Guest Post — When Metrics and Politics Collide: Reflections on Peer Review, the JIF and Our Current Political Moment
Sara Rouhi from Altmetric reflects on the biases of the “research industrial complex”.
The End of Summer and Musings on Nostalgia in an Age of Abundance
We’re taking the last week of summer off. To hold you over, a brief book review, some rare concert footage and some musings on memory and storytelling.
Revisiting: The Arms Race in Journals Publishing Heats Up
Revisiting Joe Esposito’s 2014 piece on the competition among journal publishers to acquire the rights to professional society publications. As the marketplace continues to consolidate, these pressures have only increased.
Changing the Culture in Scholarly Communications
Changing the culture is the topic of this year’s FORCE2017 conference in October. It’s typically not a priority, in scholarly communications or in business – but it should be…
Richard Feynman on the Scientific Method
Richard Feynman, in 1964, explains how science works.
The Trance of Dysfunction — Why Trolls Have Come to Dominate Discourse
Trolls dominate for many reasons — economics, technology, our predilection for sordid entertainment. But they’ve chilled online discourse and damaged civil exchanges, even making some publishers reluctant to take full advantage of the potential of the Internet. Are we ready for v2.0 of commenting?
I’m Pretty Sure I Remember That — False Memories
Do you remember when Darth Vader said, “Luke, I am your father”? Are you sure about that?
Revisiting an Interview with Paula Stephan — Economics, Science, and Doing Better
Revisiting Kent Anderson’s 2012 interview with the author of “How Economics Shape Science”.
Revisiting a Book Review: How Economics Shapes Science by Paula Stephan
Revisiting our review of Paula Stephan’s book after her keynote talk at the SSP Annual Meeting.
Don’t Feed the Trolls: Jonathan Coulton on the Internet’s Growing Pains
Musician Jonathan Coulton expresses his disillusionment with what the internet has become.
The Danger of Face Validity
Hypotheses that flatter our own preconceptions and biases are incredibly seductive, and the temptation to accept them at face value can be nearly irresistible. But in a world that seems to be drifting away from analytical rigor and fact-based decision-making, the ability to resist that temptation is more essential than ever.
Different Levels of Complexity Require Different Communication Strategies
A neuroscientist tries to explain his research to different audiences, from a five year-old to a colleague.
Citation Cartel Or Editor Gone Rogue?
How much can a single editor distort the citation record? Investigation documents rogue editor’s coercion of authors to cite his journal, papers.
The Tyranny of Amusements — Science, Spectacle, and the Lowly PDF
Do scholarly and scientific publishers risk more than they realize when they embrace modern media spectacle and seek to marginalize the PDF?
Book Review: “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols
The new book by Tom Nichols, “The Death of Expertise,” is not perfect, but it is an important exploration of existential threats to science, education, and representative democracy.