The Libraries’ Open Access Publishing Fund (OAPF) exists to help Clemson researchers share their work with the world. The fund awards up to $1,500 towards the cost of Article Processing Charges in Open Access (OA) journals, which make research accessible to everyone for free.
Meet Peng Chen and Sarah Jerasa, two Clemson faculty members who recently received awards from the OAPF to publish their work.
Peng Chen, assistant professor of bioengineering
Peng Chen applied for funding from the OAPF to publish his paper “Multiscale 3D Whole Joint Cellular and Molecular Mapping Reveals Disease-Specific Neurovascular Plasticity underlying the Structure-Pain Relationship” in the journal Advanced Science.
The paper is about developing the technology to create a 3D map of the cellular and molecular information in injured or diseased joints, such as the jaw, knee and spine. Chen says traditional imaging techniques, such as sectioning, only look at a part of the joint and provide two-dimensional images. This new technology looks at the whole. intact joint, all the way down to the cellular level, in three dimensions.
“We are living in a three-dimensional world, so that’s why we wanted to extend this to the 3D domain,” he said. “Using this technology, you can see the beautiful 3D network of neurovascular structure inside of the entire joint.”
This new imaging technology will help researchers get a better understanding of everything that is happening inside a joint.
“For some people, their joint looks pretty good through an MRI or a CT scan, but they still have the pain. By using 3D imaging technology, you can see how the neurovascular structure is changing.”
Because Open Access journals are free for people to read, they charge researchers Article Processing Charges (ARCs) to publish their work. When it came time to publish his research, Chen reached out to scholarly communications librarian Amal Mostafa, who introduced the OAPF as one of the Libraries’ initiatives to support OA publishing.
“I’m a junior faculty member, and I just started my lab, so I do need the extra funding support, especially on the publishing side,” said Chen. “I appreciate that I had this opportunity to receive the OAPF. I think it’s especially important for junior faculty.”
He said since publishing his article six months ago, he has already had researchers across the country reach out to him to discuss potential collaboration.
“Publishing open access has really helped other researchers to find my work. Without OA publishing, I don’t think that would have happened so soon. That really shows the beauty of OA publishing,” he said. “It’s very critical to let people know about our work to potentially lead to more collaborations. Personally, my lab has benefitted a great deal from the OAPF.”
Sarah Jerasa, assistant professor of literacy
Sarah Jerasa used the OAPF to publish her paper, “A Topic Modeling Analysis of Classroom Management and Content Views and Engagement on #TeacherTok” in Computers & Education Open.
Jerasa and her co-authors worked with Clemson’s Social Media Listening Center to track and analyze content on TikTok produced by teachers to determine if and how teachers were using the platform to discuss and learn about classroom management.
“Social media is a really accessible space for this generation of preservice teachers, and if they’re going to TikTok, are they going to it as part of their professional development for teacher training?” said Jerasa. “We wanted to understand what was there — is it all hot garbage or is it useful? Is it just people dancing or is it actually good strategy?”
Jerasa’s study looked at 1,400 videos on TikTok, using topic modeling to identify common topics, themes and sentiment of the videos.
“We found there’s quite a bit of variety, but there are topics that do align with empirical findings of appropriate approaches to classroom management,” she said. “This is an accessible resource that could be utilized by teachers and could actually be useful.”
Jerasa wanted to publish the study in an Open Access journal so that it might reach the people who would most benefit from her work — teachers.
“We want the work that we do in the College of Education to get into classrooms. A lot of times journals are not accessible to the people who would benefit from them the most,” said Jerasa. “It’s usually researchers to researchers having these conversations. I want teachers to have access to the research and be able to interpret it and apply it in their classrooms. That’s why the research matters.”
She knew she would need to seek funding to make that happen, though, because, as she put it, “making your work accessible costs money.”
Jeresa said Mostafa was also helpful to her throughout the application process, and she also worked with her college’s liaison librarian, Gordan Cochrane, for additional support.
Applications to the OAPF are reviewed and awarded monthly. Visit the OAPF website for more information on criteria and how to apply, or contact Amal Mostafa at amalm@nullclemson.edu.