Elsevier releases SciTopics
Jinfo Blog

19th January 2009

By Udo Hohlfeld

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Scirus Topics Pages are released by Elsevier on January 20th under the brand name "SciTopics" (http://www.scitopics.com). According to Elsevier this is no beta version but a free, fully functional product ready to be delivered to a broad audience. SciTopics offers research summaries by experts on a variety of scientific, technical and medical topics. The intention of Elsevier is to facilitate sharing of knowledge and insights in today's Web 2.0 time. It follows the well-known Wiki style and enables authors to summarize scientific topics and link to relevant, up-to-date backup information. A topical page can be started by invitation only depending on the merit of his/her published research. According to Elsevier, an author will always be a scholar who is known and respected in his/her area of expertise. Unlike other wiki-style collaborative websites, which are often anonymous, the authors’ names and credentials appear on the SciTopics page. Additionally, the contributions are not peer reviewed, as the content is monitored and reviewed by the author prior to going live. The author is responsible for keeping the SciTopics page up-to-date. As readers from the scientific community can post comments on the page, a vivid discussion adds to its scientific value. This community-review aspect of SciTopics is what distinguishes it from traditional publication outlets. By these means, Elsevier tries to establish and guarantee the quality of this offering.

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