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Why I don't care about Open Access to research and why you should

Why I don't care about Open Access to research and why you should

Should paywalls stand between the taxpaying public and publicly funded research? Congress recently decided that the answer should be "no."

Standard evaluation protocol 2015-2021

Standard evaluation protocol 2015-2021

Dutch universities will value quality above quantity in publications.

Shaping science policy in Europe

Shaping science policy in Europe

For the first time, the scientific community acted collectively and across disciplinary or national boundaries as a political actor for the sake of a better science policy for Europe.

Post publication peer review

Post publication peer review

New scientists have grown up commenting on their friends pictures, their silly comments on Facebook and their favorite YouTube videos. Will this practice carry over into their scientific publishing?

How the Wellcome Trust spends its money

How the Wellcome Trust spends its money

The Wellcome Trust has released new data and infographics to show where it spends out money.

Elsevier admits it has been mis-selling open access and will be contacting mis-sold customers

Elsevier admits it has been mis-selling open access and will be contacting mis-sold customers

Comment of Elsevier's Director of Access and Policy on a blog

The mostly unread world of academic papers

The mostly unread world of academic papers

According to one study, which was presumably read by more than three people, half of all academic papers are read by no more than three people.

Billionaires with big ideas are privatizing American science

Billionaires with big ideas are privatizing American science

As government financing of basic science research has plunged, private donors have filled the void, raising questions about the future of research for the public good.

Industry-funded academic inventions boost innovation

Industry-funded academic inventions boost innovation

Brian D. Wright and colleagues present data challenging the assumption that corporate-funded academic research is less accessible and useful to others.

The new dilemma: too many places to post?

The new dilemma: too many places to post?

As online comments on newly published research become widespread, a new dilemma faces scientists wanting to enter the electronic fray: where to comment, and in what format for maximum impact?

Incoming NSF director faces challenges in Congress

Incoming NSF director faces challenges in Congress

Former Purdue University president France Córdova inherits an agency at a crossroads.

Don't hide the decline

Don't hide the decline

US scientists should not be placated by the ‘flat budget’ myth. Funds are decreasing, and the situation will get worse.

We need more scientific mavericks

We need more scientific mavericks

Scientific mavericks once played an essential role in research. We must relearn how to support them and provide new options for an unforeseeable future.

A cross-disciplinary analysis of the presence of 'alternative metrics' in scientific publications

A cross-disciplinary analysis of the presence of 'alternative metrics' in scientific publications

An analysis of the presence and possibilities of altmetrics for bibliometric and performance analysis is carried out.

Cooperative Data Publishing, Management and Discovery

Cooperative Data Publishing, Management and Discovery

Present redistribution of public knowledge offers only the illusion of transparency. For data to truly be free, librarians must look towards their audience as digital collaborators, rather than simply end users.

Budget cuts bite at NIH and NSF

Budget cuts bite at NIH and NSF

The NIH awarded 750 fewer new research grants in 2013 compared with 2012, an 8.3% drop. The 2013 sequestration also hit the US NSF, which awarded 690 fewer grants.

Budget sees boosts for data science, graphene and cell therapy

Budget sees boosts for data science, graphene and cell therapy

George Osborne continued his trend of throwing small crumbs of funding to science and technology while at the same time failing to announce either long-term support for basic science or a strategy to develop UK industrial research

RCUK Impact Report 2013

RCUK Impact Report 2013

This reports show that the UK research base is not only at the cutting edge of scientific and academic discovery, but also is doing more to translate this into practical wider benefits. This helps to keep us ahead in the global race.

The parable of Google flu: traps in big data analysis

The parable of Google flu: traps in big data analysis

In February 2013, Google Flu Trends (GFT) made headlines but not for a reason that Google executives or the creators of the flu tracking system would have hoped.

The exploitative economics of academic publishing

The exploitative economics of academic publishing

Much of research in the US is inaccessible not only to the public, but also to other scientists. Fortunately, cheap open-access alternatives are not only possible, but already beginning to take root

Getting academic research into the public sphere: the rundown on repositories

Getting academic research into the public sphere: the rundown on repositories

List of the different types of current online repositories

WWW born at CERN 25 years ago

WWW born at CERN 25 years ago

In March 1989 Tim Berners-Lee, a scientist working at CERN, submitted a proposal to develop a radical new way of linking and sharing information over the internet. The document was entitled Information Management: A Proposal . And so the web was born.