Jeremiah Holden Kalir, Esteban Morales, Alice Fleerackers and Juan Pablo Alperin
Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the annotation of digital resources for information sharing, social interaction and knowledge production…
Abstract
Purpose
Social annotation (SA) is a genre of learning technology that enables the annotation of digital resources for information sharing, social interaction and knowledge production. This study aims to examine the perceived value of SA as contributing to learning in multiple undergraduate courses.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 59 students in 3 upper-level undergraduate courses at a Canadian university participated in SA-enabled learning activities during the winter 2019 semester. A survey was administered to measure how SA contributed to students’ perceptions of learning and sense of community.
Findings
A majority of students reported that SA supported their learning despite differences in course subject, how SA was incorporated and encouraged and how widely SA was used during course activities. While findings of the perceived value of SA as contributing to the course community were mixed, students reported that peer annotations aided comprehension of course content, confirmation of ideas and engagement with diverse perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
Studies about the relationships among SA, learning and student perception should continue to engage learners from multiple courses and from multiple disciplines, with indicators of perception measured using reliable instrumentation.
Practical implications
Researchers and faculty should carefully consider how the technical, instructional and social aspects of SA may be used to enable course-specific, personal and peer-supported learning.
Originality/value
This study found a greater variance in how undergraduate students perceived SA as contributing to the course community. Most students also perceived their own and peer annotations as productively contributing to learning. This study offers a more complete view of social factors that affect how SA is perceived by undergraduate students.
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Natascha Chtena, Juan Pablo Alperin, Stephen Pinfield, Alice Fleerackers and Irene V. Pasquetto
This study explores the evolving role of preprint servers within the scholarly communication system, focusing on their relationship with peer-reviewed journals. As preprints…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the evolving role of preprint servers within the scholarly communication system, focusing on their relationship with peer-reviewed journals. As preprints become more common, questioning and understanding their future role is critical for maintaining a healthy scholarly communication ecosystem. By examining the values, concerns and goals of preprint server managers, this study highlights the significant influence these individuals have in shaping the future of preprints.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative, interview-based approach was used to gather insights from preprint server managers on their roles, challenges and visions for the future of preprints within the broader scholarly communication system.
Findings
The findings point to a lack of consensus on how preprint servers and journals should interact and to diverging views on how the certification and curation functions are best performed and by whom. Concerns about credibility and long-term financial sustainability are increasingly driving independent and community-run preprint servers to align more closely with journals, potentially undermining the disruptive and emancipatory potential of preprints.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the relationship between preprints and journals from the perspective of preprint server managers in the later stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. It sheds light on how preprint servers are navigating external pressures and market dynamics, how they are seeking to establish credibility and trust, and how, in doing so, they are reshaping the core functions of scholarly communication.
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The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how the potential of altmetrics varies around the world by measuring the percentage of articles with non-zero…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how the potential of altmetrics varies around the world by measuring the percentage of articles with non-zero metrics (coverage) for articles published from a developing region (Latin America).
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses article metadata from a prominent Latin American journal portal, SciELO, and combines it with altmetrics data from Altmetric.com and with data collected by author-written scripts. The study is primarily descriptive, focusing on coverage levels disaggregated by year, country, subject area, and language.
Findings
Coverage levels for most of the social media sources studied was zero or negligible. Only three metrics had coverage levels above 2 per cent – Mendeley, Twitter, and Facebook. Of these, Twitter showed the most significant differences with previous studies. Mendeley coverage levels reach those found by previous studies, but it takes up to two years longer for articles to be saved in the reference manager. For the most recent year, coverage was less than half than what was found in previous studies. The coverage levels of Facebook appear similar (around 3 per cent) to that of previous studies.
Research limitations/implications
The Altmetric.com data used for some of the analyses were collected for a six month period. For other analyses, Altmetric.com data were only available for a single country (Brazil).
Originality/value
The results of this study have implications for the altmetrics research community and for any stakeholders interested in using altmetrics for evaluation. It suggests the need of careful sample selection when wishing to make generalizable claims about altmetrics.
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David Andres Munoz, Juan Pablo Queupil and Pablo Fraser
The purpose of this paper is to analyze collaboration networks and their patterns among higher education institutions (HEIs) in Chile and the Latin American region. This will…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze collaboration networks and their patterns among higher education institutions (HEIs) in Chile and the Latin American region. This will provide evidence to educational managements in order to properly allocate their efforts to improve collaboration.
Design/methodology/approach
This quantitative study examines collaboration using a social network analysis (SNA) approach. The main source used to quantify collaboration is co-authorship of scholarly publications retrieved from the Web of Science scientific search engine.
Findings
The paper provides evidence that there is a low collaboration rate within-country as well cross-country among HEIs in Latin America. The collaboration network in Chile is highly dependent on two institutions; Pontificia Universidad Católica and Universidad de Chile. These institutions are considered leaders of opinion and knowledge facilitators. The density of the whole network is relatively low; only 5 percent of the potential connections exist in the current network.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this paper is that it does not take into account other possible collaborative efforts such as books, manuscripts, or other types of collaboration that do not result in tangible documents. However, co-authorship based on publications has been considered to be a good estimator of collaboration.
Practical implications
Collaboration is critical to promote research and increase its capacity. The approach presented in this study is helpful for educational managers in charge of allocating resources to effectively have an impact on collaboration. Decision makers will benefit from the evidence-based results generated by the SNA framework.
Originality/value
An understanding of the current status of research collaboration in Latin America allows researchers to detect the main areas of opportunity, which in turn serve to improve future decision making in this area.