Organization Monkey

the chronicle of higher education has an intriguing post in yesterday’s edition, about fraudulent images used in scientific publications. the images discussed in the article were altered in a way that made it look like the results of the research were different than the actual results, but the researcher commented that she was simply, “trying to present it even better.”

if a researcher does alter an image, those changes should be noted in the caption, a footnote, or in the methods section. it is easy to note that “the contrast in this image was increased to demonstrate more clearly the difference between a and b.” if you think of an image as data, a researcher should be able to understand that he/she should disclose all changes to images just as he would note any statistical weighting to data.

how do we go about altering images in a way that maintains their integrity? i started a draft of do’s/don’ts at this wiki: http://orgmonkey.wetpaint.com/page/images+as+evidence. will you check it out and make changes or add new things to think about? i’d like to be able to hand a copy of this to researchers when i meet with them to assist in image preparation for publications.

note to self

to examine: http://network.nature.com/

has anybody played with this yet?  leave a comment and tell me what you think.

PubsHub is a “strategic publication planning tool,” a database to help you choose to which medical journal or meeting to submit your manuscript or present your data.

i saw a demo of this in the exhibits hall at the medical library association meeting and enjoyed the clean, easy interface with a series of drop-down boxes from which you choose your criteria. rank medical journals by 50 fields of information, like impact factor, circulation, or amount of time (in days) from acceptance to publication.  they don’t yet have in the database whether or not you need to negotiate with the publisher to have your nih-funded manuscript made available, but the representative said they would be adding that information soon.  you can store searches and get email alerts (no rss?) of deadlines.  a free trial is available.

i learned of desk tracker, libstats, and wufoo while reviewing a wiki (http://whywufoo.pbwiki.com) i saw referenced at the recent medical library association conference. my library is still collecting data about reference desk transactions using paper forms, but an online form would be much easier for the staff member that compiles all those hash marks.

thanks for directing my attention to this new (to me) tool, martha hardy and lisa mcguire!

my new article has been released! find it at the journal of digital information, entitled, “nine questions to guide you in choosing a metadata schema.”

abstract:
This article is a guide for collection developers at the point of considering a metadata schema for their digital collection. The nine questions asked in this article will assist a developer in clarifying how he wants the collection to be organized, described, and used. This article uses examples to illustrate how these questions guided the development of a digital collection built at the University of Southern California.

Keywords: Metadata, Digital Libraries, Schemas, Collection Development.

the journal of digital information is an open access, peer-reviewed web-based journal with an entirely online submission and review process. they’re moving to a new version of software and i expect their procedures will be smoother as a result.

over the last few weeks i have turned down offers to participate on two american library association committees. i am stepping down at the end of my term as chair of the mlgsca’s government relations & bylaws committee. this is both awesome and not so awesome.

why this is awesome:

i’m busy, and i’ve only been in a professional position for two years

the organizations i’m involved in are all recruiting young people to positions of leadership, and we’re excelling in them. these are exciting times, when traditional slow paths to authority are supplanted by quick rises due to retirements. for example, i’ve just been elected secretary of my university’s medical faculty assembly. i was honored to even be asked to run, and i want to do an excellent job.

why this may not be so awesome:

i’m *very* busy, and i’m concerned about burnout

i’ve had to very quickly get good at saying no to things. organizations need people to fill key positions, but as a young professional i need protected time to develop relationships with colleagues and develop my research agenda. i noticed at the recent meeting of the medical library association that there were a lot of the same people doing multiple presentations, acting as mentors, working on task forces, etc. i think organizations will need to be sensitive to the people they tap to act on their behalf so that those people will eagerly accept appointments to boards and not begin to dread the invitations.

i’m not sure i have a resolution to these issues, but it is something i’m thinking about and wonder if others young in the profession are also considering this.