Cutting NSF Is Like Liquidating Your Finest Investment
Look closely at your mobile phone or tablet. Touch-screen technology, speech recognition, digital sound recording and the internet were all developed using […]
First, Do No Harm: Five Tips for Collaborating With Government and Development Orgs
The appeal of collaborating with a government agency, or an organization funded by one, seems obvious. In practice, however, it’s not always easy to make collaborative research work well. Susan Dodsworth and Nic Cheeseman outline some simple lessons for those looking to collaborate while avoiding the common pitfalls.
Little Blue Birds of a (Disciplinary) Feather Flock Together
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.
Is Academe Now Privileging Click-bait Over Rigor?
Portia Roelofs and Max Gallien cite Bruce Gilley’s defense of colonialism paper published earlier this month to illustrate how deliberately provocative articles have the capacity to hack academia, to privilege clicks and attention over rigor in research.
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.
A Post-Mortem: Social Sciences and Brexit
The UK’s referendum on remaining in the European Union or leaving it generated an avalanche of campaign information, including hundreds of interventions by social scientists. David Walker casts a sceptical eye over the experience, asking whether the wafer-thin majority for Leave signals a failure of social scientists input.
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.
Could ‘Faculty Publication Funds’ Drive Gold OA?
Having tracked and analysed the usage data of one university’s central open access fund over eight years, Stephen Pinfield finds that mandates, particularly if accompanied by funding, have played a very important role in encouraging uptake of Gold OA.
In the Rush to Metrics, Don’t Ignore Human Intuition
Sociologist Eric Giannella argues the uncertainty of science makes intuition and judgement essential, and yet the effect of metrics is to reduce the role of judgment.
