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17664002728_acb9354acf_bRecently, the NIH took steps to help protect the credibility of published research findings from NIH-funded research. In a recent blog post, the National Library of Medicine called on librarians to help in this effort. In NIH Guide Notice OD-18-011, released on November 3, 2017, the NIH requested support for authors by asking grantees, contractors, researchers, and librarians to:

  1. Adhere to the principles of research integrity and publication ethics
  2. Identify journals that follow best practices promoted by professional scholarly publishing organizations
  3. Avoid publishing in journals lacking clearly stated and rigorous peer-review processes.

 

What should you do when deciding where to publish your research?

  1. Evaluate the options using guided by one of these resources:
  2. Access Himmelfarb’s Scholarly Publishing Research Guide for resources to help you decide where to publish:
  3. Consult your librarian. Librarians have experience in developing rigorous collection criteria when considering journals to include in library collections. Thanks to this expertise, librarians are extremely familiar with journal publishers as well as with the journals that are being used by researchers and for publication.

 

Researcher-authors can often find it difficult to evaluate a journal's quality, editorial practices, peer-review practices, and scientific merit. Librarians can be a great help to authors in selecting publishing venues. If you are getting ready to publish and need assistance in selecting the best journal for your article or research, Himmelfarb has resources that can help!

 

Sources:

Marill, J., Funk, K., Sheehan, J. (2017, November 7). Calling on librarians to help ensure the credibility of published research results [web log post]. Retrieved from https://nlmdirector.nlm.nih.gov/2017/11/07/calling-on-librarians-to-help-ensure-the-credibility-of-published-research-results/

Mediterranean Center of Medical Sciences (2015).  Research [online image].  Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mcmscience/17664002728

Himmelfarb librarians interviewed health sciences students and faculty at GW Research Days 2017 about their research and the experience of participating in Research Days.

Watch the video to learn about research directly from participants including exploring the topics of research and takeaways and what it's like to conduct research at GW.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1-u1D9GEnM&feature=youtu.be]

AppointmentGW's Writing Center hours at Himmelfarb Library begin this week.  Writing Center consulations are available free of charge and can be scheduled using the Writing Center's online system.

What: Writing Center @ Himmelfarb Fall 2017 Hours (Begins this week!)
Who:
Amanda: Fridays 10am- 12pm
Sherri: Wednesdays 2:30-4pm
Cost: Service is FREE!

How do I make an appointment to meet with a tutor?

What type of support do they offer for non-native English speaking students?

Where can I go if I need help using the Writing Center's online appointment schedule site?

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How do you teach?  If you’re interested in adding innovation to your instruction, check out online modules made available by GW faculty!

Online teaching materials and modules serve as  great teaching tools in medical education.  GW’s SMHS and CNHS faculty have published these tools in the AAMC’s MedEdPortal, which houses open-source materials.  The teaching materials provide access to multiple documents, including powerpoints, guides, and surveys.

Some of the topics covered by the modules are newborn care, OB/GYN, navigating the wards and more!

Check out the modules here!

 

Scholarly publishing has undergone a significant transformation with the rise of the Internet. Scholarly journals are now predominantly available in electronic format rather than in traditional print formats.

This shift prompted the introduction of open access publishing - a movement that aims to provide scholarly research to researchers and the public at no cost to the reader, thus removing the cost barrier to access research.

However, this movement has also opened the door for “predatory” journals to use open access model to profit from researchers and faculty who are pressured to publish in order to receive promotion and tenure.  A comparison of the similarities and differences in characteristics of both predatory and legitimate journals could help readers and potential authors spot predatory journals more easily.

A recent article published in the March 2017 issue of BMC Medicine provides the results of just such a comparison. A cross-sectional comparison of potentially predatory, presumed legitimate open access, and presumed legitimate subscription-based biomedical journals was conducted. Roughly 100 randomly selected journals in each category was selected for this review. Each journal was evaluated on criteria within specific characteristics including:

  • Aims & scope
  • Journal name & publisher
  • Homepage integrity (look & feel)
  • Indexing & impact factor
  • Editors & staff
  • Editorial process & peer review
  • Publication ethics & policies
  • Publication model & copyright
  • Journal location & contact

The results are summarized in this infographic:

https://magic.piktochart.com/embed/22961232-predatory-vs-legitimate-can-you-tell-the-difference

Source:
Shamseer, L., Moher, D., Maduekwe, O., Turner, L., Barbour, V., Burch, R., & ... Shea, B. J. (2017). Potential predatory and legitimate biomedical journals: can you tell the difference? A cross-sectional comparison. BMC Medicine, 15(1), 28. doi:10.1186/s12916-017-0785-9

conflict

JAMA recently published a special issue on conflict of interest.

The issue includes more than twenty viewpoint articles on potential conflicts of interest for physicians in diverse settings including academic medicine, biomedical research, medical education, guideline development, health care management, and medical publishing.

Discussions of conflict of interest topics include:

Need datasets?  Scopus now provides dataset links in its articles.  By opening the Scopus Document details page, you can find links to relevant datasets to the right of the article information under a sidebar called “Related Research Data” when available on the external data repository.

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More data sources can be found by searching our Research Guides!

altmetric

  • Is your research making a difference?
  • What’s the impact of your work?
  • How can you get the word out about your research?

Promoting Your Research: Tips and Strategies will help you learn more about creating a professional web presence and promoting your scholarly research through various channels and platforms.

In this session in the Updates in Scholarly Communications: Publishing, Impact, and Visibility series, Stacy Konkiel of Altmetric, Inc., a provider of metrics to libraries and institutions, will discuss how you can leverage altmetrics (alternative metrics) to get the word out about your research.

When: Wed, Apr 19, 2017 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Where: Room: Ross Hall, Lobby C
Register for in-person attendance or WebEx

scholarly_bannerA well-organized abstract is key to getting your paper accepted for publication.  Attend this session of Himmelfarb Library's series Updates in Scholarly Communication: Publishing, Impact, and Visibility.  During the session, panel participants will share strategies and tips for writing an abstract that will increase your chances of getting accepted to a top-quality journal or conference.

Date:  Wednesday, April 12, 2017
Time:  4:30pm - 6:00pm
Location:  Ross Hall, Lobby C
Categories:  Updates in Scholarly Communications: Publishing, Impact, and Visibility

Please register and attend!

gwresearchdaysYou put all that hard work into preparing and presenting your poster at Research Days....don't let it sit in a closet! Archive a digital copy in  Himmelfarb Library's Health Sciences Research Commons and make it available to the  global community of scholars.

Including your work in the Health Sciences Research Commons has several advantages for you:

  • Your poster will have a unique URL which you can use to promote your research and include in your CV.  This URL will remain active even after you graduate from GW.
  • Your work will be more 'findable' and other researchers will be able to identify your research from Google Scholar.  For authors who originally indicated 'Yes' to archiving on the Research Days abstract submission form, this is already true.
 
Adding your poster to the Health Sciences Research Commons is easy. Just follow these steps:
  • Fill out the Author Agreement form with the required information.
  • Email the completed Author Agreement form and a copy of your Research Days poster to: hsrc@gwu.edu
  • You will your unique URL which links directly to your poster.  You can Tweet, Facebook, and share the new URL with your colleagues, family, and friends!

Please don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We can be reached  at hsrc@gwu.edu or 202-994-8357.