Subscribe to our newsletter

Send us a link

Preprints Are Valid Research Outputs for REF2021

Preprints Are Valid Research Outputs for REF2021

Preprints will be included in the Research Excellence Framework, the UK’s system for assessing the quality of research in higher education institutions.

UC Faculty to Elsevier: Restart Negotiations, or else

UC Faculty to Elsevier: Restart Negotiations, or else

Prominent UC faculty suspend service on editorial boards of Cell Press journals to bring publisher Elsevier back to the bargaining table.

The Impact of Open Access on Teaching-How Far Have We Come?

The Impact of Open Access on Teaching-How Far Have We Come?

How far has the United Kingdom higher education (UK HE) sector progressed towards open access (OA) availability of the scholarly literature it requires to support courses of study?

Amidst Criticism of the Peer Review Process, the Valuable Contributions of Reviewers Should Be Defended

Amidst Criticism of the Peer Review Process, the Valuable Contributions of Reviewers Should Be Defended

As flaws in the peer review process are highlighted and calls for reform become more frequent, it may be tempting for some to denigrate and dismiss the contributions of the reviewers themselves.

Prof Who Lost Emeritus Status for Views on Race and Intelligence Has Paper Flagged

Prof Who Lost Emeritus Status for Views on Race and Intelligence Has Paper Flagged

Richard Lynn A former emeritus professor who has been called "one of the most unapologetic and raw 'scientific' racists operating today" has had one of his papers subjected to an expression of concern.

Novartis Hid Manipulated Data While Seeking Approval for $2.1 Million Treatment

Novartis Hid Manipulated Data While Seeking Approval for $2.1 Million Treatment

The failure to report the issue has not put patients at risk, the F.D.A. said, but the drugmaker could face criminal and civil penalties.

Why We Need to Keep Talking About Equality in Physics

Why We Need to Keep Talking About Equality in Physics

Jess Wade and Maryam Zaringhalam discuss the implications of poor diversity in physics - and what can be done to create a level playing field in the subject

Scientists Must Rise Above Politics - and Restate Their Value to Society

Scientists Must Rise Above Politics - and Restate Their Value to Society

Scholars globally are feeling the heat from politicians. They should take inspiration from scientists in the 1950s who raised the alarm over nuclear weapons.

A Literature Review of Scholarly Communications Metadata

A Literature Review of Scholarly Communications Metadata

The purpose of this literature review is to identify the challenges, opportunities, and gaps in knowledge with regard to the use of metadata in scholarly communications. This paper compiles and interprets literature in sections based on the professional groups, or stakeholders, within scholarly communications metadata: researchers, funders, publishers, librarians, service providers, and data curators.

A Crashed Israeli Spacecraft Spilled Tardigrades on the Moon

A Crashed Israeli Spacecraft Spilled Tardigrades on the Moon

The Beresheet lunar lander carried thousands of books, DNA samples, and a few thousand water bears to the moon. But did any of it survive the crash?

Do Monographs Have a Future? Publishers, Funders and Research Evaluators Must Decide

Do Monographs Have a Future? Publishers, Funders and Research Evaluators Must Decide

The future of the academic monograph has been questioned for over two decades. At the heart of this 'monograph crisis' has been a publishing industry centred on the print publication of monographs.

Why We Shouldn’t Take Peer Review as the ‘Gold Standard’

Why We Shouldn’t Take Peer Review as the ‘Gold Standard’

Targeting a general audience, this opinion piece argues that with more transparency about the publication process, we might have a more nuanced understanding of how knowledge is built - and fewer people taking “peer-reviewed” to mean settled truth.

Trust and Mistrust in Americans' Views of Scientific Experts

Trust and Mistrust in Americans' Views of Scientific Experts

Public confidence in scientists is on the upswing, and six-in-ten Americans say scientists should play an active role in policy debates about scientific issues, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

Medical Schools Ease Admission Rules in Name of Diversity

Medical Schools Ease Admission Rules in Name of Diversity

Top universities are dropping some of the hardest A-levels from their entry requirements to attract more girls and poorer pupils on to courses dominated by male and middle-class students.

First Article Published in UCL's Open Access Megajournal

First Article Published in UCL's Open Access Megajournal

UCL's new megajournal 'UCL Open' has published its first article, delivering on our commitment to provide academics, students and the general public with ground-breaking research free of charge.

Readers Beware! Predatory Journals Are Infiltrating Citation Databases

Readers Beware! Predatory Journals Are Infiltrating Citation Databases

Publications in predatory journals have already infiltrated citation databases such as PubMed and Scopus. Researchers, academic institutions, journals, publishers and research funders will need additional strategies to prevent the further spread of predatory publications.

Meta-Research: Use of the Journal Impact Factor in Academic Review, Promotion, and Tenure Evaluations

Meta-Research: Use of the Journal Impact Factor in Academic Review, Promotion, and Tenure Evaluations

Almost a quarter of faculty evaluation documents from US and Canadian universities mention Journal Impact Factor and often imply that it measures research quality.

The Right to Read is the Right To Mine: But Not When Blocked by Technical Protection Measures

The Right to Read is the Right To Mine: But Not When Blocked by Technical Protection Measures

The Association of European Research Libraries is working with Libraries Archives Copyright Alliance (LACA) to gather evidence about what happens when Technical Protection Measures (TPMs) block researchers from accessing content because they have attempted text and data mining. 

Commission Names Board Members for Horizon Europe Missions

Commission Names Board Members for Horizon Europe Missions

The experts will be responsible for designing the large-scale, objective-driven research projects, which are seen as central to reframing Europe’s approach to tackling ‘grand challenges’ including climate change, soil erosion, sustainable food production and marine and freshwater pollution.

Council of Graduate Schools Data Show There's No One Way to Use a Doctorate

Council of Graduate Schools Data Show There's No One Way to Use a Doctorate

New data shows that many Ph.D.s switch jobs and employment sectors in their early careers and even into midcareer. So Ph.D. programs should help students navigate job opportunities and understand the value of their degrees across sectors.

Fact Check: What You May Have Heard About the Dispute Between UC and Elsevier

Fact Check: What You May Have Heard About the Dispute Between UC and Elsevier

A fact check from UC’s negotiating team.

The White House Blocked My Report on Climate Change and National Security

The White House Blocked My Report on Climate Change and National Security

Politics intruded on science and intelligence. That's why I quit my job as an analyst for the State Department.

Artificial Intelligence Could Improve Health Care for All - Unless It Doesn't

Artificial Intelligence Could Improve Health Care for All - Unless It Doesn't

Artificial Intelligence medical tools could help democratize health care - but some worry they could also worsen inequalities.