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 […]
The Stern Review of the REF – An Economist Against Markets!
In an effort to prevent ‘gaming’ the REF, new recommendation from Lord Stern cuts down on the freedom of academics to move from institution as they see fit. Is the cure worse than the disease?
Use Qualitative Methods In Mining the Data Gold Rush
Mylynn Felt, author of a popular paper on social media and the social sciences, hopes to see a growing blend of established qualitative techniques with newly emerging big data research methods in future social science work.
Can We Replicate the Reported Crisis in Psychology?
The problems associated with modern psychology are longstanding and cultural, with researchers, reviewers, editors, journals and news-media all prioritizing and benefiting from the quest for novelty, says Keith Laws.
Voters Demand Facts But Do They Want Them?
Imagine a crystal ball that could provide us with graphs of levels of house prices, migration, the value of the pound, or the number of EU laws, from now into the far future, suggests Nick Chater about the results of the Brexit vote. He suspects this crystal ball would not help many voters come to any firm conclusions.
Major Study Asks, What Academic Subject Pays Best?
A new survey in England examines the career outcomes of recent university leavers. For maximum pay, it helps to be a student of economics — and to be male.
The Social Science of Tax Preparation Software
It’s that time of year again: tax-filing season. Millions of Americans are probably downloading the latest version of their tax preparation software […]
Measuring the Damage Surveillance Does to Democracy
Even if you say you don’t mind the government knowing what you do on social media, recent research suggests you tamp down your own opinions when reminded of the possibility of being found out.
Methods in Action: Behavioral Tracking
In the first of monthly series we’re calling Methods in Action, Mark Griffiths reprises his SAGE Research Methods case study “The Use of Behavioural Tracking Methodologies in the Study of Online Gambling” to explain how he and his research partner harnessed the big data possibilities of online gambling to both assess behavior and see if ‘responsible gambling’ interventions really work.
