Month: December 2023

Welcome to Zendy’s annual recap, where we reflect on another year of milestones. The ever-evolving landscape of scholarly communication this year was anything but stagnant, dominated by themes of openness, integrity, inclusion, and innovation. As we reflect on 2023, we’re proud to have welcomed new publishers, attended events, celebrated milestones with our users, and released some really great features to continue to support our users on their research and learning journey.

How we enhanced our user experience

1. We developed and launched ZAIA

Our most anticipated and exciting feature launch this year was ZAIA – Zendy’s AI assistant. Ask any question, and ZAIA will analyse millions of researchers papers to give you credible answers backed by references. If you haven’t already, log in to your Zendy account and put ZAIA to the test!

2. We launched Zendy Plus globally

We launched our global subscription plan at Frankfurt Book Fair 2023! The plan allows students, researchers and professionals globally to access scholarly material from leading publishers for the monthly price of a single research paper. This was a key milestone for us as our previous Zendy Plus plan was limited to several countries. Having an affordable and equitable access model strengthens our mission to remove the barriers to scholarly literature. 

3. Keyphrase Highlighting

We released an AI-powered keyphrase highlighting tool. Instead of having multiple tabs open, looking for definitions and further research on a concept, Zendy highlights keyphrases in just one click to allow readers to grasp key research concepts quickly.

4. Summarisation

We also released an AI-powered summarisation tool. This tool summarises lengthy research papers into a concise paragraph on demand. This significantly helps readers save time during literature review. 

5. Reading Lists

Earlier this year, we launched a reading list feature. Reading lists can be used to organise and categorise research papers according to projects, subject areas or whichever method the reader finds simplest to navigate through. 

6. New UI coming soon

The team has been working on a brand new UI to transform the user journey on Zendy. Zendy will reveal a new fresh look very soon, with additional personalisation features to further enhance the discovery of scholarly literature. 

Milestones we marked with our users 

7. Welcomed over 400,000 readers

We’re proud to support over 400,000 readers from 200 countries and territories on Zendy! We thank our valued community for their consistent support. The trust of our community fuels our mission to keep striving for a world where equal access to research is a reality. 

8. Over a 6 million searches & 2.5 million downloads

We have seen over 6 million keywords searched on the platform. Searches ranging from the neural networks, to enteric bacteria, and social impact – we’re proud to support a diverse community of students, researchers, and professionals. We marked over 2.5 million downloads on Zendy! As we continue to work with new publishers, we look forward to bringing an even better selection of content to our readers. 

We exhibited, presented, and attended many events!

9. Presented at Charleston Hub 2023

Our Partner Relations Manager, Sara Crowley Vigneau presented at Charleston Hub in partnership with IGI Global. The presentation titled ‘On the Open Road: The story of an OA publication through the stakeholder journey’ looked at the journey of a publication through the eyes of each custodian. 

10. Exhibited at STEP 2023

Earlier this year, our team exhibited Zendy at STEP 2023. Showcasing our Zendy alongside various startups inspired the team to learn from other tech products in the Middle Eastern region. 

11. Sponsored and presented at the Forum for Open Research MENA 

We were proud to sponsor the Forum of Open Research MENA, which is an event that highlights and advances open access initiatives in the Arab region. Our head of technology, Rodrigo Pinto, presented his insightful research paper titled, “Leveraging Big Data and Machine Learning to Enhance Open Data Quality: Insights for Developing Regions.” 

12. Exhibited at Frankfurt Book Fair

It was a pleasure to exhibit and connect with new and existing partners at Frankfurt Book fair 2023. We hosted a launch event at this year’s fair, showcasing our Zendy Plus global subscription offering. Thanks to all who attended! 

13. Presented at the MENA Panel

Our co-founder, Kamran Kardan spoke at The MENA panel titled, “AI wrote this abstract: The Impact of AI on higher education and academic research.” The discussion touched on the impact of AI on higher education, dissecting how it affects teaching, learning and ethical guidelines. 

14. Attended London Book Fair

We attended the London Book Fair earlier this year. Our team met with many of our partners and other key leaders in scholarly communication. We look forward to exhibiting at next year’s fair.

15. Exhibited at UKSG 2023

We also exhibited at our first UKSG conference this year. It was a really great experience connecting with and learning from some of the best minds in our global knowledge community. 

16. Joint Webinar with InTechOpen

We partnered with InTechOpen to host a joint webinar titled, “Emerging Technologies – Partnering for Accessibility, Discoverability and a Sustainable Future.” Zendy’s Head of Marketing, Monica Chinsami, presented on the panel alongside Prof Tatiana Morosuk, Editorial Board Member of IntechOpen’s Green Energy and Environmental Technology (GEET) journal, and Dr Jo Havemann, Co-founder of AfricArXiv.

We welcomed new partners

17. IEEE

In September, we integrated IEEE’s open access research content. This partnership has brought significant technological research across various areas of study, like aerospace, robotics and more on Zendy. 

18. IT Governance

In June, we partnered with IT Governance, which is a leading publisher of books on information technology, cybersecurity and governance. 

19. IGI Global

We partnered with IGI Global, a leading publisher focused on research across different specialisms under the vast umbrella of Science. This partnership saw the addition of leading e-journals as well as book content across subject areas including Business & Management; Scientific, Technical, Medical (STM); and Education. 

20. Bristol University Press

We also signed an agreement with Bristol University Press. BUP is well known for producing scholarship that advances theory, knowledge and learning within and beyond academia.

21. InTechOpen

We also welcomed IntechOpen to our partner community. InTechOpen specialises in journals and books in the fields of Medicine, Technology and Science. 

A couple of things we published

22. Published SDG Report

This year, we published an SDG report in partnership with Knowledge E. This comprehensive report helps us keep track of our efforts in accelerating the aims of the UN’s publishers compact. With a focus on SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), Zendy progresses to ensure that academic research is accessible to everyone everywhere. 

23. An analysis of OER’s on Research Information

Our co-founder, Kamran Kardan, wrote a piece on the future of Open Educational Resources and how the industry is preparing for them. In summary, with the uncapped potential of responsible AI, the future looks bright and full of innovative opportunities to positively impact societal progress.

We look forward to continuing our journey together in 2024, and we thank you for your unwavering support. 

In academic research, the hypothesis statement directs the course of investigation and exploration. It serves as the foundation of an experiment as it is a proposed outcome, this guides the methodology and findings of a research design. In this blog, we shed light on the significance and intricacies of formulating an effective hypothesis that solidifies the approach while investigating its impact on relevant variables. 

What is a research hypothesis?

A research hypothesis is a testable statement that predicts the relationship between two variables and how they impact one another. A good research hypothesis has no ambiguity, clearly specifies variables and is structured to be proven or countered depending on the trajectory of the study. This statement should also specify how the study aims to generate new knowledge through the experiment. 

What are the different types of hypotheses? 

Hypothesis Type	Definition	Example
Simple	Proposes a relationship between independent and dependent variable.	Increased sunlight exposure leads to higher plant growth.
Complex	Proposes relationships between two or more independent and dependent variables.	Increased sunlight exposure impacts the growth rate of specific plant species, and this effect is contingent upon factors such as the plant’s genetic makeup, soil composition, and optimal climatic conditions, implying that while sunlight plays a crucial role, its influence on plant growth is mediated by multifaceted environmental and genetic variables.
Directional	Details the directions derived from theory, specifies the steps to be taken to identify a relationship between relevant variables.	Increased sunlight exposure significantly increases the rate of plant growth.
Non-directional	Does not predict exact nature of relationship between variables and is usually applied when there’s an absence of theory and contradictory results.	There is a relationship between sunlight exposure and plant growth.
Null	Proposes that there is no relationship between variables, justifies the generation of results through chance.	There is no significant effect of increased sunlight exposure on plant growth.
Alternative	Opposite to null, alternative hypothesis states that there is a significant relationship between two variables.	Increased sunlight exposure is associated with higher plant growth.

Components of a hypothesis

In the case of research experiments, a good hypothesis contains independent and dependent variables, the predicted relationship between them, and the outcome of this relationship. 

Example hypothesis: 

• Variables: Employee job satisfaction (independent variable) influences productivity levels (dependent variable) within an organization.
• Predicted Relationship: Higher job satisfaction among employees will lead to increased productivity levels.
• Outcome: The study might find that departments or teams with higher job satisfaction scores tend to demonstrate greater productivity, implying a positive relationship between job satisfaction and productivity.

Why is a well-written hypothesis important? 

A well-written hypothesis is the foundation of a research study, it helps the researcher determine how to address the investigation. A good hypothesis also aids in assuming the probability of the study’s failure or progress while also ensuring the methodologies are scientifically valid. Furthermore, the research hypothesis statement links the underlying theory to the research question while also measuring the reliability and validity of the study itself. 

Common hypothesis errors to avoid

Your research hypothesis should be specific and clear. When constructing the hypothesis, try to be as concise as possible while understanding that less is more. The following should be avoided in research hypotheses: 

• Ambiguity, overgeneralisation and lack of specifics
• Having too many variables without establishing clear relationship between them
• Unvalid or insufficient justification of variable relationship

FAQs

1. What are some tips for ensuring testability of a hypothesis?

The hypothesis should be structured in a way wherein the possibility of it being being false or true is present. Furthermore, the results of the hypothesis should be reproducible. 

2. How do I differentiate between a research question and a research hypothesis?

A research question states what the study will investigate without making any assumptions or predictions, whereas a hypothesis answers that question through predicting relationships between variables and their possible outcome. 

3. What are the potential drawbacks of a poorly formulated hypothesis?

Having a poor hypothesis structure can negatively impact the research design as the hypothesis statement guides the methodology and findings sections. 

Discover millions of open access research papers across an array of disciplines on Zendy now.