Category: Featured

The strain on academic publishing

Drawing on a decade of data on academic publications, Dan Brockington, Paolo Crosetto, Pablo Gómez Barreiro and Mark Hanson argue that an academic publishing industry based on volume poses serious hazards to the assessment and usefulness of research pu…

Generative AI – the latest scapegoat for research assessment

Reflecting on the debate around generative AI and its impact on scholarly communication, Danny Kingsley argues, much like open access twenty years earlier, AI holds a dark mirror to enduring flaws in research publishing and assessment. It has been inte…

Four challenges for funding research with societal goals

Drawing on a recent study of systemic challenges to delivering research funding for societal change and evidence from a recent meeting of research funders, Andreas Kjær Stage, Carter Walter Bloch, Duncan Andrew Thomas, Maria-Theresa Norn and Irene Ramo…

Five lessons to deal with uncertainty in research impact evaluation

Reflecting on carrying out impact evaluation as part of the The Research for Health in Humanitarian crises programme, Cordelia Lonsdale and Gloria Seruwagi, discuss common challenges faced in evaluating impact, particularly when outcomes don’t co…

Making retraction data freely accessible – Why Crossref’s acquisition of the Retraction Watch database is a big step forward

Since its launch Retraction Watch has done much to highlight the value of research integrity and publishing standards. Discussing the recent acquisition by Crossref of Retraction Watch’s database of retracted articles, Ivan Oransky and Rachael Lammey h…

Is sustainability research the victim or saviour of a broken academic publishing system?

Considering how sustainability research fits into the landscape of academic publishing and responding to a critique that half of sustainability research adds little to the field, Thomas Bauwens, Denise Reike and Martin Calisto argue that rather than be…

Can you ever be an expert in research impact?

Demonstrating a specialism for research impact is an increasingly sought after attribute for academics, research adjacent staff and growing numbers of impact professionals. Drawing on work carried out to design a course in foundational knowledge for re…

Calls for new Manhattan Projects overlook crucial aspects of the World War II crisis innovation model

The Manhattan Project is often invoked as a model for mission-driven research projects, such as the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. Daniel P. Gross and Bhaven N. Sampat argue that the broader U.S. approach to mobilising science and technology in World W…

Striking a balance between openness and free access in scholarly infrastructure – DOAJ at 20

Drawing on the findings of a sustainability review of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Joanna Ball and Andrea Chiarelli reflect on why funding this type of resource is a complex endeavour. They consider challenges shared by all open schola…

How to design teaching and learning through an AI-centred course

Drawing on their experience of designing higher education courses centred on AI tools, Bert Verhoeven and Vishal Rana discuss how, rather than being a threat, AI can be used in ways that are compatible with traditional teaching methodologies and offer …