A recent investigation led by an international group of journalists raised concerns over the scale of the problem of deceptive publishing practices, but the problem of predatory publishing was overstated while at the same time discrediting open access publishing.
By synthesizing norethindrone, one of the first active ingredients in birth control pills, Luis Miramontes helped usher in the sexual revolution.
Experiments are invaluable and have, in the past, shown the consensus opinion of experts to be wrong. But those who fetishize this methodology can also impair progress toward the truth.
The multidisciplinary conferences that use ‘science’ as an adjective can be a fantastic source of new collaborations and ideas.
Switzerland appears to have three key factors for success in getting a surprisingly high proportion of its researchers’ articles cited in the scientific literature: it’s a small country, it’s research investment is large compared to other countries, and importantly, its hosting of the Large Hadron Collider is a drawcard for collaborative research.
Love it or hate it, the H-index has become one of the most widely used metrics in academia for measuring the productivity and impact of researchers. But when Jorge Hirsch proposed it as an objective measure of scientific achievement in 2005, he didn’t think it would be used outside theoretical physics.
We should strive for open but also be realistic about the options truly available to researchers and discuss them transparently and honestly, argues Dustin Fife.
Assessing the environment in purely monetary terms can harm people and the planet.
Conflict has left many labs empty or in ruins
“In the modern British university, it is not that funding is sought in order to carry out research, but that research projects are formulated in order to get funding.”
After a series of scandals in Nordic science, Denmark and Sweden are rethinking how they investigate allegations of academic fraud and misconduct.
It is the ultimate accolade, but critics claim the award is now out of step with modern collaborative research methods.
It's no secret that retractions have a stigma, which is very likely part of why authors often resist the move - even when honest error is involved.
Written by Marta Teperek & Alastair Dunning 4TU.ResearchData is an international repository for research data in science, engineering and design. After over 10 years of using Fedora, an open so…
Covid has put academics at the heart of policymaking, but electing better politicians could be the answer.
The relatively low success rates for applicants in most parts of Horizon 2020 have been heavily and unanimously criticized by the stakeholders. In response, the European Commission introduced more generally a proposal evaluation in two stages, in order to ease the burden of unsuccessful applicants during the first stage. This approach received a very positive feedback from the scientific communities.
UK Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson wants to see a "simpler" research funding system as well as faster routes for private provider "challenger institutions" to enter higher education.
Teamwork is an essential component of science. It affords the exchange of ideas and the execution of research that can entail high levels of complexity and scope.
All pandemic long, scientists brawled over how the virus spreads. Droplets! No, aerosols! At the heart of the fight was a teensy error with huge consequences.
Authorea seeks to marry the ease of writing on Word or Google Docs with the power of LaTeX, HTML, and Git.
Russian researchers are losing access to vital lab equipment and computing power as western sanctions against the country begin to bite, potentially crippling Russia's scientific base.
The controversies surrounding Sci-Hub touch on many hot-button topics in librarianship. This primer lays out multiple perspectives on the issues.
If democracy depends on informed citizens, democracy is in trouble. This is a moment of crisis for many institutions, including higher education, especially in disciplines such as English, philosophy, and history, which promise to prepare students as citizens. To prepare students for a world where information is filtered by computers, we will need a stronger alliance between the humanities and math. This alliance has two reciprocal parts: cultural criticism of the mathematical models shaping our world, and mathematical inquiry about culture.
Nature's survey of more than 6,000 graduate students reveals the turbulent nature of doctoral research. The mental health of PhD researchers demands urgent attention.
