"Attention is not impact" and other challenges for altmetricsThe altmetrics manifesto, published in 2010 by Jason Priem and colleagues, argued for a new type of metric to capture the diversity of the contemporary scholarly system—making manifest both the heterogeneity of scholarly output and the impact of scholarship on science and society alike. As stated: "Altmetrics expand our view of what impact looks like,…

The twelve habits of highly productive writersWhen someone’s doing a lot more than you, you notice it. It brings out your petty jealousy. And if you’re like me (occasionally petty and jealous), it might make you feel crappy about yourself. Which is, let’s face it, ridiculous. No one else’s achievements take anything away from yours, or mine. The fact that another…

Imparting the new rules of publishing: a report from Abu DhabiWho says academic book publishing lacks glamor? I was invited to conduct a publishing workshop at New York University’s Abu Dhabi campus (NYUAD) in May. The trip was a whirlwind (60 hours on the ground), intense and educational. NYUAD is one of several global campuses that NYU has created as part of its Global Networked University…

On being an editorFrom time to time I am asked to specify my profession, for example on passport or visa applications. I might put down consultant, or university teacher but over the past few years I have realized that I am first and foremost an ‘editor.’  It is what I spend most of my time doing and increasingly…

Using figshare to enable data sharingYou are no doubt aware of the growing interest in increasing access to publicly funded research data. The value of data - broadly defined as digital outputs of research - is recognized by funders globally and in all disciplines. Opening access to the world’s research data offers huge potential to improve the transparency of research,…

Writing a literature review: six steps to get you from start to finishWriting a literature review is often the most daunting part of writing an article, book, thesis, or dissertation. "The literature" seems (and often is) massive. I have found it helpful to be as systematic as possible when completing this gargantuan task. Sonja Foss and William Walters* describe an efficient and effective way of writing a…

We want failures, seriously!Innovators often state that they learn a lot from their successes, but even more from their failures. Yet, who publishes about their failures? Which journals commonly report about failures? Who gets promoted or receives tenure in academic environments for their failures? Hopefully, the Spencer S. Eccles Health Sciences Library (EHSL) at the University of Utah…

More progress toward our mission: an update from ORCIDIt has been great to have Wiley partner with us to integrate ORCID identifiers and communicate their importance to the research community. There have been a number of exciting recent developments at ORCID and in the community that show real progress toward our mission of solving the name ambiguity problem in scholarly communications. To aid…

Exhilaration and exhaustion: directing an interdisciplinary program or departmentOnce you make a commitment to doing interdisciplinary work you have to hope that what an institution states in principle bears out in practice: that value is placed on interdisciplinarity. While interdisciplinary majors such as Africana Studies have been on a steady rise for the past 25 years, at many schools such majors still exist…

Leveraging technology to overcome challenges for societies and associationsA couple of weeks back we attended the 2015 Technology for Associations Congress at the Hilton London Metropole. This two-day conference was designed to provide insights and helpful advice on how to use technology-and how not to use it-to overcome some of the most challenging issues facing societies and associations today. Topics covered ranged from…