+ What’s the goal of the organization?
Well-presented scientific research can ignite our curiosity, encourage creativity, and remind us of the beauty of the scientific process. Scientific conferences, for example, allow researchers to hear many amazing talks in rapid succession, but most of the research community will never have access to these talks. Through 10-15 minute video summaries, JRNLclub brings these talks to the broader scientific community post-publication. We want scientists at all levels to be able to watch amazing science talks at the click of a mouse.
+ Who owns the video and the data presented?
Authors always retain the rights to their figures, images, talks (similar to when you published your paper in a journal). Authors can remove their video from the site at any time. See our Terms and Services and Privacy Policy pages for more details.
+ Are the videos open access?
We care very much about opening the world’s research efforts to as many people as possible! Currently every video is open access and costs have been manageable. As we scale up with increasing costs, we would consider a “freemium” model similar to newspapers such as the New York Times, where users are free to watch many full-length videos weekly, but our heaviest users or universities may pay a small premium to support the platform. Alternatively we might have authors pay a small fee for video editing and hosting to support the platform and keep the entire collection open access. We pledge to always remain inexpensive and accessible, as our mission is to improve access to the world's research.
+ What kind of organization is this?
We got started in May 2019 in Vickie’s medical school dorm room. Towards the end of her training at NYU, she thought back to the meetings she'd attended during her PhD when she got to hear so many amazing talks. She wished there was a way to bring those talks to the broader scientific community post-publication to excite other researchers, and provide a more engaging way to keep up with the scientific literature. JRNLclub is a Public Benefit LLC, which is a for-profit entity dedicated to producing a public benefit and to operating in a responsible and sustainable manner.
+ Submitting a talk? Pros and Cons of different ways of recording your talk:
Powerpoint recording and exporting as video file
Pros:
- You can prepare a script for the presentation and present using presenter mode (allowing you to read your script), while powerpoint records your audio.
- Easy to re-record slides or record only a couple slides at a time.
Cons:
- Powerpoint may not capture your mouse/pointer, so you may need to use animations in your slides to guide viewers to part of the slide you are discussing.
- If you record the talk over several recording sessions and change your speaking volume significantly (or change the location of your mic significantly), the eveness of volume may change throughout your talk. We can mitigate this to some extent during editing, but it won't be perfect.
Quicktime (Mac) /Game DVR (Windows)
Pros:
- Will record your mouse/pointer so you can direct viewers to parts of the slide you’re discussing.
Cons:
- Harder to start and stop and re-record specific parts of your talk (although doable).
- We haven’t found a way to use presenter view to read your notes as your present, so you will have to “memorize” your talk. Alternatively, you can print out your script and read from it that way.
+ What does it cost to submit a talk and have it published?
It costs nothing to contribute a talk and have it published. We will do minor editing if needed and publish the talk. Let’s get the science out there for others to see!
+ What’s the deadline to submit my video?
We’ve stipulated no hard deadlines, although we primarily publish talks about papers published within the past year. If you’ve got a cool story from several years ago, however, send us an email and we can discuss!
+ Do you have any advice for making my talk?
- Background. Include enough background so viewers outside your field will understand the importance of your work and its context.
- Data. Definitely include key figures from the paper and explain the experiments and results! Nobody likes a slide with 15 graphs that you have to squint at. If someone wants to check out supplementary figure 15E, they’ll have your paper to refer to!
- Clarity. If you’re not great at delivering a talk on the fly, consider writing out the key points of each slide as a note, or even the full scripted text. That way you can deliver a clear, concise, engaging talk.
- Summary slide. Have one to sum up the take home points!
+ Should I write out a script for my talk or speak as if at a conference?
That is totally up to you! Both have been very effective at conveying science, and both can sound very natural.
+ What would you recommend for non-native English speakers?
We bet your English is better than you think! But if you are worried that others may have a difficult time understanding, we’d recommend that you script out your talk and send us the transcript. That way we can add captions to your talk. Alternatively, you may have someone else deliver your talk, and we will just note that on your talk’s page.
+ I have other questions!
Please send your questions or comments to contact@jrnlclub.org