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 […]
NSF Seeks Input on Research Ethics
In a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter released September 9, the NSF issued a ‘request for information,’ or RFI, from those interested in research ethics.
Maintaining Anonymity In Double-Blind Peer Review During The Age of Artificial Intelligence
The double-blind review process, adopted by many publishers and funding agencies, plays a vital role in maintaining fairness and unbiasedness by concealing the identities of authors and reviewers. However, in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, a pressing question arises: can an author’s identity be deduced even from an anonymized paper (in cases where the authors do not advertise their submitted article on social media)?
Hype Terms In Research: Words Exaggerating Results Undermine Findings
The claim that academics hype their research is not news. The use of subjective or emotive words that glamorize, publicize, embellish or exaggerate results and promote the merits of studies has been noted for some time and has drawn criticism from researchers themselves. Some argue hyping practices have reached a level where objectivity has been replaced by sensationalism and manufactured excitement. By exaggerating the importance of findings, writers are seen to undermine the impartiality of science, fuel skepticism and alienate readers.
Five Steps to Protect – and to Hear – Research Participants
Jasper Knight identifies five key issues that underlie working with human subjects in research and which transcend institutional or disciplinary differences.
We Developed a Tool to Make Responsible Research and Innovation Easier
Stefan de Jong, Michael J. Bernstein and Ingeborg Meijer describe their work developing a tool that helps researchers and research funders to incorporate responsible research and innovation values into their work.
COVID-19, Face Masks and Research Integrity
Robert Dingwall asks if claims about the effectiveness of face masks in stopping COVID consistent with current standards of research integrity.
To Study Zika, They Offered Their Kids. Then They Were Forgotten
“We feel diminished,” says Alessandra Hora dos Santos. “It’s like we were lab rats. They come in nicely, collect information, collect exams on the child, and in the end we don’t know of any results. It’s like we are being used without even knowing why that is being done.”
NAS Creates Council to Address Research Integrity and Trust
A new blue-ribbon council convened by the United States’ National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine aims to tackle questions about nettlesome issues like conflict of interest, measuring impact and handling retractions.
