More than 150 researchers and 75 scientific groups issued a declaration on Thursday against the widespread use of journal “impact factors,” blaming the practice for dangerous distortions in financing and hiring in science.

The impact factor “has a number of well-documented deficiencies as a tool for research assessment,” the scientists said in the letter, which had been in preparation since a conference led by publishers and grant-writing agencies last year in San Francisco.

Those deficiencies include the ability of publishers to manipulate the calculations, and the way the metrics encourage university hiring and promotion decisions, as well as grant agencies’ award distributions, that can lack an in-depth understanding of scientific work.

For some analysts, the impact factor has largely become an outsourced proxy for research quality, allowing decision makers (like tenure committees and deans) to forego actually reading faculty members’ work. Full article on line: http://chronicle.com/article/ResearchersScientific/139337/

Newsletter: MedSurg Matters! is the official member newsletter of the Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses (AMSN) and is indexed in the Cumulative Index in Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL). It contains peer-reviewed clinical articles and is distributed six times a year as a benefit of membership. Each issue includes at least one CNE article.

MedSurg Matters! is always accepting feature articles that are clinical in content, whether you are a first-time writer who can benefit from mentoring or a veteran continuing to share your knowledge. Our Author Guidelines <http://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/documents/professional-development/periodicals/medsurg-matters-newsletter/AMSN-MSM-Author-Guidelines.pdf> (PDF) will give you valuable pointers and the Manuscript Wish List<http://www.amsn.org/sites/default/files/documents/professional-development/periodicals/medsurg-matters-newsletter/AMSN-MSM-Manuscript-Wish-List.pdf> (PDF) helps you with ideas (or feel free to present to us the topic of your choice). If you’d like to write, send an email to msmnews@ajj.com or fill out the Manuscript Query Form <http://www.amsn.org/professional-development/periodicals/medsurg-matters-newsletter/medsurg-matters-manuscript-query>.

First-time writers may want to consider starting with a short column submission. Learn more about a few of our regular columns:

• Health Care Reform<http://www.amsn.org/medsurg-matters-seeking-authors-write-health-care-reform>

• Healthy Work Environment<http://www.amsn.org/practice-resources/healthy-work-environment>

Manuscript Preparation: Manuscripts must be typed, double-spaced on 8.5” x 11” white paper, and should be 6-8 pages in length (including references). Style should generally follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed., 2010). Use the author-date method of citation within the text. For example, “(Doe, 2013)” or “Doe (2013) states…” With multiple authors, the first citation must list all authors (up to six), and subsequent citations should list only the last name of the first author and et al. (Doe et al., 2013). Prior to submission, a colleague should read the manuscript, if possible. Acquiring permission to reprint previously published materials is the responsibility of the author. Format of Manuscript: Title Page: Include the manuscript title, authors’ names, credentials, and a biographic statement. Also include a brief abstract of 40 words or less along with an address for correspondence, email address (required), and day and evening phone numbers. Text: Double-space all typing, using 1.5-2 inch margins. Include the title, or short descriptor, on top of each page, but do not include the author’s name. Subheadings: Include subheadings in the manuscript where possible. Type all subheadings flush to the left margin. References: Please limit references to 10-12 entries. All references should be from the last 3-5 years, when possible. List all references in alphabetical order. All citations should reference primary sources. The use of secondary sources (material analyzed or interpreted from the primary source) is discouraged. If necessary, locate a copy of the original work and credit it as such. Authors are encouraged to provide the digital object identifier (DOI) number for all references when possible directly after the citation. Manuscripts must NOT contain reference software codes.

Manuscript Submission: Authors should submit manuscripts via email (preferred), or on disk or CD-ROM. All disks should be clearly labeled with the author name, manuscript title, and file name. Software:As a general rule, all files should be saved as MS Word. General: Use only common fonts (CG Times, Universe, Helvetica, Courier, etc.) and avoid complex font attributes such as outline. All graphics (figures, graphs, etc.) must be submitted in cameraready form. Submit manuscripts to: ANIA Newsletter, East Holly Avenue, Box 56, Pitman, NJ 08071-0056, editor@ania.org<mailto:editor@ania.org>

Further information at: https://www.ania.org/content/ania-newsletter 

Speaking at the 3rd World Conference on Research Integrity, held in Montreal, Canada, from 5 to 8 May, Véronique Kiermer said a lot of errors that needed correction were “actually avoidable errors…and I think that is a very troubling trend”.

Although – unlike across academic publishing as a whole – the publishing group’s 18 journals had seen no increase in the number of retractions per year, the number of corrections issued had risen, said Dr Kiermer.

Directing her concerns mainly at the biomedical sciences, she listed problems with papers that included missing control tests, inappropriate and poor image manipulation, issues in experimental design and reporting, and problems with statistics.

The article is on line at: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/research-paper-sloppiness-on-the-increase-warns-publisher/2003771.article

Now Beall, a U Colorado librarian, finds himself threatened with a billion-dollar lawsuit by OMICS, an Indian company where laws concerning what you can about a company may be different from those in the US.

Scrutinize very carefully an invitation from any open-access publication. Open-access publishing is a lawless frontier landscape with many unscrupulous publishers.

See readers’ comments to learn how they do it.

Applications are online now at: http://www.nlnfoundation.org/Scholarly_Writing_Retreat_Fall_2013.cfm

Space is limited to about 10 participants, but NLN membership is not required.

The November retreat will be led by Dr. Leslie Nicoll, and Leslie Bloch will offer editorial support. Dr. Marilyn Oermann and Dr. Nicoll will conduct two retreats in spring 2014.

For more information, contact: Leslie Block, Managing Editor, Nursing Education Perspectives, National League for Nursing, 61 Broadway, New York, NY 10006 lblock@nln.org | Phone: 212-812-0308

The mission of the Clinical Scholars Review is to support the advancement of the doctoral practice of nursing. http://www.springerpub.com/product/19392095