(16 Apr 2025) The discontinuation of the UGC-CARE list and the shift towards decentralized evaluation [of academic journals] have the potential to bring about significant changes in Indian academia. On the one hand, it could promote greater autonomy and flexibility for higher education institutions when it comes to recognizing and rewarding quality research; on the…
(28 Mar 2025) A spate of research findings offer fresh evidence in the debate about whether peer reviewers should be paid for their time and expertise — a fraught topic that has provoked discussion among researchers. This month, two journals released data from their own experiments that suggest that offering payments of around US$250 to researchers…
(1 Apr 2025) Open Journals Collective (OJC), an equitable, sustainable, community-led alternative to the big deals and transformative agreements offered by corporate academic publishers is recently launched. The OJC is a collective of libraries and university-based publishers working to change the way academic research is supported and disseminated. Drawing on more than a decade…
(Apr 2025) In the scholarly publishing world, spring brings the annual return of STM Trends, a future-forward look at the entire ecosystem of scholarly communications by members of the STM Association. The ecosystem of scholarly communications is complex and ever-evolving — with new approaches and technologies emerging and existing players adapting to changing circumstances. What can…
(2 Apr 2025) Plagiarism, along with fabrication, data manipulation and other misdeeds, is considered to be one of the biggest sins an academic researcher can commit. As such, it makes sense that journals, editors and others overseeing scholarly publishing take plagiarism very seriously. They have protocols in place for receiving plagiarism complaints and investigating allegations…
(13 Mar 2025) Wiley released a set of guidelines on the responsible and effective use of artificial intelligence (AI) in authorship this week at the London Book Fair. In the new guidelines and accompanying FAQs, Wiley provides suggestions to authors on how to utilize AI tools in their manuscript preparation while preserving the author’s authentic voice…
Study by two Spanish researchers exposes Oxbridge Publishing House’s ‘invasion’ of the editorial industry (31 Jan 2025) A shady business network apparently run by Pakistani and Indonesian citizens from a mansion on the outskirts of Birmingham, United Kingdom, has launched an attack on the Spanish scientific journal industry. The group is buying up long-standing…
(20 Jan 2025) The ALMASI project, a groundbreaking three-year initiative aimed at enhancing non-profit open access publishing in Africa, Latin America, and Europe, officially launched in Madrid, Spain. The project, involving 15 partners and funded by the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, seeks to establish a sustainable and inclusive scholarly communication ecosystem. The kick-off meeting and public…
(27 Dec 2024) All but one member of the editorial board of the Journal of Human Evolution (JHE), an Elsevier title, have resigned, saying the “sustained actions of Elsevier are fundamentally incompatible with the ethos of the journal and preclude maintaining the quality and integrity fundamental to JHE’s success.” Among other moves, according to the statement,…
(11 Dec 2024) An experimental journal is paying peer reviewers the equivalent of US$150 per review in a specially developed cryptocurrency. The publication is hosted on a platform aiming to make science more open and efficient, and rewards users with a token called ResearchCoin for engaging with content. The platform, called ResearchHub, launched in 2020 and is backed…