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PSI: Investigation into Violation of Research Integrity Is Concluded
In June 2017, PSI was made aware of allegations that members of its staff had submitted an article containing aspects of scientific misconduct to a scientific journal. A preliminary review by experts showed that the allegations raised were solid.
How an Abandoned Lab Could Show us the Future
The Amani Hill Research Station in Tanzania was once one of East Africa’s leading laboratories – now it is a shadow of its past glory.
How Scientific Publishers Can End Bullying And Harassment In The Sciences
How Scientific Publishers Can End Bullying And Harassment In The Sciences
If the publishers of scientific journals everywhere enforced a universal code of ethics - if you violate the code, you cannot publish your scientific work - systematic bullies and harassers would be eliminated from their fields.
Science Needs Clarity on Europe’s Data-Protection Law
As a commendable European law on personal data comes into force, the research community must not let excessive caution about data sharing, however understandable, become the default position.
New Cancer Treatments Lie Hidden Under Mountains of Paperwork
The National Cancer Institute has invested millions of dollars into determining the genetic sequences of patients’ tumors, and researchers have found thousands of genes that seem to drive tumor growth. But until patients’ medical records are linked to the genetic data, life-or-death questions cannot be answered.
"It’s a Toxic Place." : How the Online World of White Nationalists Distorts Population Genetics
"It’s a Toxic Place." : How the Online World of White Nationalists Distorts Population Genetics
A graduate student is analyzing how Stormfront and other racist websites misunderstand, and misuse, new scientific papers.
UK’s Powerful Funding Body Takes Shape
UK’s newly minted unified funding agency has released the first outline of its strategy. The long-awaited document gives the nation’s researchers an insight into how the mega-funding agency - which will command a budget of GBP6 billion (USD8 billion) - will work.
When Will Peer Reviewers Finally Get Paid?
Right now, the overwhelming majority of peer reviewers, the scientists who scrutinize the latest studies, aren't paid for their labor. This is completely ridiculous. Peer review may be the most important part of the scientific enterprise, and it is not incentivized monetarily.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Preprints
Many biologists are still reluctant to submit preprints, in part out of concern that doing so will allow others to “scoop” their work and undermine their chances of publication in a prestigious journal. I would like to rebut that concern, among others, and to share our research group’s first experience submitting a preprint manuscript.
On Basic and Applied Science – and Red Herrings
Whatever we call it, investment in research will lead the way to important short- and long-term discoveries.
Limiting Grants to Well-Funded Labs
While no one is arguing for funding failure, the challenge is how we define “success.”
Are Funder Open Access Platforms a Good Idea?
Ethical, organizational and economic strengths and weaknesses of funder open access platforms: opportunities and threats presented by funder open access platforms in the ongoing transition to open access.
The Price of Open Science
When it’s also big science, the careers of those involved can suffer.
A New Report Uses Data To Drive Diversity In STEM Fields
The report identifies and addresses three critical points for women and women of color tech and science entrepreneurs: the myth that there is a "pipeline problem", the fact that traditional accelerator programs are not working for this population and how investors can fix the funding gap.
Imposter Syndrome Isn't the Problem - Toxic Workplaces Are
As young scientists, we are fooled into working harder and longer to live up to sky-high expectations and encouraged to feel inadequate.
Libraries Face a Future of Open Access
Now that many European library consortia are cancelling deals with publishers, how will libraries respond to a world of open access?
Writing a Page-Turner: How to Tell a Story in Your Scientific Paper
Storytelling is easy to implement in your manuscript provided you know how. Think of the six plot elements - character, setting, tension, action, climax, resolution - and the three other story essentials - main theme, chronology, purpose. You’ll soon outline the backbone of your narrative and be ready to write a paper that is concise, compelling, and easy to understand.
VIPER - the Visual Project Explorer Based on Openknowledgemaps.Org
Visual exploration of projects within the OpenAIRE database.
Scientists Should Be Solving Problems, Not Struggling to Access Journals
It takes an average of 15 clicks for a researcher to find and access a journal article. This time could be much better spent
We Must Demand Evidence of Peer Review
Peer review varies in quality and thoroughness. Making it publicly available could improve it.
Improving Support for Young Biomedical Scientists
Three steps that could be taken by funding agencies to support young investigators in more constructive and effective ways: (1) greatly expand the use of the New Innovator/Starting Grants awards, (2) increase the funding of young investigators through requests for applications, and (3) experiment with separate competitions for Early Stage Investigators when awarding traditional investigator-initiated R01 grants.
The Wealth Gap PLUS Debt: How Federal Loans Exacerbate Inequality for Black Families
The Wealth Gap PLUS Debt: How Federal Loans Exacerbate Inequality for Black Families
Something strange began happening with a U.S. Department of Education loan program known as Parent PLUS, under which parents borrow money from the government to finance their children’s education.
Europe’s Open-Access Drive Escalates as University Stand-Offs Spread
Sweden is the latest country to hold out on journal subscriptions, while negotiators share tactics to broker new deals with publishers. Inspired by the results of a stand-off in Germany, negotiators from libraries and university consortia across Europe increasingly declare that if they don’t like what publishers offer, they will refuse to pay for journal access at all.
The Evolving Preprint Landscape
Introductory report for the Knowledge Exchange working group on preprints, based on contributions from the Knowledge Exchange Preprints Advisory Group.
Journals Lose Citations to Preprint Servers
Why do authors continue to cite preprints years after they've been formally published? A citation is much more than a directional link to the source of a document. It is the basis for a system of rewarding those who make significant contributions to public science.
Some Hard Numbers on Science’s Leadership Problems
Scientists pride themselves on being keen observers, but many seem to have trouble spotting the problems right under their noses. Those who run labs have a much rosier picture of the dynamics in their research groups than do many staff members working in the trenches.