Could Distributed Peer Review Better Decide Grant Funding?
The landscape of academic grant funding is notoriously competitive and plagued by lengthy, bureaucratic processes, exacerbated by difficulties in finding willing reviewers. Distributed […]
Fixing Peer Review, a Biologist’s View
Peer review clearly isn’t perfect, but rather than simply bypassing it and releasing even more information into an overloaded system, we should focus on making it better, says this life sciences editor. The first step is to reset and clearly state our standards for quality in both publishing and peer reviewing.
Open Writing is the Necessary Precursor to Open Science
The new Open Writing project aims to open academic writing practice to reflections and experiments with the actual process of writing, with a view to creating new, open research products that have an impact on peers, public and policymakers.
Inaugural Nine Dots Prize Seeks Answers to Wicked Problems
‘Are digital technologies making politics impossible?’ The inaugural Nine Dots Prize offers $100,000 for the best response as judged by leading international thinkers including Diane Coyle, Simon Goldhill, David Runciman and Saskia Sassen
Archived Webinar: Librarians and the Freedom to Read
Last month the webinar “Battling Bannings- Authors discuss intellectual freedom and the freedom to read” saw Index on Censorship’s Vicky Baker moderate a discussion between historian Wendy Doniger and children’s book authors Christine Baldacchino and Jessica Herthel.
The Financialisation of Academic Knowledge Production
As part of our series on academic freedom, Dylan Kerrigan discusses the wider implications of the financialisation of academic knowledge production by considering academic book publishing. He asks if the success of academic books is best measured by economic or non-economic criteria, by its impact on the business sector or its veracity, by ideological myth-making or evidence.
Archived Webinar: Fostering a Scientifically Informed Populace
Two scholars who investigate how the public learns about science and then chooses to trust it (or not) address that question in this hour-long webinar sponsored by the journal ‘Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences’ and its parent organization, the Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences.
A Cautionary Tale in the Quest for Novelty
Novel breakthroughs in research can have a dramatic impact on scientific discovery but face some distinct disadvantages in getting wider recognition and are often cited as a plus in getting published. But new findings suggest an inherent bias in bibliometric measures against novel research.
Back to School – ABCs
Just in time for the first days of school, Michelle Stack offers an A-to-Z lesson in concepts that should be packed in every university-level schoolbag.
