The relationship between usage and citations in an open access mega-journal

Abstract: How do the level of usage of an article, the timeframe of its usage and its subject area relate to the number of citations it accrues? This paper aims to answer this question through an observational study of usage and citation data collected about the multidisciplinary, open access mega-journal Scientific Reports. This observational study answers these questions using the following methods: an overlap analysis of most read and top-cited articles; Spearman correlation tests between total citation counts over two years and usage over various timeframes; a comparison of first months of citation for most read and all articles; a Wilcoxon test on the distribution of total citations of early cited articles and the distribution of total citations of all other articles. All analyses were performed in using the programming language R. As Scientific Reports is a multidisciplinary journal covering all natural and clinical sciences, we also looked at the differences across subjects. We found a moderate correlation between usage in the first year and citations in the first two years since publication (Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.49, α = 0.05), and that articles with high usage in the first six months are more likely to have their first citation earlier (Wilcoxon = 1,811,500, p < 0.0001), which is also related to higher citations in the first two years (Wilcoxon = 8,071,200, p < 0.0001). As this final assertion is inferred based on the results of the other elements of this paper, it would require further analysis

Standardising and Harmonising Research Data Policy in Scholarly Publishing

To address the complexities researchers face during publication, and the potential community-wide benefits of wider adoption of clear data policies, the publisher Springer Nature has developed a standardised, common framework for the research data policies of all its journals. An expert working group was convened to audit and identify common features of research data policies of the journals published by Springer Nature, where policies were present. The group then consulted with approximately 30 editors, covering all research disciplines within the organisation. The group also consulted with academic editors, librarians and funders, which informed development of the framework and the creation of supporting resources. Four types of data policy were defined in recognition that some journals and research communities are more ready than others to adopt strong data policies. As of January 2017 more than 700 journals have adopted a standard policy and this number is growing weekly. To potentially enable standardisation and harmonisation of data policy across funders, institutions, repositories, societies and other publishers, the policy framework was made available under a Creative Commons license. However, the framework requires wider debate with these stakeholders and an Interest Group within the Research Data Alliance (RDA) has been formed to initiate this process

The relationship between usage and citations in an open access mega-journal

Abstract: How do the level of usage of an article, the timeframe of its usage and its subject area relate to the number of citations it accrues? This paper aims to answer this question through an observational study of usage and citation data collected about the multidisciplinary, open access mega-journal Scientific Reports. This observational study answers these questions using the following methods: an overlap analysis of most read and top-cited articles; Spearman correlation tests between total citation counts over two years and usage over various timeframes; a comparison of first months of citation for most read and all articles; a Wilcoxon test on the distribution of total citations of early cited articles and the distribution of total citations of all other articles. All analyses were performed in using the programming language R. As Scientific Reports is a multidisciplinary journal covering all natural and clinical sciences, we also looked at the differences across subjects. We found a moderate correlation between usage in the first year and citations in the first two years since publication (Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.49, α = 0.05), and that articles with high usage in the first six months are more likely to have their first citation earlier (Wilcoxon = 1,811,500, p < 0.0001), which is also related to higher citations in the first two years (Wilcoxon = 8,071,200, p < 0.0001). As this final assertion is inferred based on the results of the other elements of this paper, it would require further analysis

2AM Abstract - The Empty Chair at the Metrics Table

<p>Submitted abstract for presentation given at 2:AM Altmetric Conference on 07/10/15.</p

The Empty Chair at the Metrics Table

<p>The Empty Chair at the Metrics Table: Discussing the absence of educational impact metrics and a framework for their creation</p> <p> </p> <p>Presentation on the absence of educational impact metrics in academic publishing and a proposed framework for their creation.</p> <p>This presentation was delivered at the 2:AM Altmetrics conference on 07/10/15 in Amsterdam.</p> <p>www.altmetricsconference.com</p> <p> </p

Benefits of Open Research Data Infographic

Infographic from Springer Nature highlighting the benefits to individual researchers, research communities and wider society of openly sharing research data

Infographic - Practical challenges for researchers in data sharing

Infographic highlighting some of the key findings and elements of the Springer Nature whitepaper 'Practical challenges for researchers in data sharing'.<br

Publishing Better Science through Better Data - visual representation of the day

Scribe image capturing all the talks from Publishing Better Science through Better Data 2016 (#scidata16)<br

Have questions about research data? Ask the Springer Nature Helpdesk.

Poster on the Springer Nature Research Data Helpdesk, a service that provides advice on queries relating to research data policies of funders, institutions and journals, finding research data repositories, and writing data availability statements. <br><br>Presented at IDCC 2018.<br

State of Open Data survey 2017

Anonymised raw data from Digital Science Open Data survey 201