When Andre Kushniruk was diagnosed with advanced stage tongue cancer in the fall of 2017, his surgeon told him that the tumor was too large to operate. Kushniruk, a professor of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria in Canada, was given a slim chance of surviving past two years.

Kushiruk’s wife, also a health informatician, applied her skill and knowledge to verify his surgeon’s claim. Scouring through biomedical archives like PubMed, searching on Google and YouTube, and reading patient blogs, Kushniruk’s wife found that the situation wasn’t irreversible. Patients in cases similar to his had undergone surgery. Going through peer-reviewed literature, they identified a hospital and expert who could help Kushniruk. He underwent a life-changing surgery within a week.

Health information – the what and the why

This instance shows that patients and their family having access to health information can save lives. Kushniruk argues that his case also highlights the need for patients to know how and where to access the right information – something he and his wife could do because of their profession.

Health information is the knowledge that an individual, healthcare professionals and others need to safeguard their own health and the health of others. This includes the information needed for preventing diseases, maintaining health, disease screening, diagnosis and management as well as palliative care. Having access to health information can promote healthy habits, seeking appropriate healthcare, decision making, proper medication, and referral.

See also: The Role of Research Societies in Addressing Vaccine Hesitancy

Health information for all

Proposed by the British Medical Association, the World Medical Association (WMA) has unanimously approved a statement on healthcare information for all. The crux of the statement is that lack of access to timely, current, evidence-based healthcare information can contribute to morbidity and mortality, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This campaign calls on doctors all over the world to support initiatives to improve access for health professionals, patients, and others.

This initiative, called Healthcare Information for All (HIFA), now has 20,000 members spread over 180 countries, interacting and discussing in several languages and working with the World Health Organization (WHO).

See also: Five Ways Research Societies Can Fight Fake News About Immunization

Social media as a source of health information

Social media served as the primary source of information during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social media has been used as a tool for health interventions, health campaigns, medical education, disease surveillance, and health promotion. Over 80% US state health departments have social media accounts.

Aside from US state health departments, several other research societies all over the world use social media to dispense information. Some of these societies and their work is highlighted below.

Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases

The Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases is a professional body for infectious diseases and microbiology in Australia. The society consists of infectious disease physicians, scientists, veterinarians, and other experts. They aim to advance education, promote research, and advocate for evidence-based policy matters in the field of infectious diseases. They hold events such as annual conferences where researchers in the field can present their work and collaborate. The society also gives awards to mentors, teachers, and researchers working in the field of microbiology and infectious diseases. In addition, they have resources in the form of articles and infographics for both clinicians and the public.

International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

The International Parkinson and Movenment Disorder Society brings clinicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals together for collaborating on research and educating people about movement disorders. The regional sections of this society span all over the world – America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania.

They conduct events like international congresses which consist of lectures. They also educate others using unique formats like video challenges, where leading experts analyze cases live. The society also provides financial support and expert faculty for local educational activities in the field of movement disorders. Moreover, they celebrate international awareness days such as World Parkinson’s Day and World Movement Disorder Day. They bring together experts who amplify and boost knowledge about these conditions.

Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India

Consisting of researchers and clinicians, the Research Society for the Study of Diabetes in India (RSSDI) aim to promote diabetes research. Aside from having their own scientific journal that publishes relevant research articles, RSSDI conducts several events to amplify diabetes research. These include walking campaigns to bring awareness to diabetes complications such as diabetic foot, and research retreats for scientists to present their work. They also provide research grants to researchers studying diabetes and release videos and infographics for patient awareness.

European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) started with the mission to improve people’s understanding of pathogens and infections. The non-profit organization, that now has over 9000 members, aims to improve the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of infection-related diseases. They do this by promoting and supporting research, education, training, and good medical practices.

Some of the activities that the society engages in include conducting postgraduate courses, offering awards to researchers, and organizing summer schools. The organization also has their own scientific journal and a weekly newsletter to make health information easily accessible to the public.

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a cancer-fighting organization that aims to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families. They ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancers. They do this through their practices of advocacy, research, and patient support.

They have a 24/7 cancer helpline that provides support for people living with cancer. They also have patient and caregiver support programs that provide accurate health information for how to navigate when one gets a cancer diagnosis.

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is USA’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. They bring together experts in the field and raise funding for cardiovascular research. They publish blog posts providing reliable information about various cardiovascular and related diseases. They partner with schools to improve nutrition, increase physical activity and help end tobacco use among youths in order to create healthier futures for them. They also train over 22 million people in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), an emergency medical procedure, each year.

Summary – the why and the how of healthcare information

Health information readily accessible to healthcare providers, patients, their family, and caregivers can possibly save lives. Several societies across the globe make sure that relevant and reliable information is available to the various stakeholders in order to help people living with health conditions.

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A brief introduction to university research commercialization

In 1980, the Bayh–Dole Act was passed by the United States federal government, permitting the universities and non-profit organizations to retain title to inventions made with federal funding and to license it to others. This act promoted research commercialization by giving these entities the ability to profit from their innovations and encouraged private investment in research. In response, many universities in the USA set up technology transfer offices (TTOs), or technology licensing offices (TLOs) to manage their intellectual property (IP) and promote effective technology commercialization. Since then, the Bayh–Dole model has spread to universities and institutes worldwide, particularly in the Global North.

How can universities support patenting?

Setting up a technology transfer office

An effective TTO/TLO is vital to any patenting strategy. These offices not only manage the transfer of technology from universities and research institutions to the private sector, but also provide vital guidance for the institution and research personnel to realize effective patent commercialization. Furthermore, they also handle legal matters concerning IP, including patent applications, litigation, and transferring royalties to the parties concerned.

Royalty sharing

Royalty sharing between universities and researchers stimulates innovation by financially incentivizing research. Royalty sharing initiatives allow researchers to pursue commercially relevant research. Furthermore, royalty sharing can increase collaboration, as the promise of sharing royalties may make researchers more willing to share ideas, since they will all benefit from any commercial success. Finally, royalty sharing can encourage researchers to seek more patent protection, such as applying for international patents to maximize their commercial potential. In short, royalty sharing is an obvious win-win that should be part of any patenting strategy.

Establishing a university startup incubator

Technology startups provide lucrative opportunities to commercialize cutting-edge research findings. Harvard University, for one, has an impressive roster of startups that harness innovations from a range of scientific fields. While we all dream of investing in “the next big thing,” establishing a patenting culture can form part of a broader commercialization strategy to spin off companies that realize groundbreaking new services and products. Founding an incubator is a large undertaking that requires planning and strategy, so research is key. The article “So, you want to start a startup incubator or accelerator?,” penned by a student who successfully launched his own startup incubator, provides some interesting reading.

Build awareness of patenting

An informal survey published in Forbes in 2012 yielded surprising results. Among 60 graduate engineering students at UCLA, 68% could not answer the question, “what is a trade secret?” Meanwhile, 21%, 32%, and 51% were unable to provide an answer to what patents, copyrights, and trademarks are, respectively.

While this small survey is probably not representative, it’s nonetheless surprising that these students had little awareness of IP and why it is relevant to their own work. If researchers do not understand these concepts, they may struggle to understand what is patentable and fail to disclose such discoveries at a critical time.

Fortunately, the World Intellectual Property Organization has provided many resources on raising awareness of IP. While many of these resources are aimed at school-age children, this page also provides a six-step plan for building an awareness strategy and numerous examples of campaigns.

See also: Crafting a Patent Communication Strategy: Tips for Universities

Examples of patenting done right

India

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have had considerable success in commercializing their research and protecting their IP. One such example is IIT Bombay, which has successfully licensed technologies through its TTO and established close industry relationships. Institutional support for technology transfer, strong industry connections, government support and developed alumni networks have allowed IITs to be successful in commercializing their research and protecting their IP.

See also: Patents and the Intellectual Property Rights Ecosystem at Indian Universities

Japan

The University of Tokyo, better known as Todai in Japan, has a history of successful patenting, including in biotechnology, information technology, and materials science. In recent years, Todai publishes an average of 600 patents annually and has successfully launched major investment funds to capitalize on Todai-affiliated spinoffs, such as Citadel AI. Likewise, the University of Kyoto has similar initiatives for their range of patents. Overall, Japan’s public universities have a proven track record of successful patenting and robust commercialization strategies.

South Korea

In the 20^th century, South Korea transitioned from a developing country to a global leader for innovation, recently being recognized as East Asia’s leading innovator ahead of Japan and China. One detailed analysis of technology transfer in Korean public institutions found that successful technology transfer relies more on promoting application research by offering incentives for patent registration and increasing support for researchers’ startups. These strategies have been successfully applied at Seoul National University (SNU), Korea’s most reputable university, which has a strong focus on technology transfer and has established successful high-tech startups at the SNU Campus Town with the help of the SNU Entrepreneurship Center. The university’s Research & Development Board Foundation has overseen successful commercialization of technologies with generous revenue sharing incentives.

Conclusion

A solid patenting strategy can be profitable for institutions and researchers, stimulate basic and applied research, launch new business ventures, and improve your institution’s reputation. In short, an effective patenting culture can benefit all involved.

Learn strategies to promote awareness of patenting in your university and to spur innovation through patents. Download this whitepaper.

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• Sharing information about the latest research developments to a wider audience
• Helping the general public to understand the significance of research and to develop scientific literacy
• And most importantly, fostering a robust and continuous stream of talent in STEM fields.

Therefore, for research societies, it is crucial to engage with and provide support to science educators as essential steps in promoting their respective fields and fulfilling their missions.

Why Should Research Societies Support Science Educators?

In many countries, science education is a mandatory part of curricula for not just high school education and above, but also kindergartens, elementary schools, and institutions serving students with special needs. Science educators come from diverse backgrounds, ranging from individuals with advanced scientific degrees to those with basic knowledge. Often, these educators are not highly specialized and frequently seek additional resources to enhance their knowledge of science and teaching effectiveness. Research societies possess the expertise and knowledge to support these educators in achieving their objectives.

By supporting science education and educators, research societies stand to gain from larger, more diverse, and highly motivated future memberships, along with an improved public image and acknowledgment of their valuable work.

The infographic below outlines practical ways by which research societies can engage with and support science educators, in order to advance their own mission.

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At the heart of these efforts lies the recognition that scientific knowledge is a powerful catalyst for positive change. By offering their support, research societies empower scientists and researchers to harness the force of evidence-based solutions for global peace and prosperity. Below are seven key pillars that illustrate how research societies bolster science for peace and development:

1. Funding and Grants: These societies provide vital financial support to researchers and scientists working on projects aimed at tackling critical global challenges, including conflict resolution and socio-economic development.

• Collaboration and Networking: Facilitating connections and knowledge-sharing, research societies create opportunities for experts to collaborate, pool resources, and collectively address pressing issues.

• Resource Accessibility: Research societies ensure that laboratories, data, and cutting-edge technology are accessible to scientists worldwide, enabling them to conduct research that drives progress.

• Advocacy and Policy Influence: By engaging with policymakers, research societies advocate for the integration of scientific findings into decision-making processes, creating a foundation for peaceful and sustainable policies.

• Education and Training: Capacity-building programs empower researchers, particularly in developing countries, to contribute effectively to scientific efforts for peace and development.

• Research Dissemination: These societies promote the dissemination of research findings to inform broader audiences, encouraging informed decisions and actions.

• Ethical Research: Research societies champion ethical practices, transparency, and accountability, ensuring that science is harnessed for the greater good without causing harm.

The collaborative and influential efforts of research societies offer a beacon of hope for global peace and development, illuminating the path towards a brighter and more sustainable future. The infographic below illustrates the multifaceted ways in which research societies actively contribute to this noble mission.

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By curating the scientific literature and ensuring its quality, academic publishers have a central role in advancing the scientific frontier. Similarly, research societies support the development and dissemination of knowledge in various disciplines. They publish journals, develop professional excellence, raise public awareness, and recognize and award significant achievements. Together, publishers and scholarly societies help define and set standards for their professional fields and promote high standards of quality. In clinical research, these standards also include aspects of ethics, privacy, and mental and physical well-being of patients. Safety is needed for patients involved in clinical trials, as well as for the secondary use of data and biological samples. Further, publishers and societies need to consider benefits and risks to individuals and the public.

Let’s look at how research societies and publishers contribute to patient safety through various practices.

1. Curating and disseminating reliable research

Scholarly publishers and societies are established channels for disseminating medical knowledge through their journals, conference proceedings, and various fora. These publications pass through mandatory peer review, academia’s quality control process. We frequently hear how peer reviewers are “gatekeepers,” in that they judge the novelty and importance of studies. But peer review also helps in identifying potential risks and flaws in research methodologies that could impact patient safety. Peer review must ensure strict scrutiny to uphold current laws and guidelines around ethically sound human research.

Remember how non-peer-reviewed preprints and rushed peer review during the COVID-19 pandemic caused potentially misleading information to spread? Swift retractions of spurious COVID-19 literature in both preprints and peer-reviewed papers, including those from high-ranking journals, served to prevent public health risk by curtailing the release of information that could harm patient safety. Thus, journals and societies must maintain responsible research practices during global emergencies.

Further, peer reviewers should be alert to overt unethical research practices like ethics dumping. In a classic case of ethics dumping, in clinical trials conducted in India from 1998 to 2015, thousands of women were placed in a control group without access to proper cervical cancer screening, despite effective methods being available. These women were thus knowingly exposed to the risk of developing and dying from cervical cancer. Research with poor ethical standards should raise red flags in pre-registration, grant review, and peer review stages to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable populations and protect the rights of research participants.

2. Making research advances accessible and understandable

Research is rapidly becoming more complex and interdisciplinary, and efficient sharing of information between researchers and the public has become more important now than ever before. Open Science calls for collaboration between diverse knowledge systems and highlights the importance of “open engagement” and participatory research. Involving patients in research can enhance the quality of healthcare provided and foster mutual learning, as patients gain a deeper understanding of fundamental scientific research, while researchers broaden their perspectives to better appreciate what matters most to patients. Patient partners can also help disseminate research findings, facilitating communication with the public and enhancing trust in the clinical research community.

Open access (OA) is one of the elements of Open Science. To be truly successful, advances in medicine must be accessible and understandable to patients across demographics. Moreover, OA publishing increases the accessibility of patient safety–related research to a wider audience. Numerous journals in the field of patient safety follow some form of OA, e.g., Patient Safety in Surgery and Journal of Patient Safety. In fact, the Journal of Patient-Centered Research and Reviews (JPCRR) is a Diamond OA journal, which means permanent and free access to published scientific works for readers and no publication fees for the authors.

3. Educating and training healthcare professionals about patient safety

Professional societies are well positioned to provide educational resources and training to researchers regarding ethical considerations and patient safety. As early as 1984, the American Society of Anesthesiologists established the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF). The APSF champions anesthesia patient safety and aims to improve the safety of patients during anesthesia care by identifying safety initiatives and creating relevant recommendations. The American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Heart Association provide online resources to help patients obtain information about research relevant to their health concerns. Societies such as the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research routinely organize workshops, seminars, and short courses focusing on patient safety issues.

4. Transparent reporting of errors, adverse events, and negative findings

Journals and societies are bringing about initiatives to promote transparency in reporting negative outcomes. For example, after noting the deficiencies in the reporting of adverse events in manuscripts submitted to the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, the journal declared its commitment to accurate and transparent scientific reporting, endorsing “CONsolidated Standards of Reporting Trials” (CONSORT). Now, most journals encourage authors to follow “Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research” (EQUATOR) reporting guidelines. However, a recent study showed that the CONSORT checklist is not adhered to in a large number of published trials, underscoring the role journals can play by mandating critical reporting practices.

Besides reporting the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions against associated risks, it is crucial to broaden the scope of reporting to include near misses or close calls. Research societies and publishers are also encouraging the publication of negative results and failed clinical trials to prevent the duplication of studies on potentially harmful treatments or interventions.

5. Meaningful collaborations for developing safety regulations

By working alongside regulatory agencies and collaborating with healthcare professionals, scholarly societies and publishers can help develop and implement research-based safety regulations. They can facilitate communication between researchers and clinicians to ensure that research findings are translated into safer medical practices. Working closely with patient advocates can be immensely beneficial too. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) includes patient representatives on the ASCO Cancer Research Committee and ASCO Expert Panels for their inputs on developing guidelines, and the American Association for Cancer Research fosters connections between patient advocates and researchers. Patient advocates can guide researchers on making studies more patient-centric, e.g., regarding the frequency of biopsies or treatment logistics. Such feedback is instrumental in designing studies with a better focus on patient satisfaction and safety.

Closing thoughts

Scholarly publishers and societies have a moral imperative to uphold patient safety in medical research and practice. They can contribute to this by establishing and inculcating ethical standards for research involving human subjects; fostering openness and knowledge-sharing among researchers to ensure safer medical practices; and collaborating with researchers, healthcare professionals, and patient advocates.

Collective and evolving efforts by publishers and societies can drive healthcare policies and safety measures to meet patients’ needs and preferences, while building and maintaining support, trust, and transparency.

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See also: A Spotlight on Progress in DEIA Efforts by Research Societies

Importance of amplifying Indigenous voices in academia

Indigenous peoples are far from monolithic, but many groups have a common history of being marginalized, oppressed, and silenced by colonialism and its legacy. Their knowledge and perspectives have often been dismissed or appropriated by dominant Western or other imperial paradigms, resulting in a lack of representation of Indigenous peoples and respect for their contributions to various fields.

Indigenous peoples have often been investigated in fields such as linguistics, anthropology, and ethnobotany, but this has often been as subjects. Nowadays, more people from Indigenous communities participate actively in research, but their contributions are too often not properly credited properly in studies; part of a problem referred to as “helicopter research.”

Amplifying Indigenous voices in academia is not only a matter of justice and equity, but also a matter of quality and relevance. Indigenous scholars bring valuable insights and solutions to address complex and urgent issues that affect us all, including how to educate others. Their research reflects their values and worldviews, which can challenge and even transform the dominant modes of thinking.

Promoting Indigenous voices in academia can foster more inclusive academic communities that respect different forms of knowledge. We can also create more opportunities for collaboration, and mutual learning between Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, as well as between academia and Indigenous communities.

See also: Breaking Down Barriers: How and Why Research Societies and Publishers Are Embracing Cultural Diversity

Guidelines to follow when communicating research on indigenous peoples

Academic journals and publishers are critical to the dissemination of knowledge. Therefore, they are responsible for ensuring that communication practices are ethical and culturally appropriate.

Publishers must assure that appropriate language is used. This can be done by creating guidelines on language usage with a comprehensive list of stigmatizing or inaccurate terms that should be avoided. Consulting existing style books can be helpful.

While paper authors are often given primacy over the data they present in their manuscripts, it is important to recognize the rights and interests of Indigenous peoples over their knowledge, data, and cultural expressions. Thus, proper acknowledgment and authorship should be offered, and appropriate policies to ensure these rules are followed should be put in place. The CONSIDER statement is a 17-point checklist of guidelines addressing how to report studies on indigenous peoples.

Journals should also encourage and support the submission of manuscripts by Indigenous authors or co-authors, as well as manuscripts that use Indigenous languages. Another valuable way of supporting and including Indigenous scholars is by including citation guidelines for communication from Indigenous knowledge keepers.

Finally, publishers should ensure that Indigenous communities have access to research that concerns them or which they have participated in. Rather than paywalling articles on Indigenous peoples, putting in place an open access policy and appropriately indexing papers can allow Indigenous peoples to reap the benefits of research conducted on their communities.

Disseminating of indigenous knowledge fairly

When Indigenous people share their knowledge, they should expect reciprocity and positive relationships from those disseminating it. Therefore, academic journals and publishers must respect the cultural values, protocols, and preferences of Indigenous peoples.

Indigenous authors or communities should be consulted on how they want their knowledge to be disseminated, who they want to reach, and what impact they want to achieve. The protocols and taboos of Indigenous peoples should be respected at all stages of this process. For example, some Indigenous communities like the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have specific restrictions on reproducing the names and photographs of deceased persons (which Australian journalists, documentary makers, and media are required to follow).

After an article is published, journals or publishers can work with authors to seek feedback from and engage in dialogue with communities about the outcomes and implications of the research. This will help ensure they remain involved in the ongoing conversations about and implications of their traditional knowledge.

Besides traditional journal articles, supporting the development of alternative or complementary platforms or formats, such as podcasts, videos, websites or oral presentations, can help Indigenous knowledge to be communicated more effectively to wider audiences.

Incorporating indigenous perspectives in peer review

Peer review is key to ensuring that academic research is valid and properly presented. However, peer review processes are often influenced by dominant Western norms, standards and expectations that may not be appropriate or relevant for evaluating research on Indigenous peoples. Therefore, academic journals and publishers should incorporate Indigenous perspectives in their peer review. How this should be done remains debated, but research has been conducted on this issue. Some ideas include:

• Invite Indigenous scholars or experts as reviewers or editors who can provide constructive feedback and guidance on the publication. However, it is important to understand the community’s capacity and not overburden them with excessive requests for their time.
• Include a community involvement statement or a validation of community approval.
• Encourage and facilitate dialogue, negotiation and consensus-building between Indigenous communities and stakeholders to address any issues, concerns or disagreements that may arise during the peer review process.
• Provide feedback and recognition to reviewers and editors for their contribution and expertise in reviewing research on Indigenous peoples.
• Let Indigenous communities or organizations determine their own involvement in the process to avoid false representation or tokenism.

Journals and publishers of note

The International Indigenous Policy Journal (IIPJ)

IIPJ is an online, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research and policy analysis on Indigenous issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. The journal aims to provide a forum for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, practitioners, and community members to share their knowledge to support evidence-based policy making. IIPJ shared the draft of the Aboriginal chapter of the Tri-Council Policy Statement, which is Canada’s main set of guidelines for ethical research on humans.

AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples

AlterNative is a peer-reviewed scholarly journal that publishes research on Indigenous peoples. The journal seeks to “present scholarly research on Indigenous worldviews and experiences of decolonization from Indigenous perspectives from around the world”. AlterNative also has a diverse editorial board of Indigenous or non-Indigenous scholars from various countries and clear guidelines on ethically reporting on Indigenous peoples.

Routledge Studies in Indigenous Peoples and Policy

Routledge, a global publisher of academic books focusing mainly on the humanities and social sciences, has recently began publishing a series of multidisciplinary books on Indigenous studies edited by esteemed academics Jerry P. White and Susan Wingert.

Conclusion

Communicating research on Indigenous peoples requires careful consideration and respect. Academic journals and publishers have a key role and responsibility in ensuring that their practices are culturally appropriate and ethical when publishing and disseminating research on Indigenous peoples. By doing so, they can contribute to amplifying Indigenous voices in academia and promoting the fair and equitable dissemination of Indigenous knowledge.

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As Western research publishers focus on building a presence in China, they are increasingly paying attention to Chinese social media platforms, especially WeChat. WeChat plays a critical role in the daily life of over 1.2 billion active users, including Chinese academics.

Researchers in China rely heavily on WeChat for two reasons. First, in the past 12 years, Chinese people (including academics) have gradually become habituated to using WeChat for instant communication, information acquisition and routine services, such as ordering food, taxis, and movie tickets. Chinese researchers might visit the website of a journal they are interested in occasionally, but they check WeChat almost every waking hour.

Second, WeChat articles are easy to share and view on mobile phones, for example, on a bus or subway during one’s daily commute or in the middle of a long and tedious meeting. Most Chinese academics subscribe to official WeChat accounts that share high-quality academic news and research information. In this way, they can automatically receive the latest articles and stay updated with their fields anywhere.

This article provides an overview of how to create a WeChat article, how to make it engaging, and how to attract readers to your articles and ultimately to your account.

See also: WeChat for Academia: 5 Western Publishers Who Have Created an Online Presence in China

Steps to create a WeChat article

Creating a basic WeChat article is straightforward. This section will introduce the basic steps of creating a WeChat article.

1. Log in to the WeChat official account platform, by scanning a QR code or by entering your password.

2. On the homepage of the official account platform, go to the “new creation” section in the middle of the web page. Select your content type, for example, “Article” as in the below screenshot. You can see more options on the right-hand side by clicking the “More” menu. Although most of the menu has been translated into English in the English version, some of the menus are still in Chinese.

3. On the content creation page, you can find the text edit toolbar on the top, similar to a Microsoft Word document. The system provides a default template that shows where to position the title, author, and main content. At the bottom of the page, you can choose to save your article as a draft or preview or distribute it to users by clicking the broadcast menu. The article setting menu is in the lower right corner (the red box in the below screenshot).

4. On the article setting page, you can set up a cover image and also create a short summary. You will need to confirm that the content is original (as highlighted in the screenshot), add source links (if any), enable users to send private messages to the official account, and indicate whether the article belongs to any collection.

5. Once you click on the statement of originality, you will get a pop-up window to review and confirm the statements. After ticking the check box and clicking “Next”, the system will show more settings (as the second screenshot shows). For example, you can enable the reward function to receive donations from readers. You can set the article type so that your target audience can quickly find your articles according to their interests. The last option allows you to add a whitelist for other official WeChat accounts that can republish your article.

6. Once all settings are chosen, you can publish your article. The publish button is hidden in the broadcast menu. You will need to click on the arrow beside “broadcast,” and the “publish” link will appear on top. Before publishing, you will get a confirmation page. The system will not automatically send the article to subscribers. Instead, you need to copy the URL of the published article and add it to related functions for sharing, such as the customized menu, autoreply, collection and webpage content.

7. After publishing the article, you can click on “broadcast”, and the system provides two options: timed broadcast and grouped broadcast. There are two types of official accounts: subscription and service. A subscription account can only broadcast one message every day. A service account can broadcast four messages a day.

See also: WeChat for Academia: Understanding Subscription and Service Accounts

8. If the creator of the article does not have admin permission, the system requires verification from the official account administrator. The account admin needs to scan a QR code and use their WeChat for verification. The second screenshot shows the admin view while confirming an article broadcast.

9. After the broadcast verification, the system automatically sends the article to the subscribers’ message channel.

See also: WeChat for Academia: Mini-Programs and How to Use Them

Crafting an Effective WeChat Article

Let’s take a look at what makes a WeChat article attractive and engaging for users, especially researchers.

• Language

Although most Chinese academics are able to read and understand articles in English, articles in Chinese are more popular. Some international WeChat official accounts provide multilingual content to meet personalized needs.

• Title

The article title is the first vital hook to attract the audience to read more. Usually, a good WeChat article has a short title, and all the keywords are self-explanatory.

• Novelty

The most attractive WeChat articles are usually trendy and provide valuable new knowledge and information. Novelty is one of the essential aspects of research. Therefore, articles about new research findings and funding resources are particularly popular among Chinese researchers.

• Originality

Chinese academia are becoming increasingly aware of academic integrity issues, and value originality in WeChat articles. If researchers read similar content across different WeChat articles, they will lose trust in your official account and may even cancel their subscription.

• Authenticity

Chinese researchers check whether an article contains authentic scientific information. If the article lacks scientific evidence to support the argument, Chinese researchers might doubt its authenticity and consider you a provider of superficial news articles rather than a credible source of scientific information.

• Mode

In the digital era, we are surrounded by multimedia content everywhere. An article with only lengthy text lacks appeal to a WeChat audience. WeChat articles with multimedia content, such as audio, video, gifs, and images are more popular.

• Structure and attention to detail

Chinese researchers are trained to be rigid and critical in developing and evaluating research-related content, even if it is just a WeChat article. Format, structure, logic, and language are essential for your articles to be perceived as high quality.

See also: WeChat for Academia: 3 Scientific Accounts with High Engagement

How to promote WeChat articles

Many analytics platforms provide data regarding WeChat article engagement, for example, TopSocial and Jzi.com. From their reports, you can find the most popular WeChat official accounts and articles in your field or target market for benchmarking and comparison. It is essential to know yourself and your competitors. Further, many third-party companies provide customized services that promote your WeChat articles and accounts, for example, Daizhangmen and Qianhu. However, such services have limited effectiveness if your WeChat articles themselves are low-quality or if your WeChat account is not well managed. Apart from the commercial approaches, here are some practical tips for increasing the number of article reads and account subscribers.

• Build a social network in China and invite reputed individual WeChat users (not just famous researchers) to share your WeChat articles in their personal WeChat moments and groups.
• Create attractive digital and paper-based posters with the QR code of your WeChat articles or official account, and circulate them through the Internet and in-person promotion events. Invite users to subscribe to the official account by offering small gifts.
• Insert hyperlinks to previously published relevant articles to attract readers to learn more about the topic and subscribe to the official account.
• Enable the autoreply feature so that users can type keywords and receive auto recommendations of relevant articles.
• Highlight the featured articles in the customized menu of your WeChat official account for easier access.
• Insert links to the WeChat articles on other social media platforms, such as Zhihu and Little Red Book.
• Develop a good strategy for setting article keywords for the WeChat search engine to show your articles easily.

Conclusion

The Chinese research publishing market is unique with its specific cultural background and socioeconomic-political context. WeChat is an important part of the Chinese digital ecosystem, and WeChat services play a dominant role in Chinese academics’ daily life and work. Therefore, creating reputed WeChat official accounts with a continuous flow of good-quality WeChat articles is the foundation for building trust in your brand among Chinese academia.

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Open access (OA) is particularly powerful in transferring knowledge from lab to clinic in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, in order to support the advancement of global health and keep the world safe, academic publishers and journals must prioritize and facilitate OA to research articles and data and thus contribute to a more equitable global health landscape. This article provides an overview of how OA publishing contributes to global health, and discusses solutions to two key challenges that publishers face with respect to OA health-related publications: diversity and accessibility.

See also: Geographical Differences in Open Access Ecosystems: Implications for Research Societies and Publishers

How OA publishing contributes to global health

By reducing digital, technological, and knowledge barriers, OA publishing can buttress global health in a number of ways.

1. OA publishing improves health outcomes

Clinicians who cannot afford to access subscription-based journals struggle to source up-to-date clinical information locked behind paywalls. OA publishing allows clinicians and healthcare providers around the world to freely access important case reports and research findings and apply those findings to practice. This greater accessibility can help improve global health manifold.

• OA publishing facilitates collaboration

Intellectual property barriers and data secrecy stand in the way of progress in treatment development. When research findings are freely available, it becomes easier for researchers from different countries to build on each other’s work, share data, and collaborate on new projects, eventually accelerating clinical research and improving health outcomes universally.

• OA publishing allows faster dissemination of information

Research published in OA journals can be accessed and shared more quickly than research published in traditional subscription-based journals. This is especially important in the context of global health emergencies, where timely access to information is essential to inform public health policies and interventions.

• OA journals empower communities

OA publishing can empower communities by giving them access to scientific literature that can help them make informed decisions about their health. This is critical in LMICs, where access to healthcare resources is limited.

• OA publishing avoids redundant efforts

When researchers work in silos, without sharing research objectives, methods, and findings at early stages of projects, it may lead to unintentional duplication of research. Open practices minimize redundant research efforts and avoid the wastage of time and resources.

See also: Open Access and Climate Research: Transformations in the Publication Landscape Over Time

Representing diverse perspectives in OA publications on global health

Promoting representativeness in OA publications on global health requires active effort and engagement from publishers. By implementing the following strategies, publishers can help promote equity, ensure that diverse perspectives are represented, and help improve health outcomes.

1. Encouraging submissions from diverse regions

OA publishers can actively seek submissions from researchers from LMICs and non–English-speaking countries through targeted outreach efforts or collaborations with local institutions.

• Supporting translation efforts

OA publishers can offer translation services to ensure that articles from non–English-speaking countries are translated into English. This can make research from diverse regions and populations more accessible and bridge language barriers.

• Having a diverse and representative editorial board

A diverse editorial board, representative of different regions, languages, populations, and genders, ensures that articles are reviewed and published while taking into account the needs and perspectives of different communities. The use of culturally appropriate language and terminology will make publications relevant to different populations, resonating with diverse needs and values.

See also: Open Access and Gender Equity in Academia

Making healthcare information truly accessible to global audiences

To ensure that global health research is made accessible to global audiences with varying internet bandwidths and English capabilities, OA publishers can consider the following five strategies:

1. Providing multiple formats

OA publishers can provide research articles in multiple formats, such as HTML and PDF, to accommodate different internet bandwidths and device capabilities. This allows readers to access content in a format that works best for them.

• Offering translations

OA publishers can offer translations of research articles into multiple languages to ensure that readers with varying English capabilities can access the content. Publishers can also encourage authors to provide translations of key findings or abstracts in multiple languages.

• Using plain language summaries and data visualizations

Plain language summaries and data visualizations make research findings more accessible to readers with varying English capabilities. If OA publishers include such elements, key findings can be communicated clearly and effectively; readers can explore the data and findings even if they may not be able to fully understand the article in English.

• Optimizing for low bandwidth and for mobile devices

OA publishers should optimize their websites for low bandwidth connections by minimizing the use of large images, videos, and other data-heavy elements. The websites should also be made smartphone-friendly so that the vast population that seeks healthcare information can do so without a laptop or desktop. Information should be optimized for easy reading on smaller screens, should load fast, and be easy to navigate and interact with.

• Partnering with local organizations

OA publishers can partner with local organizations to promote their content and ensure that it reaches audiences far and wide. This can be done by collaborating with local universities, research institutions, and advocacy organizations.

Final notes

The inability to access and publish clinical research is one of the major reasons for global health inequity. OA publishing can play an important role in advancing global health by increasing accessibility to scientific literature, facilitating collaboration, and accelerating the dissemination of information. Fortunately, there is a growing movement for promoting OA for publications resulting from publicly funded research. National and institutional OA requirements are also contributing to this push for OA. Patient advocates, researchers, publishers, funders, and policymakers need to work together in advocating for the role of OA in healthcare research. There are numerous ways by which journals and academic publishers can support and maximize OA, thereby contributing to equitable global health for all.

The post <strong>Unlocking the Potential of Open Access: A Publisher’s Roadmap for Advancing Global Health Research</strong> appeared first on CACTUS.

Preprints have a long history in the physical sciences. The first modern-day preprint server, arXiv, was launched in 1991 by Cornell physicist Paul Ginsparg. arXiv allowed researchers in the field of high-energy particle physics to upload, search, and retrieve preprints in one central online location. arXiv now hosts preprints in physics, mathematics, computer science, and more. Other fields have followed suit, and a variety of field-specific preprint servers have been introduced, such as BioRxiv for biological sciences, medRxiv for medical sciences, PsyArXiv for psychological sciences, and SocArXiv for social sciences.

The growing importance of preprints in the biomedical sciences

In recent years, preprints have become increasingly popular in the biomedical literature for several reasons. These are as follows:

1. Rapid scientific communication and effective collaboration in health crises

In the COVID-19 pandemic, preprints were extremely important because they allowed for the rapid dissemination of pertinent findings to the scientific community and the general public. This was particularly crucial when scientists were working quickly to understand the new virus and develop strategies to combat it. Preprints were also instrumental in facilitating collaboration among scientists and enabling them to build on each other’s work.

As we have been told time and again, the frequency of pandemics might increase in coming years. Rapid information facilitated by preprints will continue to play an important role in faster discovery and development of effective prophylaxis and treatments.

2. Wider reach of the latest in biomedical advances

Unlike traditional journal articles, which are often behind paywalls or require a subscription to access, preprints are freely available to anyone with an internet connection. Therefore, preprints promote wide accessibility to the latest advances in biomedical research, including laypersons and media professionals, who do not have access to paywalled articles.

3. Early feedback and detection of potential flaws or misconduct

By sharing research findings as preprints, scientists can disseminate their work faster and get valuable feedback from the scientific community before the research is formally published. Such openness and early sharing allow for a wider swath of researchers to scrutinize the work and identify potential problems with the study, including misconduct.

Why journals and publishers need to embrace preprints

Being preprint-friendly is a good way for journals and publishers to demonstrate their commitment to open science and transparency, accelerate the dissemination of scientific knowledge, and strengthen their brand and relevance within the scientific community.

Here are some advantages that journals and publishers can reap from being preprint-friendly:

• Increased visibility boosts the brand

Preprints are freely and openly accessible—characteristics conducive to a wide reach and high visibility. Further, the priority of publication in this manner leads to early attention, feedback, and citation, all of which mean increased visibility. This benefits the author and the journal that hosts the preprint and the final article.

• Better credibility means better reputation

By being preprint-friendly, journals and publishers demonstrate that they are committed to promoting open science and advancing scientific progress. They show that they recognize the value of preprints in promoting transparency and accelerating the dissemination of scientific knowledge.

• Compliance with important legislations adds value

Several important legislations and funder mandates related to preprints aim to promote open access and accelerate the dissemination of research findings:

Plan S: This initiative requires that all research articles funded by participating organizations must be made immediately available in an open-access repository, including preprints.

NIH Public Access Policy: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires that all peer-reviewed articles resulting from NIH-funded research be made publicly available within 12 months of publication. The policy also allows for the inclusion of preprints in grant applications and progress reports.

NIH Preprint Pilot: The NIH launched a preprint pilot program (Phase I) in June 2020, which focused on COVID-related research. This pilot is now set to be extended to include non-COVID related preprints, starting from January 2023.

Wellcome Trust Open Access Policy: All peer-reviewed articles resulting from Wellcome-funded research are be made open access immediately upon publication. The policy also encourages the use of preprints to disseminate research findings quickly.

If a publisher encourages preprints and incorporates them in their functioning, it will attest to their commitment to these policies and frameworks. Authors will want to choose target journals that are compatible with OA mandates and funder requirements.

Savvy publishers are investing in preprint servers

Thus far, preprint servers catered to a field or set of fields. But this is changing rapidly. Recent years are seeing major publishers invest in preprint platforms or develop their versions of such repositories, as described below.

Springer Nature’s In Review service

Springer Nature is one of the investors in Research Square, a rapidly growing preprint platform. Besides this, Springer Nature has also launched an initiative to host preprints of the manuscripts submitted to some of its titles in an “In Review” preprint service. Here, authors have the option to have their paper posted online at submission. Even if the manuscript is not accepted for publication, the associated preprint stays on the platform, albeit free of journal branding.

Wiley’s Under Review service

On the lines of Springer Nature’s In Review, Wiley has an “Under Review” service that allows authors to deposit their manuscript as a preprint while it is under review. Its scope is constantly expanding, and a sizeable fraction of submissions to certain Wiley journals are being uploaded as preprints in the Under Review model.

Wolters Kluwer’s Lippincott® Preprints

Lippincott® Preprints is a platform that enables researchers working in the fields of medicine, nursing, and allied health fields to share their work online for free. After being approved, these preprints become accessible to the research community online. The platform also has a monitored commenting feature to encourage discussion and collaboration. Lippincott® Preprints supports the principles of open science and aligns with Wolters Kluwer’s goal of sharing research globally.

By integrating preprint submissions into their manuscript submission workflows, publishers can secure their foothold in this domain.

Conclusion

Preprints allow research to be more accessible, accelerating the pace of scientific discovery. They also enable open discussions and early feedback, leading to more rigorous and robust research outcomes. Going “pro-preprint” can also help journals and publishers move closer to achieving their business goals, because the benefits translate into better recognition and therefore higher engagement from stakeholders, which means increased revenue for the publisher.

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