How to evaluate academic research
Don't evaluate scholarly research on public impact alone.
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Why do we still have journals?
The Web has greatly reduced the barriers to entry for new journals and other platforms for communicating scientific output, and the number of journals continues to multiply. This leaves readers and authors with the daunting cognitive challenge of navigating the literature and discerning contributions that are both relevant and significant.
"Massenmeinungen gefährden die Wissenschaft"
Auf Google hoch platzierte Publikationen hinterfragt kaum jemand, beklagt US-Soziologe James Evans. Gleichzeitig rät er Forschern, mehr Denkarbeit an Computer abzugeben.
Farce, then tragedy?
Farce, then tragedy?
Racist government policies hurt the higher education sector, says Kevin Fong, but the harm doesn't stop there I seem to recall that "education, education, education" was Tony Blair's battle cry in the run-up to the 1996 general election. (With hindsight, the title of the Kaiser Chiefs' latest album, Education, Education, Education and War, might have been closer to the mark.)
Global scientific output doubles every nine years
It's a common complaint among academics: today's researchers are publishing too much, too fast. But just how fast is the mass of scientific output actually growing?
Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact
Tracking the dynamics of individual scientific impact
The impact factor (IF) of scientific journals has acquired a major role in the evaluations of the output of scholars. However, at the end of the day one is interested in assessing the impact of individuals. Here we introduce Author Impact Factor (AIF).
The science of citations
Because the odds that a single paper will spread a good idea are simply too small. Three is good. Four is better. Five is much better.
Guide to reproducible research
Collection of literature, presentations, posts and links on reproducible research resulting from a recent Hackathon on open science.
Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles
Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles
The production, archival, and sharing of data may actually be a more effective way to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.
Die Ruhelose
Die Ruhelose
Was die Britin Sarah Springman anpackt, macht sie zu Gold. Nun soll sie Rektorin der ETH werden.
EU launches U-Multirank
A European Union-sponsored university ranking system has gone live after around six years of development.
Engaging With Policymakers
Roughly 90% of researchers in a recent survey said scientists and policymakers don't communicate enough. But, only about 60% said they were sure of the names of their elected federal representatives.
Der Investorenschwarm formiert sich
Erstes Monitoring über alle Aktivitäten auf Schweizer Plattformen zeigt, dass Crowdfunding auch in der Schweiz immer beliebter wird. Gemäss der Studie hat sich das gesammelte Geldvolumen im vergangenen Jahr mehr als verdoppelt.
Why climb the greasy pole?
Getting a job at a top university will not make you a better researcher
Demand for ERC Starting Grants stabilises
Demand for ERC Starting Grants stabilizes after Switzerland being not eligible for the first time.
Category 5 or tempest in a teapot?
In "Falling Behind?" Michael Teitelbaum describes how the "hog cycle" phenomenon played out in the U.S. science and engineering workforce from the end of World War II through the 1998–2005 doubling of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget and subsequent leveling off of funding.
Metaphysicians
Launch of METRICS, the Meta-Research Innovation Centre at Stanford, by John Ioannidis.
This is important. You have £5.8 billion to spend on science things
How this money is invested could make a huge difference to our future, in the UK and to some extent beyond
It would aid amateur scientific breakthroughs
Discoveries by laypeople are rare but free access to research results would increase the likelihood
Driving forces of researchers mobility
Study showing that the fate of a career strongly depends from the first two affiliations.
Academia Stack Exchange
Academia Stack Exchange
Academia Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for academics and those enrolled in higher education. It's 100% free, no registration required.
The New Reddit Journal of Science
The New Reddit Journal of Science
The intent of this program is to enable the general public to distinguish between an educated opinion and a random comment without a background related to the topic.
Science's shameful secret
At the frontiers of scientific discovery, there is a growing problem. Can we still trust our scientists?
The perils of REF 'irradiation'
Academics have internalised research assessment to such a degree that the effects may be irreversible.
OA Button project starts work on Version 2.0
The Open Access Button is seeking £20,000 of funding for Version 2.0 of the tool, which is planned for launch in this October's Open Access Week.
Thaw in EU-Swiss relations lends hope for Horizon 2020
The EU Commission will consider improving Switzerland's status under Horizon 2020, following the announcement by the Swiss government of a plan to facilitate the immigration of Croatian nationals.
Ioannidis helps lead center to analyze how science goes wrong
At the new Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford, or Metrics, John P.A. Ioannidis and Steven N. Goodman, both professors of medicine at Stanford, plan to study how research is done, and how it can be done better.
Visa will support international mobility for top researchers in UK
The Wellcome Trust and the RCUK plan to pilot a streamlined endorsement process to make it easier for outstanding international researchers to obtain Tier 1 Exceptional Talent or Exceptional Promise visas.
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