Research Article: ‘No Comment’? A Study of Commenting on PLOS Articles”
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Title
‘No Comment’? A Study Of Commenting on PLOS Articles
Authors
Simon Wakeling
The University of Sheffield
Peter Willett
The University of Sheffield
Claire Creaser
Loughborough University
Jenny Fry
Loughborough University
Stephen Pinfield
The University of Sheffield
Valerie Spezi
Loughborough University
Marc Bonne
The University of Sheffield
Christina Fountitzelle
The University of Sheffield
Medina Perea
The University of Sheffield
Source
Journal of Information Science
DOI: 10.1177/0165551518819965
Article first published online: January 24, 2019
Abstract
Article–commenting functionality allows users to add publicly visible comments to an article on a publisher’s website. As well as facilitating forms of post-publication peer review, for publishers of open-access mega-journals (large, broad scope, open-access journals that seek to publish all technically or scientifically sound research) comments are also thought to serve as a means for the community to discuss and communicate the significance and novelty of the research, factors which are not assessed during peer review. In this article we present the results of an analysis of commenting on articles published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), publisher of the first and best-known mega-journal PLOS ONE, between 2003 and 2016. We find that while overall commenting rates are low, and have declined since 2010, there is substantial variation across different PLOS titles. Using a typology of comments developed for this research, we also find that only around half of comments engage in an academic discussion of the article and that these discussions are most likely to focus on the paper’s technical soundness. Our results suggest that publishers are yet to encourage significant numbers of readers to leave comments, with implications for the effectiveness of commenting as a means of collecting and communicating community perceptions of an article’s importance.
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Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Libraries, News, Open Access, Patrons and Users, PLOS, Public Libraries, Publishing
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.