Open Access Publishing–Policies, Requirements and Avoiding the Predators

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It’s no secret, the word is out:  Academic publishing has hit the open access high-water mark. To emphasize the importance of providing open access to research findings, a Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications has been established, which outlines a set of policy requirements for those applying for, and receiving Tri-Council funding. The policy requires grant applicants to include their plans for open access publishing and dissemination, and data management. The Tri-Agency policy also requires grant holders to make their research findings accessible to all via open access journals and repositories once that research is funded. It’s a subject worth taking a closer look at, as the world of academic research and funding agencies are most certainly adopting open access plans and processes at a rapid pace. These developments have prompted researchers and authors to consider where and how to make their publications openly accessible. Reputable and distinguished open access journals are out there, but at the same time, there are tons more that appear to be legitimate journals, but upon closer inspection they aren’t worth your time or your money. The journals (open access or print) that fall in the latter category are often billed as predatory journals or vanity publishers. Their main intent is to publish as many articles and journals as they possibly can, and take the money and run. Often, the editorial boards are suspect and many don’t incorporate a true peer-review process, which can lead to all sorts of problems for the author down the road, including how these publications will look to the eyes of a future grant review panel.

One way to avoid the predatory publisher is to begin by conducting your own investigation and evaluation. Below you will find some resources compiled by Western Libraries that will help you make an informed decision on where to find the most reputable open access publisher.

The following questions can be used as guidelines when you are evaluating open access journals.

Publisher level
Is the publisher a member of Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA)?OASPA consists of a group of open access publishers, which are recognized for promoting and advocating open access publishing. Please see the list of OASPA members here. Newer publishers are not listed in OASPA, so it will be more appropriate to evaluate them based on their reputation in the related academic community.

Is the publisher a questionable open access publisher? Jeffrey Beall, an academic librarian at the University of Colorado Denver has compiled a list of predatory scholarly open access publishers in his blog. See his criteria for determining predatory open access publisher (2ndedition) here.

What is the mandate of the publisher of the journal? Is it for-profit or not-for-profit? The mandate of the publisher often can be found on their website. Not-for-profit publishers may have deeper commitment to open access, as they focus on scholarship and the dissemination of information rather than profit.

Journal level

Is the journal listed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)? DOAJ has an established quality control process to ensure the quality of the journals being included. For the selection criteria, please refer to their webpage.

Does the journal have an impact factor? How high is the impact factor? For some newer open access journals, impact factor may not be available.

Are the peer review guidelines posted on the journal’s website? Is it a blind peer review (or anonymous peer review) in which the reviewers’ and author’s identities are kept secret from each other? Or is it an open peer review in which the identities of the reviewers are transparent to the author? Blind peer review is traditionally considered as the trademark for scientific publishing.

How qualified is the editorial board of the journal? You can check the editorial board members’ profiles if they are available on the journal’s site, or you can do some research on their research backgrounds on the Internet.

Is the journal indexed in major databases or index services? Check Ulrichs Global Serials Directory and sometimes the journal’s website for that information.

How many issues have been published since the journal started? It is useful to review the current and past issues of the journal to get a quick snapshot of the publication history of the journal.

Article level

Check the authors of several articles published in several issues. Are these articles written by a single author or different authors? This can help to see the pool of article submittors of the journal.

Scan through some articles published in several issues. Does the content make sense? Are the articles well-written?

If the author is listed with some affiliation, check the affiliation’s background. If it is an institution or a university, is the affiliated institution or university a reputable one? Does it have a program in the field the article is written about? Check their website for this kind of information.

Check the total cites (number of times being cited by others) for some articles published in several issues. Are these articles being cited reasonably frequently by others in the field, given the time since they were published? There are different places where you can check the total cites for articles. Web of Science has total cites if the article is indexed there. If you need help finding this information, you can contact a subject librarian.

Additional resources:

CIHR Update on Project and Foundation Grants – Launch Dates and Deadlines Delayed

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July 22, 2016

As a follow-up to the outcomes of the July 13th Working Meeting to discuss CIHR’s peer review processes, a Peer Review Working Group has been established under the leadership of Dr. Paul Kubes as Executive Chair of the College of Reviewers. This group, which includes representatives from the Working Meeting, will advise CIHR on the implementation of peer review changes before the launch of the next Project Grant and Foundation Grant competitions. The membership for the working Group is currently being finalized and will be available shortly.

On July 5, CIHR announced that we intended to maintain the original application deadline dates for the Project Grant and Foundation Grant competitions. In order to give the Peer Review Working Group adequate time to meet, however, and given the changes to the peer review process outlined in the Outcomes Statement (available below), these dates will be changed. CIHR is currently examining the anticipated impacts on competition timelines.

We will share additional details concerning the revised launch dates and deadlines as soon as possible, but we can confirm at this time that registration will not open before September 1, 2016 for either competition.

Once again, CIHR would like to thank each participant of the Working Meeting sincerely for their creativity and solutions-oriented focus. The full Outcomes Statement from the July 13 Working Meeting to further strengthen peer review for investigator-initiated research is now available.

Seeding Food Innovation Grants 2016 – Weston

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George Weston Limited and Loblaw Companies Limited have launched their Seeding Food Innovation Grants 2016 to provide seed funding for trans-disciplinary research proposals that address food and health challenges that will impact Canadians and are of global concern.

Letter of Intent deadline – Monday, July 25, 2:00pm EST

To Download an Application, click here.

Funding & Eligibility

  • Funding of up to $150,000 per project is available for up to two years within the field of food innovation
  • Grants will only be awarded to institutions that are Canada Revenue Agency registered
  • Principal Applicants must be at the level of Postdoctoral Fellow or higher

Review Criteria

  • Scientific Rigour and Innovation: The project must be of a rigorously scientific nature, while advancing or challenging current practices. In addition, research ideas should have a clearly defined focus and objectives. The objectives of this opportunity are open to trans-disciplinary work that moves beyond the classical boundaries of nutrition and agriculture. For example, there may be an emphasis on economics, social science and/or behaviour.
  • Vision and scope: While the project is to be primarily executed in Canada and must be significant to Canadian food and health systems, successful projects will also be able to demonstrate relevance and impact in other regions, or at a global scale.
  • Likelihood of success: How well-suited are the team and environment for this work? How likely is the hypothesis to be proven? How likely will the project be at developing a novel, practical and scalable solution to a food-related problem?
  • Commitment to public engagement: Projects must not be stand-alone science but demonstrate that they will make a real impact on communities, industry, policy, education etc.

Additional Information

Please refer to the Funding Guidelines for more detailed information about this grant program.

For inquiries about this funding opportunity: Food.Innovation@Weston.ca or 416-965-5435.

 

New Open-Access Social Science Research Archive

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A team of sociologists and librarians in partnership with the Center for Open Science, will develop a new open-access archive for social science research. The archive, called SocArXiv, will let anyone upload, read and share academic papers, according to the announcement. The announcement comes less than two months after the publishing giant Elsevier said it had acquired the Social Science Research Network, a move many open-access advocates criticized.

Source: Inside Higher Ed (July 12, 2016)

For more information, visit SocArXiv.org. Follow SocArXiv on Twitter or Facebook.

CIHR Update – Foundation and Project Grants Delayed

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As of this writing, both the CIHR Foundation Grant and Project Grant opportunities will be delayed as CIHR is assessing peer review processes and other concerns raised by health researchers. The original launch for these investigator-initiated opportunities was scheduled for June 30th.

Please refer to the message from CIHR’s President, Dr. Alain Beaudet to Canada’s health research community: http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/49843.html 

Based on the most recent communications from CIHR, it is expected that the registration and application date for these programs will be as follows:

  • Foundation Grant Registration – August 9, 2016
  • Foundation Grant Application – September 13, 2016
  • Project Grant Registration – August 23, 2016
  • Project Grant Application – September 20, 2016

 

SSHRC Insight Grant – October 2016 Competition

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SSHRC Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities. Funding is available to both emerging and established scholars for long-term research initiatives of three to five years. Insight Grant research initiatives may be undertaken by an individual researcher or a team of researchers working in collaboration. The maximum value of an Insight Grant is $400,000 over three to five years. A minimum request of $7,000 is required in at least one of the years. A maximum of $100,000 is available in a single year.

October 2016 Competition information:

Value: $7,000 – $400,000
Duration: 3 to 5 years
Application deadlines:
Internal (Brescia Research Officer):  1 week before agency deadline (allow for 2 weeks before if you wish to receive feedback on your application, and/or if you require additional materials)
SSHRC deadline: October 17, 2016 (2:00 pm EST) *Note: if deadline falls on a weekend or a Canadian public holiday, the online application system will remain open until 2:00 pm (eastern time) on the next business day (October 17th).

Results announced: Spring 2017
Apply: Web CV, application and instructions. Insight Grant application forms will be made available online starting July 15, 2016.

For complete details on this opportunity see the SSHRC Insight Grant funding page.

Insight Grant proposals are expected to respond to the objectives put forward in the call for proposals for the Insight program. The objectives of the Insight program are to:

  • build knowledge and understanding from disciplinary, interdisciplinary and/or cross-sector perspectives through support for the best researchers;
  • support new approaches to research on complex and important topics, including those that transcend the capacity of any one scholar, institution or discipline;
  • provide a high-quality research training experience for students;
  • fund research expertise that relates to societal challenges and opportunities; and
  • mobilize research knowledge, to and from academic and non-academic audiences, with the potential to lead to intellectual, cultural, social and economic influence, benefit and impact.

SSHRC welcomes applications involving Aboriginal research, as well as those involving research-creation.

Refer also to the Eligibility section (subject matter, applicants etc.) on the Insight Grant opportunity page.

CIHR Project Grant – 2nd Live Pilot 2016

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CIHR Project Grant (Scheme) – 2nd Live Pilot (Fall 2016)

Note: See update from CIHR concerning application deadlines and other information on this opportunity

The Project Scheme is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advances health-related knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. It supports projects with a specific purpose and a defined endpoint. The best ideas may stem from new, incremental, innovative, and/or high-risk lines of inquiry or knowledge translation approaches. The Project Scheme is expected to:

  • Support a diverse portfolio of health-related research and knowledge translation projects at any stage, from discovery to application, including commercialization;
  • Promote relevant collaborations across disciplines, professions, and sectors;
  • Contribute to the creation and use of health-related knowledge.

Grant Amounts: Project grant values are commensurate with the requirements of the project proposed and will vary depending on the field, proposed approach and scope of activities. There is currently no cap on Project Scheme grant budgets. CIHR anticipates that Project grants will reflect the wide variety of projects presently funded in various Open grant programs with values ranging from approximately $50,000 to $750,000 per year.

Grant duration: Ranging from 1- 5 years.

Eligibility: CIHR will support a diverse range of projects in all areas of health-related research. Eligible applicants will include one or more independent researchers and/or knowledge users affiliated with an eligible institution. The Project Scheme is accessible to eligible applicants working independently or in teams.

The following timelines are subject to change:

Expected Registration Period: After Sept 1st, 2016 (expected)

CIHR Full Application Deadline: TBD

The Project Scheme Registration and the Full application are submitted on ResearchNet

Applicants will also need to register with CIHR to receive a PIN before submitting an application.

A CIHR Common CV is also required. Visit the CCV site to create your CIHR Common CV. The type of CIHR CV will be listed in the application instructions (when available).

More information on the 2016 Project Scheme 2nd Live Pilot  will be posted soon and those details will be added here when they become available.

 

 

 

 

Tri-Agency Statement of Principles: Digital Data Management

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Canada’s three federal research granting agencies—the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and SSHRC—have adopted the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management as an important step towards strengthening research data management in Canada and maintaining Canada’s research excellence.

The Statement is the result of targeted community engagement, and will serve as the basis for the continuing work of the agencies on the renewal of their data management policies. It recognizes that different stakeholders in Canada’s research system have different roles and responsibilities, and that all parts of the system must work together in order to ensure that Canada maintains international best practices in the preservation, accessibility and reuse of research data.

What is the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management?

The Statement outlines the agencies’ overarching expectations for research data management and the roles of researchers, research institutions, research communities, and research funders in supporting data management. It complements and builds upon existing agency policies, and will serve as a guide to assist the research community in preparing for, and contributing to the development of, Tri-Agency data management requirements. The Statement itself does not include mandatory requirements.

Because the research data management environment continues to evolve, the agencies will continue stakeholder engagement and review and revise the Statement as appropriate.

Learn more about the tri-agency data management initiative, and read the Tri-Agency Statement of Principles on Digital Data Management, at science.gc.ca.

CIHR Catalyst Grant – Analysis of Canadian Longitudinal Study in Aging (CLSA) Data

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Description

The Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) is a large, national, long-term study/platform that will follow approximately 50,000 men and women between the ages of 45 and 85 at study inclusion for at least 20 years. The CLSA collects information on the changing biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives. These factors can be studied in order to understand how, individually and in combination, they have an impact in both maintaining health and in the development of disease and disability as people age. The ultimate aim of the CLSA is to find ways to improve the health of Canadians by better understanding the aging process and the factors that shape the way we age.

The CLSA has now completed the first wave of data collection with the participation of over 50,000 Canadians, and the alpha-numeric data are now ready and available for use by all researchers from different disciplines.

This funding opportunity is to provide funding to support research in any area related to health using the available alpha numeric CLSA data. Linkages between CLSA and other data from any other data sets (e.g. environmental data) are accepted. We also encourage the use of CLSA data to answer a population health intervention question and/or incorporate health equity analyses into research projects. In addition, this funding opportunity aims to support research incorporating sex- and gender-based analysis (SGBA).

Objectives

The objective of this funding opportunity is to catalyze and support research efforts of Canadian researchers to use the available CLSA data (alpha numeric data only) in order to better understand how (individually and in combination) the biological, medical, psychological, social, lifestyle and economic aspects of people’s lives have an impact in both maintaining health and in the development of disease and disability as people age.

Relevant Research Areas

Funding will be provided for applications using CLSA alpha numeric data in any health-related area.

Funds Available

  • The maximum amount per grant is $70,000 for up to 1 year.
  • Of the total funds available ($1,205,000):
    • $140,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the mandate of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health’s (ICRH) and its research priority to “Enhance opportunities for clinical, population health and health services research through cohort linkage and data”.
    • $140,000 is available to fund applications relevant to the mandate of the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) which supports research to enhance active living, mobility and movement, and oral health; and addresses causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions related to bones, joints, muscles, connective, skin and teeth. IMHA will provide funding for applications that are determined to be relevant to the following strategic priorities: Chronic Pain and Fatigue, Inflammation and Tissue Repair, and Disability, Mobility and Health.
    • $15,000 is available as a top-up to the highest ranked fundable application in the province of Quebec from the Réseau québécois de recherche sur le vieillissement (RQRV) in the general area of aging within the themes of cognitive and mental health, mobility, continuum of health care and services.
    • $910,000 is available to fund remaining applications in in any health-related area in rank order as far as the remaining budget will allow.

Partner and Internal Collaborator Participation

CIHR is dedicated to identifying and developing collaborations with other funding organizations and stakeholders to enhance the availability of funding for this strategic initiative, and to create, where appropriate, opportunities for knowledge exchange and translation related to the scope of this particular initiative. Applicants are invited to visit the Partner and Internal Collaborators Description sections to find a list of partners, internal collaborators and their respective mandates and/or strategic interests. The specific research foci and requirements for each partner and internal collaborator are outlined in the “Objectives” section.

Important Dates

Registration Deadline August 16, 2016
Application Deadline August 30, 2016
Anticipated Notice of Decision March 31, 2017
Funding Start Date March 1, 2017
  • The application process for this funding opportunity is comprised of two steps: Registration and Application.

Submission Requirements

  • Your Application must be submitted using ResearchNet. Scan and upload the signed signature pages including the routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet prior to submitting your application.

For more detailed information on this opportunity, visit the funding opportunity page.

SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis Grant–June 2016 competition

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How are the knowledge systems, experiences and aspirations of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples essential to building a successful shared future for all Canadians?

June 2016 Competition

Value $25,000
Duration One year
Application deadline September 13, 2016
Results announced November 2016

Aboriginal research is a key element identified though SSHRC’s Imagining Canada’s Future initiative—in particular, “How are the knowledge systems, experiences and aspirations of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples essential to building a successful and shared future for all Canadians?” This future challenge area includes issues in areas such as:

  • self-determination;
  • historical and modern treaties;
  • Aboriginal values, oral histories, knowledge systems and connections to the land;
  • endangered languages and cultures; and
  • Aboriginal youth and employment.

The release of the final report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015 on the impacts of Indian Residential Schools identified more areas for urgent action to support reconciliation. These include, for example, child welfare, education, health, justice and corrections, Aboriginal rights, museums and archives, media, sports, business, and nearly every other aspect of Canadian life.

The report’s calls to action further highlight the critical role Canadian social science and humanities scholars can play in enabling access to knowledge in these and other areas; knowledge that is properly grounded in respect, diversity and reciprocity in the relationships between First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples, and academic communities.

These grants will foster a deeper understanding of the current and historical, cultural, social and economic experiences of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada. They will also  support pathways to a vibrant and shared future for all Canadians. The resulting syntheses will help to identify roles that the academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors may play in seizing future opportunities. This understanding and knowledge will help to develop robust policies, strategies, best practices and tools for a sustainable, equitable and prosperous future.

SSHRC invites all eligible applicants, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to consider addressing one or more of the questions listed within the themes of this call.

This funding opportunity has three objectives that applicants must address in their proposals:

State of Knowledge and Research Gaps:

  • critically assess the state of knowledge of the future challenge area theme under consideration from a variety of sources as appropriate;
  • identify knowledge gaps within the theme; and
  • identify the most promising policies and practices related to the theme.

Research Data:

  • assess the quality, accuracy and rigour of current work in the field; and
  • identify gaps in the quantitative and qualitative data available.

Knowledge Mobilization:

  • mobilize knowledge related to promising policies and practices within the academic, private, not-for-profit and public policy sectors, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal; and
  • facilitate dialogue between academic researchers, cross-sectoral stakeholders (including Aboriginal communities) and policy-makers in government.
  • facilitate the use of resulting findings by Aboriginal Peoples and other stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on reciprocity and benefits for communities.

Value and Duration

Knowledge Synthesis Grants are one–year grants worth up to $25,000. However, all synthesis reports must be completed by May 2017. A minimum of 15 grants will be awarded.

By applying for this funding opportunity, applicants consent, should they be awarded a Knowledge Synthesis Grant, to SSHRC sharing the resulting synthesis report with other interested organizations and individuals.

For more information on this opportunity, including how to apply, please visit the SSHRC Knowledge Synthesis June 2016 opportunity page.