Musings about the Open Science Prize
As I was thinking about casting my vote for the Open Science Prize, I realized that I would in fact need a rubric for choosing. I was concerned that the public vote would tend towards popularity, familiarity, or bling, rather than the quality of the open science. But what does it mean to be “quality open science?” What should be the most important criteria?
Academic labour markets in Europe vary widely in openness and job security
Having examined the organisation of Europe’s academic labour markets, Alexandre Afonso outlines the main differences between countries across the continent. There is greatest variance in two …
Argentina's Researchers Occupy Science Ministry
Young scientists angry at budget cuts say they have been denied permanent jobs.
The New Face of US Science
Gary McDowell, Misty Heggeness and colleagues present census data showing how the biomedical workforce is fundamentally different to those of past generations – academia should study the trends, and adapt.
Health Issues Topped the List of Scientific Studies Reaching Wide Audiences in 2016
Health care policy, space and evolution led the way.
The Changing Role of Non‐English Papers in Scholarly Communication
The Changing Role of Non‐English Papers in Scholarly Communication
Evidence from Web of Science showing that English is increasingly being used as the dominating language from natural sciences and social sciences to arts and humanities.
Beall’s List of Predatory Publishers 2017
232 new predatory open-access publishers over 2016.
It's Not Just Politics: 2016 Was an Epidemic Year for Fake News in Science, too
It's Not Just Politics: 2016 Was an Epidemic Year for Fake News in Science, too
One of the watchwords of politics in 2016 was the epidemic of “fake news” — a catch-all term encompassing propaganda, misinformation, disinformation and hoaxing — impinging on the presidential campaign. But let’s not overlook its spread in the spheres of science and medicine.
Public More Likely To Ignore Experts if Science Is Too Easy
Reading popular science articles causes non-scientists to overrate their expertise, research finds
What Happens to Rejected Papers?
Neuroskeptic« No Need To Worry About False Positives in fMRI?What Happens to Rejected Papers?By Neuroskeptic | January 3, 2017 2:43 pm32The pain of rejection is one that every scientist has felt: but what happens to papers after they’re declined by a journal?In a new study, researchers Earnshaw et al. traced the fate of almost 1,000 manuscripts which had been submitted to and rejected by ear, nose and throat journal Clinical Otolaryngology between 2011 to 2013.
Simple and Declarative Titles Are More Likely To Be in the Altmetric Top 100
Publication Bias and the Canonization of False Facts
Publication bias, in which positive results are preferentially reported by authors and published by journals, can restrict the visibility of evidence against false claims and allow such claims to be canonized inappropriately as facts.
Narrative Style Influences Citation Frequency in Climate Change Science
Articles with more narrative abstracts are cited more often.
The Health Data Conundrum
There's quite a paradox when it comes to our health data. Most of us still cannot readily look at it, but there’s been an epidemic of cybercriminals and thieves hacking and stealing this most personal information. By Eric Topol.
Why Having a (Nonfinancial) Interest Is Not a Conflict of Interest
A current debate about conflicts of interest related to biomedical research is to question whether the focus on financial conflicts of interest overshadows “nonfinancial” interests that could put scientific judgment at equal or greater risk of bias.
Languages Are Still a Major Barrier to Global Science
Searching Google Scholar in 16 languages revealed that 35.6% of 75,513 scientific documents on biodiversity conservation published in 2014 were not in English.
Mapped Out: Negative Perceptions of Science
This map shows that across Africa, India, Central America and parts of the Middle East, people are more likely to believe that one of the “bad effects” of science is that it “breaks down ideas of right and wrong”.
Why Researchers Should Resolve to Engage in 2017
Debates over climate change and genome editing present the need for researchers to venture beyond their comfort zones to engage with citizens — and they should receive credit for doing so.
How to Quickly Spot Dodgy Science
There are a few red flags to look out for when reading about new scientific discoveries that can help you spot dodgy or unreliable work.
Why Scientists Must Learn to Communicate With the Public
Evading science communication simply because it is difficult, time-consuming or not important enough reflects more on how much scientists value their own work and its place in posterity.
When Science Becomes Too Easy
Science popularization inclines laypeople to underrate their dependence on experts.
Limiting PhDs Creates the Wrong Kind of Elite
Fixing problems in the academic job market by reducing the number of PhDs would homogenise the sector, argues Tom Cutterham.
Quantity and/or Quality? The Importance of Publishing Many Papers
Highly productive researchers have significantly higher probability to produce top cited papers.
Mega-Journal PLOS ONE Continues to Shrink
The world's largest scholarly journal, PLOS ONE, is seeing fewer and fewer researchers publish their work in it as the open-access publishing market evolves.