Research publishing involves the production, use and management of research in a variety of genres and formats by commercial and non-profit academic publishers, and by organizations in government, civil society, university and industry sectors. However discussion of research publishing mainly tends to focus on the production and circulation of peer-reviewed academic journals and to a lesser extent books produced by commercial academic publishers. Research reports and papers produced by organizations outside the formal publishing system play a critical role in the research and development (R&D) system, yet they are often overlooked in studies on open scholarship and research communication. This is partly due to a lack of terminology to adequately describe the diverse publishing practices of organizations which operate across a spectrum from formal to informal economic activity. In this article I define and contextualise research publishing by organizations in relation to other forms of academic publishing and recent calls for greater bibliodiversity in scholarly communication. Commonly used terms such as ‘grey literature’ or ‘unpublished literature’ are inadequate to describe and account for the proliferation and importance of diverse research genres and formats able to be produced, published and disseminated in print and online by think tanks, government agencies, industry bodies and research centres. By taking a more holistic, systems-oriented approach to research publishing we can begin to understand the diverse actors, institutions and practices involved in knowledge production and develop appropriate policies, infrastructure and management practices to support an effective, efficient, equitable, credible and sustainable research knowledge commons in the public interest.
Research Communication: Plasma Leptin and the Cholesterol Saturation of Bile Are Correlated in Obese Women after Weight Loss
