Contribution tool

This page is a knowledge crystal of subtype method. The page identifier is Op_en1998
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Summary

Purpose

Contribution tool enables the users to provide contributions that maintain their content unchanged in time. The contributions are linked to relevant pages in the contents of the guidance system. In addition, the content pages show links to all contributions that link to the page. In this way, the readers of the final product can see, evaluate, and give credit to the contributions of all contributors.

Structure of the process

Procedure

Contributions have a separate namespace Nugget (one meaning being "a grain of gold"). A page is created by pressing the Contribute button beside any title of any wiki page. Then,

• a new page is created on the nugget namespace
• the page appears in edit mode in a new window
• when the page is saved, it is automatically write-protected so that only the creator of the page (and a moderator) can edit the page. The moderator only edits the page if it has offensive or otherwise unacceptable material.
• The following text is automatically added below the title on the page that is commented:

{{nuggetlink|<title of the nugget page>}} 

• A similar link can manually be added to any page where the nugget is a relevant contribution.
• A saved nugget page automatically shows the pages that link to it.
• The sentences are automatically numbered on the right marginal of the nugget page to facilitate citations (is this necessary or useful?).

There is also a namespace called Nugget Talk. The discussions in this namespace are rarely important for clarifying the topic of the contribution. The main thing is that someone did bring up the contribution and the information became available. However, sometimes it is also important to give credit to the original inventor or finder of a particular idea or information. Thus, the allowed topics for this namespace are

• discussing on the origins of the contribution
• supplementing the references of the contribution
• presenting evidence about the original (or older) sources of the idea presented in the contribution.

The following topics are NOT allowed:

• Argumentum ad hominem: attacking a statement by discrediting the person who presented the statement
• Discussion about the topic of the contribution; that discussion belongs to the page to which the contribution refers.

Nuggets as scientifically citable articles

It should be possible to cite a nugget in a similar way than a peer-reviewed scientific article ("article" for short on this page) in general. Of course, not all nuggets are articles, but some do fulfil the criteria. Thus, there should be a procedure for that. The procedure is as follows:

• A nugget that may become an article must contain the following information:
  • full names and affiliations of all authors
  • descriptions of the contributions of each author
  • a statement about conflict of interests
  • a statement about ethical permissions and procedures, if animals or humans were involved in the study
  • an implicit statement that the authors give the material to public domain and thus give way their copyrights. This statement applies to all contributions on the Opasnet website, and therefore is does not need to be explicit.
  • The actual content preferably follows the traditional structure of Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, and Discussion but it is not necessary.
  • The contributor highlights the original scientific contribution from the other material in the nugget. This is the thing that the contributor claims that he/she has produced as a new, unpublished, scientifically relevant contribution. All else is supporting or clarifying material.
• First, the nugget is written and submitted (like all nuggets).
• If the contributor wants that his/her nugget becomes an article, he/she must notify the Opasnet Editorial Board and provide a fixed sum of money to cover the costs of the peer-review process.
• The Editorial Board selects (usually) two peer reviewers. The scope of the peer review is slightly different than traditionally. The major question that is asked is the following: "Does the original scientific contribution actually fulfil the scientific criteria? Is it actually new? Is it produced with credible methods?"
  • The peer reviewers may consider the following but it does NOT affect the acceptance:
    • Is the scope of the nugget suitable for this website?
    • What is the scientific importance of the nugget?
• If the reviewers find the nugget acceptable, it will be promoted to an article.
  • It will be given a volume and issue number and a DOI.
  • The publication date will be the date of submission, unless there are changes in the original scientific contribution, required by the reviewers. In that case, the publication date will be the date of submission of the revision.

    NOTE! If the author wants to make sure that the original contribution gets acceptance and publication date as soon as possible, he/she can divide the work into several pieces, such as methods and data; analyses and results; and discussion. In this way, he/she can get the credit of being the first to publish the study data, even if the peer reviewers require additional analyses from the data and the publication of results and/or conclusions is delayed due to changes. This might be important, as the whole work is available to everyone since the submission, and the publication date refers to the date when there are no more changes in the original contribution. It is usually the case that reviewers will suggest changes, at least for clarification.

  • It will be permanently protected in the form accepted by the reviewers.

See also

• arXiv, an e-print archive for physics
• An analysis of arXiv
• FAQs about arXiv
• arXiv in Wikipedia