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Transdisciplinary PhD Programmes Produce More High-Impact Publications and Foster Increased Collaborations

Transdisciplinary PhD Programmes Produce More High-Impact Publications and Foster Increased Collaborations

While rates of productivity were broadly similar, citation rates were found to be higher for transdisciplinary students, as were indicators of collaboration such as co-authorship.

Where Are We with Responsible Metrics? And Where Might We Go Next? Reflections from Two Recent Events

Where Are We with Responsible Metrics? And Where Might We Go Next? Reflections from Two Recent Events

How effectively are UK higher education institutions engaging with the broader use of metrics in research assessment?

A “Work in Progress”? Public Engagement Is Now Part of the Uk Research Landscape but Challenges Remain

A “Work in Progress”? Public Engagement Is Now Part of the Uk Research Landscape but Challenges Remain

Funders of UK research have sought to foster a research culture in which public engagement is embedded at all levels.

Without Urgent Action Big and Open Data May Widen Existing Inequalities and Social Divides

Without Urgent Action Big and Open Data May Widen Existing Inequalities and Social Divides

The unsustainable nature of the digital data landscape, the quality and credibility of the data themselves, and how data sources currently represent only privileged individuals, are challenges that can be overcome, but to do so requires significant investment in key data governance priorities.

Why an Open Mind on Open Science Could Reshape Human Knowledge

Why an Open Mind on Open Science Could Reshape Human Knowledge

There is a serious lack in sharing material/resources that are used to creating the building-blocks of a research experiment.

Why We Should Not Ignore Interdisciplinarity's Critics

Why We Should Not Ignore Interdisciplinarity's Critics

Amidst the push from universities and funding agencies for increased interdisciplinary research, interdisciplinarity has also been the subject of a number of critiques in recent years.

It's Time to Incentivise the Behaviours That Are Good for Research and Researchers

It's Time to Incentivise the Behaviours That Are Good for Research and Researchers

The importance of addressing researchers’ recognition and reward structures, arguing it is time to move to a system that uses metrics and indicators that incentivise the types of behaviours that are good for research and researchers.

We Have the Technology to Save Peer Review – Now It Is up to Our Communities to Implement It

We Have the Technology to Save Peer Review – Now It Is up to Our Communities to Implement It

An introspective look at peer review, one we hope will be useful for future discussions on the topic.

What Do the 2014 REF Results Tell Us About the Relationship Between Excellent Research and Societal Impact

What Do the 2014 REF Results Tell Us About the Relationship Between Excellent Research and Societal Impact

The 2014 REF results show only a very weak relationship between excellence in research and achieving societal impact.

Understanding Why Research Evidence Does or Doesn't Make It into Policy

Understanding Why Research Evidence Does or Doesn't Make It into Policy

Why breaking down walls between different academic disciplines could enhance our understanding of why research evidence does − or doesn’t − make it into policy.

"Writing Sprints" Can Facilitate Collaboration and Encourage New Ways of Thinking About Academic Writing

"Writing Sprints" Can Facilitate Collaboration and Encourage New Ways of Thinking About Academic Writing

A time-limited exercise in which academics from many disciplines and from all over the world were brought together virtually to produce an academic article.

The Quantified Self and the Gamification of Academic Research Through Social Networks

The Quantified Self and the Gamification of Academic Research Through Social Networks

ResearchGate and similar services represent a “gamification” of research, drawing on features usually associated with online games, like rewards, rankings and levels.

Artificial Intelligence Can Expedite Scientific Communication and Eradicate Bias From the Publishing Process

Artificial Intelligence Can Expedite Scientific Communication and Eradicate Bias From the Publishing Process

Although automated publishing would allow researchers to share their findings faster, while also removing human bias, there are obvious ethical dilemmas related to this dehumanisation of the process.

Why Has Submitting a Manuscript to a Journal Become So Difficult?

Why Has Submitting a Manuscript to a Journal Become So Difficult?

A call to simplify an overly complicated process

The Importance of Being REF-Able: Academic Writing Under Pressure from a Culture of Counting

The Importance of Being REF-Able: Academic Writing Under Pressure from a Culture of Counting

Research on academics’ writing practices has revealed tensions around the ways in which managerial practices interact with academics’ individual career goals, disciplinary values and sense of scholarly identity.

Interdisciplinary Research May Lead to Increased Visibility but Also Depresses Scholarly Productivity

Interdisciplinary Research May Lead to Increased Visibility but Also Depresses Scholarly Productivity

How does interdisciplinary research influence scholarship and scholarly careers?

The Research Librarian of the Future: Data Scientist and Co-Investigator

The Research Librarian of the Future: Data Scientist and Co-Investigator

How the research librarian of the future might work, utilising new data science and digital skills to drive more collaborative and open scholarship.

The New Digital Divide Raises Questions About Future Academic Research

The New Digital Divide Raises Questions About Future Academic Research

Without access to large companies' datasets or the expertise to analyse them, research is confronted with a replication crisis and is vulnerable to commercial motivations.

How To Be an Academic in the Twenty-First Century

How To Be an Academic in the Twenty-First Century

Open research is about more than open access. It is about making all aspects of the research process open to all possible interested parties.

Suggesting a truer measure of academic impact

Suggesting a truer measure of academic impact

Chris Carroll argues that the impact of an academic research paper might be better measured by counting the number of times it is cited within citing publications rather than by simply measuring if it has been cited or not.

The current system of knowledge dissemination isn’t working and Sci-Hub is merely a symptom of the problem

The current system of knowledge dissemination isn’t working and Sci-Hub is merely a symptom of the problem

That Sci-Hub’s activities are illegal is not disputed. However, according to Iván Farías Pelcastre and Flor González Correa the issue at the core of the debate is the current publishing and knowled…

Bias against novelty in science

Bias against novelty in science

Novel breakthroughs in research can have a dramatic impact on scientific discovery but face some distinct disadvantages in getting wider recognition.

Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles

Global-level data sets may be more highly cited than most journal articles

The production, archival, and sharing of data may actually be a more effective way to contribute to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

Universities stand to benefit in recessions

Universities stand to benefit in recessions

New research from the London School of Economics and Political Science shows that universities across the world actually benefit during recessions.