Poster presentation at American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in Washington DC on December 11,... more Poster presentation at American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in Washington DC on December 11, 2018.Conference URL: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/466887 <br>Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past decade. Previous research showed a growing recognition by scientists of the benefits of data‐sharing and reuse, but actual practices lag and are not always compliant with new regulations. The goal of this study is to investigate motives, attitudes, and data practices of the community of Earth and planetary geophysicists, a discipline believed to have accepting attitudes toward data sharing and reuse. A better understanding of the attitudes and current data‐sharing practices of this scientific community could enable funders, publishers, data managers, and librarians to design systems and services that help scientists understand and adhere to mandates and to create practices, tools, and services that are sc...
Since 2002, Project COUNTER has led the way in developing and maintaining systems of measurement ... more Since 2002, Project COUNTER has led the way in developing and maintaining systems of measurement for download counts. While these counts have often been used as a proxy measure in determining journal and article value for libraries and publishers, they miss an important post-download secondary usage factor – namely, that of sharing. Likewise, altmetrics, while accounting for the impact of social media, misses some aspects of sharing as distribution often occurs via email. This creates difficulty in quantifying an exact measure of use. One aim of the Beyond Downloads project was to develop a calculator for measuring total digital usage – including sharing. Through an examination of a range of sharing systems, we identified the most commonly used platforms for sharing scholarly articles, while an international survey provided data on access, download, saving, and sharing behavior. Survey results indicated that a range of sharing patterns can be estimated, but post-download usage o...
Background With data becoming a centerpiece of modern scientific discovery, data sharing by scien... more Background With data becoming a centerpiece of modern scientific discovery, data sharing by scientists is now a crucial element of scientific progress. This article aims to provide an in-depth examination of the practices and perceptions of data management, including data storage, data sharing, and data use and reuse by scientists around the world. Methods The Usability and Assessment Working Group of DataONE, an NSF-funded environmental cyberinfrastructure project, distributed a survey to a multinational and multidisciplinary sample of scientific researchers in a two-waves approach in 2017-2018. We focused our analysis on examining the differences across age groups, sub-disciplines of science, and sectors of employment. Findings Most respondents displayed what we describe as high and mediocre risk data practices by storing their data on their personal computer, departmental servers or USB drives. Respondents appeared to be satisfied with short-term storage solutions; however, only half of them are satisfied with available mechanisms for storing data beyond the life of the process. Data sharing and data reuse were viewed positively: over 85% of respondents admitted they would be willing to share their data with others and said they would use data collected by others if it could be easily accessed. A vast majority of respondents felt that the lack of access to data generated by other researchers or institutions was a major impediment to progress in science at large, yet only about a half thought that it restricted their own ability to
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among acade... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among academics in Finland. This study analyzes readings from a variety of publication types including books, conference proceedings, research reports, magazines, newspapers, blogs, non-fiction and fiction. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was developed and distributed in Finland in 2016–2017 (n=528). Participants were asked their finding and use of scholarly information resources of all types. Findings Scholars read from a variety of publications. Different types of publications are read and used differently. Reading also varies between disciplines, ranks, work responsibilities and type of research performed. Research limitations/implications The study was a nationwide study of researchers in Finland; therefore, all findings are within the context of researchers in a single country. All results are self-reported; therefore, the authors assume but cannot be sure that respondents accurat...
Results of an online survey distributed to faculty, PhD students, and researchers throughout Finl... more Results of an online survey distributed to faculty, PhD students, and researchers throughout Finland in 2016 show that library resources, journal articles, and books are important parts of scholars’ research and work life. The survey was disseminated through FinELib to heads of libraries, who were then asked to distribute it to their academic staff, researchers, and PhD students. The purpose of this study was to examine the value of readings obtained from library collections. To help answer this question, participants were asked about the amount and value of their reading and where they obtained readings, which allowed comparison of how the value of the library collection differs from other sources. The study found that researchers use many ways to identify and obtain articles, and the library collection is identified as one important source. Scholars use the library’s collection mostly to obtain articles for research and those articles help to inspire new ideas. Overall, this study...
Nationwide surveys of researchers in Finland in 2007 and 2016 distributed with the assistance of ... more Nationwide surveys of researchers in Finland in 2007 and 2016 distributed with the assistance of FinELib, the Finnish national consortium, show that researchers use a growing range of sources to find and access scholarly articles and that some reading patterns are changing. The percentage of articles found by searching and browsing are decreasing, while researchers are using more social ways to locate articles. Research social networking sites are rated as important to their work. They read more on-screen, although still print some material out for final reading. Reading patterns for books are different, as researchers still rely more on printed books than e-books, in spite of an increase in e-book collections through their libraries. This study shows a continuous process of incremental change, enabled by changes in scholarly publishing, social networking, and library collection decisions. More changes can be expected, as researchers adopt systems and patterns that fit with their wo...
ABSTRACT The ways in which engineers seek, read, and use information resources varies depending o... more ABSTRACT The ways in which engineers seek, read, and use information resources varies depending on their workplace. This study seeks to provide an understanding of how engineers in academia and engineers in other workplaces seek and use information resources and how those differ. For example, the researchers found that engineers in academia consider journal articles essential to their work, while engineers in other workplaces value standards over journal articles. By understanding that the workplace effects engineers’ information seeking needs, librarians can better meet the needs of engineers in a variety of workplace settings.
While journal articles are still considered the most important sources of scholarly reading, libr... more While journal articles are still considered the most important sources of scholarly reading, libraries may no longer have a monopoly on providing discovery and access. Many other sources of scholarly information are available to readers. This international study examines how researchers discover, read, and use scholarly literature for their work. Respondents in 2018 report an average of almost 20 article readings a month and there are still significant differences found in the reading and use of scholarly literature by discipline and geographical location, consistent with the earlier studies. Researchers show they are willing to change or adopt new strategies to discover and obtain articles.
The viability of gold open access publishing models into the future will depend, in part, on the ... more The viability of gold open access publishing models into the future will depend, in part, on the attitudes of authors toward open access (OA). In a survey of academics at four major research universities in North America, we examine academic authors' opinions and behaviors toward gold OA. The study allows us to see what academics know and perceive about open access models, their current behavior in regard to publishing in OA, and possible future behavior. In particular, we gauge current attitudes to examine the perceived likelihood of various outcomes in an all-open access publishing scenario. We also survey how much authors at these types of universities would be willing to pay for article processing charges (APCs) from different sources. Although the loudest voices may often be heard, in reality there is a wide range of attitudes and behaviors toward publishing. Understanding the range of perceptions, opinions, and behaviors among academics toward gold OA is important for academic librarians who must examine how OA serves their research communities, to prepare for an OA future, and to understand how OA impacts the library's role.
The use of social media in scholarly communication has grown in recent years, and consequently, s... more The use of social media in scholarly communication has grown in recent years, and consequently, scholars’ uses of social media has gained importance as a research topic.The aim of this article is to shed light on the role of social media in scholars’ work. The research presents findings from a survey (N=528) conducted in Finland in late 2016. There exists no prior research on the role and uses social media among Finnish scholars. This research specifically focuses on the perceived role of social media in information seeking and sharing. We also study the differences between disciplines, age groups, and positions. Results show that scholars do not perceive social media as being central for their or information seeking and sharing, and that social media services are not replacing traditional publishing forums. Scholars do appreciate the social media services intended and developed for academic use, and find them as having value for their work than general social media services. Howeve...
Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past dec... more Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past decade. Previous research showed a growing recognition by scientists of the benefits of data-sharing and reuse, but actual practices lag and are not always compliant with new regulations. The goal of this study is to investigate motives, attitudes, and data practices of the community of Earth and planetary geophysicists, a discipline believed to have accepting attitudes toward data sharing and reuse. A better understanding of the attitudes and current data-sharing practices of this scientific community could enable funders, publishers, data managers, and librarians to design systems and services that help scientists understand and adhere to mandates and to create practices, tools, and services that are scientist-focused. An online survey was distributed to the members of the American Geophysical Union, producing 1,372 responses from 116 countries. The attitudes of researchers to data sharing and reuse were generally positive, but in practice, scientists had concerns about sharing their own research data. These concerns include the possibility of potential data misuse and the need for assurance of proper citation and acknowledgement. Training and assistance in good data management practices are lacking in many scientific fields and might help to alleviate these doubts.
The sharing of scholarly articles is an intrinsic and often ignored facet of the value and missio... more The sharing of scholarly articles is an intrinsic and often ignored facet of the value and mission of scholarship. It is so entwined in the daily work life of scholars that it has almost become second nature, an integral part of the research process itself. This article addresses this often overlooked area of research in usage studies. In an international survey of 1,000 published scholars, the Beyond Downloads project examined their sharing behaviours in order to gain a more contextualized and accurate picture of their usage beyond download patterns and citation counts. Scholars share published articles with others as a mode of content discovery and dissemination, particularly if they work in groups, and most expect to increase their sharing in the future. While their methods of sharing articles may change, and their reasons for sharing may vary from self-promotion to the more altruistic motives of scientific progress, they desire to share the final published versions of articles with their colleagues.
Where Do We Go From Here? Charleston Conference Proceedings 2015, 2016
Traditional citation and download metrics have long been the standard by which we measure the use... more Traditional citation and download metrics have long been the standard by which we measure the use and value of scholarly articles. However, these methods neglect the usage and real-world impact of newer technologies to access, store, and share downloaded scholarly articles. This session's speakers will share the results of interviews, focus groups, and an international survey with 1,000 scholars to investigate the ways in which they now access, store, share, and use downloaded scholarly articles. By identifying and measuring what traditional metrics fail to examine, the Beyond Downloads project attempts to capture a more complete picture of the use and value of scholarly articles, which is critical for librarians, publishers, and vendors to understand in developing scholarly tools and services. Complete usage can no longer be measured by traditional means alone. The speakers will discuss the findings of their research and the implications for metrics that take into account scholars' changing access, reading, and sharing behaviors.
In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in ... more In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in which to publish. A survey was sent to approximately 15,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at four large North American research universities with a response rate of 14.4% (n = 2021). Respondents were asked to rate how eight different journal attributes and five different audiences influence their choice of publication output. Within the sample, the most highly rated attributes are quality and reputation of journal and fit with the scope of the journal; open access is the least important attribute. Researchers at other research-intensive institutions are considered the most important audience, while the general public is the least important. There are significant differences across subject disciplines and position types. Our findings have implications for understanding the adoption of open access publishing models.
Poster presentation at American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in Washington DC on December 11,... more Poster presentation at American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting in Washington DC on December 11, 2018.Conference URL: https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm18/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/466887 <br>Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past decade. Previous research showed a growing recognition by scientists of the benefits of data‐sharing and reuse, but actual practices lag and are not always compliant with new regulations. The goal of this study is to investigate motives, attitudes, and data practices of the community of Earth and planetary geophysicists, a discipline believed to have accepting attitudes toward data sharing and reuse. A better understanding of the attitudes and current data‐sharing practices of this scientific community could enable funders, publishers, data managers, and librarians to design systems and services that help scientists understand and adhere to mandates and to create practices, tools, and services that are sc...
Since 2002, Project COUNTER has led the way in developing and maintaining systems of measurement ... more Since 2002, Project COUNTER has led the way in developing and maintaining systems of measurement for download counts. While these counts have often been used as a proxy measure in determining journal and article value for libraries and publishers, they miss an important post-download secondary usage factor – namely, that of sharing. Likewise, altmetrics, while accounting for the impact of social media, misses some aspects of sharing as distribution often occurs via email. This creates difficulty in quantifying an exact measure of use. One aim of the Beyond Downloads project was to develop a calculator for measuring total digital usage – including sharing. Through an examination of a range of sharing systems, we identified the most commonly used platforms for sharing scholarly articles, while an international survey provided data on access, download, saving, and sharing behavior. Survey results indicated that a range of sharing patterns can be estimated, but post-download usage o...
Background With data becoming a centerpiece of modern scientific discovery, data sharing by scien... more Background With data becoming a centerpiece of modern scientific discovery, data sharing by scientists is now a crucial element of scientific progress. This article aims to provide an in-depth examination of the practices and perceptions of data management, including data storage, data sharing, and data use and reuse by scientists around the world. Methods The Usability and Assessment Working Group of DataONE, an NSF-funded environmental cyberinfrastructure project, distributed a survey to a multinational and multidisciplinary sample of scientific researchers in a two-waves approach in 2017-2018. We focused our analysis on examining the differences across age groups, sub-disciplines of science, and sectors of employment. Findings Most respondents displayed what we describe as high and mediocre risk data practices by storing their data on their personal computer, departmental servers or USB drives. Respondents appeared to be satisfied with short-term storage solutions; however, only half of them are satisfied with available mechanisms for storing data beyond the life of the process. Data sharing and data reuse were viewed positively: over 85% of respondents admitted they would be willing to share their data with others and said they would use data collected by others if it could be easily accessed. A vast majority of respondents felt that the lack of access to data generated by other researchers or institutions was a major impediment to progress in science at large, yet only about a half thought that it restricted their own ability to
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among acade... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of reading in scholarly work among academics in Finland. This study analyzes readings from a variety of publication types including books, conference proceedings, research reports, magazines, newspapers, blogs, non-fiction and fiction. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was developed and distributed in Finland in 2016–2017 (n=528). Participants were asked their finding and use of scholarly information resources of all types. Findings Scholars read from a variety of publications. Different types of publications are read and used differently. Reading also varies between disciplines, ranks, work responsibilities and type of research performed. Research limitations/implications The study was a nationwide study of researchers in Finland; therefore, all findings are within the context of researchers in a single country. All results are self-reported; therefore, the authors assume but cannot be sure that respondents accurat...
Results of an online survey distributed to faculty, PhD students, and researchers throughout Finl... more Results of an online survey distributed to faculty, PhD students, and researchers throughout Finland in 2016 show that library resources, journal articles, and books are important parts of scholars’ research and work life. The survey was disseminated through FinELib to heads of libraries, who were then asked to distribute it to their academic staff, researchers, and PhD students. The purpose of this study was to examine the value of readings obtained from library collections. To help answer this question, participants were asked about the amount and value of their reading and where they obtained readings, which allowed comparison of how the value of the library collection differs from other sources. The study found that researchers use many ways to identify and obtain articles, and the library collection is identified as one important source. Scholars use the library’s collection mostly to obtain articles for research and those articles help to inspire new ideas. Overall, this study...
Nationwide surveys of researchers in Finland in 2007 and 2016 distributed with the assistance of ... more Nationwide surveys of researchers in Finland in 2007 and 2016 distributed with the assistance of FinELib, the Finnish national consortium, show that researchers use a growing range of sources to find and access scholarly articles and that some reading patterns are changing. The percentage of articles found by searching and browsing are decreasing, while researchers are using more social ways to locate articles. Research social networking sites are rated as important to their work. They read more on-screen, although still print some material out for final reading. Reading patterns for books are different, as researchers still rely more on printed books than e-books, in spite of an increase in e-book collections through their libraries. This study shows a continuous process of incremental change, enabled by changes in scholarly publishing, social networking, and library collection decisions. More changes can be expected, as researchers adopt systems and patterns that fit with their wo...
ABSTRACT The ways in which engineers seek, read, and use information resources varies depending o... more ABSTRACT The ways in which engineers seek, read, and use information resources varies depending on their workplace. This study seeks to provide an understanding of how engineers in academia and engineers in other workplaces seek and use information resources and how those differ. For example, the researchers found that engineers in academia consider journal articles essential to their work, while engineers in other workplaces value standards over journal articles. By understanding that the workplace effects engineers’ information seeking needs, librarians can better meet the needs of engineers in a variety of workplace settings.
While journal articles are still considered the most important sources of scholarly reading, libr... more While journal articles are still considered the most important sources of scholarly reading, libraries may no longer have a monopoly on providing discovery and access. Many other sources of scholarly information are available to readers. This international study examines how researchers discover, read, and use scholarly literature for their work. Respondents in 2018 report an average of almost 20 article readings a month and there are still significant differences found in the reading and use of scholarly literature by discipline and geographical location, consistent with the earlier studies. Researchers show they are willing to change or adopt new strategies to discover and obtain articles.
The viability of gold open access publishing models into the future will depend, in part, on the ... more The viability of gold open access publishing models into the future will depend, in part, on the attitudes of authors toward open access (OA). In a survey of academics at four major research universities in North America, we examine academic authors' opinions and behaviors toward gold OA. The study allows us to see what academics know and perceive about open access models, their current behavior in regard to publishing in OA, and possible future behavior. In particular, we gauge current attitudes to examine the perceived likelihood of various outcomes in an all-open access publishing scenario. We also survey how much authors at these types of universities would be willing to pay for article processing charges (APCs) from different sources. Although the loudest voices may often be heard, in reality there is a wide range of attitudes and behaviors toward publishing. Understanding the range of perceptions, opinions, and behaviors among academics toward gold OA is important for academic librarians who must examine how OA serves their research communities, to prepare for an OA future, and to understand how OA impacts the library's role.
The use of social media in scholarly communication has grown in recent years, and consequently, s... more The use of social media in scholarly communication has grown in recent years, and consequently, scholars’ uses of social media has gained importance as a research topic.The aim of this article is to shed light on the role of social media in scholars’ work. The research presents findings from a survey (N=528) conducted in Finland in late 2016. There exists no prior research on the role and uses social media among Finnish scholars. This research specifically focuses on the perceived role of social media in information seeking and sharing. We also study the differences between disciplines, age groups, and positions. Results show that scholars do not perceive social media as being central for their or information seeking and sharing, and that social media services are not replacing traditional publishing forums. Scholars do appreciate the social media services intended and developed for academic use, and find them as having value for their work than general social media services. Howeve...
Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past dec... more Open data policies have been introduced by governments, funders, and publishers over the past decade. Previous research showed a growing recognition by scientists of the benefits of data-sharing and reuse, but actual practices lag and are not always compliant with new regulations. The goal of this study is to investigate motives, attitudes, and data practices of the community of Earth and planetary geophysicists, a discipline believed to have accepting attitudes toward data sharing and reuse. A better understanding of the attitudes and current data-sharing practices of this scientific community could enable funders, publishers, data managers, and librarians to design systems and services that help scientists understand and adhere to mandates and to create practices, tools, and services that are scientist-focused. An online survey was distributed to the members of the American Geophysical Union, producing 1,372 responses from 116 countries. The attitudes of researchers to data sharing and reuse were generally positive, but in practice, scientists had concerns about sharing their own research data. These concerns include the possibility of potential data misuse and the need for assurance of proper citation and acknowledgement. Training and assistance in good data management practices are lacking in many scientific fields and might help to alleviate these doubts.
The sharing of scholarly articles is an intrinsic and often ignored facet of the value and missio... more The sharing of scholarly articles is an intrinsic and often ignored facet of the value and mission of scholarship. It is so entwined in the daily work life of scholars that it has almost become second nature, an integral part of the research process itself. This article addresses this often overlooked area of research in usage studies. In an international survey of 1,000 published scholars, the Beyond Downloads project examined their sharing behaviours in order to gain a more contextualized and accurate picture of their usage beyond download patterns and citation counts. Scholars share published articles with others as a mode of content discovery and dissemination, particularly if they work in groups, and most expect to increase their sharing in the future. While their methods of sharing articles may change, and their reasons for sharing may vary from self-promotion to the more altruistic motives of scientific progress, they desire to share the final published versions of articles with their colleagues.
Where Do We Go From Here? Charleston Conference Proceedings 2015, 2016
Traditional citation and download metrics have long been the standard by which we measure the use... more Traditional citation and download metrics have long been the standard by which we measure the use and value of scholarly articles. However, these methods neglect the usage and real-world impact of newer technologies to access, store, and share downloaded scholarly articles. This session's speakers will share the results of interviews, focus groups, and an international survey with 1,000 scholars to investigate the ways in which they now access, store, share, and use downloaded scholarly articles. By identifying and measuring what traditional metrics fail to examine, the Beyond Downloads project attempts to capture a more complete picture of the use and value of scholarly articles, which is critical for librarians, publishers, and vendors to understand in developing scholarly tools and services. Complete usage can no longer be measured by traditional means alone. The speakers will discuss the findings of their research and the implications for metrics that take into account scholars' changing access, reading, and sharing behaviors.
In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in ... more In this article we examine what motivations influence academic authors in selecting a journal in which to publish. A survey was sent to approximately 15,000 faculty, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers at four large North American research universities with a response rate of 14.4% (n = 2021). Respondents were asked to rate how eight different journal attributes and five different audiences influence their choice of publication output. Within the sample, the most highly rated attributes are quality and reputation of journal and fit with the scope of the journal; open access is the least important attribute. Researchers at other research-intensive institutions are considered the most important audience, while the general public is the least important. There are significant differences across subject disciplines and position types. Our findings have implications for understanding the adoption of open access publishing models.
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Papers by Lisa Christian