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Altmetric's Top 100 Research Articles - 2018
What research caught the public imagination in 2018? Check out our annual list of papers with the most attention.
Five Years of Record Warmth Intensify Arctic's Transformation
Sea ice was thinner in late 2017 and much of 2018 than at any time in the last 30 years, while wild reindeer and caribou populations continue to decline.
Undergraduate Students Can Be a Boon to Your Lab
Many undergraduates in the natural sciences will never take part in research, despite a willingness to learn. But their presence can teach others how to lead.
Elsevier in 2018: Decrease in Number of Fully OA Journals
In 2018, there has been a drop in the number of fully OA journals published by Elsevier, from 416 to 328 journals. The majority of Elsevier’s fully OA journals are still non-charging.
Are the Nobel Prizes Good for Science?
Philip Ball looks at whether prizes and awards help or hinder scientific progress.
CRISPR: You Have Seen the Good, Now See the Bad
CRISPR is indeed an exciting and promising technology that's already affecting the lives of many people. That said, we should be cautious.
Research Funding is Short-changing Humanities Subjects
The humanities subjects do not benefit from the research excellence framework. They need a better system.
In UC's Battle with the World's Largest Scientific Publisher, the Future of Information is at Stake
In UC's Battle with the World's Largest Scientific Publisher, the Future of Information is at Stake
The University of California faces a Dec. 31 deadline to reach a renewal deal on subscriptions to 1,500 scientific journals. Here's why it might not regret letting its subscriptions lapse.
Netherlands Considers Creating Faculty Positions Based on Teaching, Not Research Metrics
Netherlands Considers Creating Faculty Positions Based on Teaching, Not Research Metrics
The Netherlands plan a shift away from evaluating faculty members only on research metrics. This move would also make it possible to be hired on the basis of teaching.
China Backs Bold Plan to Tear Down Journal Paywalls
Officials pledge support for European-led 'Plan S' to tear down journal paywalls - but it's unclear whether China will adopt its policies.
What Science Has Gotten Wrong by Ignoring Women
Sexism has long skewed research, but a new wave of scientists is shifting course.
What These Medical Journals Don't Reveal: Top Doctors' Ties to Industry
What These Medical Journals Don't Reveal: Top Doctors' Ties to Industry
Academic research publications rely on doctors to voluntarily disclose their payments from drug and health companies in a lax reporting system some say is broken.
EU Grants 14 Million to Swiss Researchers
An ERC Grant is the most prestigious award for excellent European research projects. A team with three researchers from the ETH Domain had also applied for such a grant. Today, Gabriel Aeppli from the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI, Henrik Rønnow from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne EPFL and Nicola Spaldin from ETH Zurich, together with their colleague Alexander Balatsky from Nordita, Stockholm University, received the contract signed by the EU confirming the extraordinary 14 million euro funding.
Peer Review: How to Be a Good Referee
Peer review is lauded in principle as the guarantor of quality in academic publishing and grant distribution. But its practice is often loathed by those on the receiving end. Here, seven academics offer their tips on good refereeing, and reflect on how it may change in the years to come
Psychology's Replication Crisis Has Made The Field Better
Psychology's Replication Crisis Has Made The Field Better
Psychology’s replication crisis has changed the field. Today, authors are voluntarily posting their data, replication attempts are published in top journals, and researchers are increasing their sample sizes and committing to data collection and analysis plans in advance.
ORCID Funders Open Letter
Press release for launch of ORCID funders open letter. ORCID is pleased to announce the launch of an open letter in support of the use of ORCID identifiers (iDs) in the grant application and reporting process. Nine funding bodies around the world have signed the letter and invite others to join them.
Signing the ORCID Funder Open Letter
Launch of the ORCID funder open letter: Nine funding bodies are committed to expanding the use of ORCID in their grant applications.
Postdocs Trying to Transition to Non-academic Careers Should Be Offered More Support by Their Supervisors and Universities
Postdocs Trying to Transition to Non-academic Careers Should Be Offered More Support by Their Supervisors and Universities
Despite the position being billed as a stepping stone on the way to tenure-track academic employment, many postdocs, discouraged by their poor prospects, are questioning their career choices and instead looking to non-academic jobs as an alternative. However, as Chris Hayter and Marla A. Parker reveal, making this transition is not as easy as it might first appear.
Gender Studies Scholars Say the Field is Coming Under Attack in Many Countries Around the Globe
Gender Studies Scholars Say the Field is Coming Under Attack in Many Countries Around the Globe
Scholars say their field is coming under increasing pressures from forces outside the academy who want to delegitimize it.
Aligning Strategies to Enable Open Access
The 14th Berlin Open Access Conference, hosted by the Max Planck Society and organized by the Max Planck Digital Library on behalf of the Open Access 2020 Initiative (oa2020.org), has just come to an end after two intense days with 170 participants from 37 countries around the world discussing where the research organizations and their library consortia stand in their negotiations with scholarly publishers in transitioning scholarly publishing to open access. The participants represented research performing and research funding organizations, libraries and government, associations of researchers and other umbrella organizations, many of them holding high-level positions at their organizations. In his welcoming address, Max Planck Society President Martin Stratmann captured the spirit of the meeting when he stated: "Open Access is the responsibility of all of us."
Netherlands Plans Overhaul of Academic Careers in Move Away from Metrics
The Netherlands will radically shake up how academics are assessed and promoted, including a shift away from relying on citations and journal impact factors.
Why an Age of Machine Learning Needs the Humanities
Why an Age of Machine Learning Needs the Humanities
If democracy depends on informed citizens, democracy is in trouble. This is a moment of crisis for many institutions, including higher education, especially in disciplines such as English, philosophy, and history, which promise to prepare students as citizens. To prepare students for a world where information is filtered by computers, we will need a stronger alliance between the humanities and math. This alliance has two reciprocal parts: cultural criticism of the mathematical models shaping our world, and mathematical inquiry about culture.
Commission Frees 'Seal of Excellence' Research Projects from State Aid Unfair Competition Rules
Political Battles Force a Go-slow in EU Budget Negotiations
Commission concedes it will need more time to resolve long-term budget negotiations – but it remains committed to its plan boosting R&D subsidies
Practices and Patterns in Research Information Management: Findings from a Global Survey
Practices and Patterns in Research Information Management: Findings from a Global Survey
OCLC Research and euroCRIS, the international organization for research information, partnered to develop a survey and synthesize the results to examine how research institutions worldwide are applying research information management (RIM) practices.
How Sure Are You of Your Result? Put a Number on It
How Sure Are You of Your Result? Put a Number on It
Any scientist publishing a claim should quantify their confidence in it with a probability, argues Steven N. Goodman.