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 […]
A Marketplace of Ideas? Yes. A Market? No
Research and teaching have never been free from external constraints and public universities have long been expected to justify the resources society devotes to them. But universities feel threatened and increasingly incapable of fulfilling their primary functions.
Social Science in the News
Race to remain important variable in social science research, says Saifuddin – Bernama The Malaysian Insider Race will continue to be an […]
White House Seeks Second Slate of Social Science Experts
Pleased with its debut team of social and behavioral scientists working to make federal policy better, the White House is seeking more members for its version of a ‘nudge’ unit. The deadline to apply is April 12.
John Brewer on C. Wright Mills
C. Wright Mills was one of the most important sociologists of the 20th century. He believed that sociology could change people’s lives, and that sociologists, far from being neutral, should help bring about such change, and his ideas would fuel ‘60s counter-culture. In this Social Science Bites podcast, John Brewer reveals the full man behind the icon.
A Modest Proposal: Cap the Right to Ask for Grants
They take forever to write and the rejection rate is high. To save all that wasted effort, what if we capped the number of grants that an individual, or perhaps an institution, could submit …?
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, Consider Research Ethics
Imagine an ethics review system where the researcher’s proposal is read by an ‘ethics jury’ of four to six researchers drawn, as in legal juries, from the academic population at large, suggests Australia’s Gigi Foster.
How Do We Improve the Process of Government Improvement?
Would federal government agencies benefit from having a CEO — that is, a chief evaluation officer?
Culberson Cites Taxpayer Perceptions in Looking at NSF Spending
The head of the House subcommittee that oversees the budget of federal science agencies cites fears that ordinary people may not appreciate the subtleties of social science.
