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If you follow this newsletter on a regular basis, you have probably noticed that many of its news items cover open science issues. While open science is often used us an umbrella term for open access to research publications and research data, it in fact encompasses much more.
According to open science proponents such as the Center for Open Science (US) and Foster (EU), open science is about making the entire research cycle open. In other words, what is called for is a culture shift in science, to where sharing and collaboration are encouraged and rewarded throughout the research process.
While openness and collaboration to some extent always have been at the heart of science, there are and have been many forces in place which work against these principles. Examples are paywalls around publications, obscure peer review processes, closed access to research data, and expensive limited edition textbooks making it difficult for students to learn from research findings.
We are in the midst of a transition where these forces are challenged. For this reason, the newsletter will continue to devote space and attention to open science. It is not an exaggeration to say that everyone involved in academic research is or will be affected by the shift to open science and we will do our best to help bringing you up to speed with it.
While open science is a big deal, life is of course more than that. Hopefully, you can look forward to a relaxing and joyful summer without having to bother too much with work stuff. Come fall, we hope to meet you IRL, as soon as is safely possible!
Have a great summer!
Magnus Åberg, Newsletter Editor
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- ... that Ph.D. students are now welcome to register for our doctoral course Information Retrieval (3 ECTS). This autumn, between 12 October – 6 December, the course will be given in English and targets students in the beginning of their research career. Besides information retrieval, the course covers topics such as publishing strategies, open access, bibliometrics, and copyright issues. The course provides useful knowledge for your entire research career, and gives you a chance to meet and discuss with Ph.D. students from other disciplines. Do not wait to sign up, admission is limited! For more information about the course and how to sign up click here.
- ... that if you are planning to visit KaU library this summer, these are our opening hours (read more here):
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In September 2021, KaU library starts a new seminar series for researchers, Science skills to go.
The aim of the series is to provide useful tips and tricks about information retrieval, publication issues, copyright, and academic reading and writing, without taking too much time from your research.
Seminars will be held via Zoom (and IRL eventually) on Tuesdays (in Swedish, but in English on 26 October) and Thursdays (in English) between 15.00 – 15.40.
You can already mark the dates below in your calendar. A more detailed programme will be presented in on our web page (https://www.kau.se/en/library/researchers) after the summer.
| Date |
Topics |
| 7 and 9 September |
Tips for systematic literature reviews |
| 5 and 7 October |
Easy reference management with EndNote 20 |
| 26 October |
Open access and publisher agreements |
| 28 October |
Creative commons – a tool for academic publishing |
| 23 and 25 November |
Information retrieval in Web of Science and Scopus |
| 14 and 16 December |
Abstracts: The whole story |
(header image: Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash. License: Unsplash)
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For many researchers, storing research data in a convenient and secure manner during a project can be problematic. While a desktop computer may offer a short term solution, it is not viable for researchers who need to collaborate on data or as a safe storage solution for the longer term.
Until now, few Swedish universities have been able to offer safe and legal central storage facilities for research data. Now, SUNET (the Swedish University Computer Network) is offering a general data storage solution, SUNET Drive. Karlstad University has invested in this solution, and a project to start the implementation process began on 1 June 2021.
The project enters a pilot phase in September, starting off with a few research projects at KaU. In December 2021, all research projects at KaU should be able to use the system for their data storage needs.
There are several expected benefits to SUNET Drive, for example:
- It will provide safe storage for research data throughout a project’s life cycle
- It will facilitate long term storage (e-archiving) and open sharing of data.
- It provides technical compliance with the GDPR and the ethical review act (however, the researcher is still responsible for making sure the data itself does not breach these laws. Contact the KaU Research Data Support Team for support in these matters.)
To learn more about SUNET Drive and the project, follow this link (in Swedish): https://inslaget.kau.se/stod-service/projekt-och-processer/aktuella-projekt/sunet-drive
Questions?
Contact project leader Claes Asker at the
Office for Strategic Support |
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On assignment from the vice chancellor, KaU library is responsible for conducting a yearly bibliometric analysis, based on DiVA and Web of Science publication data.
The bibliometric indicators used provide answers to publishing and collaboration patterns and give insights into how much the research is picked up by others. The results highlight significant or promising areas of research as well as areas that can potentially be improved and can thus give direction when planning activities.
The most recent analysis is now published. You can find the results here: https://kau.app.box.com/s/6khnw72dvymbi1craxxjze8r7644706x
Speaking about research output, we also want to encourage you to do a DiVA check. You can easily add new publications to our publication database DiVA here, but if you need help checking and fixing your existing DiVA-records, do not hesitate to contact publiceringsstod@kau.se.
And, if you haven’t already done so, we also want to remind you to consider setting up an ORCID account. ORCID is a researcher identification number which helps keep track of your publications, and helps you avoid being mistaken for another researcher. ORCID is a non-profit organisation, and today many publishers and funders demand that their researchers use ORCID as ID.
We have produced a short instruction video on how to get an ORCID account, you can find it here. When you have set up an account, please send your ORCID-number to publiceringsstod@kau.se and we will add your number to your DiVA authority record and to your existing publications in DiVA.
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Karlstad University Studies is KaU’s series for licentiate and doctoral theses and research reports. Annually, about 50-60 theses and reports are published and disseminated via our publication database DiVA.
Are you up to date with what has been published in 2021? If not, here is the list. Click the author names for more information about the publications:
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KaU library has signed an open access agreement with the publisher Cogitatio. The agreement allows KaU researchers free open access publishing with any of Cogitatio’s journals:
If you are the corresponding author and use your KaU email address, the article processing charge will automatically be nulled and no invoice will be sent to you, once your paper is accepted.
Questions? Contact publiceringsstod@kau.se.
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Forskningspodden is an audio podcast produced by KaU library that presents research from newly graduated licentiates and doctorates at Karlstad University to the public.
So far in 2021, seven new episodes have been recorded. Click the interviewee name to tune in and listen:
| Episode |
Interviewee |
Topic |
| 73 |
Brian Unis |
Ungdomars och hälsopersonals syn på sexualitet och sexuell hälsa |
| 74 |
Tomas Gustavsson |
Agil systemutveckling i tre organisationer |
| 75 |
Anna Willman |
Nyutbildade sjuksköterskor i hälso- och sjukvården |
| 76 |
David Scott |
Biståndsarbete i projektform |
| 77 |
Andreas Nyström |
Fridfulla platser i post-apokalyptisk fiktion |
| 78 |
Sara Davoudi |
Förbättra samordningen i den offentliga sektorn |
| 79 |
Maud Bernisson |
The Public Interest in the Data Society |
All interviews are available through the Forskningspodden web page, Itunes, and Soundcloud. After the summer we will publish new episodes, so stay tuned!
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Currently, questions concerning science information and disinformation have become increasingly important to discuss. While environmental activist Greta Thunberg urges stakeholders to ’listen to the scientists’, the Corona pandemic debate has been obscured by forces pushing pseudo-scientific or fact-free conspiracy theories.
While digital technologies have helped us to stay connected during the pandemic, the same technologies are also handy tools for anyone seeking to spread scientific disinformation.
ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, recently published a discussion paper on the situation. The paper describes the consequences of science disinformation in three areas; climate change, vaccines and pandemics. It also proposes recommendations of what we can do to increase awareness and minimize harm caused by the spread of disinformation.
In its conclusion the paper argues for the need to establish a European Centre/Network for Science Communication which could develop central guidelines and recommendations in a European Code of Conduct for Science Communication.
More information
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Allegedly, the peer review system was first introduced by the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1731 when it published a collection of medical articles.
Since then, peer review has for the most part been seen as something practiced by academic journals. But have you ever heard about peer reviewed podcasts?
Dr. Hannah McGregor, assistant professor of publishing at Simon Fraser University, argues that podcasting can be a powerful tool for academics, but that it is undervalued by universities. For this reason, she and Siobhan McMenemy, senior editor at Wilfrid Laurier University Press, has initiated a scholarly podcast network called Amplify, which will produce peer reviewed podcasts. In a news article about the project, Siobhan McMenemy says:
“What we’re trying to do with Amplify is provide a platform for, and really support the wishes of, today’s academic cohort who not only want to produce podcasts, but want to have their work in unconventional forms of publication to count toward their professional records”.
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