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N – Oldest bible online14 July 2009The Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving Bible in the world has been published online in full (www.codexsinaiticus.org). A four year project has brought together scans of the book’s more than 800 pages of animal skin parchment, which are divided between the British Library, Germany, Russia, and Egypt. Researchers, academics, and the general public can search […]
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N – Gifts for good reviews13 July 2009The publishing company Elsevier has confirmed that it was a mistake to offer $25 Amazon gift cards to academics contributing to the textbook Clinical Psychology to encourage them to post favourable reviews, the BMJ reports. An email sent by the company offered to pay them for positive online reviews. A spokesman for Elsevier said that […]
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B – Qualitative research articles: guidelines, suggestions and needs9 July 2009Crescentini A, Mainardi G. Qualitative research articles: guidelines, suggestions and needs. Journal of Workplace Learning, 2009 (21)5: 431 – 439 DOI: 10.1108/13665620910966820 The paper discusses the design of qualitative research and the structure of a qualitative article giving some methodological suggestions to make it better for the reader and the reviewer. If these guidelines are […]
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B – The insider’s guide to plagiarism9 July 2009The insider’s guide to plagiarism. Scientific plagiarism—a problem as serious as fraud—has not received all the attention it deserves. Nature Medicine 2009 (15) 707 doi:10.1038/nm0709-707 http://www.nature.com/nm/journal/v15/n7/full/nm0709-707.html A little creative writing might be all you need to sail through the financial crisis. Says the author of this editorial on plagiarism, full of humor and sadness at […]
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N – Seminal Nature editor dies8 July 2009John Maddox, editor of Nature from 1966 to 1973 and again from 1980 to 1995, died on 12 April 2009, according to the current editor Philip Campbell’s obituary. During his first stint he laid the foundations for Nature as it is today. He replaced cronyism with an impartial system of peer review, but he liked […]
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N – Train for open access8 July 2009The Open Access Scholarly Information Sourcebook (www.openoasis.org) provides authoritative online training for anyone who wishes to provide open access to their research publications. It covers the concept, principles, advantages, approaches, and means to achieving open access. The project wants more trainers and centres of expertise worldwide, to share resources and best practice, and to demonstrate […]
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N – Many Chinese trials flawed7 July 2009The design of more than 90% of 2235 randomised controlled trials published in Chinese medical journals was flawed, concludes a review (Trials 2009;10:46, doi:10.1186/1745-6215-10-46). Researchers trawled a Chinese national database for studies of 20 common diseases published between 1994 and 2005. Only 207 of the studies used accepted randomisation methods. Data from falsely reported trials […]
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N – Drug company made journal7 July 2009Merck paid Elsevier an undisclosed sum to produce several volumes of the Australasian Journal of Bone and Joint Medicine, which might be mistaken for a peer reviewed journal, the Scientist reports. However, it contained only reprinted articles that seemed to act solely as marketing tools, with no disclosure of company sponsorship. The journal was not […]
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N – Millionth word was nonsense7 July 2009“The biggest load of chicken droppings” is how the linguist and academic David Crystal described claims that the English language would get its millionth word at 10 22 am on 10 June, on the BBC programme Newsnight. The Global Language Monitor (www.languagemonitor.com) announced in June that “Web 2.0” had become the millionth English word or […]
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N – The end for embargoes?7 July 2009Embargoes turn journalists into propagandists for scientists and academic journals and reduce science to an artificial series of “eureka moments,” according to Vincent Kiernan, associate dean at Georgetown University speaking at the World Conference of Science Journalists. Richard Horton, editor the Lancet, said, “You’ve sold your soul to publicity masquerading as science.” Many journalists think […]
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B – Letters commenting on a case of fraud7 July 2009Brandon, D. Santic, B. Reflections on the Schön affair. Physics World 2009;22(7):19. Two separate letters commenting on this case of fraud. Brandon discusses earlier cases such as “Piltdown man” and the reasons for them but also points out that false accusations are not uncommon quoting a particular case that ruined a scientist’s career. Santic discusses […]
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N – Court silences science writer6 July 2009The science writer and broadcaster Simon Singh (www.simonsingh.com) is being sued for libel in the UK courts by the British Chiropractic Association. Singh wrote an article on 19 April 2008 in the Guardian that criticised claims made by chiropractors about the efficacy of spinal manipulation for childhood conditions such as asthma, colic, and ear infections, […]
