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PhD Students Supervised Collectively Rather Than Individually Are Quicker to Complete Their Theses
PhD Students Supervised Collectively Rather Than Individually Are Quicker to Complete Their Theses
Comparing the experiences of individually and collectively supervised students on the same doctoral programme, it was found that collective supervision, during the first year at least, is correlated with significantly shorter times to thesis completion compared to individual supervision.
Open Peer Review: Bringing Transparency, Accountability, and Inclusivity to the Peer Review Process
Open Peer Review: Bringing Transparency, Accountability, and Inclusivity to the Peer Review Process
Open peer review is moving into the mainstream, but it is often poorly understood and surveys of researcher attitudes show important barriers to implementation. Tony Ross-Hellauer provides an overv…
Abandon Statistical Inference
Rather than focusing our study reports on uncertain conclusions, we should thus focus on describing accurately how the study was conducted, what problems occurred, and what analysis methods were used.
Using Preprints for Journal Clubs
Including preprints rather than focusing completely on published papers in journal clubs might benefit the scientific enterprise in numerous ways, including by providing direct criticisms to preprint authors before publication, deemphasizing publishing venue, teaching students the art of reviewing papers, and making journal clubs more current by discussing unpublished data.
How Libraries Secure Trust in the Research Process of the 21st Century
Three examples for library engagement in trust: scholarly communication literacy, information quality and legal certainty.
Panel Calls for a Postdoc Tax and Other Measures to Help Biomedical Scientists Find Jobs
Panel Calls for a Postdoc Tax and Other Measures to Help Biomedical Scientists Find Jobs
By limiting how long postdocs can be federally funded and by making it more expensive to keep them designated as trainees, research institutions will have an incentive to employ more permanent staff scientists, providing a much-needed additional career option for young scientist.
Our Survey Found 'Questionable Research Practices' by Ecologists and Biologists – Here's What That Means
Our Survey Found 'Questionable Research Practices' by Ecologists and Biologists – Here's What That Means
Questionable research practices are not fraud, and they're not cause for panic. But they do give us some hints about how we can make science more robust.
Science Publisher Springer Nature Anoounces €1.2 Billion IPO
Despite a mixed record for German stock market flotations in 2018, Springer Nature, the world's largest publisher of English-language research journals, has announced it is taking the plunge.
The Citation Graph Is One of Humankind's Most Important Intellectual Achievements
The Citation Graph Is One of Humankind's Most Important Intellectual Achievements
When researchers write, we don't just describe new findings - we place them in context by citing the work of others. Citations trace the lineage of ideas, connecting disparate lines of scholarship into a cohesive body of knowledge, and forming the basis of how we know what we know.
With the Herman Project, Home Bakers Become Citizen Scientists
Network tracks the evolution of microbial communities in sourdough starter mixtures shared around the world.
Jupyter, Mathematica, and the Future of the Research Paper
Why Jupyter succeed where Mathematica failed? The obvious contrast is between the proprietary world of Wolfram and the open-source model of the software ecosystem that Jupyter mobilizes.
Battle over College Course Material Is a Textbook Example of Technological Change
Battle over College Course Material Is a Textbook Example of Technological Change
A revolution in college course materials is raising questions about cost, access, and fairness. Publishers say their high-tech courseware - electronic books glowing with videos and interactive study guides - can improve the quality of learning at a small fraction of the cost of traditional textbooks. But student advocates call for adoption of open-source textbooks that can be downloaded for free and worry that the same companies that drove up the price of print textbooks are dominating the digital space and will ultimately introduce higher costs there.
5 Strategies for Closing the STEM Gender Gap
With our society becoming increasingly dependent on technology and STEM literacy, it’s becoming even more imperative to close the drastic gender gap that exists within STEM fields.
Study Explores Challenges to Black Graduate Engineering Students
A new study that follows 21 Black men pursuing graduate degrees in engineering explores themes of structural racism, unfair treatment, unwelcoming environments and feelings of isolation.
Is Science Hitting a Wall?
Economists show increased research efforts are yielding decreasing returns. Too much innovation veneration! One driver of the replication crisis is our culture’s growing obsession with “innovation.” As technology historians Lee Vinsel and Andrew Russell state in their influential Aeon essay Hail the Maintainers: “Entire societies have come to talk about innovation as if it were an inherently desirable value."
Social media for social change in science
Opinion pieces challenges the dichotomy that use of social media for public engagement with science and working to change policy and remove systemic barriers to inclusion are mutually exclusive.
Knowledge Sharing in Global Health Research - the Impact, Uptake and Cost of Open Access to Scholarly Literature
Knowledge Sharing in Global Health Research - the Impact, Uptake and Cost of Open Access to Scholarly Literature
This study aims to assess the use, cost and impact of open access diffusion in the context of global health research. Although OA does not ensure full knowledge transfer from research to practice, limiting public access can negatively impact implementation and outcomes of health policy and reduce public understanding of health issues.
The Mark of a Woman’s Record: Gender and Academic Performance in Hiring
Unlocking the Open - Europe PMC Integrates with Unpaywall
Europe PMC, one of the largest free online open access repositories in the life sciences, has teamed up with Unpaywall to unlock even more content for their users (the SNSF is a Europe PMC funding group member).
The More Revisions a Paper Undergoes, the Greater Its Subsequent Recognition in Terms of Citations
The More Revisions a Paper Undergoes, the Greater Its Subsequent Recognition in Terms of Citations
Some evidence showing that the more revisions a paper undergoes, the greater its subsequent recognition in terms of citation impact.
The Pay Gap, Visualized and Analyzed
Even when the field of academic study is removed from the equation, women’s earnings still trail those of men by 11 percent. The reason? Family. Married women with children are paid less than those who don’t have similarly structured families. Meanwhile, men earn the same amount, regardless of their marital or parental status.
Africa's Unsung Scientists Finally Get Their Own Journal to Spread Research
Africa's Unsung Scientists Finally Get Their Own Journal to Spread Research
Publication will highlight pioneering work of scientists searching for cures to diseases like HIV and malaria and solutions to climate change.
Seven Functionalities the Scholarly Literature Should Have
A short list of seven functionalities that academic publishers looking to modernize their operations might invest in; from unencumbered access and improved social components, to dynamic data visualisations and more precise hyperlinking.