From: "Scott-Lichter, Diane" <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wed, 4 Jan 2012 18:47:24 -0500 ‘Author: to be determined’- how scary is that? 2012 January issue of Learned Publishing now out From the Editor Pretty scary, I would say, if you’re someone who would like to believe in the essential integrity of scientific and scholarly research – but it’s what Sergio Sismondo discovered at the top of a completed research paper, one of the documents revealed as part of a US court case a while ago. Well, we’re all used to the idea of some professors insisting that their name goes on papers coming out of their department, but at least the research was done there. Not necessarily so in the cases outlined by Sergio – this is a completely different thing. He gives a fascinating account of the ‘ghost management’ of some medical research and the part played by ‘publication planning agencies’. You might know that some of this goes on, but unless you’re directly in the area, then like me you will be astonished. That’s just one of the items in the latest Learned Publishing which is out now –a nicely balanced issue, your editor reports. Always interested in the naughty (no, I don’t mean what you’re thinking) side of publishing, we also have a ‘primer’ all about online piracy of content, really indicating where and how it happens, and a bit on what can be done, from Ed MCoyd. If you’re wondering how best to include or exploit social networking for your publication, what better than a case study from someone who has done it – and we have one from Melinda Kenneway and Charlie Rapple. Always topical, we have something on data – well, data and text mining – how much of it goes on, what requests do publishers get for mining their data, and how do they respond – well, I tempted to say Eefke Smit and Maurits van der Graaf’s article on that will generate a lot of interest, if not static, on that (but you might need some high school physics to get the ‘joke’). We will always have, it seems, at least one article on some aspect of Open Access – re repositories this time, where Amy Brand gives an interesting case study of Harvard’s experience. Now when I think of OA and the surveys and case studies we’ve published I’m reminded of a quote from the science fiction writer Poul Anderson who said ‘ there is nothing so complicated that, when you look at it the right way, doesn’t become even more complicated’. Systems, whether green or gold, are getting very complicated –and of course, that also generates opportunities. And, of course, the editor, as usual, uses or abuses his freedom, or licence, to sound off about something, this time a little related to OA – with an editorial entitled ‘Should we forgive them if they know not what they do?’ Now what can that really be about? – it’s free to all to access, so no excuse not to check it out – unless you’ve read any of his previous editorials, of course... Two items about peer review – one from Krzysztof Janowicz and Pascal Hitzler on how they have a modified form of open peer review at the Semantic Web Journal, and one the results of an Australian survey by Yanping Lu on how researchers become peer reviewers – do you think they want (or should have) training? – you might just be surprised by the article’s findings. Last but not least we have at last a review article from Xu Jie and Matthias Wahls on what’s been going on in Chinese publishing since their upheavals – it can seem all a bit of a mad scramble to change every single publisher from a subsidised unworldly outfit to a hard-nosed commercial publisher intent only on profit (but not making it) – this gives a nice balanced overview as a context for any individual pieces describing the trials and tribulations of particular publishers. Then, really last, we have those incisive book reviews (also free to access). Alan Singleton Editor-in-Chief, Learned Publishing [log in to unmask] All articles are free to all ALPSP and SSP members and to journal subscribers; in addition, editorials, reviews and letters to the Editors, as well as any articles where the author has taken up the ‘ALPSP Author Choice’ OA option, are now free to all. If you would like to receive an email alert or RSS feed every time a new issue goes online, all you have to do is sign up at http://alpsp.publisher.ingentaconnect.com/content/alpsp/lp To obtain free access to the journal, ALPSP members should access it via the ALPSP website . If you do not have a username and password, please email [log in to unmask] To obtain free access to the journal, SSP members should access it via http://sspnet.org/Publications_and_Links/Learned_Publishing_-_member_acce/spage.aspx.