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 […]
REF 2014: Discipline Mattered in How Impact Calculated
A new report produced by the Digital Science team explores the types of evidence used to demonstrate impact in REF2014 and pulls together guidance from leading professionals on good practice.
Can’t Keep a Good Survey Down: Add Health
From the ashes of the aborted American Teen Survey arose one of the most important longitudinal surveys in the social and and behavioral arsenal, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. This is a story of government spending gone terribly right!
Spotlighting Social Science’s Role in Dementia Fight
A new booklet in a series of releases by Britain’s Academy of Social Sciences highlights the important role that social and behavioral scientists have in the global fight against dementia.
The Sociologist of Mobility: John Urry, 1946-2016
John Urry, a sociologist probably best known for his work on mobilities but whose gaze also lit on issues ranging from tourism to energy use, from social change to complexity theory, died suddenly on March 18.
Social Science’s Mythbusters Look at Diversity
There are some cherished myths about diversity that aren’t supported by the research evidence. While these myths are appealing on a societal level, says Alice H, Eagly, it’s a mistake to allow distortions to remain unchallenged.
Scared Straight: Evidence Makes for Better Biosecurity Rules
After a breakthough at a poster session for a discipline not her own, a senior academic offered the evidence that led President Obama to loosen up the regulatory yoke that was scaring researchers into the scariest life forms on Earth.
The North-South Divide Appears in Metrics, Too
Science and technology systems are routinely monitored and assessed with indicators created to measure the natural sciences in developed countries. Ismael Ràfols and Jordi Molas-Gallart urge the creation of indicators that better reflect research activities and contributions in ‘peripheral’ spaces.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Current efforts to solve wicked problems with a quick dusting of data are unlikely to result in socially useful answers. Luckily, there are innovative people and initiatives using a variety of methods to home in on real solutions.
