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In Praise of Scientific Theory
Just a hunch? Hardly. Think germ theory, atomic theory and the theory of evolution.
Our Obsession With Eminence Warps Research
Many decisions about whose work is recognized are at least partially arbitrary, and we should acknowledge that.
Putting the Science Police to Better Use
Public rejection might just be part of the journey to knowledge's acceptance.
Who Should Fund Science?
Government funding is a relatively recent phenomenon, but scientific progress is not.
Against Linked Open Data
Linked Open Data may sound good and noble, but it’s the wrong way around.
Pressure to Publish in Journals Drives Too Much Cookie-Cutter Research
Evaluating academic performance on the basis of journal publications is skewing research priorities. This does our public funders a disservice.
Opening up the Black Box of Peer Review
Liz Allen looks into what peer review actually tells us and how we use expert opinion.
Why I Left Physics for Economics
I recently decided to abandon the rules that govern nature for the rules that govern people and markets: economics. Why would I do such a thing?
Changing Expectations: Where Will Your Career Take You?
Exploring research career transitions and shaping research culture in the UK.
We Should Make It Easy for People to Bring Great Tech Ideas to Market—but We're Doing the Opposite
We Should Make It Easy for People to Bring Great Tech Ideas to Market—but We're Doing the Opposite
The world’s most potent technologists are stranded in today’s innovation ecosystem.
Is the Staggeringly Profitable Business of Scientific Publishing Bad for Science?
Is the Staggeringly Profitable Business of Scientific Publishing Bad for Science?
It is an industry like no other, with profit margins to rival Google – and it was created by one of Britain’s most notorious tycoons: Robert Maxwell.
Without Even Thinking
Implicit biases are pervasive and unavoidable. But they can be changed.
FAIR Is Not Fair Enough
FAIR doesn’t actually require the data or software to be openly available.
Don't Let Europe's Open-Science Dream Drift
Now that the major players have agreed to the giant European Open Science Cloud, it’s time to get the project moving.
Avoiding Predators in Publishing
As the number of publishers that choose profit over ethics grows, find out how to avoid their scams and support organizations promoting best practices in scholarly communication.
Is Science Broken, Or Is It Self-Correcting?
How retractions and peer-review problems are exploited to attack science.
The Allocation of Scientific Grants Should Be a Science
His experiences on a panel reviewing Canadian grant allocation has convinced Jonathan Grant that the evidence base for current practice needs serious reinforcement.
How Pasteur’s Artistic Insight Changed Chemistry
Louis Pasteur was a scientific giant of the nineteenth century, but, as Joseph Gal asks, was his most famouscontribution to the understanding of chemistry — chirality — influenced more by his artistic talents?
What I Learned from Predatory Publishers
This article is a first-hand account of Jeffrey Beall’s work identifying and listing predatory publishers from 2012 to 2017.
Empty Rhetoric over Data Sharing Slows Science
It is surely misguided for funding agencies — for instance, the Swiss National Science Foundation — to prohibit the use of commercial data platforms by grant-holders.
How Not to Choose Which Science Is Worth Funding
Or why we should choose what to fund at random.
Do We Still Need Publishers in Academia?
Why do we need middlemen in academia in the era of electronic publishing?
Making Public Data Public
Computational scientists develop a system for spotting data overdue for public release, and end up getting hundreds of open-access datasets corrected.
Predicting the Paper of the Future
How academic publishing may change in the years to come.