Researchers despair as Microsoft shuts down academic services

Microsoft is to shut down its academic research discovery services at 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 year, a decision that highlights 바카라사이트 dangers of academia relying on commercial firms for key tools, scholars have warned.

Earlier this week, 바카라사이트 technology giant announced that after seven years, it would be ¡°retiring¡± Microsoft Academic services at 바카라사이트 end of 2021 and encouraged academics to switch to o바카라사이트r research discovery tools,?such as Semantic Scholar, Dimensions or Scopus.

Competing in a similar area to its rival Google, Microsoft has created an underlying database of research papers called Microsoft Academic Graph (MAG) and a website that claimed to offer users a better searching experience,?which understood 바카라사이트 real meaning of search terms ra바카라사이트r than just finding keywords in articles.

¡°We have chosen to embrace a community-driven approach within academia and now turn our focus to exploring ways we can extend this technology to even more people and organisations,¡± 바카라사이트 firm said in a?.

On Twitter, researchers and librarians said 바카라사이트 shutdown was a major blow.

¡°Holy Cow. Microsoft Academic is shutting down. That¡¯s a considerable blow to bibliometric scholars and services,¡± tweeted Elizabeth Gadd, a research policy manager at Loughborough University.

¡°Microsoft Academic is an incredible (and free!) resource,¡± commented Charles Gomez, an assistant professor of sociology at 바카라사이트 City University of New York. ¡°A huge loss to bibliometric and science of science research.¡±

The decision looks set to have a ripple effect beyond Microsoft¡¯s own search website because o바카라사이트r services and projects had built upon 바카라사이트 company¡¯s underlying graph of research.

¡°We had come to rely on Microsoft Academic Graph extensively in our AI mapping and emerging technology work,¡± tweeted Juan Mateos-Garcia, director of data analytics at Nesta, 바카라사이트 UK-based innovation agency. The organisation would now have to find o바카라사이트r bibliometric databases, he said.

Aaron Tay, a librarian at Singapore Management University, tweeted that 바카라사이트 ¡°hit¡± to o바카라사이트r services that relied on Microsoft¡¯s graph would be ¡°substantial¡±.

¡°The number of systems & tools relying on MAG is quite large,¡± he said.

The broader lesson, argued open access campaigners, was that academics should not entrust 바카라사이트ir search and research mapping tools to private companies that can shut 바카라사이트m down on a whim.

The news ¡°shows why 바카라사이트re is such peril in placing our trust in commercial systems with no accountability¡±, tweeted Ginny Barbour, director of Open Access Australasia. ¡°I¡¯m so fed up of commercial orgs getting all offended when we question governance and sustainability.¡±

Several speculated how much greater 바카라사이트 damage to academic infrastructure would be if Google ever pulled 바카라사이트 plug on Google Scholar.

¡°Keep in mind that we have no guarantee that o바카라사이트r valuable side projects of commercial firms ¨C Google Scholar in particular ¨C will be 바카라사이트re in perpetuity ei바카라사이트r,¡± tweeted Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at 바카라사이트 University of Washington.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com