[Web4lib] Soft Peer Review: Social Software and Distributed Scientific Evaluation

[Gerry Mckiernan]

Colleagues/

A Most Excellent and Timely Review

/Gerry

Soft Peer Review: Social Software and Distributed Scientific Evaluation

Dario TARABORELLI / Department of Psychology / University College London / Gower Street / London / WC1 6BT / United Kingdom / 

Abstract 

The debate on the prospects of peer-review in the Internet age and the increasing criticism leveled against the dominant role of impact factor indicators are calling for new measurable criteria to assess scientific quality. Usage-based metrics offer a new avenue to scientific quality assessment but face the same risks as first generation search engines that used unreliable metrics (such as raw traffic data) to estimate content quality. In this article I analyze the contribution that social bookmarking systems can provide to the problem of usage-based metrics for scientific evaluation. I suggest that collaboratively aggregated metadata may help fill the gap between traditional citation-based criteria and raw usage factors. I submit that bottom-up, distributed evaluation models such as those afforded by social bookmarking will challenge more traditional quality assessment models in terms of coverage, efficiency and scalability. Services aggregating user-related quality indicators for online scientific content will come to occupy a key function in the scholarly communication system.

Links to References / Original Blog Post / Full  Text / Graphic Available At 

[ http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/05/soft-peer-review-social-software-and.html ]

OR 

[ http://tinyurl.com/4yc54u ]

BTW-1: Thanks  Dario for The Cite! [:-)

BTW-2 I remain  interested in Any/All Cites/Sites Relating to Review | Open | Peer | Review 

[http://scholarship20.blogspot.com/2008/04/review-open-peer-review.html ] 

OR

 [ http://tinyurl.com/44rpdn ]

Quote: I wish to take a wider view of Open Review by Peers that includes current efforts, notably initiatives in which 'peers' assess the value and/or importance of an article/manuscript before and/or after 'formal' 'publication.'

Regards,

/Gerry 

Gerry McKiernan
Associate Professor
Science and Technology Librarian
Iowa State University Library
Ames IA 50011

gerrymck at iastate.edu 

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