholar Citations Google Scholar Citations provide a simple way for authors to keep track of citations to their articles. You can check who is citing your publications, graph citations over time, and compute several citation metrics. You can also make your profile public, so that it may appear in Google Scholar results when people search for your name.
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H-index The h-index is designed to measure the productivity of a researcher's scientific output and its impact within the field of study. The number is derived from the total citations the work receives in other publications. Using Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar will provide a researcher with their h-index.
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Altmetric Altmetrics supplement citation counts by providing a measurement of how many people engaged with a scholar's research. Using qualitative data, Altmetric measures discussion of the research on social media, blogs, mainstream media, and reference managers.
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Impactstory Impactstory is a free online service that helps researchers explore and share the the online impact of articles linked to their ORCID id. Impactstory tracks conversations on Twitter, blogs, news outlets and more.
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Article-Level Metrics: A SPARC Primer This primer gives an introduction to article level metrics (ALMs) and how to use them.
Online Presence
A prominent online presence helps you share your work through increased visibility, track your impact in the field, and network with others. It also fosters an identifiable personal brand; allowing you to market your achievements. A variety of social networks and other tools help you reach an increasingly varied audience beyond traditional scholarly outlets.
What is ORCID? from ORCID on Vimeo.
- ORCIDORCID provides a persistent digital identifier (like a personal DOI or SSN) that distinguishes you from every other researcher and supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities, ensuring that your work is recognized.
- ClarivateA unique identifier, Clarivate integrates with the Web of Science and is ORCID compliant, allowing you to claim and showcase your publications from a single one account.
- Google ScholarGoogle Scholar searches for published researched, and allows you to create an individual author profile to help you track the impact of your work.
- MendeleyMendeley is a free reference manager and an academic social network. Researchers can manage their research, showcase published works, and connect with researchers worldwide.
- ResearchGateResearchers can: share their publications ; connect and collaborate with colleagues; get statistics about who's been reading and citing their work; ask questions; and use the research-focused job board.
- Academia.eduAcademia.edu is a platform for you to share research papers. You can use Academia.edu to share your research, monitor impact analytics, and track the research of academics you follow.
- Impactstory ProfilesResearcher impact profiles, linked to your ORCiD, which highlight altmetrics and nontraditional scholarly products. Also includes achievements, which are a way of looking beyond the numbers to find stories that matter: stories the buzz your research is generating, the level of engagement with your work, your openness, and some lighthearted fun from time to time.
- LinkedinLinkedin is a professional network. LinkedIn provides access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights.
Remember a social networking site is not a digital repository. Sites like academia.edu and Research Gate are powerful tools for sharing your work. However, online platforms do not properly substitute for a digital repository's stable and reliable long-term accessibility. Here are some suggested services, all with different strengths and weaknesses.
Consult these library guides for information about more sustainable repositories.