101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication

January 12, 2016 • 2 min read

The 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication research project is collecting data through a survey until February 10 2016. What exactly is this project about and why should you take the time to fill out the survey to help provide data?

Since last May Bianca Kramer and Jeroen Bosman of Utrecht University Library have been collecting data for their 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication research project. The survey they have created to collect this information will remain open until February 10. What exactly is the 101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication research project and why should you take the time to fill out the survey to help provide data? Those are the questions I aim to answer today.

What is it?

101 Innovations in Scholarly Communication is both a research project and a resource database. Started in the spring of 2015 the project aims to chart "the changing scholarly landscape" by looking at the tools available and the way that researchers are adopting and using them. Since May 2015 Kramer and Bosman have been running a survey aimed at researchers and those in research support (librarians, publishers, and funders) asking them to detail what tools and services they are currently using and how.

Why is it of interest?

Kramer and Bosman's research creates a better understanding of how digital tools are being used in the research process and the way researchers organise their work flows. It could uncover lacks in the market and create a more efficient process of scholarly communication by showing these lacks and hopefully inspiring them to be filled. The trends they've uncovered also show the concerning ease with which we might get locked into proprietary workflows, where all of the products and service we use are united into a virtual suite owned by a single company like Elsevier or Springer. The data gathered by Kramer and Bosman will allow for a better strategic approach to the selection and use of digital tools in your research.

What value could it have for you?

Apart from being a great resource to discover new tools to use in your research, the various hypothetical workflows proposed on the site are a nice starting point to consider your own research process and workflow. Could you perhaps tweak the way you work to make it a little more efficient and have it run smoother? Are you getting locked into a 'virtual suite' from a single provider? Is this something you need to think about or is it not important to you?