Are you aware of gender bias in peer review?
Last month, Dina Balabanova, (Associate Professor in Health Systems Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM); Section Editor for BMC Health Services Research) and Jamie Lundine (Research Fellow at LSHTM), hosted a workshop at LSHTM to discuss gender equality in peer review. The specific aim was to discuss ways to address women’s equal participation in the peer review process as authors, peer reviewers and editors in health journals. The workshop was attended by a diverse group of people with a range of backgrounds and experience including PhD students, researchers, editors, publishers and fund...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - December 19, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Elizabeth Moylan & Elisa de Ranieri Tags: Publishing Equity Gender bias peer review Source Type: blogs
… And an aphid in a peach tree!
12: Drummers Drumming (in the right chairs)
On top of high levels of concentration, musical performance places significant physical stress on the body. Strength in limb muscles needed for fast complex movements, while core muscles handle the task of sustaining body position for extended durations.
It is therefore no wonder that musical performance-associated musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) are a common medical issue among professional musicians, with some studies indicating that around 80% – 97% of orchestral musicians suffer from muscle pain related to musical performance.
With MSDs presenting such a big threat to m...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - December 19, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Davy Falkner Tags: Biology Health Medicine Avian Research BMC Ecology Frontiers in Zoology Genetics Selection Evolution Genome Biology Health Research Policy and Systems ISRCTN registry Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology Lipids in Health a Source Type: blogs
Trialing transparency at Genome Biology
The theme of Peer Review Week 2017 was transparency, and to mark the occasion, this September we launched a trial of transparent peer review at Genome Biology. Although transparency may mean different things to different people, we are taking it to mean the process whereby the reviewers’ reports, and the authors’ response to them, are published alongside the final article (in situations where both the authors and reviewers opt in). The reviewers may sign their reports if they wish, but this is not mandatory. This model of peer review introduces a degree of openness to the peer review process and helps to addre...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - December 5, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Andrew Cosgrove Tags: Open Access Publishing Genome Biology peer review Transparent peer review Source Type: blogs
Advancing peer review at BMC
Peer review is central to the publishing process and has a fundamental role to play in maintaining the integrity of the published literature and advancing discovery. Earlier this month, we shared the findings from BMC’s ‘Research in Progress’ report which outlines many of the activities that have been taking place this year at BMC, including those involving peer review. All the information on our peer review projects can now be found on our new web page.
At BMC, we have always supported innovation in peer review and were one of the first publishers to truly open up peer review in 1999. BMC Psychology has continued th...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - November 24, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Elizabeth Moylan Tags: Open Access Publishing peer review Source Type: blogs
What should the scientific community of tomorrow look like?
This was originally posted on the Digital Science blog.
If you could change one thing about the scientific culture right now, what would it be? At first answering this question may seem like a fruitless exercise; after all, how could just one thing lead to fundamental cultural changes, when existing systems are so entrenched and complex. But in a climate where women still drop out of Science Technology Engineering Mathematics and Medicine (STEMM) careers at a higher rate than men, despite the recent recognition that the science community needs to be open to a larger diversity of individuals to boost its creativity, perhaps...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - November 15, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Isla Watton, Nathalie Pettorelli & Seirian Sumner Tags: Uncategorized Soapbox Science SpotOn Source Type: blogs
What makes a great researcher: tools and skills
Louisa Flintoft, Executive Editor, BMC Flagship journals & Chief Editor, Genome Biology, Biological Sciences
A skill that I’ve found crucial, both in my research days and now as an editor, is the ability to get on well with other people. For example, when I was doing my PhD, I worked in a small and not very well funded lab, and so I relied a lot on people from other groups to show me techniques and let me use their equipment. It really helped that I was sociable in my department, I am not the world’s most extroverted person; but I made the effort to get to know a lot of people. Because people knew me they were muc...
Source: BioMed Central Blog - November 14, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Davy Falkner Tags: Publishing SpotOn Source Type: blogs
Springer Nature: Open in Order to Advance Discovery
We’re delivering on open access, will you join us?
We kicked off Open Access Week with this blog by Steven Inchcoombe, Chief Publishing Officer at Springer Nature. Steven announced an open access milestone at Springer Nature: In four European countries, over 70% of our journal articles are now being immediately published (gold) open access. Steven also details the myriad of benefits that an open approach to research brings.
Research in Progress report
On Tuesday we proudly published our Research in Progress report. The report highlights our work and achievements over the past year and showcases our plans for the future....
Source: BioMed Central Blog - October 31, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: Davy Falkner Tags: Open Access Publishing Open Access Week Open Access Week 2017 Source Type: blogs
