Mastering Information

Systematic Review or Scoping Review? How to Choose the Best Review for your Research Topic

By Angela Hardi — October 27, 2023

Before embarking on an evidence synthesis project, it is important to understand what type of review is most suitable for your research question. Choosing the wrong review type for your question can lead to frustrating results. The ultimate goal of a systematic review is to “collate all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria in [Read more]

Preparing for Upcoming Federal Public Access Policies: What Does it Mean for School of Medicine Researchers?

By Seonyoung Kim, Brittney Sandler, Cathy Sarli, Chris Sorensen, Amy Suiter and Marcy Vana — October 18, 2023

In August 2022, the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a memo: Ensuring Free, Immediate, and Equitable Access to Federally Funded Research (OSTP 2022 Nelson Memo), that directs federal agencies to update their public access policies per OSTP 2013 Holdren Memo. The policies pertain to publications, scientific data underlying publications, and [Read more]

Mastering Information

SciComm Seminars Return

By Monica Sala-Rabanal — September 5, 2023

Our #SciComm Seminars are back this fall with exciting new topics to expand your science communication toolbox. Here are some highlights from the 2022-23 #SciComm Seminars series: Beth Prusaczyk, Assistant Professor of Medicine, drew from her experiences in policymaking and journalism for valuable tips on how to prepare, deliver, and follow up on your advocacy [Read more]

Mastering Information

5 Tips to Simplify Academic Writing for General Audiences

By Mychal Voorhees — May 8, 2023

As a researcher, you communicate your work to a wide variety of people daily. Besides engaging in jargon-rich discussions with your peers, you might share your research on a personal website, talk about it at a community event, or write about it on social media. Plain language can help you reach beyond academia and ensure [Read more]

Mastering Information

Phase 2: Expansion of the NIH Preprint Pilot and How to Report Preprints

By Amy Suiter and Cathy Sarli — April 27, 2023

The NIH Preprint Pilot began in June 2020 as a project by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make COVID-19 research discoverable in PubMed Central (PMC). In Phase 1 of the project, over 3,300 preprints reporting NIH-supported COVID-19 research were added to PMC and viewed 4 million times. Building on the success of Phase [Read more]

Mastering Information, Science and Informatics

Introduction to PIDs: What They Are and How to Use Them

By Seonyoung Kim — April 13, 2023

Persistent Unique Identifiers (PIDs), also known as Digital Persistent Identifiers (DPIs), are globally unique, persistent, machine-resolvable digital identifiers with an associated metadata schema. A PID identifies and locates an entity regardless of where it is hosted or published and enables its unambiguous and long-term identification. PIDs are an essential component of the research ecosystem, linking [Read more]

Mastering Information, Scholarly Publishing

ORCID: Reducing a Researcher’s Administrative Burden

By Brittney Sandler — March 31, 2023

While researchers already have to comply with items like the new Data Management Sharing Policy1, NSPM-332, the August OSTP memo3, and ORCID may feel like one more thing to check off the list, there are many reasons it’s worthwhile and even rewarding to devote a bit of your time to ORCID. If used effectively, an [Read more]

Mastering Information