New pharma startups have more non-dilutive funding opportunities than they may realize–they just have to know where to look and open their minds.
This post has been archived.
Sometimes, US-based small startups find their evolving R&D plan, funding, or business collaborations make them suddenly ineligible for SBIR funding they had targeted. For example, clinical trial costs or even lab work would be cheaper overseas, so, just like that, eligibility slips away.
What to do? Continue reading “The EU’s World-Class R&D Funding and Support for Innovators”
Citation contamination amplifies the dangers of predatory journals.
This post has been archived.
In late September, the number of predatory journals on the Journal Blacklist surpassed 12,000. For context, the number of journals on the list has tripled since the list was established in 2017. While issues of integrity, ethics, and tenure bubble to the surface in any discussion of predatory journals, it’s important to remember the potential practical impacts. That is, the potential for harm when the outcomes of a flawed study spread into the clinical, research, and policy arenas. This danger arises not only through the initial publication of the article (which may have low initial visibility due to the lack of quality of the journal), but via references to these studies in the legitimate scientific literature, “citation contamination.” In the same way ill-gotten profits can be spent in the open after being passed through legitimate businesses, these articles gain legitimacy by being cited in established publications and databases. These associations enable the dissemination of these studies far beyond the level offered by their initial publication in the sub-standard journal. The Scholarly Kitchen published the findings of a study to determine the impact of citation contamination and found that, while the percentage of contaminated citations is relatively few, the sheer volume of output by the predatory journals makes that percentage significant. The author indicates that 36% of one predatory journal’s articles had been cited in the legitimate literature.
What should researchers/editors/writers do? Understand the threat predatory journals present to your research and your reputation. At the end of July, AMWA-EMWA-ISMPP* released a joint position statement on predatory publishing and its “threat both to researchers publishing the results of their work and to the peer-reviewed medical literature itself.” You can read the full statement in Current Medical Research and Opinion here.Proactively research a journal before submitting your research for publication. Unfortunately, journals are bought and sold, so don’t assume a journal you found legitimate last year still meets your standards this year. Do a little research before subsequent submissions to rule out big changes.Closely review any published research you consult for development of your own research and publications. Eschew the use of research published in predatory journals.
Today we share 3 cybersecurity threats you need to know about–and how you can easily fix them yourself.
This post has been archived.
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month! All this month we are partnering with our colleagues in the DCC cyber group to provide tips and information for keeping you (and your data) cyber safe. You can read more on the cyber group’s blog and website, and don’t forget to check out their 31 Days of Cybersecurity, which will run all through October.*
Today we share 3 cybersecurity threats you need to know about–and how you can easily fix them yourself.
1.
I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the American Medical Writers Association conference in San Diego next month. If I see you at the airport, I hope it’s not at a public charging kiosk without appropriate cyber protection–because that cord that charges your phone also transfers data up and down. [Read more here.]
2.
Do you install extensions on your browser? They sure can be handy tools, but what do you really know about them? Find out which ad blocking extensions were found to be malware and how you can guard yourself against the threat posed to your online security by browser extensions. [Read more here.]
3.
Do you use Google Calendar? Many of us do. But did you know that a bug in the application makes you vulnerable to smishing? Safeguard yourself with two easy changes to your settings and, of course, vigilance. [Read more here.]
For weekly summaries of hot topics, check out the DCCCyberScoop. Links to existing issues are below, and you can get future issues delivered directly to your inbox by subscribing.
DCCCyberScoop Issue #3 (11 October 2019)
DCCCyberScoop Issue #2 (03 October 2019)
DCCCyberScoop Issue #1 (25 September 2019)
For more information on these and other cyber threats and what you can do to address them, you can go to their website.
To learn more about cybersecurity for individuals and small businesses, check out the Freelancer’s Guide to Cybersecurity and its list of resources.
*Our cyber group blogs about cyber threats facing professionals in our data-rich space, but does it in plain language. Most plain-language material is written for readers interested in protecting their family’s online privacy, which is actually quite different from the threats faced by consultants, freelancers, solopreneurs, and other small businesses. Our cyber group takes that plain-language approach and scales it up for the more rigorous threats these professionals face.
If you ever work remotely (as is common in grant writing/editing and academic spaces), or if you take your personal devices into your or your clients’ workspace, you should be picking up what the cyber group is putting down.