Loading...
9 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
- The impact of generative AI on the scholarly communications of early career researchers: an international, multi‐disciplinary studyPublication . Nicholas, David; Swigon, Marzena; Clark, David; Abrizah, Abdullah; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Herman, Eti; Rodríguez Bravo, Blanca; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyThe Harbingers study of early career researchers (ECRs), their work life and scholarly communications, began by studying generational—Millennial—change (c.2016), then moved to pandemic change (c.2020) and is now investigating another potential agent of change: artificial intelligence (2024–). We report here on a substantial scoping pilot study that looks at the impact of AI on the scholarly communications of international ECRs and, extends this to the arts and humanities. It aims to fill the knowledge gap concerning ECRs whose millennial mindset may render them especially open to change and, as the research workhorses they are, very much in the frontline. The data was collected via in-depth interviews in China, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Spain and (selectively) the United Kingdom/United States. The data show ECRs to be thinking, probing and, in some cases, experimenting with AI. There was a general acceptance that AI will be responsible for the growth of low quality scientific papers, which could lead to a decline in the quality of research. Scholarly integrity and ethics were a big concern with issues of authenticity, plagiarism, copyright and poor citation practices raised. The most widespread belief was AI would prove to be a transformative force and would exacerbate existing scholarly disparities and inequalities.
- Early career researchers on all aspects of peer review: a deep dive into the dataPublication . Nicholas, David; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Abrizah, Abdullah; Herman, Eti; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Świgoń, Marzena; Clark, David; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyThe Harbingers study of early career researchers (ECRs) and their work life and scholarly communications began by studying generational—Millennial—change (H‐1), then moved to pandemic change (H‐2) and is now investigating another change agent—artificial intelligence (AI). This paper from the study constitutes a deep dive into the peer review attitudes and practices of 91 international ECRs from all disciplines. Depth interviews were the main means by which data was collected, and questions covered ECRs as reviewers, authors and readers, and are described in their own words. Main findings are: (1) ECRs proved to be a highly experienced in peer review; (2) There is more trust in peer review than distrust in it, but there are concerns; (3) Peer review is something that arts and humanities ECRs are unfamiliar with or much concerned about; (4) A sizeable majority of ECRs thought peer review could be improved, with anonymity/double‐blind reviewing topping the list; (5) The majority view was that AI will have an impact on peer review and that it would be beneficial; (6) little has changed since the last Harbingers study, except for AI, which is seen to be transformative. We believe that few studies have drilled down so deeply and widely in respect to ECRs.
- Are early career researchers feeling the consequences of the COVID pandemic?Publication . Nicholas, David; Abrizah, Abdullah; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Rodríguez Bravo, Blanca; Swigon, Marzena; Clark, David; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, Anthony; Herman, EtiDuring the COVID pandemic, some commentators thought that early career researchers (ECRs) would become a ‘lost generation’. Yet the Harbingers (H-2) longitudinal study, which followed ECRs for 2 years during the pandemic found that ECRs took things in their stride. More than 2 years on, we returned, as part of the AI stage of the Harbingers study (H-3), to see what has transpired and interviewed nearly 70 ECRs from six countries as part of an exploratory study. We found that: (1) only one in six ECRS thought they were suffering from the residual impacts of the pandemic, with increased workload creating the greatest stress; (2) working remotely, digitally and more flexibly was thought by many to be the biggest dividend delivered, making the job more desirable and competitive; (3) an apparent growth in jobs and promotions (tenures) confirmed the bounce-back. Given the modest size of the study, analysis by country has to be undertaken with caution, but China, where political and economic factors have stifled any bounce-back, stands out for special attention in a future full blown study. Finally, the study yielded informed and considered views that the long-term impact of the pandemic appears to be beneficial rather than disadvantageous.
- The impact of AI on the post‐pandemic generation of early career researchers: what we know or can predict from the published literaturePublication . Herman, Eti; Nicholas, David; Abrizah, Abdullah; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Swigon, Marzena; Clark, David; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyThis extensive literature review is not a stand-alone paper, as it was conducted to help set the scene for the third and current stage of the Harbinger of Change project (H-3), which is focusing on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on early career researchers (ECRs). Its purpose is to inform the design, scope and question forming of the ongoing interview project (2024–). The overarching aim of the review is to establish what we know of the already extant and/or predicted opportunities and challenges that AI-driven technologies present to researchers, in general, and the cohort of junior researchers among them, in particular. It was found that very little empirical evidence exists of what is happening to ECRs on the ground, and that tends to be drowned in a sea of forecasts and prognostications. However, down the road there are clear benefits accruing to ECRs and, arguably, the most appealing for novice researchers must be the benefits of enhancing their productivity, the key to all scholarly rewards, inclusive of career advancement.
- Authors, wordsmiths and ghostwriters: early career researchers' responses to artificial intelligencePublication . Clark, David; Nicholas, David; Swigon, Marzena; Abrizah, Abdullah; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Herman, Eti; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyPresents the results of a study of the impact of artificial intelligence on early career researchers (ECRs). An important group to study because their millennial mindset may render them especially open to AI. We provide empirical data and a validity check of the numerous publications providing forecasts and prognostications. This interview-based study—part of the Harbingers project on ECRs—covers a convenience sample of 91 ECRs from all fields and seven countries using both qualitative and quantitative data to view the AI experience, engagement, utility, attitudes and representativeness of ECRs. We find that: (1) ECRs exhibit mostly limited or moderate levels of experience; (2) in regard to engagement and usage there is a divide with some ECRs exhibiting little or none and others enthusiastically using AI; (3) ECRs do not think they are unrepresentative when compared to their colleagues; (4) ECRs who score highly on these measures tend to be computer scientists, but not exclusively so; (5) the main concerns regarding AI were around authenticity, especially plagiarism; (6) a major attraction of AI is the automation of ‘wordsmithing’; the process and technique of composition and writing.
- Early career researchers open‐up on citations in respect to reputation, trust, ethics, AI and much morePublication . Nicholas, David; Abrizah, Abdullah; Clark, David; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Herman, Eti; Świgoń, Marzena; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyThis paper, part of the Harbingers project studying early career researchers (ECRs), focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on scholarly communications (https://ciber-research.com/harbingers-3/index.html). It investigates citations and citing, its purpose, function and use, especially in respect to reputation, trust, publishing and AI. We also cover journal impact factors, H-index, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. All of this, regarding a research community, to whom citations have special reputational and career-advancing value. This interview-based study covers a convenience sample of 91 ECRs from all disciplines and half a dozen countries. Furthermore, this study has been conducted with minimal prompting about citations, so providing a fresh feel by using the voices of ECRs wherever possible. Findings include: (1) citations are all-pervasive, although cropping up mostly in the reputational and trust arenas; (2) citations remain a major force in determining what is read, where to publish and what to trust; (3) there are no signs their value is diminishing; if anything, the opposite is true; (4) AI has given a boost to their use—primarily as a validity check; (5) there are strong signs that altmetrics are being taken up. Note, this was a preliminary study working with a convenience sample attempting to inform a future study. Our findings should therefore be treated more as early observations.
- Where will AI take scholarly communication? Voices from the research frontlinePublication . Nicholas, David; Rodríguez-Bravo, Blanca; Abrizah, Abdullah; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Herman, Eti; Clark, David; Swigon, Marzena; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyEarly career researchers (ECRs) are in an ideal position to soothsay. Yet, much of what we know about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) comes from vested interest groups, such as publishers, tech companies and industry leaders, which are strong on hyperbole, are superficial and, at best, narrow surveys. This paper seeks to redress this by providing deep empirical data from researchers, allowing us to hear researchers' views and ‘voices’. The data comes from a project, which focuses on the impact of AI on scholarly communications. From this study, we report on the perceived transformations to the scholarly communications system by AI and other forces. We were especially interested in discovering what future ECRs foresaw for the established pillars of the system—journals and libraries. The interview-based study covers a convenience sample of 91 ECRs from all disciplines and half a dozen countries. The main findings being that while the large majority thought there would be a transformation there was no consensus as to what a transformation would look like, but there was agreement on it being one shaped by AI. The future appears rosy for journals, but less so for libraries and, importantly, for most ECRs, too.
- Purchase and publish: early career researchers and open access publishing costsPublication . Nicholas, David; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Abrizah, Abdullah; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Boukacem‐Zeghmouri, Cherifa; Clark, David; Xu, Jie; Swigon, Marzena; Watkinson, Anthony; Jamali, Hamid R.; Herman, EtiThis paper comes from the third stage (H-3) of the long-running Harbingers of Change project (2015), which has investigated the scholarly communication beliefs and practices of early career researchers (ECRs) for a decade. The first stage (H-1) focussed on generational (Millennial) change; the second (H-2) on the impact of COVID; and, currently, the third stage (H-3) on AI and its impact. While each stage has a particular focus all stages also asked questions about wider scholarly communications. This paper re-examines an important finding found in H-1 and backed by H-2, which was that ECRs thought article processing charges were a major barrier to publishing open access (OA). Since then, OA has become more complex with more models available and a huge body of OA journals to navigate, so it is time to return to the topic. Data were obtained from China, France, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal and Spain about national guidelines and practices with 62 ECRs interviewed in-depth. The findings indicate that ECRs are encountering challenges, or dilemmas in OA publishing. More precisely, they struggle with issues surrounding cost perceptions and understanding within the intricate academic publishing environment.
- Integrity and misconduct, where does artificial intelligence lead?Publication . Nicholas, David; Herman, Eti; Clark, David; Abrizah, Abdullah; Revez, Jorge, 1980-; Rodríguez‐Bravo, Blanca; Świgoń, Marzena; Xu, Jie; Watkinson, AnthonyThis paper, part of the third stage of the Harbingers project studying early career researchers (ECRs), focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on scholarly communications. It concentrates on research integrity and misconduct, a ‘hot’ topic among the publishing community, in no small part due to the rise of AI. The interview-based study, supported by an extensive literature review, covers a convenience sample of 91 ECRs from all disciplines and half a dozen countries. It provides a new and fresh take on the subject, using the ‘voices’ of ECRs to describe their views and practices regarding integrity and misconduct. We show that ECRs are clearly aware of research misconduct and questionable practice with three-quarters saying so. A big indictment of the scholarly system, but, not surprising given a rising number of retractions and questionable journals. The main blame for this is levelled at the haste with which researchers publish and the volume of papers produced. ECRs also feel that things are likely to get worse with the advent of AI. They believe that they are aware of the problems and how to avoid the pitfalls but suspect that things are approaching a cliff-edge, which can only be avoided with strong policies and an overhaul of the reputational system.