An Editor's Guide to Writing and Publishing Science

Author(s):  
Michael Hochberg

Scientists must communicate their work through clear writing and publish it where it will be read. To succeed, you need method, but also need to understand the worlds of journals, publishers and science evaluation. The Editor’s Guide to Writing and Publishing Science provides a comprehensive approach to how to write engaging papers, and strategies for publishing where they will be read and have impact. Drawing on decades of experience as a scientist, mentor and chief editor, Michael Hochberg offers a unique, authoritative view on writing science and into the little-known worlds of journals and publication. Succeeding in science means being a citizen of science, and The Editor’s Guide educates the reader in some of the most pressing issues and possible solutions, and provides key references for deeper exploration. Developing one’s career does not mean careerism, and Hochberg provides guidelines and advice for young researchers to engage in the craft of science, forge collaborations, contribute to the scientific commons as a peer reviewer and interact through social media. Understanding the challenges and opportunities in publishing is only possible with knowledge of how science communication is changing, and the reader is introduced to the important, emerging world of Open Science. Written in a practical and accessible way for students, postdoctoral researchers, early-career scientists and professionals across a wide range of scientific fields, The Editor’s Guide is a powerful tool for learning and improving individual skills, and can be the basis for discussion groups, or used as a text for dedicated classroom courses.

Author(s):  
Daniel Toribio-Flórez ◽  
Lukas Anneser ◽  
Felipe Nathan deOliveira-Lopes ◽  
Martijn Pallandt ◽  
Isabell Tunn ◽  
...  

Open science (OS) is of paramount importance for the improvement of science worldwide and across research fields. Recent years have witnessed a transition toward open and transparent scientific practices, but there is still a long way to go. Early career researchers (ECRs) are of crucial relevance in the process of steering toward the standardization of OS practices, as they will become the future decision makers of the institutional change that necessarily accompanies this transition. Thus, it is imperative to gain insight into where ECRs stand on OS practices. Under this premise, the Open Science group of the Max Planck PhDnet designed and conducted an online survey to assess the stance toward OS practices of doctoral candidates from the Max Planck Society. As one of the leading scientific institutions for basic research worldwide, the Max Planck Society provides a considerable population of researchers from multiple scientific fields, englobed into three sections: biomedical sciences, chemistry, physics and technology, and human and social sciences. From an approximate total population of 5,100 doctoral candidates affiliated with the Max Planck Society, the survey collected responses from 568 doctoral candidates. The survey assessed self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and implementation of different OS practices, namely, open access publications, open data, preregistrations, registered reports, and replication studies. ECRs seemed to hold a generally positive view toward these different practices and to be interested in learning more about them. Furthermore, we found that ECRs’ knowledge and positive attitudes predicted the extent to which they implemented these OS practices, although levels of implementation were rather low in the past. We observed differences and similarities between scientific sections. We discuss these differences in terms of need and feasibility to apply these OS practices in specific scientific fields, but additionally in relation to the incentive systems that shape scientific communities. Lastly, we discuss the implications that these results can have for the training and career advancement of ECRs, and ultimately, for the consolidation of OS practices.


Publications ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Manh-Toan Ho ◽  
Manh-Tung Ho ◽  
Quan-Hoang Vuong

This paper seeks to introduce a strategy of science communication: Total SciComm or all-out science communication. We proposed that to maximize the outreach and impact, scientists should use different media to communicate different aspects of science, from core ideas to methods. The paper uses an example of a debate surrounding a now-retracted article in the Nature journal, in which open data, preprints, social media, and blogs are being used for a meaningful scientific conversation. The case embodied the central idea of Total SciComm: the scientific community employs every medium to communicate scientific ideas and engages all scientists in the process.


Author(s):  
Sriram Vangal ◽  
Somnath Paul ◽  
Steven Hsu ◽  
Amit Agarwal ◽  
Saurabh Kumar ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khershed P. Cooper

ABSTRACTLayered Manufacturing (LM) refers to computer-aided manufacturing processes in which parts are made in sequential layers relatively quickly. Parts that are produced by LM can be formed from a wide range of materials such as photosensitive polymers, metals and ceramics in sizes from a centimeter to a few meters with sub-millimeter feature resolutions. LM has found use in diverse areas including biomedical engineering, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, defense, electronics and design engineering. The promise of LM is the capability to make customized complex-shaped functional parts without specialized tooling and without assembly. LM is still a few years away from fully realizing its promise but its potential for manufacturing remains high. A few of the fundamental challenges in materials processing confronting the community are improving the quality of the surface finish, eliminating residual stress, controlling local composition and microstructure, achieving fine feature size and dimensional tolerance and accelerating processing speed. Until these challenges are met, the applicability of LM and its commercialization will be restricted. Sustained scientific activity in LM has advanced over the past decade into many different areas of manufacturing and has enabled exploration of novel processes and development of hybrid processes. The research community of today has the opportunity to shape the future direction of science research to realize the full potential of LM.


2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 20160151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Logan ◽  
Michael P. Murphy

Our understanding of the role of mitochondria in biomedical sciences has expanded considerably over the past decade. In addition to their well-known metabolic roles, mitochondrial are also central to signalling for various processes through the generation of signals such as ROS and metabolites that affect cellular homeostasis, as well as other processes such as cell death and inflammation. Thus, mitochondrial function and dysfunction are central to the health and fate of the cell. Consequently, there is considerable interest in better understanding and assessing the many roles of mitochondria. Furthermore, there is also a growing realization that mitochondrial are a promising drug target in a wide range of pathologies. The application of interdisciplinary approaches at the interface between chemistry and biology are opening up new opportunities to understand mitochondrial function and in assessing the role of the organelle in biology. This work and the experience thus gained are leading to the development of new classes of therapies. Here, we overview the progress that has been made to date on exploring the chemical biology of the organelle and then focus on future challenges and opportunities that face this rapidly developing field.


2021 ◽  
Vol 03 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny Kingsley

The nature of the research endeavour is changing rapidly and requires a wide set of skills beyond the research focus. The delivery of aspects of researcher training ‘beyond the bench’ is met by different sections of an institution, including the research office, the media office and the library. In Australia researcher training in open access, research data management and other aspects of open science is primarily offered by librarians. But what training do librarians receive in scholarly communication within their librarianship degrees? For a degree to be offered in librarianship and information science, it must be accredited by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), with a curriculum that is based on ALIA’s lists of skills and attributes. However, these lists do not contain any reference to key open research terms and are almost mutually exclusive with core competencies in scholarly communication as identified by the North American Serials Interest Group and an international Joint Task Force. Over the past decade teaching by academics in universities has been professionalised with courses and qualifications. Those responsible for researcher training within universities and the material that is being offered should also meet an agreed accreditation. This paper is arguing that there is a clear need to develop parallel standards around ‘research practice’ training for PhD students and Early Career Researchers, and those delivering this training should be able to demonstrate their skills against these standards. Models to begin developing accreditation standards are starting to emerge, with the recent launch of the Centre for Academic Research Quality and Improvement in the UK. There are multiple organisations, both grassroots and long-established that would be able to contribute to this project.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Wallace ◽  
Steve Riley

Purpose Tourism 2025 – Growing Value Together/Whakatipu Uara Ngatahi is a framework to unite New Zealand's large and diverse tourism industry and ignite strong, aspirational economic growth. Its goal is to see the tourism industry contribute $41 billion a year to the New Zealand economy by 2025, up from $24 billion now. It provides vital context for some collective actions by big or small industry clusters and for thousands of actions individual businesses will take each year. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach A wide range of tourism industry stakeholders were consulted over an 18‐month period to ensure the project was being developed on a solid, evidence‐based foundation. There was strong stakeholder support for a framework which the private sector takes ownership of and responsibility for, but which also recognises that public sector support is vital. The project team developed a “straw‐man” growth framework model which resulted in carrying out detailed investigations and consultation to test and, where necessary, adjust that model into its final form. Findings There were four major forces shaping the global tourism market. There was one positive force for New Zealand countered by three tough challenges. The strawman growth framework comprised five separate yet inter‐connected “cycle of growth” themes. These themes are relatively consistent with global national tourism plans that were studied. Used intelligently and in harmony, with the industry fully understanding the inter‐relationships and inter‐dependencies within the “cycle of growth”, the key themes enable the tourism industry to successfully come to grips with the challenges and opportunities ahead. Originality/value Tourism 2025 is aimed at aligning the industry on a pathway towards aspirational growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo ◽  
David Nicholas

El objetivo es indagar en las actitudes y prácticas de los jóvenes investigadores españoles hacia la ciencia abierta. Se analiza su interés por compartir en abierto publicaciones y datos, por colaborar con otros investigadores y stakeholders, por difundir su investigación y por perseguir el impacto de los resultados científicos. La metodología se fundamenta en entrevistas y encuestas dirigidas a Early Career Researchers (ECRs) españoles. Los resultados muestran el interés de los investigadores noveles por la ciencia abierta, pero también la necesidad de reconocimiento de las acciones implicadas en ella como requisito para su consolidación entre investigadores en situación precaria. La financiación es también un factor crítico a considerar. The aim is to investigate the attitudes and practices of Spanish Early Career Researchers (ECRs) towards open science. Their interest in sharing openly publications and data, in collaborating with other researchers and stakeholders, in disseminating their research and in looking for results’ impact is analyzed. The methodology is based on interviews and surveys directed to Spanish Early Career Researchers (ECRs). The results show the interest of novice researchers in open science, but also the need for recognition of the actions involved in it as a requirement for its consolidation among researchers in a precarious situation. Funding is a critical factor to be considered as well.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thijs Dhollander ◽  
Adam Clemente ◽  
Mervyn Singh ◽  
Frederique Boonstra ◽  
Oren Civier ◽  
...  

Diffusion MRI has provided the neuroimaging community with a powerful tool to acquire in-vivo data sensitive to microstructural features of white matter, up to 3 orders of magnitude smaller than typical voxel sizes. The key to extracting such valuable information lies in complex modelling techniques, which form the link between the rich diffusion MRI data and various metrics related to the microstructural organisation. Over time, increasingly advanced techniques have been developed, up to the point where some diffusion MRI models can now provide access to properties specific to individual fibre populations in each voxel in the presence of multiple "crossing" fibre pathways. While highly valuable, such fibre-specific information poses unique challenges for typical image processing pipelines and statistical analysis. In this work, we review the "fixel-based analysis" (FBA) framework that implements bespoke solutions to this end, and has recently seen a stark increase in adoption for studies of both typical (healthy) populations as well as a wide range of clinical populations. We describe the main concepts related to fixel-based analyses, as well as the methods and specific steps involved in a state-of-the-art FBA pipeline, with a focus on providing researchers with practical advice on how to interpret results. We also include an overview of the scope of current fixel-based analysis studies (until August 2020), categorised across a broad range of neuroscientific domains, listing key design choices and summarising their main results and conclusions. Finally, we critically discuss several aspects and challenges involved with the fixel-based analysis framework, and outline some directions and future opportunities.


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