Criticism can be born of suspicion.  And since this is a discussion
list, I was bringing the point up for discussion.  I did not say that I
dismissed the product based on my suspicion or urged other librarians to
do that.

I'm not saying Elsevier is bad or Scopus is bad - that's for every
librarian to decide on their own.  Indeed, it's up to every librarian to
decide on their own if there is a conflict of interest in Elsevier
producing Scopus and if that conflict is enough to make them suspicious
of the product.

I was simply raising the point that some librarians are wary of this
product and this publisher based on past experiences with them.

I also don't think raising suspicion is a 'lazy expression'.  Criticism
does imply substance and in that regard my analysis is that Elsevier has
a conflict of interest and we need to be wary of their product, which is
a defensible conclusion.

-----Original Message-----
From: SERIALST: Serials in Libraries Discussion Forum
[mailto:SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU] On Behalf Of Rick Anderson
Sent: Wednesday, September 21, 2005 12:59 PM
To: SERIALST@LIST.UVM.EDU
Subject: [SERIALST] Constructive criticism vs. lazy expressions of
suspicion (RE: [SERIALST] Scopus)

> All librarians should be constructively critical of all
> publishers, not just Elsevier.

Constructive criticism is essential, yes.  But there's a big difference
between being critical and just expressing suspicion.  Criticism implies
substance; it implies that one has done some analysis and arrived at a
defensible conclusion.  Expressing suspicion, by contrast, is just a
cheap and easy way of casting aspersion without taking responsibility.

I'm not defending Elsevier here.  I'm saying that we on the library side
need to be more responsible in our rhetoric.  It also behooves us to
undertake the kind of work that is required in order to make
constructive critiques of Elsevier and other publishers.

In that spirit, is there anyone out there who would like to collaborate
with me on a substantive study of journal coverage in Scopus (and maybe
its competitors)?  I'm not exactly sure how to go about it, but I think
it needs to be done.

----
Rick Anderson
Dir. of Resource Acquisition
University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
(775) 784-6500 x273
rickand@unr.edu