Scientific Scholarly Communication

Pali U. K. De Silva (Ph.D. in Plant Health, Master of Library and Information Science) has been trained as a research scientist with expertise in biological and agricultural scientific disciplines. Because of the curiosity and interest she developed about the evolving scholarly communication system, she decided to learn more about it and pursued a degree in library and information science. After obtaining an MLIS, she changed her professional career direction to become an information professional and was affiliated with Iowa Sate University and Murray State University. During her career as an information professional, she became especially interested in the complexities of the changing scientific scholarly communication landscape and extensively researched the developments and trends in various aspects of the scientific scholarly communication system. This book is a product of that effort. Candace K. Vance (B.S. in Agricultural Science, Master of Science in Information Sciences, M.A. and M.F.A. in English and Creative Writing). Her interest in science, particularly the health sciences, led her to an internship at Eskind Biomedical Library at Vanderbilt Medical Center after receiving her MSIS degree. She has been a health science librarian since 2000 and was affiliated with the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Aquinas College, and Murray State University. During this experience, she discovered the benefits of evidence-based medicine and the important role scientific scholarly communications plays in delivering the highest level of health care. Her research and teaching interests include scientific scholarly communication, the open access movement, assessing the impact of research, and scientific misconduct. These, combined with her interest in creative writing, helped her contribute in making this book a reality.

Preface.- Scientific Scholarly Communication: Moving Forward Through Open Discussions.- Access to Scientific Knowledge: A Historical Perspective.- On the Road to Unrestricted Access to Scientific Information: The Open Access Movement.- Sharing Scientific Data: Moving Towards "Open Data?".- Free Flow of Scientific Information vs. Intellectual Property Rights.- Preserving the Quality of Scientific Research: Peer Review of Research Articles.- Measuring the Impact of Scientific Research.- Assessing the Societal Impact of Scientific Research.- Final Thoughts: Scientific Scholarly Communication - The March Forward.