1. Practice & Communication of Science
The Literature

2. The (Scientific) Literature
Practice & Communication of Science
The (Scientific) Literature

3. The Scientific Literature
Not just ‘words about science’…
How objective are these?
What is objectivity?
Why do they say what they say in the way that they say it?

4. The Scientific Literature
How about these…?
How objective are these?
What are their motives?
Written by scientists or journalists?

5. The Scientific Literature
Clickbait…
Tension between…
Wanting to ‘educate’ about important issues
Needing to ‘hype’ to get readers’ attention

6. The Scientific Literature
How about these…?
How objective are these?
What are their motives?
Written by scientists or journalists?

7. The Scientific Literature
How far is the author removed from original material?
How accountable are they for…
their interpretation?
the original material?

8. The Scientific Literature
Which of these is the more ‘scientific’?

9. The Scientific Literature
Defined by objective reporting of original work

10. The Scientific Literature
Defined by objective reporting of original work
but what is the original work in a textbook, or a review?
what is original work in an invited opinion?
how objective is a review?
how objective is a journal paper?
All reporting is just sophisticated measurement
all measurements are corrupt
But don’t despair!
“science is a tribute to what we can know although we are fallible”

11. The Scientific Literature
Original Scientific Work
Peer reviewed
Original work
Scientists publish their results and method together with an introduction and discussion of their research activities
Review article
Narrative review
Scientists review a subset of the literature which the author knows to be important for a particular topic
Systematic review
Scientists review all available data on a particular topic – usually involves a meta-analysis (stats) to determine the consensus view

12. The Scientific Literature
Original Scientific Work
Peer reviewed
Scientific Textbooks/Thesis
Highly moderated (independent Ed or Examiner)
CONFIDENCE
Scientific Journalism/blogs
Low moderation (community feedback from geeks)
Scientific Reporting/News
Public moderation – low integrity – tomorrow’s fish-wrapper

13. The Scientific Literature
Defines the current, consensus view of how the world works
Not static, in a constant state of flux
New directions explored
Old views challenged
Importantly, new reports are ‘woven’ into current fabric via…
references/citations

14. References/Citations
critical to giving Scientific Literature its power
methods/results provide ‘audit trail’ for accountability of observations
citations/references provide the ‘audit trail’ for accountability of interpretation
multiple authors also contribute to accountability
all above work to deliver confidence through accountability
citations/references weave the ‘web’ of science
exceptions are, quite literally, exceptional…

15. Single Author, no References/Citations!

16. The Other Extreme…
9 pages of results, 24 pages of authors!

17. Is all Sci Lit Equal? Hmm, equal in terms of what?
One measure is Journal Impact Factor =
citations in prev 2yr / articles in prev 2 yr

18. Is all Sci Lit Equal? Impact factors for disciplines…
reflect publishing activity

19. Weaving a Study into the Web of Sci
Introduction:- ‘Extrovert’
Uses references to Sci Lit to make case for study in terms of what is already known and what needs to be found out
Materials/Methods/Results:- ‘Introvert’
about the experiment and what was observed
Discussion:- ‘Extrovert’
Uses references to interpret the present study and how it fits in with/extends existing knowledge.

20. Peer-review and the Sci Lit
Typically 3 independent experts in their field
Selected by editors based on their previous publication record
Peer reviewers have to self declare conflicts of interest – current collaborations/grant funding or research conflict
Reviewers have anonymity!!!
Free to criticise, but can be open to abuse
Eg plagiarism
See ‘the dark side’ lecture

21. Peer review process Rejected Author submits paper Editorial triage

22. Peer review process Rejected Author submits paper Editorial triage
Editorial decision

23. Peer review process Rejected Author submits paper Editorial triage
Editorial decision
Author revision

24. Peer review process Rejected Author submits paper Editorial triage
Editorial decision
Author revision
Accepted

25. Finding the Sci Lit Web of Science PubMed ResearchGate Google!
Google Scholar!
Widest net
Least ‘tailored’

26. Using the Sci Lit to make your case!
There is overwhelming evidence that expression of a transcript can differ from cell to cell but until recently it has been technically challenging to determine the entire transcriptome from a cell.
There is overwhelming evidence that expression of a transcript can differ from cell to cell (Yamashita et al 2002) but until recently it has been technically challenging to determine the entire transcriptome from a cell.
There is overwhelming evidence that expression of a transcript can differ from cell to cell (Xi et al 1999, Yamashita et al 2002, Fry et al 2006, Hoyda et al 2007) but until recently it has been technically challenging to determine the entire transcriptome from a cell.
Hindmarch & Ferguson 2015

27. Confidence via Judging Accountability

28. Summary ‘The Literature’ means different things to different people
You are scientists – apply science’s standards
Accountability & confidence
Peer review/publication structure helps
Hierarchy within Sci Lit
Eg ‘impact factor’
Sci Lit is waiting to be found
PubMed, Google Scholar, etc
Sci Lit is waiting to must be used
References/citations