As part of the New Directions in Strategy, Technology, and Community seminar being held September 25-26 in Washington D.C., the Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) will offer an event session entitled, New Ways of Counting Researcher Contribution, on September 25, from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
Registration for the event remains open with a discount available for SSP members.
The “publish-or-perish” paradigm continues to dominate the research process, particularly with regard to researcher advancement, promotion, and funding. However, with the rise of preprint servers, the NIH’s new focus on “interim research products” (of which preprints are one), and the ongoing campaigns to make contributor roles more visible (e.g., via CRediT), we may be moving toward a deeper and broader way to count researcher contributions that will ultimately impact our definition of publishing.
Jenny Lee, assistant editorial development manager, Royal Society of Chemistry, will moderate the event, and is joined on the panel by Casey Greene, PhD, Integrative Genomics Lab, University of Pennsylvania; Dina Paltoo, PhD, MPH, NLM Assistant Director for Policy Development, National Institutes of Health; and Kristi Holmes, PhD, Director, Galter Health Sciences Library, Northwestern University.
Lee took the time to answer questions about the event:
Who is the intended audience for this session and why should they attend?
The session will be of interest to stakeholders across scholarly publishing. It will be a great opportunity to view the topic of new ways of counting researcher contribution from the diverse perspectives of a researcher, funder, and administrator and ask questions.
Why do you think this topic is important and timely?
Counting researcher contribution is central to the research process especially in the context of career advancement and funding. However, recent developments like preprint servers suggest that outputs beyond publications are gaining momentum. Furthermore, the collaborative nature of research means there might be better ways to give individuals credit. Overall, these developments have implications for how publishing or impact are defined.
Is there a particular topic you’re looking forward to seeing discussed?
I’m generally interested in the panel topic of counting researcher contribution and how it complements the other timely topics over the course of the seminar. It will be particularly interesting to learn about differing perspectives from both the speakers and audience on how changes may affect scholarly publishing in the future.
What do the selected speakers bring to the discussion?
The speakers are each leading excellent initiatives related to counting researcher contribution. They bring their expertise and different perspectives to contextualize the topic in the overall landscape.
What can attendees expect from the session?
Attendees can expect to learn more about the topic from different perspectives, with examples of outputs beyond publications, interim research product policy development at the NIH, and ways to give contributors credit for their work. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask their questions to the speakers.
What do you hope attendees will take away from the session?
I hope attendees will learn more about the topic and get their questions answered. Looking to the future, I hope attendees better understand what implications this topic may have on their organizations and whether there are opportunities to adapt to or anticipate potential changes, potentially in collaboration with the SSP community.
Click here to register now.
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