(17 Oct 2019) A new research programme at Texas Tech University in the US, funded by the US National Science Foundation, aims to “[prepare] STEM scholars and other key stakeholders to navigate a scholarly publishing terrain that presents more options than ever before, but also greater ethical pitfalls”.
The STEM Training in Ethics of Publication Practices (STEPP) programme, led by Amy Koerber, Professor in Communication Studies at the university, will research the challenges of dubious publishing practices and develop training materials to help researchers in making informed publishing choices. The programme is expected to run for three years from January 2020.
As part of the STEPP programme, Think. Check. Submit. will be involved in piloting the training modules and making them available to a diverse global audience. The AuthorAID project, from Think. Check. Submit. committee member INASP is also inputting into this work.
The international Think. Check. Submit. survey in late 2018 revealed a strong demand from both researchers and librarians for guidance about where to publish and the need for further educational resources and wider reach for the initiative. We welcome the opportunity to input into the new STEPP programme and the resulting training materials to ensure that they contribute effectively to addressing the many challenges faced by researchers globally in navigating the process of publishing their research.
The news is here.
