Researcher (senior)

Funding bodies should reconsider case-by-case assessments to minimise bureaucracy and student distress, say researchers

Scientists call for global ‘superbody’ to coordinate coronavirus research, but some fear a centralised approach might close off potential solutions

Six months of devastating and unprecedented destruction has brought home the reality of climate change to many Australians. But with time for mitigation short and some politicians still in denial, what more can universities do to save the ‘lucky country’ – and the rest of the planet? John Ross reports

Varying personal circumstances highlight the need for accommodations that outlive the coronavirus, says Phil Emmerson

A new alliance of 40 of the world’s top climate change research universities will ensure better access to the facts, say Ian Jacobs and Matthew England

As campuses and labs close amid the coronavirus crisis, Jack Grove hears how senior scientists are managing their teams and research projects

Denying legitimate authors their fair share of credit amounts to academic misconduct, says David Sanders

Slashing research will be a dangerous temptation for politicians desperate for savings, warns Jan Palmowski

Research Excellence Framework 2021 put on hold to allow universities to focus research efforts on virus battle

Science minister announces new joint team of government departments to consider assistance for sectors

‘Levelling up’ research spending may imperil regional universities’ sustainability, warn Grace Gottlieb and Graeme Reid 

Project delays, as universities and labs shut down, prompt grant flexibility – but levels of leniency vary

As UK research laboratories close, research-intensive universities call for extra funds to cover cost of disruption to science

Sexism, unthinking managerialism and toxic ‘them and us’ attitudes are still pervasive within UK universities, according to an anonymous academic who found the dissonances between her values, career expectations and lived reality too much to bear

As labs shut, researchers in Milan fear losing months of work – and urge colleagues abroad to prepare now for similar restrictions

Focusing on how to deliver the UK government’s big ambitions for science could arrest the troubled funder’s drift, says John Womersley 

Consulting citation data would ameliorate the all-too-human shortcomings of departmental review, says a Russell Group professor

But social media spats also reflect people’s desire for truth, social justice and greater openness, says Jingtai Tang

A recent posting on bioRxiv may have been erroneous, but the mistakes were picked up within hours, notes Kristen Sadler

As the monumental follow-up to his best-selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century is published, the celebrated French economist speaks to Matthew Reisz about why a detailed historical analysis of inequality boosts the case for redistribution – and why academics should join the public debate

Canada’s excess of directive funding programmes risks hobbling scientific imagination and progress, says Jim Woodgett

Toby Ord urges academics to reflect far more deeply on the risks of everything from asteroids to rogue artificial intelligence

UK academics love the ERC, but selective participation in Horizon Europe is unlikely to be on the table, says John Womersley

Researchers support funder’s random allocation of research grants by a two-to-one margin, study says

Journal’s decision to publish reviewer reports shows a growing consensus on transparency, publishers claim

Proposals to mandate open access monographs from 2024 will make it harder to publish and will limit career chances, says professor

UKRI and other funders must prevent good intentions on open access from undermining good science, says Lee Cronin 

In 1920, psychologist John Watson described his infamous experiments on an infant in a bid to show that the human mind is a blank slate. A hundred years on, Antonio Melechi examines the rise and fall of behaviourism, and the utopian – or dystopian – reflexes that it conditioned

Politicians, funders and university leaders all intone the mantra of interdisciplinarity. But what does the concept really mean? Will it really yield the insights it promises? And how best can it be fostered? Ellie Bothwell reports

The UK’s structures for supporting and nurturing research leaders are woefully underdeveloped, says Matthew Flinders

Excessive criticism reflects a dearth of research funding and space in top journals. But peers needn’t play ball, says an anonymous academic

Australia’s teaching and research relationships with China are becoming increasingly overshadowed by rising geopolitical tensions. But the long, deep personal links between academics in the two countries will not be easily broken. John Ross reports from Suzhou

A feudal approach to intellectual property has turned the academy into a modern police state, says Steve Fuller

The hunt for a new UK research supremo continues, apparently after the shortlisted candidates failed to pass muster

With careers riding on young scientists’ position in author lists, friction is all too common. A snowballing initiative to list authors’ contributions aims to make sure credit is always given where it is due. But will it be enough to ease the angst? Jack Grove is first author

UKRI’s decision to axe the impact sections of grant applications could hobble consideration of the process and politics of research, says Jude Fransman

Reversing the relationship between authors and publishers would ease perverse incentives that impede progress, say Hilal Lashuel and Benjamin Stecher

A growing number of data detectives are on the hunt for sloppy science and dodgy statistics. Jack Grove examines the methods they use

As we enter REF submission year, Nicholas Stern and David Sweeney urge universities to broaden their conception of a good submission

In an era of anti-expert populism, it is more important than ever to stand up for scientific truth. But it is also harder, coming with a high risk of personal attack. Anna McKie speaks to those who have paid a high price for their advocacy, and draws out the lessons for those who want to take up the cause

Scientific excellence is not the only relevant criterion – either morally or legally, says Alex Conway 

Anne-Kathrin Kreft tells Matthew Reisz how interviews with Colombian women’s activists left her mentally and physically exhausted – and ideologically transformed

Researchers in developing countries have often been confined to minor roles as translators and data gatherers. But there are signs that the scales are tipping. Simon Baker considers the extent and nature of collaboration between the Global North and South, while Andrew Thompson reflects on the next iteration of the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund

The blessing of big data can be a curse without resources for analysis. But how much computerised help do we really want, asks Kristen Sadler

Critics claim that only ‘congenial’ researchers get access to ride-hailing company’s data, while academic co-authors have potential conflicts of interest

Making participant-derived data available is not a panacea but, with careful support and management, it can improve reproducibility, says Jonathan Grigg

Universities need to acknowledge, and try to mitigate, the losses experienced by many upwardly mobile students, argues Jennifer M. Morton

Universities UK poll shows Britons value skills rather than income level when it comes to immigration

Study finds that overseas scholars in former communist countries work there not out of deliberate choice but often due to ‘happenstance’, love or to escape poor job prospects at home

Prince Andrew’s fall from grace a full decade after Jeffrey Epstein’s conviction underlines academia’s failure to probe modern power, says Jason Lee

Jonathan R. Goodman is wrong to blame bibliometrics for stifling academic debate, says Craig Aaen-Stockdale

Critics fear initiative could widen social inequalities

In a fraught political climate, it is even more difficult than usual for researchers to grab the attention of ministers. Diana Beech imparts her insider’s tips

Association to Horizon Europe would also be positive, but hostile mood music over immigration still reverberates 

The EU’s next framework programme, Horizon Europe, is due to start in just over a year. But while its broad shape is settled, political wrangling over budget and participation rights means researchers are still unclear over their future funding prospects. David Matthews reports from Brussels

Elsevier could sell Dutch universities a bundle of journal access rights and software, raising concerns that universities could become stuck in one publisher’s software ecosystem

Amanda Power considers some of the deeper attitudes that can still inhibit academics from fully engaging in essential policy issues

More account must be taken of pregnancy, assisted fertility and miscarriage, say Christina Hellmich and Marina Della Giusta

Announcement by new government given cautious welcome by academics – although questions remain over funding and political independence

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