This week, we spotlight a call for increased transparency in pharmacoepidemiology research and the barriers to publishing PLS. We read about the intersection of AI and open science principles, and we signpost two upcoming webinars – one on the use of AI in the research cycle and another one on avoiding predatory publishers. Finally, we highlight how changes to NIH funding may impact the popular medical research database PubMed.
To read:
Transparency in pharmacoepidemiology research: a call to action via Open Pharma | 6-minute read
The increasing availability of large pharmacoepidemiological data sets means that transparent research practices are essential for maintaining trust and ensuring scientific validity. This Open Pharma collaboration with pharmacoepidemiologists Anton Pottegård (Professor at the University of Southern Denmark) and Shirley V Wang (Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School) explores how a proposed transparency statement could advance openness and reproducibility in pharmacoepidemiology research.
Why aren’t more journals publishing PLS? via The Publication Plan | 2-minute read
Between 2022 and 2023, Open Pharma conducted a survey that explored how publishers view the role of plain language summaries (PLS) in scientific publishing. This article by The Publication Plan discusses the results of this survey and summarizes the barriers to PLS publication.
Open science principles can improve artificial intelligence via MDPI Blog | 10-minute
In 2023, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) published a set of open science recommendations. This article from the MDPI Blog discusses a UNESCO-hosted event titled Navigating the Intersection of Open Science and AI and explores the mutual impact that artificial intelligence (AI) and open science principles can have on each other.
To engage with:
Avoiding predatory publishers via Taylor & Francis
Publishers are increasingly moving away from traditional pay-to-read models towards open access publishing. However, open access publishing fees have led to a rise in predatory publishers, who exploit unsuspecting academics looking to publish their research. Join Taylor & Francis at this webinar on Wednesday 21 May that aims to “equip researchers with the knowledge and tools they need to ensure that they are choosing quality journals to submit their research to”.
AI and the research cycle via NISO
How is AI transforming the research cycle? The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) are hosting the second session of their AI & the Research Cycle webinar series. Join experts across various fields on Wednesday 11 June to discuss the impact of AI on research processes, ethics and transparency.
To listen to:
Beyond PubMed: CME’s hidden treasure map via Write Medicine
The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest government-run supporter of biomedical research, is currently facing financial uncertainties. What could this mean for the NIH-funded database PubMed? In this podcast, Alexandra Howson (Director of Learning, Podcast Host and Writer) and Rachel Wedeward (Senior Project Manager and Medical Librarian) discuss why PubMed matters, how to evaluate research quality, and the use of other complimentary resources (e.g. Europe PubMed Central).
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