Harbingers 2
funded by The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Harbingers 2 is a continuation of a world-wide project begun in 2015 — Harbingers was a longitudinal study of 'digital natives', young researchers who had yet to achieve established or tenured positions. Harbingers II takes this work forward in association with University of Tennessee and with funding from The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Once again we will be studying the work lives, prospects and scholarly communication behaviour and attitude of today’s novice researchers. However, the new study — Harbingers-2 — will do so with the express purpose of discovering how the pandemic will have impacted on the cohort that constitutes a most vulnerable generation of researchers.
Led by David Nicholas the international research team includes: Anthony Watkinson, Eti Herman, Jie Xu, Abrizah Abdullah, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, and Marzena Świgoń.
Harbingers
Publishing Research Consortium 2015–2018
Are early career researchers the harbingers of change? Will digital natives who embarque on a career in research, carry the new information-seeking behaviour into the workplace with profound change to scholarly communication? Or will they, recognising their position as apprentices and reliant on guidance from mentors, be cautious and less adventurous than established colleagues? There is a complex of factors to consider here, a whole range of demographics and characteristics.
The Publishing Research Consortium has commissioned CIBER to carry out a world-wide, longitudinal study over three years of these 'digital natives' — researchers under 35 who have yet to achieve established or tenured positions.
The key question for all publishers is “on what basis do these researchers go about selecting the journal to which they submit?”. To answer that we will investigate the impact of open access publishing, social media and online networks on the process of reputation building. Does a change in the mechanisms of information seeking and use, citing, sharing, and collaborating presage a revaluation of the social capital of publishing and peer review?
Funded by The Publishing Research Consortium and led by David Nicholas the international research team includes: Anthony Watkinson, Eti Herman, Jie Xu, Abrizah Abdullah, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, and Marzena Świgoń.
Early Career Researchers: the harbingers of Change?
The research, funded by the Publishing Research Consortium conducted during the period October 2015 to May 2018 by a team of researchers from the UK, China, France,
Malaysia, Poland and Spain.
Year one: Present practice still geared towards high impact journals, but future trends emerging. —
Year two:
Year three:
Year four:
A final, quantitative stage of the project in 2019 reached a wider pool of ECRs with a multilingual online questionnaire targeted via networks of researchers, academic publishers, and key ECR platforms. Russia was added to the original 7 countries. The survey garnered 1600 responses of which 1051 were from the target countries.
- Nicholas, David; Jamali, Hamid R.; Herman, Eti; Xu, Jie; Boukacem-Zeghmouri, Chérifa; Watkinson, Anthony; Rodríguez-Bravo, Blanca; Abrizah, Abdullah; Świgoń, Marzena; Polezhaeva, Tatiana (2020). “How is open access publishing going down with early career researchers? an international, multi-disciplinary study”.
Profesional de la información, v. 29, n. 6, e290614. DOI: 10.3145/epi.2020.nov.14
- Nicholas, D., Jamali, H.R., Herman, E., Watkinson, A., Abrizah, A., Rodríguez‐Bravo, B., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Xu, J., Świgoń, M. & Polezhaeva, T. (2020). A global questionnaire survey of the scholarly communication attitudes and behaviours of early career researchers. Learned Publishing. Early view. DOI: 10.1002/leap.1286
- Abrizah A, Shah N, Nicholas D. Malaysian early career
researchers on the ethics of scholarly publishing. Malaysian Journal of
Library & Information Science, 24(1) 2019
- Nichola D, Boukacem-Zeghmouri C, Watkinson A, Rodriguez-
Bravo B, Świgoń M, Xu J, Herman E. Early-career
researchers plant one foot in the future. Research Europe, 2 August
2018, 7-8
- Nicholas D, Boukacem-Zeghmouri C, Rodríguez-Bravo B,
Watkinson A, Świgoń M, Xu J, Abrizah A, Herman E. Early
career researchers: observing how the new wave of researchers is
changing the scholarly communications market. Revue Française des
Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication (RFSIC) December 2018
- Nicholas D, Boukacem-Zeghmouri C, Xu J, Herman E, Abdullah
A, Rodríguez-Bravo B, Świgoń M, Clark DJ. Sci-Hub: the new
and ultimate disruptor? View from the front. Learned Publishing, 31(4) 2018
- Nicholas D, Herman E, Xu J, Boukacem‐Zeghmouri C, Abrizah A,
Watkinson A, Świgoń M, Rodríguez‐Bravo B. Early Career
Researchers' Quest for Reputation in the Digital Age. Journal of
Scholarly Publishing, 49(4), pp. 375–396 2018
- Nicholas D, Watkinson A, Abrizah A, Boukacem‐Zeghmouri C, Xu
J, Rodríguez‐Bravo B, Świgoń M, Herman E. What publishers
can take away from the latest early career researcher research.
Learned Publishing, 31: 249-253. [doi:10.1002/leap.1165] 2018
- Nicholas D, Watkinson A, Boukacem-Zeghmouri C, Rodriguez-
Bravo B, Xu J, Herman E, Świgoń M, Abrizah A, Clark DJ.
Early-career researchers herald change Nature Index, 26th July 2018
- Rodríguez-Bravo B. Las nuevas generaciones de
investigadoras españolas como agentes del cambio en la comunicación
científica". In: Mujeres investigadoras e investigación sobre mujeres en
las universidades ibéricas. Córdoba: Universidad de Córdoba
- Rodríguez-Bravo B, Nicholas D. Reputación y comunicación
científica. El caso de los investigadores españoles noveles. El
Profesional de la Información, (in peer review 2018)
- Xu, J, Nicholas D, Watkinson A, Su J. Chinese Early-
Career Researchers' Scholarly Communication Attitudes and
Behaviours: Changes Observed in Year Two of a Longitudinal Study.
Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 49(3)., [DOI:10.3138/jsp.49.3.03]
(2018)
- David Nicholas, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Anthony Watkinson, Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, Eti Herman, Jie Xu, Abdullah Abrizah, Marzena Świgoń Early career researchers and their publishing and authorship practices. Learnèd Publishing 2017
- David Nicholas, Anthony Watkinson, Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Jie Xu, Abdullah Abrizah, Marzena Świgoń, Eti Herman. Early career researchers: Scholarly behaviour and the prospect of change. Learnèd Publishing 2017
- Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, David Nicholas. La vie en Gold: enjeux et risques pour les chercheurs I2D — Information, données & documents — 2017, n°1 10–11
- Nicholas, D. (2017). A system that prioritises publications means early career researchers’ scholarly attitudes and behaviours remain conservative LSE Impact Blog. 2017-05-09
- David Nicholas, Jie Xu, Chérifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, Anthony Watkinson, A Abrizah, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Eti Herman, Marzena Świgoń Where and how early career researchers find scholarly information Learnèd Publishing 30(1), 19–29. 2017
- Nicholas, D., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Watkinson, A., Rodriguez-Bravo, B., Świgoń, M., Xu, J., Herman, E. (2018). Early-career researchers plant one foot in the future. Research Europe, 2 August 2018, 7-8
- Nicholas, D., Herman, E., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Rodríguez‐Bravo, B., Watkinson, A., Xu, J., Abrizah, A., Herman, E., Świgoń, M. (2017). ResearchGate was a disruptor...now it's becoming a mainstay. Research Fortnight, 2017, 20.
- Nicholas, D., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Rodríguez-Bravo, B., Watkinson, A. Świgon, M., Xu, J., Abrizah, A., Herman, E. (2018) Early career researchers: observing how the new wave of researchers is changing the scholarly communications market. Revue Française des Sciences de l’Information et de la Communication (RFSIC)
- Nicholas, D., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Xu, J., Herman, E., Abdullah, A., Rodríguez Bravo, B., Świgoń, M., Clark, D. (2018). Sci-Hub: the new and ultimate disruptor? View from the front. Learned Publishing, 31(4).
- Nicholas, D., Herman, E., Xu, J., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Abrizah, A., Watkinson, A., Świgoń, M., Rodríguez‐Bravo, B. Early Career Researchers' Quest for Reputation in the Digital Age. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 49(4), pp. 375–396
- Nicholas, D., Rodríguez‐Bravo, B., Watkinson, A., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Herman, E., Xu, J., Abdullah, A., Świgon, M. (2017). Early career researchers and their publishing and authorship practices. Learned Publishing, 30(3), 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1102
- Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Rodriguez Bravo, B., Xu, J., Abrizah, A., Swigon, M., Herman, E. (2017). Early career researchers: Scholarly behaviour and the prospect of change. Learned Publishing, 30(2), 157–166. https://doi.org/10.1002/leap.1098
- Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Abrizah, A., Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, C., Xu, J. , Rodríguez‐Bravo, B. , Świgoń, M. and Herman, E. (2018), What publishers can take away from the latest early career researcher research. Learned Publishing, 31: 249-253. doi:10.1002/leap.1165
- Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Rodriguez-Bravo, B., Xu, J. Herman, E., Świgoń, M., Abrizah, A., D.J Clark (2018). Early-career researchers herald change. Nature Index, 26th July. https://www.natureindex.com/news-blog/early-career-researchers-herald-change
- Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Herman, E., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Rodríguez-Bravo, B., Xu, J., Abdullah, A., Swigon, M. (2016). Publish or perish thwarts young researchers’ urge to innovate. Research Europe 6/7
- Rodríguez-Bravo, B., Nicholas, D., Herman, E., Boukacem-Zeghmouri, C., Watkinson, A., Xu, J., Abdullah, A., Świgoń, M. (2017) Peer review: the experience and views of early career researchers. Learned Publishing, 30(4)., DOI:10.1002/leap.1111
- Rodríguez-Bravo, B. (2018) Las nuevas generaciones de investigadoras españolas como agentes del cambio en la comunicación científica". In: Mujeres investigadoras e investigación sobre mujeres en las universidades ibéricas. Córdoba: Universidad de Córdoba.
- Świgoń, M., Nicholas, D. (2017) Postawy i zachowania młodych naukowców-doniesienie z pierwszego etapu badań międzynarodowych, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem polskich respondentów. ZIN, 55(2), 156–170
- Marzena Świgoń Zwiastuny zmian
w komunikacji naukowej The 4th International Scientific Conference "Information Science in the Age of Change. Innovative Information Services." Warsaw, 15-16 May 2017
- Xu, J., Nicholas, D., Watkinson, A., Su, J. (2018). Chinese Early-Career Researchers' Scholarly Communication Attitudes and Behaviours: Changes Observed in Year Two of a Longitudinal Study. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 49(3)., DOI:10.3138/jsp.49.3.03
- Abrizah, A., Shah, N.A.K., & Nicholas, D. (forthcoming). Malaysian early career
researchers on the ethics of scholarly publishing. Malaysian Journal of Library &
Information Science, 24(1).
Trust
funded by The Sloan Foundation, 2012–2013
Trust and authority in scholarly communications in the light of the digital transition: a 15 month study of research academics in the USA and UK, employing log analysis, focus groups, critical incident interviews, and questionnaires.
Publications
- David Nicholas, Jie Xu, Lifang Xu, Jing Su, Anthony Watkinson. Chinese researchers, scholarly communication behaviour and trust. Learned Publishing 2016 [wileyonlinelibrary.com doi: 10.1002/leap.1003
- Hamid R. Jamali, David Nicholas, Anthony Watkinson, Eti Herman, Carol Tenopir, Kenneth Levine, Suzie Allard, Lisa Christian, Rachel Volentine, Reid Boehm, Frances Nichols.
How scholars implement trust in their reading, citing and publishing activities: Geographical differences. Library & Information Science Research 36 (2014) 192–202
- David Nicholas, David Clark, Hamid R. Jamali, Anthony Watkinson. Log Usage Analysis: What it Discloses about Use, Information Seeking and Trustworthiness. International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology Vol.4, No.1, 23-37 (June, 2014)
- David Nicholas, Hamid R. Jamali, Anthony Watkinson, Eti Herman, Carol Tenopir, Rachel Volentine, Suzie Allard, Kenneth Levine. Do Younger Researchers Assess Trustworthiness Differently when Deciding what to Read and Cite and where to Publish? International Journal of Knowledge Content Development & Technology Vol.5, No.2, 45-63 (December, 2015)
- David Nicholas, Anthony Watkinson, Hamid R. Jamali, Eti Herman, Carol Tenopir, Rachel Volentine, Suzie Allard, Kenneth Levine. 'Peer review: still king in the digital age'. Learned Publishing vol 28 nr 1 January 2015
- Nicholas D, Watkinson A, Volentine A, Allard S, Levine K, Tenopir C, Herman E. Trust and authority in scholarly communications in the light of the digital transition: setting the scene for a major study. Learned Publishing, 27 (2) April 2014.
- Carol Tenopir, Kenneth Levine, Suzie Allard, Lisa Christian, Rachel Volentine, Reid Boehm, Frances Nichols, David Nicholas, Hamid R. Jamali, Eti Herman and Anthony Watkinson. "Trustworthiness and authority of scholarly information in a digital age: results of an international questionnaire". Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology. (2015) doi: 10.1002/asi.23598
- Thornley C, Watkinson A, Nicholas D, Volentine R, Jamali H R, Herman E, Allard S, Levine K J, Tenopir C. The role of trust and authority in the citation behaviour of researchers. Information Research, 20(3), paper 677. September 2015
- Anthony Watkinson, David Nicholas, Clare Thornley, Eti Herman, Hamid R. Jamali, Rachel Volentine, Suzie Allard, Kenneth Levine, Carol Tenopir. Changes in the digital scholarly environment and issues of trust: An exploratory, qualitative analysis, Information Processing and Management (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.ipm.2015.10.002
- David Nicholas, Eti Herman, Hamid Jamali, Blanca Rodríguez-Bravo, Cherifa Boukacem-Zeghmouri, Tom Dobrowolski, Stephanie Pouchot
New ways of building, showcasing, and measuring scholarly reputation
Learned Publishing, 28:169–183. July 2015 [doi:10.1087/20150303]
- David Nicholas Using, Citing and Publishing Scholarly Content in the Digital Age: Case Study of Humanities Researchers. ZIN [Zagadnienia Informacji Naukowej. Studia Informacyjne] vol. 53 Nr. 1(105). 2015
- Abrizah Abdullah , Fathiah Badawi, Niusha Zoohorian-Fooladi, David Nicholas, Hamid R. Jamali, Norliya Ahmad Kassim "Trust and authority in the periphery of world scholarly communication: A Malaysian focus group study" The Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science (MJLIS) Vol 20, No 2, 2015.
- Abrizah A, Fathiah Badawi, Niusha Zoohorian-Fooladi, David Nicholas, Hamid R Jamali, Norliya A K.
What scholarly channels and resources do authors trust to read, cite and publish in? A Malaysian study
in A.Noorhidawati, et-al.(Eds.) ICOLIS-2014, Kuala-Lumpur DLIS, FCSIT, 2014: pp 245–262
- David Nicholas.
The Google generation, the mobile phone and the 'library' of the future: Implications for society, governments and libraries
in A.Noorhidawati, et-al.(Eds.) ICOLIS-2014, Kuala-Lumpur DLIS, FCSIT, 2014: pp 1–8
- Xu Jie, Xu Lifang, Fang Qing, Su Jing, Zhang Qi, Guo Nan, Shao Ping, Yin Mengling, Cao Meng, Jiang Xueyao, Wang Hui and Gong Chuqi. Trust and Authority in Scholarly Communications in The Light of the Digital Transition China Final Report. The Chinese part of the CIBER joint research project funded and supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)
Reputation Mechanisms
European Commission 2014
Analysis of emerging reputation mechanisms for scholars is a six-month study for The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) in Seville, one of the European Commission's seven research institutes.
Traditionally, the scientific reputation of researchers is closely linked to successful publication in high-impact journals and the citations of those publications. Online, bibliometric indicators have developed as a mechanism for reputation. With new forms of working amid disruptive technologies do such conventional indicators reflect reputation and impact in the field of science?
The aim of this exploratory study is to outline future directions for research and practices in order to refine Digital Science 2.0 related policies and actions in Europe.
Publications
-
Scholarly activities and reputation in the digital age A conceptual framework for the tasks and activities of present-day scholarly undertakings and their reputational components.
- David Nicholas, Eti Herman, Hamid R. Jamali Emerging reputation mechanisms for scholars European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (Report EUR 27174 EN) 2015 [doi:10.2791/891948]
- Hamid R Jamali, David Nicholas, Eti Herman. Scholarly reputation in the digital age and the role of emerging platforms and mechanisms. Research Evaluation 2015.
doi: 10.1093/reseval/rvv032
- CIBER Working Paper Nr.1-2015 Reputation mechanisms and platforms: views of an expert panel on their future use, role, and influence a reflection on outcomes of "Drivers for Science 2.0", a workshop on new-reputation and funding mechanisms, held in Seville under auspices of JRC-IPTS, 29–30 October 2014.