Preprints Could Promote Confusion and Distortion
The scientific community must take measures to keep preprints from distorting the public’s understanding of science, says Tom Sheldon.
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10 Key LERU Messages for Horizon Europe
Despite the good work by Carlos Moedas and his team, there are still a number of aspects of the proposal that could be improved.
Academic writes 270 Wikipedia pages in a year to get female scientists noticed
Researcher Jess Wade says efforts to attract girls into science are not evidence-based – and are not working.
Point of View: Are Theoretical Results 'Results'?
There should be a prominent place for theory within biology papers, both as Results in papers that combine experiment and theory, and as Results in theory papers.
National Academies Push Open Science
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine have published a framework to help academics, research institutions and funders bring open science to the fore.
Academia Is the Alternative Career Path
All graduate students should be planning their post-PhD employment from year one. Supported and nurtured by their institutions and their supervisors. There is a catch for supervisors: they are themselves academics, and so will understandably have little clue about what might constitute useful training for the current job market. The onus must so fall on broader shoulders, of the institutions and funders.
Every (Scientific) Observation Matters
With the current crisis that Academia is witnessing; irreproducibility of scientific research, extravagant costs associated with…
Living Science - The Voice of Evidence
In an era in which evidence is being disregarded, scientists need to speak up in support of the pursuit for truth. If we do not successively train our youth to distinguish between truth and falsehood, we are at risk of raising a new generation unused to recognizing truth as derived from evidence.
New Report Says Individual Research Results Should Be Shared With Participants More Often
New Report Says Individual Research Results Should Be Shared With Participants More Often
When conducting research involving the testing of human biospecimens, investigators and their institutions should routinely consider whether and how to return individual research results on a study-specific basis through an informed decision-making process, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Dutch Publishing Giant Cuts off Researchers in Germany and Sweden
Negotiations with Elsevier have stalled over Open Access deals.
Usage Statistics Launched
On the research data repository Zenodo you can now view the number of views and downloads on record pages, and you can sort search results by most viewed.
Illuminating Women's Hidden Contribution to the Foundation of Theoretical Population Genetics
Illuminating Women's Hidden Contribution to the Foundation of Theoretical Population Genetics
A study documenting acknowledgment sections and identified "acknowledged programmers" in Theoretical Population Biology articles published between 1970 and 1990. While only 7% of authors were women, 43% of acknowledged programmers were women.
Track the Fate of Postdocs to Help the next Generation of Scientists
Data on the career paths of young researchers would help to guide the lost generation.
Russia Is Building a New Napster - but for Academic Research
Over the last decade, Russian academics and activists have built free, remarkably comprehensive online archives of scholarly works.
Why Hasn’t the Academy Taken Back Control of Publishing Already?
Academic publishing is dominated by a small number of commercial firms. How can the academy take control of scholarly publishing?
An Open Science Future - Europe Leads the Way
An outline of Hindawi's submitted proposal in response to the European Commission’s tender to launch a new publishing platform.
Of Oaths and Checklists
Oaths have their value, but checklists will help put principles into practice.
Replicable Business Models for Replicable Science - Generation R
There are a number of threats to replicability. Some of them are technical, some social.
Generation R: Forming Open Scientists and Shaping Science Systems
Generation R is a new editorial platform based on themes, blogposts and learning resources. Its editor, Simon Worthington, answers questions concerning its scope and organization.
How to Retool Graduate STEM Education
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently released a report outlining key recommendations for graduate programs and the science enterprise. It highlights the need for employers in all sectors to provide financial support for internships and other types of career experiences to students and recent graduates.
Data Management Checklist
Are you looking after your research data? This simple graphic provides a checklist of the key activities and requirements for making sure your research data is well managed.
The Preprint Dilemma: Good for Science, Bad for the Public? A Discussion Paper for the Scientific Community
The Preprint Dilemma: Good for Science, Bad for the Public? A Discussion Paper for the Scientific Community
This essay is an appeal to the scientific community - researchers, publishers and communicators - to take stock and engage in a discussion of the wider impacts of preprint.
NSF Wants to Know What You Think It Should Fund
Got an idea that could transform the world? NSF is launching a new contest offers prizes for "biggest" research ideas. On 31 August NSF will begin accepting online entries for the contest. Anyone can submit an idea - from individual scientists to professional societies to a high school science class.
High Cost of Bias: Diminishing Marginal Returns on NIH Grant Funding to Institutions
High Cost of Bias: Diminishing Marginal Returns on NIH Grant Funding to Institutions
A study suggesting that implicit biases and social prestige mechanisms (e.g., the Matthew effect) have a powerful impact on where NIH grant dollars go and the net return on taxpayers investments. They support evidence-based changes in funding policy geared towards a more equitable, more diverse and more productive distribution of federal support for scientific research.
‘Look happy dear, you’ve just made a discovery’ - Physics World
Sarah Tesh and Jess Wade describe Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s highs and lows, as revealed in her recent IOP President’s Medal lecture.
Peer Review Has Some Problems - but the Science Community Is Working on It
Key areas of focus for tweaking peer review include making journal editors more directive in the process, rewarding reviewers, and improving accountability of editors, reviewers and authors.
Wellcome Director's Update: Taking Risks on Bold Ideas
Today we're announcing a GBP250m not-for-profit fund. Director Jeremy Farrar explains how the new Wellcome Leap Fund will accelerate discovery and innovation.
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