Investigating perceptions and support for transparency and openness in research: Using card sorting in a pilot study with academic librarians

This paper explores the role of academic librarians as advocates for research transparency and open research. We describe the design and piloting of a qualitative card-sorting research protocol that investigates academic librarians' attitudes, awareness and practices related to research transparency. We report on preliminary results from interviews with librarians, presenting their conceptualizations of research transparency and open research, existing library services that support and advocate for both concepts, and potential services that would augment this support and advocacy. Library activities they feel are most important to the advancement of transparency and openness are identified and perceptions of disciplinary differences are noted

Measuring the Impact of (Psycho-)Linguistic and Readability Features and Their Spill Over Effects on the Prediction of Eye Movement Patterns

There is a growing interest in the combined use of NLP and machine learning methods to predict gaze patterns during naturalistic reading. While promising results have been obtained through the use of transformer-based language models, little work has been undertaken to relate the performance of such models to general text characteristics. In this paper we report on experiments with two eye-tracking corpora of naturalistic reading and two language models (BERT and GPT-2). In all experiments, we test effects of a broad spectrum of features for predicting human reading behavior that fall into five categories (syntactic complexity, lexical richness, register-based multiword combinations, readability and psycholinguistic word properties). Our experiments show that both the features included and the architecture of the transformer-based language models play a role in predicting multiple eye-tracking measures during naturalistic reading. We also report the results of experiments aimed at determining the relative importance of features from different groups using SP-LIME.Comment: accepted at ACL 202

Using participatory design and visual narrative inquiry to investigate researchers’ data challenges and recommendations for library research data services

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an information gathering study on users’ research data-related challenges and proposals for library research data services (RDS). This study probes how early career researchers visually conceptualize the research process in their disciplines, their self-reported research data challenges, and their recommendations for library RDS. Design/methodology/approach – Two focus group sessions were undertaken with a total of eight early career researchers. Adopting the visual narrative inquiry method, the participants were asked to sketch the general research process in their domain. The individuals’ illustrations of the research process were then used as the basis for reflecting on their data-related needs and potential RDS that would assist them during the research process. Findings – Participants presented a research process that was more personal and, in most cases, more imperfect than the research lifecycle models that academic libraries are increasingly using for RDS development and communication. The authors present their data-related challenges, which included data access barriers, low knowledge of best practices for research data management, the need for a deeper understanding of post-publication impact, and inconsistent awareness of existing library and institution RDS. The authors outline RDS recommendations that participants proposed, which included a web-based tools, customized training sessions, and “distilled” guides to research data best practices. Practical implications – The study flagged users’ gaps in understandings of existing library and institutional RDS, suggesting that there may be an opportunity to engage users in the design of communications plans for services. The findings from this user study will inform the development of RDS at the institution. Originality/value – This paper puts forth a methodological approach that academic libraries can adapt for understanding users’ needs and user-generated design solutions

Results of the Fourth International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery

The Fourth International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery was grown in 1972 at 44 sites in 27 countries. Data were reported from 40 sites. The 30 cultivars grown in the nursery included 15 new entries. Twenty-nine cultivars were winter wheats; one was a spring wheat. Data are reported on grain yield, test weight, plant maturity, plant height, lodging, shattering, winter survival, 1000 kernel weight, frost damage, plant diseases, grain protein and lysine content. Two-year mean data summaries also are reported. Supplemental nursery management information is reported for each nursery site

Results of the Fourth International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery

The Fourth International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery was grown in 1972 at 44 sites in 27 countries. Data were reported from 40 sites. The 30 cultivars grown in the nursery included 15 new entries. Twenty-nine cultivars were winter wheats; one was a spring wheat. Data are reported on grain yield, test weight, plant maturity, plant height, lodging, shattering, winter survival, 1000 kernel weight, frost damage, plant diseases, grain protein and lysine content. Two-year mean data summaries also are reported. Supplemental nursery management information is reported for each nursery site

Results of the Third International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery

This is the third report of results from an International Winter Wheat Performance Nursery (IWWPN) organized in 1968 by the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station and the Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under a contract with the Agency for International Development, U.S. Department of State. The nursery was designed to (1) test the adaptation of winter wheat varieties in a range of latitudes, daylengths, fertility conditions, water management, and disease complexes; (2) identify superior winter varieties to serve as recipient genotypes for high protein and high lysine genes, and (3) test the degree of expression and stability of the high protein and high lysine traits in an array of environments