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 […]
Beware the Lessons of Competitive US Higher Ed
Other nations looking at successful American universities and seeing the invisible hand of the marketplace at work should take a closer look at the arm attached to that hand, argues Steve C. Ward.
Spending Australia’s Research Dollars More Wisely
Australia allocates around A$9 billion a year of taxpayers’ money for research, but how do we know if that money is being spent wisely?
Sorry Scarlett, We Use All Our Brain, Not Just 10 Percent
Another cherished myth bites the dust. The makers of the new movie “Lucy” aside, we already use all of of brain, and not just a tenth of it.
On the Ethics of Facebook – and Drawing the Right Conclusions
What does the Facebook emotional contagion study really tells us about research ethics? Perhaps, argues Robert Dingwall, that its time to deregulate public social science.
No Longer the Age of Consent: Facebook’s Emotional Manipulation Study
Facebook’s unannounced study using its users’ newsfeeds offers a case study in research ethics: where did it lie of the spectrum from ‘ho harm, no foul’ or to an unacceptable violation of participants’ rights? Ethicist David Hunter examines.
What is Peer Review? An Explainer
We’ve all heard the phrase “peer review” as giving credence to research and scholarly papers, but what does it actually mean? How […]
Piketty’s Real Legacy May Be His Deep Data
While Tomas Piketty’s focus on inequality is seen as finally getting the discussion of inequality on the front pages, it may be his his data collection that really cements his reputation.
The Tightrope of Studying Subjects at Legality’s Fringe
Social scientists don’t always study subjects whose actions please the authorities. Is the freedom to associate with these people for research purposes under attack? Should researchers have their own ‘shield law’?
