LoomWare

If you're going to do good science, release the computer code too!

Support for Data Stewardship

A brief article drawing attention to the issue of poor (or non-existent) data stewardship and what happens without open data and peer review of research elements like computer programs.

Summary of Recent Workshop

Main Drivers for Successful Re-use of Research Data

Summary from the report:

On 23-24 September 2009 an international discussion workshop on “Main Drivers for Successful Re-Use of Research Data” was held in Berlin, prepared and organised by the Knowledge Exchange Working Group on Primary Research Data. The main focus of the workshop was on the benefits, challenges and obstacles of re-using data from a researcher’s perspective. The use cases presented by researchers from a variety of disciplines (13 presentations) were supplemented by two keynotes and selected presentations by specialists from infrastructure institutions, publishers, and funding bodies (national and European level, 8 presentations). By choosing this design the workshop was able to provide a critical evaluation of what lessons have been learned concerning sharing and re-using research data from a researcher’s perspective and what actions might be taken to encourage and facilitate more successful re-use. Despite the individual differences characterising the diverse disciplines, it became clear that important issues are comparable. Apart from several technical challenges such as metadata exchange standards and quality assurance it was obvious that the most important obstacles to re-using research data more efficiently are socially determined. It was agreed that in order to overcome this problem more effort should be made 1) to raise awareness and 2) to encourage stakeholders to combine forces in order to support and stimulate sharing and re-use of research data on all levels (researchers, institutions, publishers, funders, governments).

Diigo

Interesting Research Tool

I had been meaning to look at Diigo for sometime now and there are a few things to like. The main one is how it brings together elements from a number of useful research tools, providing a single point of entry. I also like that it brings back what I thought was a brilliant idea many years ago when it surfaced with a Web app called Third Voice - the ability to mark-up webpages with your own notes. Worth some time to play despite a few rough edges.

eScholarship: Assessing the Future Landscape of Scholarly Communication

New Report from University of California

A recent report from UC on the scholarly publishing landscape. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but a quick read of the executive summary (see below for an excerpt from the press release) seems to say that academics will go forward (or not) at their own pace, thank you very much. One statement suggests that the new "tech-savvy" grad students and post-grads are making no more use of new technologies for scholarly publishing than their older colleagues. Duh. How else are they going to get tenure? This is evidence of nothing but the same problem that vexes universities from all angles, whether online learning, open data or scholarship - the status quo suits those in the system just fine.

The final report brings together the responses of 160 interviewees across 45, mostly elite, research institutions in seven selected academic fields: archaeology, astrophysics, biology, economics, history, music, and political science. Our premise has always been that disciplinary conventions matter and that social realities (and individual personality) will dictate how new practices, including those under the rubric of Web 2.0 or cyberinfrastructure, are adopted by scholars. That is, the academic values embodied in disciplinary cultures, as well as the interests of individual players, have to be considered when envisioning new schemata for the communication of scholarship at its various stages.

P.S. Note the BePress engine for the report.

An "If You Didn't Think Open Science Was Important You Will Now" Story

Organ Damage In Rats From Monsanto GMO Corn

If the recent revelations re Merck-funded "peer-reviewed journals" didn't wake you up to the importance of publishing research data in an open and accessible context, then I'm sure pieces like this will help. I'm not able to comment on the science in the article, but it is a good example of why institutions need to support research data repositories and open data. Now.

Cybera/CANARIE National Summit | Summit 09: Partnerships in CI Development | Banff, Canada | Oct 12-16, 2009

Cybera/CANARIE National Summit

Some of the papers from the latest Cybera/CANARIE National Summit are available. My only observation is why can't the cyber-dudes that put sessions like this on also provide full streaming video of the sessions? Next time?

The OLE Project | Mellon foundation awards $2.3 million for OLE development

The OLE Project | Mellon foundation awards $2.3 million for OLE development

Good news - and just under the wire! It would be nice to see this effort integrate with projects like XC, Evergreen and Islandota to build that open library ecosystem that we all need and deserve.

Canada dragging its feet on open data initiatives

Further to my previous post Michael Geist provides even more examples of how Canada is soooooo behind the curve when it comes to anything related to open data, eResearch and just about any other word you can use to describe innovation around cyber-infrastructure and research.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the budding momentum behind governments making their data more readily available to the public for reuse. Open data initiatives have generated dozens of commercial and non-commercial websites that add value to the government data.

via www.thestar.com

What Happens with an Info-Savvy Leader

It is nice to see what happens when you have an information/tech-savvy leader like Obama. Canada can't even have a truly open and accessible process for reviewing copyright legislation, so I can't imagine anything approaching this in Canada. Where is our leadership?

On Thursday, Dec. 10, OSTP will launch a public consultation on Public Access Policy. The Administration is seeking public input on access to publicly-funded research results, such as those that appear in academic and scholarly journal articles. Currently, the National Institutes of Health require that research funded by its grants be made available to the public online at no charge within 12 months of publication. The Administration is seeking views as to whether this policy should be extended to other science agencies and, if so, how it should be implemented.

via blog.ostp.gov

Open Science at Web-Scale: Optimising Participation and Predictive Potential : JISC

This Report has attempted to draw together and synthesise evidence and opinion associated with data-intensive open science from a wide range of sources. The potential impact of data-intensive open science on research practice and research outcomes, is both substantive and far-reaching. There are implications for funding organisations, for research and information communities and for higher education institutions.

via www.jisc.ac.uk

A comprehensive report in the emerging open science landscape.