How English-Centric Metrics Distort Global Scientific Productivity
New research shows how language and income shape who gets credited for scientific output-and why women and non-native English speakers face persistent gaps.
Ask a Scientist: Building on Advances in Scientific Integrity
It was a long time coming. Two decades after the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) redefined the term "scientific integrity," the White House issued its first-ever scientific integrity policy in May as a model for all government agencies and departments to protect federal scientists from political
'People Can't Learn About Treatments They Need': Why Open Access to Medical Research Matters
'People Can't Learn About Treatments They Need': Why Open Access to Medical Research Matters
Campaigners have argued for open access to scientific research since the dawn of the internet - so why is it taking so long?
Humans Have Been Sharing Food With Animals for Centuries. Why Is That?
Researchers want to learn more about the connections between humans and the feeding of birds, beasts and other fauna.
Top AI researchers say OpenAI, Meta and more hinder independent evaluations
Tech company policies have put a chill on independent AI research, says open letter.
Is Preprint the Future of Science? A Thirty Year Journey of Online Preprint Services
Is Preprint the Future of Science? A Thirty Year Journey of Online Preprint Services
Preprints make scholarly communication more efficient by disseminating scientific discoveries more rapidly. The measurements presented in this study can help researchers and policymakers make informed decisions about how to effectively use and responsibly embrace a preprint culture.
Researchers Sign Petition Backing Plans to End Paywalls
More than 1,400 researchers sign an online letter arguing that Plan S will not impinge on academic freedom, as some critics claim.
The Reason Why Africa's Borders Are So Straight is More Complicated Than Most Think
Estonia Ranks Third Worldwide in Scientific Impact - How Did It Happen?
For a country often celebrated for its composers, digital statecraft and quietly radical governance, Estonia has now achieved something even more improbable; according to a new analysis of global citation data, this nation of 1.3 million has become the world’s third most scientifically wealthy country.
Trump Hands Political Appointees Control over Science Funding: Here's Why Researchers Are Sounding the Alarm
Postdocs Trying to Transition to Non-academic Careers Should Be Offered More Support by Their Supervisors and Universities
Postdocs Trying to Transition to Non-academic Careers Should Be Offered More Support by Their Supervisors and Universities
Despite the position being billed as a stepping stone on the way to tenure-track academic employment, many postdocs, discouraged by their poor prospects, are questioning their career choices and instead looking to non-academic jobs as an alternative. However, as Chris Hayter and Marla A. Parker reveal, making this transition is not as easy as it might first appear.
Mixing Science and Art to Make the Truth More Interesting Than Lies
There are many reasons why scientists collaborating with artists makes sense, now more than ever.
Why We Need to Report More Than 'Data Were Analyzed by t-tests or ANOVA'
Why We Need to Report More Than 'Data Were Analyzed by t-tests or ANOVA'
Many papers in basic biomedical science do not contain the information that is needed to determine what statistical tests were used and to verify the results of these tests.
Viewpoint: Why Europe Must Invest in Research Infrastructures Now
As we move further into the 21st century, the importance of scientific research and technological innovation is becoming ever more apparent. Our ability to address critical challenges - from climate change to global health threats - depends on the strength and quality of our research and development efforts as enablers of innovation.
When Career Anxiety Becomes Gameplay: Lessons from China's 'young-faculty Simulator'
When Career Anxiety Becomes Gameplay: Lessons from China's 'young-faculty Simulator'
A popular online game simulates life as an academic - and throws the challenges of being an early-career researcher into sharp relief.
Scientific Prize Network Predicts Who Pushes the Boundaries of Science
Scientific prizes confer credibility to persons, ideas, and disciplines, provide financial incentives, and promote community-building celebrations. The article examines the growth dynamics and interlocking relationships found in the worldwide scientific prize network.
More Than a Feeling: Why Our Emotions Are Crucial to the Way We Think
Emotions enhance our process of reasoning and aid decision-making, says the author and physicist Leonard Mlodinow
The Best Research is Produced when Researchers and Communities Work Together
The Best Research is Produced when Researchers and Communities Work Together
Knowledge generated in partnership with the public and policymakers is more likely to be useful to society and should be encouraged.
Do Researchers Know What the H-index Is? And How Do They Estimate Its Importance? - Scientometrics
Do Researchers Know What the H-index Is? And How Do They Estimate Its Importance? - Scientometrics
In this article, we pursue two goals, namely the collection of empirical data about researchers' personal estimations of the importance of the h-index for themselves as well as for their academic disciplines, and on the researchers' concrete knowledge on the h-index and the way of its calculation.
Peter Suber on Science in Danger: "Host Your Open and Uncensored Research in More Than One Place and Preferably More Than One Country."
Peter Suber on Science in Danger: "Host Your Open and Uncensored Research in More Than One Place and Preferably More Than One Country."
In this interview with Peter Suber, the Senior Advisor on Open Access at Harvard Library and Director of the Harvard Open Access Project at the Berkman Klein Center discusses the current alarming developments taking place in the US research landscape – and offers valuable advice to colleagues from abroad.
In Scientific Publishing, Who Should Foot the Bill?
Publishers often charge authors to publish their publicly-funded research. Will a federal crackdown make a difference?
Why We Should Foster Connection and Belonging in Neo-liberal Academia
In a system where academic success is defined by outputs and individual achievement, Rachael Hains-Wesson and Nira Rahman call for a shift towards connection and belonging.
What's so special about science? (And how much should we spend on it?)
Presidential address on why society is willing to support an endeavor as abstract and altruistic as basic scientific research and an enterprise as large and practical as the R&D enterprise as a whole.
Tracking Science: How Libraries Can Protect Data and Scientific Freedom
Tracking Science: How Libraries Can Protect Data and Scientific Freedom
How can libraries help to prevent tracking in science, thereby protecting the data of the researchers and, in an idealistic sense, scientific freedom?
Publication Outperformance Among Global South Researchers: An Analysis of Individual-Level and Publication-Level Predictors of Positive Deviance
Publication Outperformance Among Global South Researchers: An Analysis of Individual-Level and Publication-Level Predictors of Positive Deviance
Research and development are central to economic growth, and a key challenge for countries of the global South is that their research performance lags behind that of the global North. Yet, among Southern researchers, a few significantly outperform their peers and can be styled research "positive deviants" (PDs). This paper asks: who are those PDs, what are their characteristics and how are they able to overcome some of the challenges facing researchers in the global South?
Scientists' public engagement work should be generously funded
Public engagement should be an integral part of research, not an unpaid hobby, which is why the Wellcome Trust has decided to invest £4.5m a year in it.
Remapping Science - Researchers Reckon with a Colonial Legacy
The scientific enterprise both fueled, and was fueled by, the colonial one. Today, the smudged fingerprints of colonization still linger on the scientific enterprise.
The Big Idea: Should We Get Rid of the Scientific Paper?
As a format it's slow, encourages hype, and is difficult to correct. A radical overhaul of publishing could make science better.
Why White Supremacists Are Chugging Milk (and Why Geneticists Are Alarmed)
Why White Supremacists Are Chugging Milk (and Why Geneticists Are Alarmed)
The appropriation of genetic research by those with extremist views on race has scientists grappling with how to respond.
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