myrmepropagandist
I live in fear of the day that things that look like academic papers, formatted and written like academic papers start popping up all over the place but they will just be generated nonsense.
So I will need to go to the journal's webpage (if they have one) and look up the paper to see if they really published it before I read anything (if the journal lets you do that without subscribing)
And then I'll need to also check if the journal is a real one too.
myrmepropagandist
I already do this if I'm doing any serious research, but part of learning is exploratory. Needing to suspect that EVERY sentence could be a lie kills the momentum.
I'm not a professional scientist. I'm just an enthusiastic amateur. I have a full time job and don't have the time to do all that all of the time.
I should be able to read a damn blog about ants without being worried a machine is feeding me lies from a ghost.
Boris Barbour
@futurebird @medley56 @wmd @alexwild
Have you installed the PubPeer browser and Zotero extensions?
myrmepropagandist
@BorisBarbour @medley56 @wmd @alexwild
I don't have institutional access to most journals so many of these systems are of limited value for me. I tend to find pdfs of journal articles I want to read when they aren't behind a paywall or if I can get the author to send it to me.
Will these extensions help with that?
Amateurs doing self study like me don't have access to many of the tools that those working in the system might have.
Patrick Lam :tinoflag:
@futurebird @BorisBarbour @medley56 @wmd @alexwild yeah the other advantage of working in one's field of expertise is that it's easier to spot fake authors
myrmepropagandist
@amberage @medley56 @wmd @alexwild
So far there have been some fake papers submitted to journals and I think a few even got "published" but at time of posting if you find something that looks like a paper that says it's from Journal X it's probably really just that.
But I don't expect it to stay that way forever.
Mx Amber Alex (she/it)
@futurebird @medley56 @wmd @alexwild isn't that day today already?
myrmepropagandist
If you are looking at papers on a controversial topic eg. COVID there is already a lot of fake stuff out there. But on "boring" science topics, things like a description of a new species of ant? One can trust a paper most of the time.
But, my trust has been deeply shaken and I check now and then, and look for the signs of the rot spreading regularly.
Marcel Abraas
@futurebird @medley56 @wmd @alexwild Yeah, that is a fear I share. Especially if the real research remains behind paywalls, and the fake ones will obviously be open access. Guess which ones will be shared more. Try fighting fake news then.. I guess, as bad as it is, it is one more argument to make all research Open Access.
🌈☔🌦️🍄
@wa7iut @kritischelezer @futurebird @medley56 @alexwild capitalism got us into this mess, it won't get us out. Adding money or resources just means you leave the abuse to the rich, who are the ones abusing their power already.
Bob Davidson
@kritischelezer @futurebird @medley56 @wmd @alexwild
the internet needs more friction! e.g., If you had to purchase postage for email, there would be a lot less spam.
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