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.
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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
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.
Public attitudes to science 2014
Public Attitudes to Science (PAS) 2014 is the fifth in a series of studies looking at attitudes to science, scientists and science policy among the UK public.
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
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
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
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
Brain-mapping projects to join forces
US and European research programmes will begin coordinating research
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
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
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.
Stem-cell method faces fresh questions
Papers describing acid-bath technique under more scrutiny after institute’s investigation finds errors in methodology
Women trail men in securing research council grants
Research Councils UK analysis reveals gender difference in success rates
The art of science advice to government
Peter Gluckman, New Zealand's chief science adviser, offers his ten principles for building trust, influence, engagement and independence.
Why faculty members work so much?
As I am writing this article, I should be writing something else: an email to an editor, an email to an author, a letter of recommendation, notes for tomorrow’s classes, comments on students’ papers, comments on manuscripts, an abstract for an upcoming conference, notes for one of the books I’m working on.
Developing an effective market for open access article processing charges
Research Councils UK, the Wellcome Trust, the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics worried about high open access fees charged by “hybrid” journals could refuse to pay fees above a set threshold, a report suggests.
Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014
EU more innovative but the differences between Member States are still high and diminish only slowly. The EU has closed half of the innovation gap towards the US.
Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias
Financial conflicts of interest and reporting bias
Financial conflicts of interest may bias conclusions from systematic reviews on sugar-sweetened beverages consumption and weight gain or obesity.
How stereotypes impair women's careers in science
Without provision of information about candidates other than their appearance, men are twice more likely to be hired for a mathematical task than women. If ability is self-reported, women still are discriminated against, because employers do not fully account for men’s tendency to boast about performance.
Book review
More people than ever are going to graduate school to seek a PhD these days. When they get there, they discover a bewildering environment: a rapid immersion in their discipline, a keen competition for resources, and uncertain options for their future, whether inside or outside of academia.
Science advice to governments
Science advice to governments
Auckland, August 28-29, 2014
Senate confirms France Córdova as NSF director
The US Senate confirmed astrophysicist France Córdova to lead the agency, roughly a year after former director Subra Suresh resigned mid-term.
Patent filings at the European Patent Office reach all-time high
Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Netherlands file most applications per capita.
Research council plans austere future
Research council plans austere future
The Spanish National Research Council will not issue a call for new PhD, postdoctoral and technical staff in the next two years, according to its latest action plan for 2014-2017.
Back to basics on research funding
Core science gets budget boost in a bid to change research culture and increase innovation.
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.
Science self-corrects - instantly
Science is now able to self-correct instantly. Post-publication peer review is here to stay.
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