Category Archives: Scientific Life

Passing By

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Stephen

I was determined not to miss the transit of Venus today. Life’s too short. But this week I have relocated to St Raphael in the south of France for a conference on picornaviruses and had to leave my telescope behind. Despite … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 15 Comments

Harvard: we have a problem

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Stephen

This is astonishing. Harvard is one of the best and one of the wealthiest universities in the world but last week its Faculty Advisory Council* announced that it can no longer afford to maintain its subscriptions to academic journals. The announcement … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 50 Comments

Eyes on the prize are blind to reality

Posted on April 22, 2012 by Stephen

Scientists’ quest for publication in journals with high impact factors is widely perceived as one of the more refractory barriers to the fuller adoption of open access, which I believe to be in the best interests of science. But the … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , | 56 Comments

PLoS ONE: from the Public Library of Sloppiness?

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Stephen

I had an argument with my colleague in the tea-room the other day. Gratifyingly, I learned he had been reading my blogposts on the subject of open access, but it soon became clear he did not entirely share my enthusiasm … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 72 Comments

Elsevier, the Research Works Act and Open Access: where to now?

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Stephen

If Elsevier calculated that its withdrawal of support for the Research Works Act (RWA) would neutralise the arguments stirred up around academic publishing, I think the company is mistaken. I certainly hope so. Things may have gone a little quiet … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 37 Comments

An Open Letter on Open Access to UK Research Councils

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Stephen

Short Version Please read the Wellcome Trust’s policy on open access. And then adopt it. Thank you.   Long Version Please read the Wellcome Trust’s policy on open access. It’s short so I’ve pasted it below. The policy states (with … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 60 Comments

Elsevier Break Dance

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Stephen

Lately, it’s all been getting a bit intense. Not tetchy, as at the Scholarly Kitchen in recent days, but still pretty focused. Four of the last five posts here have all been about the arguments surrounding the Elsevier boycott and … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 6 Comments

An Open Letter to Elsevier

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Stephen

Since the beginning of the argument with Elsevier over their support of the Research Works Act (RWA) in the US and the announcement of the boycott of the publisher, I have been keen to stimulate dialogue. Elsevier seems to be interested … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments

How to access Open Access?

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Stephen

My train of thought is still running. Last week, taken aback by the revelation of Elsevier’s deep support for the Research Works Act, an anti open-access piece of US legislation, I declined to review a manuscript for the publisher and … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 23 Comments

Important Bus Business

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Stephen

This is going to add minutes to my life – every time I take the bus. And I have Guardian columnist Tim Dowling’s truculent teenage kids to thank for it. Disdaining the sorry business of relying on a published timetable … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Guest post: Society Journals and the Research Works Act

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Stephen

My previous post on Elsevier and the Research Works Act (RWA) stimulated a conversation on Twitter with Benoit Bruneau about the possible impact on the journals of scientific societies of moves to open access publishing.  This is an aspect of … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 27 Comments

Why I chose to decline an invitation to review by Elsevier

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Stephen

All relationships suffer tensions from time to time, especially those based on love-hate. Scientists have a complex relationship with their publishers — they love to get published in high-impact journals (most of which are run by major publishing companies) but … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 58 Comments