Research

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  

Study says that universities need to ‘step up’ to continue progress made by funding agencies and journals

Project hopes to better value research by allowing outside world to see how surprising research findings are to experts in field

The Australian National University’s rejection of massification will reap rich rewards for its students, says Brian Schmidt

Rise in interactions means three times more disciplines represented in references and citations per paper than 50 years ago

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

Geographer Maddy Thompson warns scholars against relying on social network, as Facebook deletes then reinstates account

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

Tough sanctions on institutions that ignore research integrity rules in new concordat backed by Universities UK and research funders

Sir Konstantin Novoselov sparks debate over who should be responsible for commercialising research discoveries

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

Schaffhausen Institute of Technology will work closely with industry and focus on interdisciplinary research and education

There is a vast universe of information about people’s online behaviour. But academics say social media firms are restricting access to it, leaving us in the dark about the web

The impact agenda is often portrayed a diversion from the real activity of research, but it can also provoke new lines of enquiry, says Alix Green

New THE report on development of Chinese university system sounds warnings that continued expansion may not be a given

Social scientists argue a lack of access stops them and the public understanding online phenomena – but hope pressure from Brussels could change this

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

Juergen Maier calls on UK government to associate to Horizon Europe post-Brexit, but also to create British innovation fund

Esther Duflo – the youngest ever economics Nobelist – shares 2019 prize with Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer

‘Overblown’ media reports focus on state control over students and perils of joint research

First analysis of economic cost of manuscript formatting highlights need for more flexibility from publishers, say authors

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

Report for Research England warns assessment may be constraining academics' publishing options

Preliminary results of EUA survey suggest three-quarters of responding institutions draw on much-criticised metric

Rising instances of warrantless searches at borders have ‘serious implications for academic freedom and research confidentiality’, says union head

Athene Donald tells launch of institute that universities need better data on why women drop out

Major international project involves large charitable and public funders of research from nine countries

A cross-continental push to improve Europe’s best universities will make them more globally competitive, says Jan Palmowski

AI technology could help save people from the encroaching predators – and vice-versa

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

Episode spotlights concerns for safety of scholars who visit repressive regimes

‘Systemic barriers’ hinder universities’ efforts to tackle the territory’s major problems, says report

Academic also claims European Commission officials told him UK coordinators would be kicked out in event of no-deal Brexit

Usha Goswami’s work has allowed educators ‘to arm themselves with scientific understanding’

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

Bath researchers seek to combine scholarly rigour with campaigning zeal

Leading professor blames pressure to publish and lack of access to chief executives

Trump adviser plans multi-agency tour of universities confused by crackdown

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

Researchers need to find more indirect ways of promoting peace in an age of nationalism, conference hears

Rheumatologist previously served as government chief scientific adviser and director of Wellcome Trust

Australian report warns against fetish for interdisciplinarity, citing increasing specialisation of subfields

This autumn Chestnut Hill College will host one of the world’s most unusual annual academic conferences

China’s rise has led to a surge in engineering research – although the discipline is growing in importance in other countries too

Widening chasm between sciences and humanities scholarship not found in other countries

Science’s decision sparks debate about how journals should respond to concerns about reproducibility

Former PM’s institute and Nobel laureate’s university team up to explore gender bias in leadership

Kathryn M. Rudy considers the huge expenses of doing scholarly work in her field of art history

Betting the farm on international students is a gamble – but what’s the alternative? asks THE’s Asia-Pacific editor John Ross 

Government also commits to regional education strategy and changes to free speech questionnaire

Survey of more than 3,000 academics finds many are sceptical about scholarship they come across

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

Mounting workloads and mushrooming publication output are making the task of staying abreast of the latest developments in the literature ever more difficult for academics. Here, eight researchers reflect on their own approaches and offer their tips

Gap in acceptance rates for major European conferences entirely down to behaviour of male referees

Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes has often been at the centre of contemporary political battles over the country’s communist past

Academics are wary of directly verifying whether videos are faked, and warn they need social media companies to cooperate

As academics fault journals on open access, data suggests significant responsibility also lies with professors

Europe and Japan take different approach to US and China on potential risks of technology