The real cost of academic publishing - Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:00:00 GMT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/aug/31/real-cost-academic-publishing

George Monbiot (The knowledge monopoly racketeers make Murdoch look like a socialist, 30 August) makes some very valid points about the financial exploitation of publicly funded science by academic publishers. However, he only described part of the problem.



For most articles in high-impact scientific journals the publisher also charges the scientists (or their funders or university) up to several hundred pounds per page published, with additional charges for the inclusion of images such as data from microscopic investigation of cells. Some publishers also charge a non-refundable handling charge for considering the article, even if they reject it. This is in spite of the fact that the time-consuming work of peer review is done by scientific experts on an unpaid and voluntary basis.



In addition, the development of publication software has allowed the publishers to transfer much of the work of preparing a paper for publication to the scientist, so valuable research time – funded out of public sources or by medical charities – is now diverted to learning to use software to do work that was previously undertaken by employees of the publisher.



Jenny Clemens



Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex





• George Monbiot's analysis is as perceptive as ever, but the academic community has begun to respond. While Monbiot is formally correct in stating that "academic papers are published in only one place", in fact a growing number of funding agencies and universities require researchers to deposit copies of their published papers in institutional or subject repositories and many more academics choose to deposit their publications voluntarily.



Using a web search tool such as Google Scholar quickly shows that anyone can gain access to the vast majority of scientific literature. The OpenDOAR project based at Nottingham University lists more than 2,000 repositories, and the number is growing. Thanks to the so-called open access movement, scholars are reclaiming control of their research.



Prof Derek Law



University of Strathclyde





• If subscriptions to academic journals in Britain consume 65% of library budgets, and three giant commercial publishers from Europe and the US control 42% of scientific journals, imagine what this means for libraries and institutions in developing countries. Not only can it be prohibitively expensive to gain access to the results of research but such practices also accentuate a "knowledge divide" between the global north and south.



Addressing such a divide was one of the reasons for the Geneva-based Globethics.net Foundation setting up a digital library on ethics, which has more than 750,000 full-text articles and books available free of charge. Such initiatives offer a modest but determined attempt to redress the balance in global knowledge transfer. Fair publishing models by commercial publishers and open access efforts are needed to promote benefit sharing in knowledge production between north and south.



Prof Christoph Stueckelberger



Dr Stephen Brown



Globethics.net





• I am a member of the group Sociologists Outside Academia. Our major problem is access to materials. The advent of the internet has worsened the situation because many libraries subscribe to online versions of journals only. So whereas in the past a vacation ticket issued by a sympathetic librarian might enable you to catch up on your reading, it now does not because the relevant journals are not on the shelves, and nobody will give a visitor an electronic log-in. Anyone who is not a member of a university is excluded from academic debate.



Dr Patricia de Wolfe



London





• The whole journal rating system has just become a function of publishers being able to charge more money for their journals, as academic administrators (more so than researchers) play a silly game about research ratings, rather than concentrate on good research. The journal rating system, too, needs debunking.



Professor Sam McKinstry



Glasgow



◦Peer review and scientific publishing

◦Higher education

◦Research funding

◦Research

◦Academic experts

◦United States





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My dilemma in academia and in general in the world outside:

to protect your ideas and write in isolation until they take propper form
or
take the risk to share and feed them with other mates contributions

I still do not have an answer but I suspect that it depends on who are you choosing to share...

More about results of the experiences in later post.

Finally, do not feel too lonely. To write a dissertation is so difficult that it may arrives to the "extreme" of Psychoterapy.

My favorite phrase:

"Procastination is part of the process. Your psyque needs to pause".

More here:
http://emmathereselewis.com/Papers/Writing%20MA%20dissertation.pdf

Un estudiante de artes marciales fue hasta su profesor y le dijo seriamente, “Soy un devoto al estudiar su sistema marcial. ¿Cuánto tiempo me tomará dominarlo”. La respuesta del profesor fue improvisada, “Diez años”.

Impacientemente, el estudiante replicó, “Pero quiero dominarlo mucho antes que eso. Trabajaré muy duro. Practicaré a diario, diez o más horas al día si es necesario. ¿Cuánto tiempo tomaría entonces?” El profesor pensó por un momento, “veinte años”.

PHD Route (According to St Andrews University)



A typical PhD might progress as follows: 

Year One. Time is spent on in depth research into your chosen field of study. By the end of the year you will have completed at least one chapter of your thesis, participated in the annual postgraduate conference and study day, drafted a full plan for your thesis (chapter breakdown) and worked out your timetable for completion. This is a good year in which to hone language skills, and perhaps to take extended research trips overseas (including in the past, trips by former students to Hong Kong, Russia, Turkey, South Korea, etc). 
 
Year Two. Written at least two or three further chapters. Gained experience as a seminar tutor throughout the year. Participated in, and perhaps organised, the annual postgraduate conference and study days. Written book reviews. Delivered conference papers at other institutions, either nationally or internationally.

Year Three. Completed your first full draft of the thesis. Consolidated your teaching experience as a seminar tutor, perhaps also delivering some lectures. Participated in, and perhaps organised, the annual postgraduate conference and study days. Worked up a draft of a journal article for submission to a reputable refereed journal. Delivered conference papers at other institutions.

Year Four (writing up year). Completed and submitted final draft of thesis. Delivered full length, one hour paper on your research as part of the Centre for Film Studies Seminar Series. Continued work on publications, conferences and even applications for funding, as you enter the job market. 

I'm completing a proposal pannel for a conference and I've just found some information about speakers and session organizers that you can find useful. Specially because I have heard many times the question: how many pages do I have to write if I'm going to speak 15 minutes? The answer according with MLA rules is  7 and a half.

FROM: guideline for speakers (MLA)

BASIC:Guidelines for Speakers and Session Organizers

The MLA Program Committee approved the following guidelines for speakers and session organizers at the MLA convention.

1. Assume that a page of double-spaced, typed material, in a standard elite-sized font, takes about two minutes to read, without any extemporaneous comments added during the reading. This means that it takes fifteen minutes to read seven and one-half pages and twenty minutes to read ten pages.
2. A presenter who is likely to add extemporaneous comments during the reading should start with a paper that is shorter than the lengths noted above.
3. A presenter who speaks extemporaneously (with or without notes) should rehearse the presentation to ensure that it will fit in the allotted time.
4. Session organizers should be modest in their plans for including speakers and keep in mind that MLA policy requires fifteen minutes of each session to be reserved for discussion. A seventy-five-minute session therefore allows one hour for presentations and can accommodate three speakers, along with the presider's introductions. A respondent should count as one of the three speakers. More presenters or respondents can participate only if the length of the individual presentations is reduced.

AUTHOR: Amittai F. Aviram

Sorry, I wasn't here cause I was trying to overcome my own writer's block. I've found this link that could be useful...


10 Tips Help You Overcome Writer's Block

You've got your workspace set up and your 12 minutes (or longer!) scheduled to work on your thesis, and you’re FINALLY feeling motivated to write.  But when you actually sit down and stretch your hands to the keyboard … nothing.  Not a word is coming to you; your mind is as blank as the screen in front of you.

If you suffer from writer’s block, don’t dismay.  It happens to the best of students … and the best of writers.  Moreover, this type of phenomenon isn’t limited to just beginning the process.  Many students face the same type of frightening “beginning” each time they sit down to write!

Never fear; help is on the way!  Whatever your reason for having writer’s block, there are a number of strategies that can help you overcome this frustrating phenomenon.  Whenever you’re “stuck,” try using one or more of these to help get you writing again.

#1. Read previous papers that you have written well.

Simply rereading previous class papers will remind you of the work you are capable of doing and the fact that you really canwrite well!  In addition, past papers can give you clues regarding the best aspects of your writing.  Focus on areas where you received praise from your instructor, and look for patterns of writing, key words and phrases, or organizational strategies that worked well.  All of these elements will help you to find the strength in your writing, and hopefully motivate you to start typing again!

#2. Free write without editing or worrying about the grammar.

The first step to overcoming writer’s block is just to writesomething.  Keep in mind that your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect; the most important thing is just to get your initial thoughts down on paper.  Pick a section and just “free write” for 15-30 minutes and see how much you can get done.  Don't edit, cross out or spell check, and don’t judge or censor what you are writing; just write whatever pops into your mind.  Don’t stop; keep writing, even if you have to write something like, “I don’t know what to write.”  Strange as it may seem, even writing about why you can’t write helps dissolve anxiety and clears your mind!  Most often, just the act of writing itself will eventually stimulate your creative juices, and your only problem will be that you won’t want to stop!!!

#3. Write in your own voice or language and then translate it into academic ease.
Just as “free writing” can help you to get your initial ideas on paper, so can writing in a familiar language more comfortable to you than academic prose.  Clearly, academic writing must be far more formal than other types of writing, and your writing structure, style and language should reflect the same elevated aspects that you find in other academic materials.  But you don’t have to get there on your first pass!  To get started, find your voice by writing a section as if it were a letter or email to a good friend or grandmother.  Sometimes setting aside the more formal, academic prose and just writing informally to a buddy can be liberating and help you get the ideas on paper.  You can make it sound “smart” later!!!

#4. Journal every morning to clear your mind.
Keeping a journal is an age-old technique that writers have used to get their thoughts down on paper and keep track of what they learn.  Many writers use a journal to write down facts, brainstorm ideas or “free write” a stream of consciousness to get their creative juices flowing.  Others use it to vent their frustrations, which can help them move past the emotions of writer's block.

I highly recommend using our TADA Methods Journal.  You can use our Methods journal to write down random thoughts and ideas whenever they strike; it can also serve as a central depository for data that can be mined in the future.  There is also a “Issues to be Resolved” section, and a half page of graphing paper to create hand drawings of the elaborate tables and graphs you plan to include in your thesis/dissertation.  You can run these “rough” drafts by your advisor for approval before investing a lot of time mapping the final versions.

#5. Use “Mind Mapping” to draw connections from one concept to next.
Let’s face it: most of us aren’t linear thinkers.  Our thoughts don’t come to us in an already organized manner; rather, our minds jump around from one point to another, and ideas strike us from all directions.  It’s no wonder, then, that many people get stuck trying to write in a linear fashion, starting with an introductory paragraph, and trying to write the entire document in order from start to finish.  Instead, start by writing down your thoughts in the same way that your mind works.  I suggest using a two-dimensional “flow chart” that allows you to write down your thoughts in the form of free-association diagrams.  This popular brainstorming technique is also called “Mind Mapping.”  Using “Mind Mapping” helps writers to draw relational connections between ideas that they might not otherwise see if they were using traditional linear outlines.

One way to use this technique is to write the title of the subject you’re writing about in the center of a page and draw a circle around it.  Start scribbling all over the page any ideas that come to you regarding this subject.  Eventually you’ll notice patterns that pinpoint major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important facts that relate to the topic).  You can identify these areas by drawing lines out from the main circle and labeling them with the subdivisions or subheadings you have discovered.  As you continue to “burrow” further into the topic, you’ll be able to begin linking all of the individual thoughts and facts you write to a particular subhead or subdivision.  Draw lines to link each of them to the appropriate section.  This process will help you to organize your thoughts by showing the overall structure of your topic, the relative importance of each thought, and how each of your thoughts relate to one another.

#6. Separate out your chapter, section, paragraph from the rest of document.  

Let’s face it, not too many people, including your entire committee, will read a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation cover to cover. A thesis or dissertation is not the type of document that piques the general public’s interest mainly because of its academic rigor and writing style. The topic is generally of interest only to the student, experts in the field and the student’s advisor and committee members.  

Your committee will focus on the area that interests them.  Each section should be clear and succinct on its own. Approaching the document piece by piece not only makes the task seem smaller and less intimidating, but it also frequently produces a much stronger document, because each of your sections will be able to stand on their own.

#7. Use a recorder or cell phone and leave yourself a message about your paragraph.
Some graduate students are very good at verbalizing their thoughts and ideas, but have a difficult time putting those same ideas onto paper. If you are struggling with writing you may consider using dictation as a method to write.  Talking your way through the subject matter helps to provide clarity.  Consider transcribing your words into text, or further simplify the task by taking advantage of recent speech-to-text software.  You will definitely need to edit your work afterward, but using this text will provide you with a solid first draft.  While this process may be somewhat time-consuming, it is a proven method that can help you to move forward when you find yourself in a rut.

#8. Put some distance between you and your writing to give yourself some time to re-read it with a clear mind.
Once you have a first draft completed, take a significant break before addressing the paper again.  Putting time between the writing and reviewing process will better help you to discover weaknesses, errors and omissions that weren’t clear at the time of initial writing.  New thoughts always come to you as you read through a second time; in addition to correcting typos, you’ll find yourself challenging your own ideas and deepening and strengthening your argument.  Another great review technique is to read your paper in reverse order, starting with the back page and working your way towards the front.  This technique takes away some of the familiarity of your initial writing, which will allow you to better pinpoint errors and other areas of weakness.

#9. Use an outline with a thesis sentence for every paragraph you will write.
To start this process, make a list of all the ideas you want to include in your paper.  This simple task will help clarify your thoughts and provide you with the words to begin.  Then organize those ideas by grouping all of the related points together.  Once you’ve completed this process, attach a main title or subhead to each group.

Outlining your document in this manner will help you to organize all of the ideas running around in your head; show the relationship between all of those ideas; and present your material in a logical form.  It will also show you any gaps that may exist in your thought patterns and/or research.  Another benefit of an outline is that they are quick and easy to review, so your professors will be more willing to look them over and make comments.

#10. Leave the transition sentences until the end.
The purpose of transitions is to help the reader follow your train of thought and make a connection that may otherwise be overlooked or misunderstood.  They also help the reader to anticipate or comprehend new information that you have yet to present.  Transitions can take the shape of a single word, phrase, sentence or even an entire paragraph.  Regardless of their form, they should summarize for the reader the information you have just covered, and specify the relevance of this information to what you will be discussing the following section(s).  Because of this, they are best written after all of your paragraphs (or “summaries”) are already completed.  If your transition is well done, each paragraph/summary should flow smoothly into the next without obvious shifts or jumps.

Use any one or all of these tips to finish your thesis or dissertation. By setting small goals for yourself around the chapter production, you will find the tasks of writing readily begin to fall into place.

http://www.tadafinallyfinished.com/newsletter/2008/newsmay08B.htm