Weekly digest: beyond clinical trial data, global open access and researcher privacy

Mark Elms

This week, we read about the importance of incorporating non-clinical data into publication strategies alongside clinical trial data. We also hear about initiatives for implementing global open access research networks, the increasing use of a standardized accreditation system in scientific research and the differences between open science and open access. We also listen to an intriguing podcast discussing how much personal information is known about researchers by publishers such as Elsevier, before also sharing a tool for finding information on open access publishing. Finally, we highlight the Open Data Institute Summit that will be taking place later this year.

To read:

Looking beyond clinical trial data via The Publication Plan | 5-minute read

In order to develop effective publication plans, the pharma industry must look beyond just clinical trial data towards other forms of data, such as preclinical data, observational data and real-world evidence. This is the opinion of Valérie Philippon, Head of Global Publications at Takeda, shared in an interview published in The Publication Plan this week. Valérie also discusses the importance and growing popularity of plain language summaries, open access publishing and preprints. Take a look at this post that Valérie wrote for us recently.

Coordinating open access research around the globe via University World News: Africa Edition | 3-minute read

This article discusses some of the ideas presented at the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference 2022 that aim to improve global data sharing. Such practices and policies could make data more readily accessible and shareable across the globe, thereby potentially solving global problems while also avoiding duplication of research by scientists on opposite sides of the world. The article also shares the opinions of university representatives from around the world on this topic, including from the European University Association, the Association of African Universities and the Symbiosis International University in India.

The increasing implementation of CRediT via The Scholarly Kitchen | 5-minute read

Earlier this year, the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) was announced and formalized as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and a National Information Standards Organization (NISO) standard. CRediT was developed as an accreditation system within research that would more accurately recognize the contributions of all individuals towards the publication of research. In this article, Alice Meadows, the Director of Community Engagement for NISO, interviews several members of the NISO CRediT Working Group to learn about the past, present and future of CRediT, and about what improvements could be made to the system.

What is the difference between open access and open science? via Institut de Recerca en Educació | 2-minute read

Open access and open science are “not one and the same thing”, argues this article published by the Institut de Recerca en Educació. Instead, open access is a constituent and core component of open science, but other factors are required for science to be truly open, such as open data.

To listen to:

How much does Elsevier know about you? via Spotify | 45-minute listen

In this episode of The Road to Open Science podcast, produced by the Utrecht Young Academy at Utrecht University, the hosts discuss how much Elsevier and its parent company RELX know about the researchers that access their articles. This fascinating podcast discusses the extent and wide reach of data that these companies hold about researchers, including personal information.

To engage with:

ISMPP updates its open access and enhanced content search engine

This week, Medical Publishing Insights and Practices, an initiative of the International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP), launched an update to the Enhanced Publication Options Navigator. This free and searchable tool replaces the Open Access Journal Tool for Industry and allows researchers to find information on open access publishing, enhanced publication content options and plain language summaries more readily.

Open Data Institute Summit 2022

This year, the Open Data Institute celebrates its 10th anniversary at its 2022 summit, which will focus on the question ‘What is the true value of data for business, government and society?’ The summit will take a retrospective look at the past decade of data and its effects on the world before looking forward to see what the next decade of data may bring. The summit will take place virtually on 8 November 2022.

Have you seen our recent commentary about user perspectives on plain language summaries? Read it here in Current Medical Research and Opinion.