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I’d Whisper to My Student Self: You Are Not Alone

I’d Whisper to My Student Self: You Are Not Alone

Twenty years on, Dave Reay speaks out about the depression that almost sunk his Ph.D., and the lifelines that saved him.

Nature Says It Wants to Publish Replication Attempts. so What Happened When a Group of Authors Submitted One to Nature Neuroscience?

Nature Says It Wants to Publish Replication Attempts. so What Happened When a Group of Authors Submitted One to Nature Neuroscience?

Over the past few years, Nature has published editorials extolling the virtues of replication, concluding in one that “We welcome, and will be glad to help disseminate, results that explore the validity of key publications, including our own.” Mante Nieuwland, of the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, and colleagues were encouraged by that message and submitted one such replication attempt to Nature Neuroscience. In a three-part guest post, Nieuwland will describe what happened when they did and discusses whether reality lives up to the rhetoric. 

Wikidata: a Platform for your Library’s Linked Open Data

Wikidata: a Platform for your Library’s Linked Open Data

Wikidata offers a low-barrier, high-result method of making data not only visible but reusable.

Introducing a New Standard for the Citation of Research Data

Introducing a New Standard for the Citation of Research Data

The Identifiers Expert Group of the FORCE11 Data Citation Implementation Pilot (DCIP) has achieved a significant step toward the harmonization of identifier resolution standards for data citation in research articles. 

For Open Science, but up a Different Path

For Open Science, but up a Different Path

According to Wikipedia, Open Science is "the movement to make scientific research, data and dissemination accessible to all levels of an inquiring society, amateur or professional." That definition raises a number of questions.

Addressing STEM Culture and Climate to Increase Diversity in STEM Disciplines

Addressing STEM Culture and Climate to Increase Diversity in STEM Disciplines

While over a third of black, Latino, and Native American students enter college with an interest in studying STEM, only 16 percent go on to obtain bachelor’s degrees in these fields.

Behold, the Marticle (A Primer on How to Avoid Only Quoting Men as Sources)

Behold, the Marticle (A Primer on How to Avoid Only Quoting Men as Sources)

Women being left out of national security discussions is not a new discovery. What struck us is that when it comes to nuclear policy, there are ample women to quote, so why isn’t that reflected in the reporting?​

20th Anniversary of the Andrew Wakefield Vaccine Fraud - No Celebrations

20th Anniversary of the Andrew Wakefield Vaccine Fraud - No Celebrations

A bit over 20 years ago, in February 1998, Andrew Wakefield published his infamous article in Lancet, which was eventually retracted in 2010. He stated that "onset of behavioural symptoms was associated, by the parents, with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination in eight of the 12 children."

Feeling Overwhelmed by Academia? You Are Not Alone

Feeling Overwhelmed by Academia? You Are Not Alone

Five researchers share their stories and advice on how to maintain good mental health in the hyper-competitive environment of science.

Understanding the Implications of Open Citations — How Far Along Are We?

Understanding the Implications of Open Citations — How Far Along Are We?

The academic discovery space seems to be buzzing again. This space has become relatively stable after the introduction and maturity of Web Scale Discovery between 2009-2013, but things seem to be hotting up once again

In Tackling Gender Inequality in STEM, Considerations of Culture

In Tackling Gender Inequality in STEM, Considerations of Culture

Study finds that countries ranking higher on measures of gender equality tend to have fewer women pursuing a STEM education than those further down the gender equality ranks.  The analysis suggests that there are girls with the grades, confidence, and the enjoyment of science to go into STEM, who still end up pursuing other careers.  For the numerous organizations dedicated to addressing the problem of women’s underrepresentation in science, solutions are far from clear.

The Coevolution of Physics and Math

The Coevolution of Physics and Math

Breakthroughs in physics sometimes require an assist from the field of mathematics-and vice versa. When you go far enough back, you really can’t tell who’s a physicist and who’s a mathematician.

Practicing What You Preach: Evaluating Access of Open Access Research

Practicing What You Preach: Evaluating Access of Open Access Research

This study finds that 73.7 percent of articles about OA are openly available.

Time Management: Stressed Science Needs to Slow Down

Time Management: Stressed Science Needs to Slow Down

Current evidence suggests that beyond a certain number of hours per week-around 40-productivity actually decreases. We need to appreciate our brain is a physically limited resource.

Facebook Shuts the Gate After the Horse Has Bolted, and Hurts Real Research in the Process

Facebook Shuts the Gate After the Horse Has Bolted, and Hurts Real Research in the Process

Facebook has recently announced a substantial tightening of access restrictions to the APIs of Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms it owns. While these changes may generate some positive publicity for the company, they are likely to compound the real problem, further diminishing transparency and opportunities for independent oversight.

Petition: Gender Equality in EU's Next Research Funding Programme

Petition: Gender Equality in EU's Next Research Funding Programme

A petition to make gender equality an integral part of the European strategy for research and innovation during the negotiation of the research Framework Programme 9.

YouTube Your Science

YouTube Your Science

By making science readily available to any viewer, researchers can reach people who are interested in science but can’t read original manuscripts in a journal for whatever reason. If you don’t believe me, just ask my mum.

A Graduate Researcher's (Brief) Guide to Creating a Student Science Policy Group

A Graduate Researcher's (Brief) Guide to Creating a Student Science Policy Group

There are many ways to address science policy topics and your group may find some original ways to address them. Here are some common approaches student groups use to address issues.

Practical Decentralization of Scholarly Data & Resources

Practical Decentralization of Scholarly Data & Resources

It’s time for scholars to ask whether today’s data preservation technologies align with open scholarship’s values of access, preservation, privacy, and transparency.