The Benefits of Rejection by Ruth Williams
A survey of the pre-publication histories of papers reveals that manuscripts that are rejected then resubmitted are cited more often. A rejection notice never feels good, but new research suggests an upside to this routine disappointment in the scientific community. Chances are, if a researcher resubmits her work to another journal, it will be cited more often, according to an extensive pre-publication survey published on 11 October in Science. The finding should not only reassure frustrated scientists, but also persuade journal editors to perhaps reduce rejection rates and instead encourage revision.
Posted 11 October 2012 on THE SCIENTIST Web site (http://www.google.com/search?q=The+Scientist&rls=com)
Effective Wording for Your Backlinks by Carolyn Cohn
Cohn is clear and concise, yet comprehensive, in her treatment of this topic of importance to all publishers. “Links are a critical and extremely regular part of your content and your business. You want your readers to click on them so that they can understand more clearly what you do and what you offer. Link wording must entice.” She lists and explains in detail what you should work on to influence readers into an active response to your content. Her main items to remember:
- Use the most effective phrasing possible
- Have links that lead to specific things
- Where to place the link in your content? At the end of a sentence
Posted on 13 October 2012 to Compukol Connection (http://www.compukol.com/blog/effective-wording-for-your-backlinks/)
CC-BY Reflects a Small Subset of Open Access. Claims of ‘Emerging Consensus’ on CC-BY are Premature.
The Open Access Scholarly Publishers’ Association’s “Why CC-BY page” http://oaspa.org/why-cc-by/ refers to an “emerging consensus on the adoption of CC-BY.” OASPA refers to an “emerging consensus” that CC-BY is the best license for open access. I argue that the evidence suggests that CC-BY is a peripheral phenomenon and very far from consensus. From Peter Suber’s SPARC Open Access Newsletter, June 2012—in brief only 11% of the journals listed in DOAJ use CC-BY, and outside of full gold OA publishing as illustrated by the journals in DOAJ, the proportion of OA that is CC-BY is lower still. http://www.doaj.org/?func=sealedJournals
Posted by Heather Morrison on 23 November 2012 on the The Imaginary Journal of Poetic Economics blog (http://poeticeconomics.blogspot.com/2012/11/cc-by-reflects-small-subset-of-open.html)
Can Drug Research Still be Trusted? Washington Post Exclusive
Arguably the most prestigious medical journal in the world, the New England Journal of Medicine regularly features articles over which pharmaceutical companies and their employees can exert significant influence, a Washington Post investigation has found.
Over a year-long period ending in August, about two-thirds of the articles on new drugs published in the journal were cowritten by employees of the companies that made the drugs, a Post analysis has found. The journal’s reliance on industry research, despite notable examples of potentially lethal bias, reflects the ability of pharmaceutical companies to shape science and influence what doctors prescribe for their patients.
Posted Saturday, 24 November 2012 Read more at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/as-drug-industrys-influence-over-research-grows-so-does-thepotential-for-bias/2012/11/24/bb64d596-1264-11e2-be82-c3411b7680a9_story.html