The ScholCommLab is excited to welcome three new faces to the lab this spring. Iara Vidal, Isabelle Dorsch, and Lisa Matthias will join us as Visiting Scholars in each of our two locations—Matthias and Vidal in Vancouver, Dorsch in Ottawa—to collaborate on a research project of their choosing.

Vidal has a background in library science and is currently finishing her PhD in Information Science in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Dorsch is a research associate and PhD candidate from Düsseldorf, Germany, who is passionate about social media and infometrics. Matthias is a PhD candidate at the Graduate School of North American Studies at Freie Universität Berlin with a deep interest in open science, scholarly communication, and mental health.

In this interview, they offer a glimpse of their upcoming research projects and share their thoughts on collaboration, public scholarship, sushi, and more.

Why did you apply to the ScholCommLab’s Visiting Scholar Program?

Iara Vidal: I’ve been following the work of Dr. Stephanie Haustein and Dr. Juan Pablo Alperin for some time, and I believe some of the most interesting research on scholarly communication right now is coming from the ScholCommLab team. When I saw the visiting scholar’s call I knew I couldn’t miss that chance!

Some of the most interesting research on scholarly communication right now is coming from the ScholCommLab team. When I saw the visiting scholar’s call I knew I couldn’t miss that chance!

Iara Vidal

Isabelle Dorsch: I wanted to apply for the program because my research interest on “metric-wiseness” fits perfectly with the metrics-literacy project Dr. Stefanie Haustein and her team in Ottawa is conducting. I thought it would be really cool to be part of it and to work together on this topic!

Lisa Matthias: High spirits and sheer optimism!

Tell me about your research. What topic or area you most interested in right now?

IV: My PhD research explores different aspects of altmetrics for Brazilian research articles, particularly whether there’s any relation between coverage in Scopus and/or Web of Science and altmetric attention. In other words, I’m asking: Can altmetrics shed light into research that is “invisible” because it is not indexed by mainstream databases? Another question is if Brazilian open access articles get any more attention than the rest of our output.

ID: Scholarly communication and the use of scientometric indicators is one of my research interests right now. Likewise, I concentrate on social media research with special focus on hashtag usage and visual content on Instagram.

LM: My background is in political science with a focus on US media and political polarization, but for the last two years, I have also been actively involved in scholarly communication projects. At the ScholCommLab, I will take a closer look at how the media uses scientific research on opioid addiction prevention, harm reduction, and treatment in their coverage of the opioid epidemic.

How do your personal research interests intersect with the ScholCommLab’s?

IV: The ScholCommLab does great work in both altmetrics and open access, often from a Latin American perspective. I’ll be working with Dr. Alperin and other Brazilian researchers in a project that also deals with Brazilian research, but instead of altmetrics we’ll study internationalization.

ID: I was lucky enough to be part of a ScholComLab meeting in November 2018 in Vancouver. There, I was introduced to all their current projects, and I often found myself thinking, “Oh, this is interesting too.”

I want research to be open, transparent, and unrestrained, instead of being governed by fear, elitism, and economic interests.

Lisa Matthias

LM: My research interests are the ScholCommLab’s! I do not believe that our current ways of conducting, disseminating, and communicating research are the most effective in advancing science or society…. I want research to be open, transparent, and unrestrained, instead of being governed by fear, elitism, and economic interests.

Why does international collaboration matter to you?

IV: I believe research is all about learning from each other and building on each other’s work. That’s why international collaboration is important to me, you can have different perspectives on a subject and the resulting work will be richer for that.

ID: In my opinion, it is important to approach other people and institutions and exchange ideas, instead of simply doing our own thing. To be able to do this, international collaboration is indispensable. It helps us improve ourselves—or, rather, everyone who is engaged—on so many different levels.

International collaboration is indispensable. It helps us improve ourselves—or, rather, everyone who is engaged—on so many different levels.

Isabelle Dorsch

LM: Because it gives us the opportunity to learn from and connect with each other. International collaboration brings together not only different skill sets, but also cultures, perspectives, and experiences, and this enables us to challenge accepted ideas and bring about change. If you look at the bigger picture, I believe that the global challenges we are currently facing can only be addressed effectively if we work together globally.

What are you most excited or curious to try during your stay in Vancouver/Ottawa?

IV: This will be my first time in Canada and my first time living abroad, so I’m really excited! I’ve heard only good things about the city and am very curious to explore it.

ID: Since it is my first time participating in a visiting scholar project, I’m generally excited about the possibilities it will provide. I’m definitely curious to discover new foods and other things that might not be available in Germany.

LM: How to eat as much sushi as humanly possible?! Vancouver is one of my favourite places in the world and I can’t wait to be back! Let’s limit the list to five (excluding the sushi): Nerd Nite; beating my Grouse Mountain hike record; anything to do with mountains, actually; seeing David August live (apparently, Berlin techno is following me to Vancouver); and spending time with you all!

Iara Vidal, Isabelle Dorsch, and Lisa Matthias will be working with the ScholCommLab throughout spring and summer 2019. Find out more about our Visiting Scholar Program on our website.