Simplifying the Researcher’s Workflow
Professor Peter Stambrook is the Chairman of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center’s Department of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy. In addition to his duties as Chairman, Professor Stambrook actively conducts his own research into cellular mutations and is the editor of Mutation Research. He is also the current President of the Environmental Mutagen Society (EMS), a professional scientific organization that focuses on mechanisms that produce DNA and cellular damage and how that damage is repaired.
In his capacities as educator, researcher, editor and administrator, Professor Stambrook’s time is constantly under siege. From relevant research and discovery, to grant writing, to evaluating candidates for promotion and tenure, or to recruiting reviewers for the journal, Professor Stambrook is forced, on a daily basis, to carefully juggle the competing demands of his various and diverse roles.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that accomplishing many of the routine tasks that are a part of his workflow normally takes hours or even days to complete – thereby keeping him away from his other important functions such as writing papers or conducting experiments.
Furthermore, Professor Stambrook, like many scientists, journal editors and educators, is constantly on the lookout for potential collaborators in the scientific community; however, without a convenient tool for identifying these colleagues, he is often forced to rely on his existing network of acquaintances.
In November of 2004, Professor Stambrook was approached with the opportunity to test and evaluate Scopus, a new abstract and citation database of scientific, technological, medical and social science research information. Scopus is billed as being the largest and most comprehensive system of its kind, as well as being quick and easy to use.
As Professor Stambrook tested the system, he quickly realized that Scopus was giving him the ability to complete simple, yet time-consuming, tasks, such as finding peers to review articles for Mutation Research, in a fraction of the time that it had previously taken. He quickly began using Scopus to help him complete projects for each of his various roles and found that he was able to simplify and accelerate tasks that had previously consumed so much of his time.
“With Scopus I can rapidly find much of the information I need. This reduces time spent in literature research and helps focus my time on my investigative research,” said Professor Stambrook. “Scopus simplifies the routine tasks I face as editor, researcher and administrator.”
Collaborating with Colleagues
Mutation Research is an international journal covering mutagenesis, chromosome breakage, genetic instability, cell cycle control and other related subjects. As editor of the publication it is Professor Stambrook’s responsibility to ensure that articles are properly peer reviewed. Although Professor Stambrook is an expert in the field of mutagenesis, the journal publishes papers that sometimes lie outside his direct area of expertise. Consequently, finding peer reviewers, or referees, can be a challenge.
As an example, Professor Stambrook was recently tasked with identifying and recruiting reviewers to evaluate a manuscript on mutations in transgenic fish. Scopus was invaluable in enabling him to identify a group of qualified referees in a matter of minutes, ultimately helping him identify and contact the individuals who eventually reviewed the submission.
“To find qualified referees for articles in areas that I don’t specialize in, I previously had to turn to colleagues who were already known to me, or spend a great deal of time investigating appropriate alternatives,” said Professor Stambrook. “The first option was problematic because a journal should not rely on a relatively small group of reviewers; the second option placed a major burden on my time.”
“Scopus has expanded my pool of available referees exponentially. In a relatively short period of time I can explore and educate myself in a new subspecialty; furthermore, the available citation information helps me gauge relative strengths and merits of individual researchers – thereby making it easier for me to determine the best candidates to approach.”
Simplified Grant Writing and Cross-discipline Research
Several months ago Professor Stambrook began work on a grant application to fund research into the effect of arsenic on embryonic stem cells. While Professor Stambrook was able to draw upon his expertise to draft much of the proposal, he needed to quickly acquire a better understanding of recent research conducted on and with arsenic. Using Scopus, Professor Stambrook was able to find out most of what he needed about arsenic in a fraction of the time it otherwise would have taken him.
“Scopus helps me find information in fields in which I am not expert very quickly,” said Professor Stambrook. “This helps simplify and speed tasks, such as grant writing, that often require knowledge of fields beyond my immediate area of expertise.”
Scopus has proven to be especially helpful in aiding Professor Stambrook span disciplines to further aid his work as both an administrator and researcher.
Recently he did some digging in Scopus to identify researchers in Cincinnati who had done work relating to tumor growth, but who were not listed in the biomedical field. Quite quickly he found papers published by a colleague in the university’s mathematics department doing relevant modeling of tumor growth kinetics.
“In another instance I went in search of local researchers doing work in Alzheimer’s. I quickly learned of a colleague doing interesting work in the field, directly across the street from me, of whom I was not aware.”
Aiding the Administrator
As an administrator, Professor Stambrook is required to mentor and evaluate the professors and researchers on his staff. Scopus has now become a preferred tool in helping him keep current on the work of his colleagues.
“Scopus allows one to really drill down into citation information,” said Professor Stambrook. “With Scopus I can see where a given researcher’s work is getting cited, how often, and by whom. This is an invaluable tool in helping me work with and mentor my colleagues.”