Many research evaluation systems continue to take a narrow view of excellence, judging the value of work based on the journal in which it is published. Recent research by Diego Chavarro, Ismael Ràfols and colleagues shows how such systems underestimate and prove detrimental to the production of research relevant to important social, economic, and environmental issues and reflect the biases of journal citation databases which focus heavily on English-language research from the US and Western Europe.

While Halloween is always an exciting time for candy manufacturers, costume sellers and youngsters who are often allowed a small binge in candy consumption, a different group of people also lick their lips in anticipation — behavioral scientists.

Publishing remains a key part of the mission of many British learned societies, as does disseminating scholarship and staying afloat. A new report appearing in December, and previewed at a September meeting, will offer some direction for organizations trying to reduce the tension that open access may create among those goals.

The success of academic research in reaching out beyond its own scientific community is a perennial concern, even more so following the rapid adoption of social media and the ability to easily transmit information to potentially millions of people. But is increased social media attention really indicative of “broader impact”? A new study suggests social media does not broaden scientific communication, but rather replicates and perpetuates pre-established disciplinary boundaries. 

An online tool aimed at helping researchers demonstrate their work’s impact to policymakers has been launched by the Campaign for Social Science in collaboration with Cardiff University. While it’s focused on Wales, the toolkit is seen as a template for working with other governments

Sociologist Neil Smelser, whose research on collective behavior and economic sociology were rivaled by his tenure as a mentor, teacher, and liaison to a restive University of California-Berkeley student body in the 1960s, has died at age 87.

Physicist John Holdren, the longest-serving presidential science adviser in U.S. history, will receive the 2018 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize from the American Academy of Political and Social Science. This marks the first time that the Moynihan Prize has gone to a natural scientist.

A key part of response to a disaster is timely and effective evacuation. That in turn taps into a wide range of human responses, and psychology is there to help create the most effective strategies.

England is looking at changing its organ transplant permission process from on opt-in to an opt out model. While this looks like an easy answer, says our Robert Dingwall, who part of a working group on the issue in the 90s, he doubts such a change will make any significant difference and may actually be counter-productive in terms of public confidence in the system.

Looking at the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas and the ongoing violence perpetrated by people claiming to be working for the so-called Islamic State, our David Canter examines the use of the word ;terrorism’ and asks under what contexts is it accurately applied.

Sixty-nine academics, practitioners and policymakers from across the social sciences are now fellows of Britain’s Academy of Social Sciences the venerable society announced Thursday. Fellows are chosen after an extensive peer review process for the excellence and impact of their work using social science for public benefit.

Mitigation enables people and communities to prevent disasters or at least reduce their impacts on the loss of life and property. And while mitigation is often presented as a mission for engineering, there is a wide scope for social and behavioral preparation explains veteran public policy researcher in a new paper on mitigating flooding catastrophes.