Rothfus, Melissa
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10222/75723
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Item Open Access Researcher Perspectives on Obstacles and Facilitators of Open Scholarship at a Canadian University(2024) Rothfus, Melissa; Gillis, Louise; MacPherson, Erin; MacLeod, LachlanIn 2022, researchers at Dalhousie University were surveyed to assess their understanding and practice of open scholarship. The survey was designed to answer these primary questions: what are Dalhousie University researchers' existing practices and levels of knowledge regarding open scholarship and what is their awareness and perception of institutional support for open practices? Participants were recruited through direct email, blog posts and newsletters from the Dalhousie Libraries, Faculty of Graduate Studies, Office of Research Services, and offices of the Associate Deans of Research. During the three-week period the survey was active,131 surveys were begun. As incomplete surveys were excluded from data analysis, the total analyzed sample was 98. Descriptive analysis was conducted as the number of responses was not representative of the Dalhousie University population. Most responses were from faculty, specifically in the Faculty of Medicine, followed by the Faculties of Science and Health. The majority of respondents reported sharing some type of scholarly output, though this varied by discipline and by material type. Informal sharing mechanisms were reported more frequently than formal repositories or publisher sites. Obstacles to open scholarship practices identified included concerns about investments of time, money, and education as well as concerns about institutional support and recognition. While many supports for open scholarship are available, there is a need to increase awareness.Item Open Access A descriptive study found low prevalence of presumed predatory publications in a subset of Cochrane reviews(Elsevier, 2022) Rothfus, Melissa; Boulos, Leah; Goudreau, Alex; Manley, AlisonObjective: To examine the prevalence of presumed predatory publications in Cochrane reviews, which are considered the gold standard. Study Design and Setting: We selected two Cochrane Networks with broad scope: the Musculoskeletal, Oral, Skin and Sensory (MOSS) Network and the Public Health and Health Systems Network. From reviews produced by all Review Groups in those Networks in 2018 and 2019, we extracted included study citations published after 2000. For each citation, we assessed the journal and publisher using an algorithmic process based on characteristics known to be common among predatory publishers. Knowing that predatory status can be fluid and subjective, we scored citations on a spectrum from "reputable" to "presumed predatory" based on publication characteristics available at the time of assessment. Results: We extracted 6965 citations from 321 reviews. Of these citations, 5734 were published by entities widely accepted as reputable, leaving 1591 for further assessment. We flagged 75 citations as concerning. Discussion: Cochrane reviews across diverse topic areas included studies from flagged publishers, although this number is small. Because of this, there is potential for studies from predatory journals to influence the conclusions of systematic reviews. Researchers should stay aware of this potential threat to the quality of reviews.Item Open Access Health Sciences Librarian Participation in Continuing Education Initiatives: A Scoping Review(2022-06-12) Phinney, Jackie; Rothfus, Melissa; Helwig, Melissa; Hancock, kristyIntroduction Continuing education (CE) is an expectation of many healthcare professionals and librarians to maintain credentials and keep their skills current. Since librarians have experience providing instruction, librarian provision of CE seems a natural fit. However, delivering content to healthcare professionals can be challenging due to time constraints, failed outreach, uncertainty surrounding topics, and more. Librarians may be wondering how they can provide helpful CE when they are unsure how to address these issues. Description Mindful of these challenges, we began a scoping review in February 2020 (search updated September 2021) to examine the literature on librarian instruction of CE for healthcare professionals. We conducted a comprehensive search across seven databases to capture all published articles on this topic. We also performed forwards and backwards searching of included studies, solicited real-life teaching materials from colleagues, and searched for grey literature using Google. Outcomes The literature revealed CE topics, delivery methods, and descriptions of initiatives. It also revealed gaps, such as lack of clear descriptions of assessment findings, efforts to accredit sessions, comprehensive learning objectives, mapping sessions to information literacy frameworks, and more. Discussion Despite the challenges, creating and delivering instructional sessions is a valuable contribution that connects us with our users. Learning from the past can allow us to improve our instructional services. Gaps in those lessons remind us that we should evaluate, benchmark and report our instruction so it remains resilient to the changing information landscape and allows us to build on the work of others.Item Open Access Scoping out how librarians support continuing education in the health sciences and beyond(2021) Phinney, Jackie; Helwig, Melissa; Rothfus, Melissa; Hancock, Kristy; McLean, KatieItem Open Access Supporting digital identities at academic libraries(2019-06) Rothfus, Melissa; Helwig, Melissa; ;In the academic world there is intensifying interest in the creation and maintenance of online professional identities. Academic librarians must work through how to match that interest with services and use of library resources and expertise. Interest in this form of identity rests not just with individual researchers wanting to establish and track their own scholarly output for funding, promotion and publication but with administrators seeking reliable data to measure research impact of a department, faculty or university as a whole. Key areas of expertise render librarians as natural supports for this critical aspect of scholarly communications. We are able to provide support for the effective use and maintenance of tools intended to allow researchers to create unique professional identities. This includes awareness of existing and emerging tools and services; the purpose, unique features, and limitations of each; and how they potentially fit into a broader picture of scholarly communications. In pursuit of this goal, we have engaged in educational programming for liaison librarians as well as webinars and drop-in sessions for researchers. This session will include a summary of these activities and include explanation of the benefits of ORCiDs, ways to add data to ORCiD profiles, challenges of data from various sources such as Google Scholar and Scopus, and clarifying the relationship between these and other tools, such as social media platforms, repositories, and CRIS systems.