Digital Science Explained

Digital Science
Type:Subsidiary
Location:London UK
Founder:Timo Hannay
Key People:Daniel W. Hook (CEO, 2015-present)
Services:Research Management
Industry:Technology
Products:Altmetric Global Research Identifier Database Dimensions
Num Employees:250 (2017)
Parent:Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

Digital Science (or Digital Science & Research Solutions Ltd) is a technology company with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company focuses on strategic investments into startup companies that support the research lifecycle.[1]

History

Digital Science was founded in 2010. It was initially the technical division of Nature Publishing Group/Macmillan and is now operated as an independent company by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.[2] They are one of the organizers of Science Foo Camp along with Nature, Google and O'Reilly.[3]

Since 2013, Digital Science has released a number of collaborative reports using data generated from their portfolio companies featured in media outlets.[4] [5] The company worked with HEFCE and King's College London in 2015, following the inclusion of Research Impact in the Research Excellence Framework (REF), to analyse the results and provide access to the case studies to the public.[6]

Digital Science launched a Global Research Identifier Database (GRID) for identifying research institutions around the world in 2015.[7] Through the Digital Science Catalyst Grant the company has supported a number of early-stage ideas such as Nutonian,[8] TetraScience[9] and Penelope[10] as well as community schemes including Ada Lovelace Day.[11] [12]

In 2013 it invested in UberResearch[13] which launched "Dimensions" in 2016, a searchable database of research funds.[14]

On 15 January 2018, Digital Science re-launched an extended version of Dimensions,[15] a commercial scholarly search platform that allows to search publications, datasets, grants, patents and clinical trials. The free version of the platform allows searching for publications and datasets only.[16] [17] [18] [19] [20]

Several studies published in 2021 compared Dimensions with its subscription-based commercial competitors, and unanimously found that Dimensions.ai provides broader temporal and publication source coverage than Scopus and Web of Science in most subject areas, and that Dimensions is closer in its coverage to free aggregation databases, such as The Lens and Google Scholar.[21] [22]

As of October 2021, Dimensions.ai covers nearly 106 million publications with over 1.2 billion citations.[21] [22]

Key people

Catalyst Grant Winners

CompanyCohortDescription
Ricochet by RipetaSeptember 2017[24] The credit score for scientific publications that can detect and predict reproducibility in the trillion-dollar scientific research industry through software and analytics development; improving evidence-based science and fiscal efficiency of research investments.
Open Syllabus ProjectSoftware that collates and maps the college and university curriculum, on a global scale.
fusemind.orgA search tool that gives students and researchers instant access to millions of research resources, within seconds, all on one platform.
FiguresMarch 2017[25] A workflow solution to manage figure data including creation, tracking, editing and discussion – all on one platform.
HackScienceA platform enabling scientists to create, share and control open and affordable lab automation tools.
HipDynamicsA data set interrogation tool in the field of cell and molecular biology.
EtaliaSeptember 2016[26] A platform that offers recommendations for papers and people based on a unique fingerprint generated from a researcher’s reference library.
SimiaryA software solution which boosts content discovery via intelligent search.
WritefullAn online software application which provides editing and authoring guidance to enhance academic writing.
Ada Lovelace DaySeptember 2015[27] [28] On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ada Lovelace this year, Ada Lovelace Day and Digital Science will mark women’s achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
PenelopeAutomated, online editing tool aims to make it easier to assess and improve scientific research – wins award, backing and shared facilities with Digital Science.
TetraScienceJanuary 2015[29] An open Internet-of-Things (IoT) platform to enhance productivity, safety and reproducibility in research.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cobbling Together the Pieces to Build a Workflow Business. 2017-02-09. The Scholarly Kitchen. 2017-02-22.
  2. News: Macmillan Announces Release of Digital Science. Information Today. 2010-12-09. en-US. 2016-12-29.
  3. Web site: How Larry Page's Obsessions Became Google's Business. Dougherty. Conor. 22 January 2016. The New York Times. 28 July 2017.
  4. News: Brexit big blow to UK science, say top British scientists. editor. Ian Sample Science. 2016-06-24. The Guardian. 2017-02-22. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  5. News: 'Brexit' would hit U.K. research hard, report says. 2016-05-17. Science journal. 2017-02-22.
  6. Web site: Hill. Dr Steven. The diversity dividend: why interdisciplinarity strengthens research. The Guardian. 28 July 2017. 7 August 2015.
  7. Web site: Digital Science Gives GRID a CC0 License. Information Today. 2018-08-31. 2016-12-06.
  8. Web site: Wheeler. Laura. Scientific software ideas wanted – 10 tips to impress the catalyst grant panel. BioMed Central. 28 July 2017. 10 May 2016.
  9. Web site: Digital Science Catalyst Grant Program Awarded To Boston Start Up Tetrascience. BioSpace. 2017-02-22.
  10. Web site: Digital Science awards catalyst grants. The Bookseller. 28 July 2017. en.
  11. News: Today is Ada Lovelace Day! Who is your role model in STEM?. 2015-10-13. BioMed Central. 2017-02-22. en-GB.
  12. News: Ada Lovelace Day 2016 -- A Celebration Of Women In Science And Technology. Kundu. Sujata. Forbes. 2017-02-22.
  13. Web site: ÜberResearch Secures Investment From Digital Science. Digital Science.
  14. Web site: ÜberResearch Announces Dimensions for Publishers. October 14, 2016. Digital Science.
  15. Web site: Digital Science discovery platform 'will transform scholarly search' | The Bookseller. www.thebookseller.com.
  16. Web site: Digital Science discovery platform 'will transform scholarly search' The Bookseller. www.thebookseller.com. en. 2018-02-10.
  17. News: A New Citation Database Launches Today: Dimensions. 2018-01-15. The Scholarly Kitchen. 2018-02-10. en-US.
  18. News: Science search engine links papers to grants and patents. Noorden. Richard Van. Nature . 2018-01-16. 2018-02-10. EN. 10.1038/d41586-018-00688-0.
  19. News: Digital Science Adds Extra Dimensions to Scholarly Research Data. Ballard. Terry. 2018-01-23. 2018-02-10. en-US.
  20. Web site: Musings about librarianship. musingsaboutlibrarianship.blogspot.co.nz. 2018-02-10.
  21. Singh, V. K., P. Singh, M. Karmakar, J. Leta and P. Mayr (2021). "The journal coverage of Web of Science, Scopus and Dimensions: A comparative analysis." Scientometrics 126(6): 5113-5142
  22. Martín-Martín, A., M. Thelwall, E. Orduna-Malea and E. Delgado López-Cózar (2021). "Google Scholar, Microsoft Academic, Scopus, Dimensions, Web of Science, and OpenCitations’ COCI: a multidisciplinary comparison of coverage via citations." Scientometrics 126(1): 871-906
  23. Web site: Meadows . Alice . 2014-08-20 . An Interview with Amy Brand on a Proposed New Contributor Taxonomy Initiative . 2023-07-14 . The Scholarly Kitchen . en-US.
  24. News: Three Innovative Software Tools To be Boosted by Digital Science's Catalyst Grant - Digital Science. 2017-09-18. Digital Science. 2017-10-20. en-GB.
  25. News: Digital Science Announces New Catalyst Grant Winners - Digital Science. Digital Science. 2017-10-20. en-GB.
  26. News: Digital Science Reveals Catalyst Grant Winners - Digital Science. 2016-09-07. Digital Science. 2017-10-22. en-GB.
  27. News: Digital Science Awards Catalyst Grant for Development of New Online Tools to Empower Women Working in STEM - Digital Science. Digital Science. 2017-10-22. en-GB.
  28. News: UK Startup, Penelope, To Pen New Chapter Of Growth After Winning Digital Science Catalyst Grant - Digital Science. Digital Science. 2017-10-22. en-GB.
  29. News: Digital Science Catalyst Grant Awarded to TetraScience - Digital Science. 2015-01-28. Digital Science. 2017-10-22. en-GB.