1 Scientific Scholarly Communication: Moving Forward Through Open Discussions1.1Introduction1.2Open and Unrestricted Access to Scientific Information 1.2.1Concerns with Openly Sharing Sensitive Scientific Information 1.3Sharing Scientific Data1.3.1Privacy and Genetic Data Sharing1.4Intellectual Property Rights and Scientific Scholarly Communication1.4.1Impact of IPR on Sharing Data1.5Measuring the Impact of Scientific Research1.6Concluding Remarks1.7References

2 Access to Scientific Knowledge: A Historical Perspective2.1Introduction2.2Scientific Scholarly Information Sharing: 1600 -19002.3Scholarly Communication Developments in the 20th and the 21st Centuries2.4Journal Subscription Debates2.5Concluding Remarks2.6References

3 On the Road to Unrestricted Access to Scientific Information: The Open Access Movement3.1Introduction3.2Open Access to Scholarly Publications: Legislative and Other Supporting Initiatives3.3Initiatives by Scholars, Research Funders, and Other 'Movers'3.4Measuring the Impact of OA Journals3.5OA Influence in the Developing World3.6OA Publishing Models 3.6.1Green OA Model3.6.2Gold OA Model3.6.3Other OA Models3.7Maintaining the Quality and Integrity of OA Journals3.8Concluding Remarks3.9References

4 Sharing Scientific Data: Moving Towards "Open Data?"4.1Introduction4.2Policy Initiatives Supporting Data Sharing4.3Involvement of Funding Organizations and Journal Publishers4.4Data Sharing Habits of Scientists4.5Data Sharing in Different Scientific Disciplines4.5.1Sharing Ecological Data4.5.2Sharing Genomic Data4.6 Data Publication and Data Citation4.7 Moving Towards "Open Data"4.8 Concluding Remarks4.9 References

5 Free Flow of Scientific Information vs. Intellectual Property Rights5.1Introduction5.2University-Industry Collaborations or Commercialization of Academic Research?5.2.1Patenting and Licensing Academic Scientific Discoveries - Government Legislations5.2.2IPR and Academic Research - The Debate5.2.3 Negative Effects of Patenting Scientific Research5.2.4 Patent Documents as Source of Scientific Information5.2.5 Delay in Disclosure of Research Findings5.3IPR in Life Sciences5.3.1IPR and Biomedical Research5.3.2IPR and Biotechnological Advances in Agriculture5.4Concluding Remarks5.5References

6 Preserving the Quality of Scientific Research: Peer Review of Research Articles6.1 Introduction6.2 History of Peer Review6.3 Criticism of the Peer Review6.4 Bias in Peer Review6.4.1 Prestige or Association Bias6.4.2 Gender Bias6.4.3 Confirmation Bias6.4.4 Conservatism6.4.5 Bias against Interdisciplinary Research6.4.6 Publication Bias6.5 Peer Review and Conflict of Interest6.6 Different Models of Peer Review6.6.1 Closed Peer Review: Single- vs. Double-Blind6.6.2 Open Peer Review6.6.3 "Non-Selective" Review6.6.4 Immediate Publication With No Formal Review6.7 Manipulation of the Peer Review Process6.8 Should the Current System of Peer Review Be Continued?6.9 The Peer Review System is Under Stress6.10 Burden on Peer Reviewers6.11 Ways to Improve the Peer Review System6