How academia resembles a drug gang
The academic job market is structured in many respects like a drug gang, with an expanding mass of outsiders and a shrinking core of insiders.
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Shigeaki Kato notches five more retractions, including one in Nature
An endocrinologist who resigned from the University of Tokyo in March 2012 amid an investigation that concluded 43 of his papers should be retracted, has retracted five more papers. The newest is in this week's Nature.
New President looks abroad
The new ERC President turns his eyes towards cooperation with China, Japan and South-Korea. Jean-Pierre Bourguignon: “The key is to show eagerness to attract scientists from outside Europe.”
US$21 million awarded to delighted scientists in glitzy ceremony
Founders of Google and Facebook award ‘Breakthrough prize’ of $3 million to Michael Hall of the University of Basel in a ceremony hosted by actor Kevin Spacey and featuring a live performance from singer Lana Del Ray.
How to Write an Anonymous Peer Review
How to Write an Anonymous Peer Review
Civility is important in evaluating a manuscript for publication, but so is telling the truth when the paper falls short.
A tale of two 'opens': intersections between Free and Open Source Software and Open Scholarship
A tale of two 'opens': intersections between Free and Open Source Software and Open Scholarship
There is no clear-cut boundary between Free and Open Source Software and Open Scholarship, and the histories, practices, and fundamental principles between the two remain complex. In this study, we critically appraise the intersections and differences between the two movements.
Science's 'Irreproducibility Crisis' Is a Public Policy Crisis Too
Congress will have to pay for some steps to ensure greater reproducibility in the sciences. In the end, those steps will save enormous amounts now spent building blind allies and mirages. What’s needed are standardized descriptions of scientific materials and procedures, standardized statistics programs, and standardized archival formats.
Representing A "Revolution": How the Popular Press Has Portrayed Personalized Medicine
Will Open Access Close the Door on Traditional Journal Publishing?
Wiley Editorial on the changing landscape of publishing suggests that OA and traditional outlets will continue to coexist successfully for some time to come.
Scaling Down Inequality: Rating Scales, Gender Bias, and the Architecture of Evaluation
Scaling Down Inequality: Rating Scales, Gender Bias, and the Architecture of Evaluation
Quantitative performance ratings are ubiquitous in modern organizations — from businesses to universities — yet there is substantialevidence of bias against women in suchratings. This study examines how gender inequalities in evaluations dependon the design of the tools used to judge merit.
A Doctoral Student Wore a Skirt Made of Rejection Letters to Defend Her Dissertation
A Doctoral Student Wore a Skirt Made of Rejection Letters to Defend Her Dissertation
In the spirit of acknowledging and normalizing failure in the process, a doctoral student defended her dissertation in a skirt made of rejection letters from the course of her PhD.
Gender Pay Gap Persists
Pay disparities between female and male PhD holders in the United States exist across almost all fields of science and engineering, according to a report from the US National Science Foundation (NSF).
Data Management Made Simple
Keeping your research data freely available is crucial for open science — and your funding could depend on it.
Plan U
Plan U: A proposal to achieve universal access to scientific and medical research via funder preprint mandates.
Calibrating the Scientific Ecosystem Through Meta-Research
Whilst some scientists study insects, molecules, brains, or clouds, other scientists study science itself. Meta-research, or “research-on-research”, is a burgeoning discipline that investigates efficiency, quality, and bias in the scientific ecosystem.
Connecting fractured habitats has long-lasting ecological benefits
A decades-long ecological experiment in South Carolina has shown the power of a straightforward way to improve wildlife habitats: connect them. Scientists say the study’s results, published Thursday in the journal Science, offer the most compelling evidence yet that connected habitats flourish for years.
Science Ranks Grow Thin in Trump Administration
Hundreds of scientists across the federal government have been forced out, sidelined or muted since President Trump took office.
How Innovation Can Solve Society's Problems
When you think of innovation, you also may think of patents and profits. But two Swiss researchers argue that we should be focusing more on people and places.
Journal-Flipping Public Consultation
Converting Scholarly Journals to Open Access: A Review of Approaches and Experiences
Blame bad incentives for bad science
These days, a scientist has to publish a steady stream of research articles to be “successful.” But two new studies argue that that kind of pressure promotes sloppy science at the expense of careful work.
Purposes of Peer Review: A Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Expectations and Perceptions
Purposes of Peer Review: A Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Expectations and Perceptions
Authors, editors and publishers differ in their understanding of and the value they attach to the purposes of peer review.
When Science Becomes Too Easy
Science popularization inclines laypeople to underrate their dependence on experts.
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