An open future for ecological and evolutionary data?

As part of BioMed Central’s open science mission, we are pleased to announce that two of our journals have integrated with the open data repository Dryad. Authors submitting their research to either BMC Ecology or BMC Evolutionary Biology will now have the opportunity to deposit their data directly into the Dryad archive and will receive a permanent, citable link to their dataset. Although this does not affect any of our current data deposition policies at these journals, we hope to encourage a more widespread adoption of open data sharing in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology by facilitating this process for our authors. We also take this opportunity to discuss some of the wider issues that may concern researchers when making their data openly available. Although we offer a number of positive examples from different fields of biology, we also recognise that reticence to data sharing still exists, and that change must be driven from within research communities in order to create future science that is fit for purpose in the digital age. This editorial was published jointly in both BMC Ecology and BMC Evolutionary Biology

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

How open science helps researchers succeed

Open access, open data, open source, and other open scholarship practices are growing in popularity and necessity. However, widespread adoption of these practices has not yet been achieved. One reason is that researchers are uncertain about how sharing their work will affect their careers. We review literature demonstrating that open research is associated with increases in citations, media attention, potential collaborators, job opportunities, and funding opportunities. These findings are evidence that open research practices bring significant benefits to researchers relative to more traditional closed practices

A Systematic Approach to Review of in vitro Methods in Brain Tumour Research (SAToRI-BTR): Development of a Preliminary Checklist for Evaluating Quality and Human Relevance

Background - A wide range of human in vitro methods have been developed and there is considerable interest in the potential of these studies to address questions related to clinical (human) use of drugs, and the pathobiology of tumours. This requires agreement on how to assess the strength of evidence available (i.e. quality and quantity) and the human-relevance of such studies. The SAToRI-BTR (Systematic Approach To Review of In vitro methods in Brain Tumour Research) project seeks to identify relevant appraisal criteria to aid planning and/or evaluation of brain tumour studies using in vitro methods.Objectives – To identify criteria for evaluation of quality and human relevance of in vitro brain tumour studies; to assess the general acceptability of such criteria to senior scientists working within the field.Methods – Stage one involved identification of potential criteria for evaluation of in vitro studies through: (1) an international survey of brain tumour researchers; (2) interviews with scientists, clinicians, regulators, and journal editors; (3) analysis of relevant reports, documents, and published studies. Through content analysis of findings, an initial list of criteria for quality appraisal of in vitro studies of brain tumours was developed. Stage two involved review of the criteria by an expert panel (Delphi process).Results – Results of stage one indicated that methods for and quality of review of in vitro studies are highly variable, and that improved reporting standards are needed. 129 preliminary criteria were identified; duplicate and highly context-specific items were removed, resulting in 48 criteria for review by the expert (Delphi) panel. 37 criteria reached agreement, resulting in a provisional checklist for appraisal of in vitro studies in brain tumour research.Conclusion – Through a systematic process of collating assessment criteria and subjecting these to expert review, SAToRI-BTR has resulted in preliminary guidance for appraisal of in vitro brain tumour studies. Further development of this guidance, including investigating strategies for adaptation and dissemination across different sub-fields of brain tumour research, as well as the wider in vitro field, is planned.<br/

Toward standard practices for sharing computer code and programs in neuroscience

Computational techniques are central in many areas of neuroscience and are relatively easy to share. This paper describes why computer programs underlying scientific publications should be shared and lists simple steps for sharing. Together with ongoing efforts in data sharing, this should aid reproducibility of research.This article is based on discussions from a workshop to encourage sharing in neuroscience, held in Cambridge, UK, December 2014. It was financially supported and organized by the International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility (http://www.incf.org), with additional support from the Software Sustainability institute (http://www.software.ac.uk). M.H. was supported by funds from the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Project: Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences

Tracing the line : a Deleuzian reading of Irvine Welsh's Marabou stork nightmares

Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-106).Using Gilles Deleuze's Baconian aesthetic theory to explore how feminism might rely on Deleuze's "becoming-woman" to express the feminine, this dissertation analyzes the expression of sexual violence-an experience gendered feminine-in Irvine Welsh's Marabou Stork Nightmares. I begin by establishing Welsh's work as what Deleuze terms a "minor literature". I argue, however, that it is largely the novel's visual nature (its acrobatic typography) that both establishes it as a minor literature and demands its exploration through Deleuze's text on painting rather than literature. Turning to Deleuze's study of Francis Bacon paintings in Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation, I explore the expression of sexual violence in Marabou Stork Nightmares through Deleuze's concept of becoming-woman. Put simply, this is a reading of a minor literature through Deleuze's Baconian lens. In doing so, this dissertation relies on an implicity connection between all the arts. An interdisciplinary endeavor, this project strives toward dismantling the illusory demarcations between the arts and toward reaffirming their interdependency