Send us a link

Subscribe to our newsletter

In the Era of Brexit and Fake News, Scientists Need to Embrace Social Media

In the Era of Brexit and Fake News, Scientists Need to Embrace Social Media

Social media can promote openness in research as international partnerships and collaborations are jeopardised, while increased adoption by scientists can also redress the balance that has shifted towards ill-evidenced news on some platforms.

Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Does Knowledge Brokering Work?

Evidence-Informed Policymaking: Does Knowledge Brokering Work?

Sarah Quarmby takes a look inside a knowledge broker organisation, the Wales Centre for Public Policy, to see how its day-to-day workings tally with the body of knowledge about evidence use in policymaking.

Random Audits Could Shift the Incentive for Researchers From Quantity to Quality

Random Audits Could Shift the Incentive for Researchers From Quantity to Quality

One way to push back against the pressure to “publish or perish” is to randomly audit a small proportion of researchers and take time to assess their research in detail. Auditors could examine complex measures of quality which no metric could ever capture such as originality, reproducibility, and research translation.

Seven Functionalities the Scholarly Literature Should Have

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.

A Brief Guide To Writing Your First Scientific Manuscript

A Brief Guide To Writing Your First Scientific Manuscript

Some thoughts on how to approach writing manuscripts based on original biomedical research.

The Concept of Research Impact Pervades Contemporary Academic Discourse – But What Does It Actually Mean?

The Concept of Research Impact Pervades Contemporary Academic Discourse – But What Does It Actually Mean?

Research impact is often talked about, but how clear is it what this term really means? The authors highlight four core elements that comprise most research impact definitions and propose a new conceptualisation of research impact relevant to health policy.

What Do You Do When They Say "No?"

What Do You Do When They Say "No?"

After unanimous recommendations for Promotion with Tenure from both the department and college committees, the Dean overturned the committees' votes. He would not be recommending me for tenure.

 

What Does It Mean to Read the Literature, Really?

What Does It Mean to Read the Literature, Really?

In a profession rewarding productivity in the form of papers and grants, sitting down to deeply read journal articles can feel like wasted time. Professor logs every paper she read over multiple years to gain insight on personal research practices.

Is Reproducibility Really Central to Science?

Is Reproducibility Really Central to Science?

The Neuroskeptic commentary on a new paper by Chris Drummond about the ‘reproducibility movement’. Assuming that what really matters is the testability of a given hypothesis, how fundamental is reproducibility to science?

DORA Anniversary and Future

DORA Anniversary and Future

The San Francisco Declaration of Research Assessment moves into a global phase of action with community support.

Elsevier References Dominate Those That Are Not Open at Crossref

Elsevier References Dominate Those That Are Not Open at Crossref

Of all 956,050,193 references from journal articles stored at Crossref, 32.00% are from journal articles published by Elsevier, none of which are in the Crossref “Open” category, freely available for others to use.

Elsevier Acquisition Highlights the Need for Community-Based Scholarly Communication Infrastructure

Elsevier Acquisition Highlights the Need for Community-Based Scholarly Communication Infrastructure

Like many others in the scholarly community, we were very disappointed to learn about the recent acquisition by Elsevier of bepress, the provider of the popular Digital Commons repository platform.

Scholarly Communications Shouldn't Just Be Open, but Non-Profit Too

Scholarly Communications Shouldn't Just Be Open, but Non-Profit Too

The profit motive is fundamentally misaligned with core values of academic life, potentially corroding ideals like unfettered inquiry, knowledge-sharing, and cooperative progress.

The New Configuration of Metrics, Rules, and Guidelines Creates a Disturbing Ambiguity in Academia

The New Configuration of Metrics, Rules, and Guidelines Creates a Disturbing Ambiguity in Academia

The bibliometric system and the rules which accompany it have created an environment in which many if not most researchers can be identified as transgressors.

What Does the Future Hold for Academic Books?

What Does the Future Hold for Academic Books?

Between August 2014 and September 2016, the Academic Book of the Future Project, initiated by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the British Library, explored the current and future status of the traditional academic monograph.

Me, Myself, and I: Self-Citation Rates Are Higher in Individualist Cultures Than in Collectivist Cultures

Me, Myself, and I: Self-Citation Rates Are Higher in Individualist Cultures Than in Collectivist Cultures

Authors from western, individualist cultures are more likely to use many self-citations than authors from more collectivist cultures.

Microsoft Academic Is on the Verge of Becoming a Bibliometric Superpower

Microsoft Academic Is on the Verge of Becoming a Bibliometric Superpower

Last year, the new Microsoft Academic service was launched. Sven E. Hug and Martin P. Brändle look at how it compares with more established competitors such as Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science.

The ResearchGate Score: A Good Example of a Bad Metric

The ResearchGate Score: A Good Example of a Bad Metric

A significant weight is linked to ‘impact points’ – a similar metric to the widely discredited journal impact factor.

A Closer Look at the Sci-Hub Corpus

A Closer Look at the Sci-Hub Corpus

Bastian Greshake has analysed the full Sci-Hub corpus and found that articles are being downloaded from all over the world, more recently published papers are among the most requested, and there is a marked overrepresentation of requested articles from journals publishing on chemistry.

Unattractive People Are Seen As Better Scientists

Unattractive People Are Seen As Better Scientists

Good looking, sociable people don’t make good scientists, according to popular stereotypes.