Researcher (junior)

The apparent proliferation of libel challenges by scientists accused of research misconduct have led to fears that journals and others will be dissuaded from calling out wrongdoers. But is the observation accurate? And is the chilling effect reproducible? Jack Grove reports  

Conservative mistrust of the existing research funding system demands a re-examination of its uneasy compromises, says John Womersley

As mistrust between the EU and UK deepens, politics could scupper British association to the next framework programme, says Jan Palmowksi

Academics’ deep identification with their work means that the failure of a book proposal, grant application or promotion request can cut deeply. But in a competitive profession, such knock-backs are inevitable. Here, six academics recall their most traumatic rejection – and how they got over it

Complaints about journal editors’ decisions ignore the root cause of the research assessment problem: career structure, says Richard Sever   

Steph Grohmann’s ‘revenge eviction’ gave her vivid, first-hand experience of the trials and consolations of occupying unused buildings, finds Matthew Reisz

The REF is a prime example of the sort of elaborate, burdensome process that potentially adds comparatively little value

Improved citation performance amid falling funding is the result of gaming, say Alberto Baccini, Eugenio Petrovich and Giuseppe De Nicolao

Caring duties and environmental responsibility do not signify a lack of commitment to scholarship, says Danielle George

Improving the career prospects of postdocs is now a priority of UK universities and research funders

Open access journal will publish results from studies sometimes dismissed as ‘failures’ as well as replication attempts

It is unfair and dangerous that, unlike academics, researchers in the private sector operate with no ethical oversight, says Ron Iphofen

Researchers should be required to pass exams accredited by professional bodies to prove they have the skills to publish, argues John Sumpter

An independent service to check data and algorithms is the only way to resolve the research replication crisis, say Christophe Pérignon and Christophe Hurlin

Individuals should be able to choose their own work-life balance depending on their life situation and level of ambition, says Lee Cronin

In an age of vast team-science projects, it is more important than ever that leaders be properly prepared, says Matthew Flinders

Performance art is inherently ephemeral and can be highly controversial. But Matthew Reisz hears why the blood-soaked relics from one performer’s challenging shows are worth preserving and studying

Marking down fellowship applicants for being unwilling to move institutions can be deeply unfair, say Trisha Greenhalgh and Ed Hawkins

The ‘best’ scientists lack time for peer review, and academics should be rated for ‘worthy’ papers, argues Dan Shechtman

In the context of all the privations Palestinians suffer, international academic isolation is a terrible thing indeed, says David Palumbo-Liu

Leiden University acted unlawfully, a court has ruled, in using anonymous letter to discredit an applicant for a professorship

Those lucky established academics who want to help precarious colleagues would do better to pay for their lunch, says Sarah Burton

Michael Kosterlitz tells THE how colour blindness shaped his career and why Nobel winners shouldn’t be taken too seriously

The long overdue top-up to England’s quality-related funding stream is a reminder that project grants are not the only show on the beach

Even in disciplines in which research is inherently inexpensive, ‘grant capture’ is increasingly being adopted as a metric to judge academics and universities. But with success rates typically little better than one in five, rejection is the fate of most applications. Six academics give their tips on how to improve the odds

Nesta finds proportion of female AI researchers was higher in the mid-1990s – although universities fare better than tech firms

The next EU commissioner for research and innovation must fight for the Horizon Europe budget but resist timetables for scientific delivery, says Jan Palmowski

All modern academics know that it’s publish or perish, but is regular publication a gateway or a barrier to groundbreaking scholarship? Simon Baker assesses the data on the relationship between research volume and quality and asks which, if either, should be prioritised

Giving short online talks for a general audience offers benefits for individuals, subjects and the entire profession, says Kristen Sadler

Recent confusion over The Lancet’s stance on green open access highlights the difficulty for support staff in preparing researchers for the new rules, says Alice Gibson

Wolfgang Ketterle says scientists should aim instead for equilibrium in the longer term, and always keep other interests or hobbies

Report finds groups such as Christian Union can play an important role

Colleagues may look askance at ‘the death squad’, but while teaching and research into one of life’s only two certainties may be taxing, it is also vital, Matthew Reisz hears

Budget restrictions, a focus on teaching and a paucity of internationalisation all hold back Turkish research, says Hakan Ergin

With such wide disagreements in grading, the research excellence framework’s gravity for careers is unjustifiable, says Philip Moriarty

Promotion criteria requiring top researchers to also be good teachers and managers undermine the nature of universities, says Andrew Oswald

Raising UK outlay to international levels will reap rich technological, social and political rewards for the next Conservative Party leader, says Sarah Main 

Brexit or no Brexit, scientists across the continent have an obligation to keep standing up for ideals such as integrity, trust and cooperation, writes the European Union’s former director-general of research, Robert-Jan Smits

There is nothing devilish about government oversight of research, but the Haldane Principle checks more sulphurous instincts, says Paul Jump

Last year’s scandal over the ministerial vetoing of Australian research grants coincided with the centenary of the fabled principle that politicians should keep out of such decisions. But with governments becoming increasingly ideological and desperate for innovation-fuelled growth, does scientific autonomy have a future? Rachael Pells investigates 

Western ‘settler’ nations such as Canada and Australia are wrestling with how to redress historical injustices visited on their native populations. One proposal is for universities to embrace Indigenous knowledge. But what does that mean in practice? Will it achieve its aims? And where does it leave science? Matthew Reisz considers the arguments

Vacataire status means not only low pay, but six-month waits between wages, says the Confederation of Young Researchers

Lincoln Allison may have lived through the glory days of academic publishing, but he still wonders whether the countless hours he spent writing his 14 moderately successful tomes would have been better spent on the tennis court

Transparency, plentiful leadership opportunities and the need for self-motivation all benefit blue-collar scholars, says Thomas Anker

The adoption of an Athena SWAN-style initiative is undermined by a failure to meaningfully consult Indigenous Peoples, say Karen Lawford and Jamie Lundine

Charlotte Jones considers the arguments that much pioneering modernist art and literature didn’t really deserve to be taken seriously

Mary Wellesley is impressed by ‘a new kind of biography’ of a giant of medieval literature

Neil Dagnall and Ken Drinkwater tell Matthew Reisz about the rare pleasures of teaching and researching belief in ghosts, alien abductions and conspiracy theories

Stanford University’s insistence that its press break even is another bleak milestone in corporatisation, says David Palumbo-Liu

A review following the latest iteration of the PBRF could lead to radical changes that undermine the gains made, warns Roger Smyth

To what extent have the Kardashians and their kind truly empowered women and overturned social and cultural rules? asks Milly Williamson

International conferences are a huge boon to academics, allowing them to hear about new findings, make new connections and, above all, enjoy the physical manifestation of their virtual global community. But is all that footfall worth the huge carbon footprint it leaves? Joanna Kidman is increasingly unsure 

Jess Cotton is not totally convinced by an account of the links between literature and state funding and nationalism

Elsevier’s open access deal with Norwegian universities is the latest evidence of a shifting balance of power, says Jeffrey MacKie-Mason

The use of VR in psychology experiments is being driven not just by increasingly affordable technology but also by concerns about the reproducibility of many real-world studies. But do humans really behave in the virtual world as they do in reality? And does it matter? David Matthews investigates

Publishers’ terror of libel law and focus on their profit margins have made them excessively risk-averse, says Stuart Macdonald

The expert on ancient Syria was forced to flee his homeland – but has been able to continue his work thanks to a German scholarship

Analysis of nine European universities finds the ‘innovation’ agenda has taken root – often pushed by students who want to solve the world’s problems

Western countries’ determination to tackle the migration crisis without taking any risks with their own personnel is wasteful and counterproductive, the Oxford anthropologist tells Matthew Reisz 

Emma Dabiri’s research uncovers the ways that our immediate reactions to people are still underpinned by the ideologies of ‘scientific racism’