Introduction

Much of the discussion up to now has been about the potential of web metrics to gain insights into the web of documents: how many times has a particular document been mentioned on the web? How many times has a web page been visited? How many times has a wiki page been updated? The rise of open access has also been accompanied by the rise of open code and open data, and it is increasingly important for information professionals to understand how these resources are being accessed. Can researchers show that the data and code that they are increasingly obliged to place online is actually being used?

This chapter starts with a description of this ‘web of data’, data available in a machine-readable format and the implications of structured data for the development of various kinds of web metrics. This is followed by an exploration of some of the approaches that have been taken to measuring the impact of code, which is also seen as an increasingly important part of a researcher's output.

The web of data

The term ‘web of data’ is used here to refer to data that is structured in machine-readable form and has been published openly on the web (Stuart, 2011). It is not separate from the existing web but, rather, may refer to a subset of it, and includes a wide range of different technologies, from a Google spreadsheet hosted in the cloud, to an Excel spreadsheet contained within an institutional repository; from the APIs providing access to data from social media sites and services, to web pages with semantic mark-up. Some of these technologies have already been introduced in the course of this book. Here we consider some of the technologies that contribute to the web of data in a bit more detail, considering both the advantages and disadvantages of the different technologies, before moving on to discuss some of the implications of the web of data (in its various guises) for the development of web metrics.

As has been argued elsewhere, librarians have a long history of providing access to documents, and are ideally positioned for facilitating access to the increasingly large web of data (Stuart, 2011). Facilitating access to the web of data provides a new avenue for information services to develop as the traditional information services rapidly evolve.

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of copyright, publishing rights and licensing options from an author's perspective. It serves as a guide to understanding some of the common terminologies an author may encounter in journal policies or publishing agreements and contracts. It also discusses the development of rights retention, especially in the context of open access (Chapter 3). It does not, however, cover copyright issues related to the use of materials such as fair use and it is not intended to provide legal advice. For a comprehensive guide of copyright in libraries, archives and information services, please refer to Graham Cornish's Copyright: interpreting the law for libraries, archives and information services (2019). In this chapter, we focus on the question: why should authors care about copyright, publishing rights and licensing options when they decide where to publish?

Copyright

What is copyright? According to the US Copyright Office, ‘Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression’ (US Copyright Office, n.d.). Generally speaking, copyright prevents people from copying, distributing, renting or lending, performing, showing or making adaptations of your work, including putting it on the internet (www.gov.uk/copyright). In most countries, copyright lasts a minimum of life plus 50 years, however the duration is different in regions and for different media types.

In Who Owns Academic Work, McSherry (2001) states that facts, either natural or historical, cannot be copyrighted; however, expressions and interpretations can be copyrighted. Copyright protection is automatically granted to the authors or creators of original works. However, the copyright of scholarly works does not always belong to the authors. First, a university and research institution, as the employer, is the first owner of the copyright in the work in some cases, although most scholarly and pedagogical works can be exempted under the institution's intellectual property policy. Secondly, authors may be requested to transfer copyright to the publisher when an article or a book is accepted for publication.

For many academic authors, the copyright question is overlooked because they do not expect monetary rewards when publishing in an academic journal or even a monograph. But should authors transfer copyright to the publisher? After the copyright has been transferred, an author no longer owns the article, meaning that they cannot sell, distribute or share the article.

Introduction

Research integrity is concerned with the conduct and practices of researchers, involving issues pertaining to authorship, fabrication and falsification, paper mills and so on. The emergence of generative AI tools supported by machine learning, such as ChatGPT, has also raised questions about authenticity, copyright and the future of scholarly communication. Research integrity is of utmost importance, because research and researchers can only be trusted if research studies are conducted in good faith and if research articles are not used as a vehicle for peddling unsubstantiated facts and unjustified claims. The ethos of science, commonly known as ‘Mertonian norms’, proposed by the sociologist of science, Robert Merton (1973, originally published 1942), are as follows:

• • Universalism: The acceptance or rejection of research findings is not dependent on personal or social attributes such as race, nationality, religion, class and personal qualities.

• • Communism: The imperative for communication of findings is linked to the conception of science as part of the public domain, meaning that full and open communication shall form the basis of scholarly communication.

• • Disinterestedness: The trust of scientific research is based on the disinterestedness of researchers rather than personal, commercial or political gains.

• • Organised sceptism: Research data and scientific claims are open for scrutiny and subject to critique and revision.

The Mertonian norms speak to the basis on which the integrity and conduct of research should be upheld. On the one hand, research findings can be distorted if a research study is under commercial or political influence. On the other hand, it is problematic if the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript is affected by the personal or social attributes of an author, which can result in important research findings being neglected. Researchers are generally trusted to advance knowledge and conduct research for public good. In fact, research findings based on fabricated data or fraudulent practices can lead to dire consequences, especially when they are reported in the mass media. One infamous example is the false reporting of the MMR vaccine as a cause of autism. Although the research article was eventually retracted, the reporting has been part of the anti-vaccination discourse. Worse, the reports of misconduct can lead to distrust in researchers and research institutions.

In recent years, there have been increased reports of fraudulent research and retraction.

Introduction

Peer review is a process by which the quality, novelty and originality of scholarly works are assessed and appraised. It is an established mechanism in making decisions about the acceptance and rejection of manuscripts. As such, it also serves as a form of quality control in scholarly publishing: a peer reviewed article is a manuscript that has been vetted by subject experts in the research area. In the guidelines for good practice, Hames (2007, 2–3) suggests that peer review performs the following functions:

• 1 prevent the publication of bad work and filter out studies that have been poorly conceived, designed or executed

• 2 check that the research reported has been carried out well and there are no flaws in the design or methodology

• 3 ensure that the work is reported correctly and unambiguously, with acknowledgment to the existing body of work

• 4 ensure that the results presented have been interpreted correctly and all possible interpretations considered

• 5 ensure that the results are not too preliminary or too speculative, but at the same time not block innovative new research and theories

• 6 select work that will be of the greatest interest to the readership

• 7 provide editors with evidence to make judgements as to whether articles meet the selection criteria for their particular publications

• 8 generally improve the quality and readability of a publication.

Why should an author consider the peer-review process when choosing where to publish? It is because the peer-review process can vary for different publication types and for different publishers. It is important for an author to consider the peer-review process before submission because there are advantages and disadvantages associated with the process, depending on the author's career stage, the speed of publication and the thoroughness and openness of peer reviews. For conference proceedings and journal articles, double- and single-blind peer reviews are the most common, while open peer review and post-publication peer review have been proposed and adopted in recent years. For monographs and edited books, the peer-review process can vary from the book proposal stage to the final manuscript. Understanding the peer-review process is essential when preparing a manuscript or book proposal.

The peer-review process

The peer-review process begins with the selection of peer reviewers. Ideally, the reviewers are peers who are familiar with the theories, methodologies and methods in a subject area.

Much day-to-day work in research support is to develop educational materials and planning and delivering workshops. LibGuides provide the first contact point for researchers to find information about transformative agreements or copyright and intellectual property. Workshops (or a somewhat quaint term, ‘bibliographic instruction’) are organised to instruct in the use of platforms and tools and they also offer opportunities for interactions and questions which may lead to further consultation services. The complexities of scholarly publishing mean that answering questions about a topic (e.g. open access) usually involves advice on another (e.g. copyright and licensing). The following case studies are adapted from a ‘Publishing and Dissemination Plan’ assignment in a Scholarly Communication module. They are ‘scenarios’ where a researcher is seeking to develop a research dissemination plan and/or societal impact strategy, showcasing the interconnectedness of the topics covered in this book.

Case study 1 – Inter- or multi-disciplinary research

Sharon is a third-year doctoral student working at the intersection of Information Technology Law and Media Studies. Her thesis evaluates the fundamental rights and rule of law in relation to online disinformation regulation. She has been advised that she needs to publish at least two articles before graduation to be competitive on the job market. She has questions about publishing her work due to its inter- or multi-disciplinary nature. What would be the best ways to find scholarly publications that would be right for her career?

As inter- and multi-disciplinary research becomes common, Sharon's question is relevant to many. In her PhD studies, she reads and references works in the subject areas of information technology, communication and media and law. Where should Sharon aim to publish her work?

We can first use Scopus to find high-ranking journals in her research area. There are two relevant subject areas: ‘Law’ and ‘Communication’. After browsing the two subjects, she decided that she will narrow her search to law journals on account of her use of a doctrinal legal research method.

The subject area ‘Law’ retrieves 1,013 results. The highest-ranked journal is Government Information Quarterly, which has a CiteScore of 14.5. Should Sharon aim to publish in this journal?

In Chapter 2, we discussed the scope and objectives of a journal and the importance of the intended audience. So, we’ll advise Sharon to browse the journal website, including the ‘About this journal’ page.

Scholarly communication can be a loaded term. It may sound like something that only belongs in an ivory tower. The misconception is understandable: academic publishers, peer review types and open access options seem irrelevant for most library work. But that is not true. In fact, scholarly works have significant influences on the education of future generations, as well as our cultural, social and political lives, public health and technological innovation. Scholarly communication is about understanding research and publication practices – essentially, it is about how knowledge is produced and disseminated. A basic understanding of scholarly communication is essential to comprehend and interpret journalistic pieces or social media postings involving terms such as ‘peer-reviewed’ or ‘preprints’ and to spot and stop potential misinformation and disinformation. In practice, scholarly communication is about supporting researchers in their publication process, dissemination and societal impact.

On reflection, my first scholarly communication conundrum happened when my very first article was accepted for publication. I was very lucky to be guided by my mentors throughout the publication process: selecting the appropriate journal, responding to peer-review comments and formatting the list of references in accordance with the house style. It was an exhilarating experience for a PhD candidate. However, when I was asked to sign the publishing agreement, I was not prepared to give away the copyright of the article – is this a common practice? Is there any way I can negotiate to retain the intellectual property of my work? But I was left with no option. Having a publication in a well-respected journal is essential for an early-career researcher. The publisher did not seem to allow any kind of negotiation, either. The automated system seemed to convey the message: transfer the copyright and get published or withdraw the article.

Not without reservations, the publishing agreement was signed and the copyright transferred. The excitement of receiving feedback (and perhaps recognition) from peers and the prospect of going on the job market with a track record overshadowed the vexed question of intellectual property. Then, some months later, I was asked if a translated version of the article could be published in a non-English-language journal. A meeting with a legal advisor was somewhat confusing: strictly speaking, I do not own the copyright of the article and hence cannot exercise any rights; then might there be leeway, since the translation would likely be different from the original article?

Introduction

Societal impact is a broad term that describes the impact of research outside academia, defined as ‘an effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia’ in the UK REF (Research Excellence Framework) 2014 (UKRI, 2022). This definition includes cultural, economic, educational, environmental, health, political, social and technological impacts and has been adapted by funding agencies and research institutions. An important element in the understanding of societal impact is change: how does research bring changes to human and social behaviour, professional practices, public policies, health and environmental conditions, welfare and wellbeing and our understanding of cultures, societies and nature.

The original Logic Model Development Guide was published by the Kellogg Foundation (2004) for tracing the policy influences on development and planning and it has been adapted to conceptualise the societal impact of research. The logic model (also known as ‘linear model’) describes the pathway progressing from inputs and research activities, to research outputs (e.g. publications), outcomes and impacts (Penfield et al., 2014). It is a useful visualisation for researchers to envision societal impacts, including the five stages (Figure 7.1):

In reality, however, impact pathways are usually not linear and are dependent on many factors. Based on an analysis of impact case studies collected in 16 European countries, Muhonen, Benneworth and Olmos- Peñuela (2020) developed a typology of 12 impact pathways in four major categories, indicating that impacts can be planned (e.g. anticipation of anniversaries) but can also be accidental (e.g. the development of vaccines for a new disease):

• 1 Dissemination includes the interactive dissemination pathway, where key stakeholders become aware of research findings disseminated through publications, social media, mass media and so on.

• 2 Cocreation includes the collaboration pathway, the public engagement pathway, the expertise pathway and the mobility pathway. These pathways involve working with key stakeholders in creating societal impacts.

• 3 Reacting to societal change includes the ‘anticipating anniversaries pathway’, the ‘seize the day’ pathway, the social innovation pathway and the commercialisation pathway. These pathways illustrate the ways by which research responds to anticipated and unanticipated events, as well as business opportunities.

• 4 Driving societal change includes the ‘research engagement as a key to impact’ pathway, the knowledge ‘creeps’ into society pathway and the building ‘new epistemic communities’ pathway. These pathways show the diffusion of knowledge with both tangible and intangible impacts.

Introduction

Scholarly communication is a fast-moving area. It is partly because digital publishing has now become predominant: when scholarly information is no longer confined within the bricks and mortar of academic libraries, new publishers emerge and challenge the status quo of academic publishing and scholarly communication. Open access advocates negotiate the ways by which commercial and public interests can be balanced, involving the development of scholar-led diamond open access journals, for-profit and non-profit gold open access journals and hybrid journals with gold open access options. Digital publishing also enables alternative ways of communicating research not confined to traditional academic publications, evident by the increased number of preprints, blogs, podcasts, videocasts and social media posts. The emergence of new publishers and non-traditional publication channels means that changes in research assessment criteria are necessary to determine what can be counted as research outputs and how they will be recognised and rewarded, not to mention the tension between best practices of open research and the expectations of publishing in established ‘high-impact’ journals. There are also concerns about copyright and licensing options that can result in changes in the intellectual property policy of universities and research institutions. Together, digital publishing enables faster dissemination of and open access to scholarly information. However, it has also initiated reconsideration and reconfiguration of many assumptions and questions in the scholarly communication landscape, concomitant with socio-technological and political changes involving the wide use of social media and the necessity of societal impact. The different configurations have implications for the academic publishing market, research dissemination and of course, the work of research support in scholarly communication.

The role of scholarly communication in research support is exhilarating and challenging. It is a position where a librarian is not only supporting researchers in the many aspects of scholarly communication from consultation services on publishing to the use of social media, but can also involve advocacy work in open access, research assessment and copyright reform. Some also develop and establish library publishing and similar initiatives. The work of scholarly communication librarians is primarily to support researchers to select the best venues for research dissemination for enhancing research and societal impacts, while it is also important to note that the choices made as to where to publish actively shape the academic publishing market and the scholarly communication landscape.

Introduction

The open access movement was initiated when the internet became more widely available in the 1990s. It was envisioned that research findings and publications would be disseminated and shared freely online and that paywalls would be removed for public access to information. Over the decades, there has been a drastic increase in open access publications; however, full open access has not been achieved. The reasons are complex, involving the business models of commercial publishers, the perceived quality of open access publications and the criteria of research assessments. In recent years, researchers have been encouraged to publish their work in open access publications to increase reach and visibility and many libraries and consortia have negotiated transformative (also known as ‘transitional’ and ‘read and publish’) agreements with publishers. There emerge many ways of making a publication open access, as green, gold and diamond open access enter into the vernacular of scholarly publishing. These different open access models and their implications for the open access movement and scholarly communication are topics of ongoing discussions amongst research communities, librarians, research managers and funding agencies. From an author's perspective, it is essential to understand the pros and cons of the different open access models in relation to the potential dissemination and impact of their work and their influences on global knowledge production and the development of open research infrastructures.

The open access movement

The open access movement is usually traced to the three influential statements published in the early 2000s. The Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI), first published in 2002, defines open access (OA) as:

Introduction

Monographs and journal articles are the major publication types for engaging in scholarly discourse and disseminating research findings, while nontraditional publication types such as blogs and podcasts have become more popular for science communication and public engagement. What are the differences between the publication types? What should an author consider when preparing a book manuscript and when planning to submit a journal article? This chapter provides an overview of the following publication types: monographs, journal articles and conference proceedings, as well as nontraditional publications including preprints and blogs, with a focus on the details which researchers should consider when selecting the right venue for publishing their work.

Monographs

There are different types of books: trade books, textbooks, ‘crossover’ (or research highlights) and academic books. Trade books are published for a general audience: they are distributed through booksellers and are available in general bookstores. Textbooks are written for educational purposes: they are mostly acquired by college and university libraries and are also sold in specialised and campus bookstores. Crossover books are academic research that has an appeal to a wider audience and written in a way that can be understood by non-specialists. They are distinct from traditional academic books in that they appeal to a wider audience, or to students, and are written in a more casual tone and style. In contrast, academic books, usually referred to as monographs, are long-form publications that represent original contributions and they are mainly aimed at researchers and scholars in cognate fields of study.

The following discussion mainly focuses on monographs, as they are the most important and valued form of scholarly communication, especially in the arts and humanities and humanistic social sciences. Monographs are usually between 40,000 and 80,000 words. If a manuscript is shorter than 40,000 words, an author should consider if it may be better published as journal articles or book chapters. Put another way, is a book-length manuscript necessary to fully develop an argument, a concept or a thesis? If a manuscript is longer than 80,000 words, an author may consider whether the scope of the project is achievable in a certain period of time. It is also important to understand that publishers have considerations other than the academic contributions: manuscripts of shorter and longer length can affect the costs of publishing, pricing and marketability. Monographs are usually purchased by university libraries and most books are first published as hardcover.

Introduction

Scholarly communication is a core competency in librarianship. It is essential for those who pursue a career in academic libraries, especially in the area of research support. It is also important for all who work in school, public and special libraries – because a basic understanding of the research and publication processes is necessary for assisting academic work at all levels. Indeed, it is of utmost importance that librarians can explain such terms as preprints, peer-reviewed publications and retraction in the context of information and media literacy.

Not long ago, physical copies of academic journals and monographs were housed in academic libraries, accessible only to those who are authorised to enter and read and perhaps make a few photocopies. There were no electronic databases or blogs or tweets, nor were there data products that analyse and compare research productivity and performance. There were no Creative Common (CC) licenses or open access models of different colours. Uploading a preprint was not an option and, in fact, researchers used to send their drafts to colleagues for comments by post! Today, researchers are faced with a multitude of publication channels, open access options and funding mandates.

In the last two decades there has been an increased demand for scholarly communication and research support roles in academic libraries. The development of online platforms and tools have led to unprecedented changes in publishing options, research assessments and research policies and consequently a transforming scholarly communication landscape. The tasks of a scholarly communication librarian can involve, but are not limited to, bibliometric analyses, publishers and publications advice, research data management and research dissemination and societal impact.

This chapter will provide an overview of the scholarly communication landscape by introducing the key actors and their complex and interrelated relationships, followed by a brief description of chapters with the key theme of this book: Where to publish?

Key actors

The primary role of scholarly communication librarians is to support researchers in publishing and disseminating research outputs in traditional and non-traditional venues. Answering the question ‘Where to publish?’, however, involves the understanding of the complex relationship of the key actors. In the following, the description of publishers, universities and research institutions, researchers and academic and research libraries aims to provide an overview of their contributions and interests in the scholarly communication landscape.