With the completion of the year-long project to implement Single Sign On (SSO), the electrochemical and solid state community can now log in to the ECS website with just one set of credentials, and have access to all ECS-approved applications and websites without having to having to log in again. SSO simplifies username and password management while improving identity protection, decreasing “password fatigue.”

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Did you know that ECS has published over 20,000 proceedings papers in ECS Transactions? Then, in 2018, we launched our preprint server, ECSarXiv, in order to provide our community with even more opportunities to share their research. Now, we need your feedback.

Share your thoughts on ECS’s alternative publications venues by taking our brief 5-minute survey. Your feedback will help provide us with valuable information to improve our authors’ publishing options.

Respondents will have the option to provide their contact information in order to be entered in a drawing for one of six $20 Amazon gift cards. (more…)

Help us understand how researchers assess the credibility of manuscripts by taking a short (15 minute) survey. The Center for Open Science is seeking graduate students, post docs, researchers, and academic faculty to participate in this survey to investigate the factors that affect the perceived credibility and use of preprints.

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ECS Transactions (ECST), the Society’s official meeting proceedings publication, will be undergoing some exciting changes over the course of 2018.

At the start of 2018, ECS debuted the newly redesigned cover of ECST. The refreshed design is streamlined and modern, prominently branded with the Society’s colors, green and blue. Adding to ECST’s improved look and feel, all hard copy (CD or USB) editions of ECST purchased from the upcoming 233rd ECS Meeting in Seattle, WA, will feature brand-new premium hardboard packaging.

Also beginning with the Seattle meeting, ECST will no longer be available in a CD/USB combo pack. Instead, those who are interested in purchasing a hard copy edition will be able to purchase either the CD or USB edition. ECST issues will continue to be made available for sale in PDF format through the ECS Online Store. This small change has been made in order to reduce waste, while ensuring that attendees will still be able to purchase ECST issues in their preferred format.

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By: Brian Nosek, Center for Open Science

In the Fall of 2011, Sarah Mackenzie, the maid of honor at my wedding, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. Sarah and her family were motivated to learn as much as they could about the disease to advocate for her care. They weren’t scientists, but they started searching the literature for relevant articles. One evening, Sarah called us, angry. Every time she found an article that might be relevant to understanding her disease, she ran into a paywall requiring $15-$40 to access it. Public money had paid for the research, yet she was barred from making any use of it. Luckily, she had us. Most people in Sarah’s position don’t have the luxury of friends at wealthy academic institutions with subscriptions to the literature.

During this time, I was pursuing an interest in the business models of scholarly communication. I wanted to understand the ways in which these models interfered with the dissemination of knowledge that could improve quality of life. Sarah’s experience illustrated one key part of the problem–the outcomes of research should be public goods, but the business models of publishing make them exclusive goods. Lack of access to published literature limits our ability to apply what we know to improving others’ quality of life. If doctors can’t access the literature, they can’t keep up with the latest innovations for care. If policy makers can’t access the literature, they can’t create evidence based policies. To advance solutions and cures, the outcomes of research must be open.

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ECS’s Ask Me Anything thread is officially live on /r/Science.

Use the link below to visit the thread and post your questions about open science, the Free the Science initiative, and the Society’s forthcoming preprint server, ECSarXiv.

Visit the AMA!

Please note: you will need a Reddit account in order to post questions, comment, or vote in the discussion. If you do not already have one, you can create a free account on Reddit’s website.

Revisit the thread later today, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST. During this time, ECS President Johna Leddy and ECS Transactions Editor Jeffrey Fergus will respond to questions that have been posted, prioritizing the ones that have received the most upvotes.

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On Thursday, December 14, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm EST, ECS President Johna Leddy and ECS Transactions Editor Jeffrey Fergus will answer your questions about open science, the Free the Science initiative, and the Society’s forthcoming preprint server, ECSarXiv, during ECS’s second Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA).

The online discussion will take place as part of the /r/Science community’s Science AMA Series. All are encouraged to ask questions and participate in the discussion.

Any questions related to the topics listed above are fair game. Start preparing yours!

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