Chinese universities are prodigious producers of scientific papers, which will help garner them more prestige.
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Science rankings rely on papers in academic journals. Broadening the view to include many more open-access journals will upend the usual order – thanks to China’s vast number of publications.
The pandemic spurred an increase in COVID-19 research, much of it with methodological holes.
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Pressure to ‘publish or perish’ and get results out as quickly as possible has led to weak study designs and shortened peer-review processes.
There is a rising number of predatory journals in academia, challenging scholars to determine which publications are legitimate.
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In some cases, it can be difficult for academics to know which journals are not credible – but other times, people feel pressure to publish in these publications.
Lack of free access to research leads to discrimination, both in academia and for us all. The new guidance from the US is a huge step in the right direction.
If what you’re reading seems too good to be true, it just might be.
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Trump doesn’t just ignore science, he attacks it. Australia’s experts have an obligation to speak out on crises such as the coronavirus pandemic, even if it means picking a side in our politics.
You’ll be waiting a while for functional 3D-printed human organs.
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There is a stark mismatch between the elements required of a modern news story – unique, high impact – and the reality of medical research being slow, meticulous and progressing one step at a time.
Open access journals come with hidden costs.
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There’s peer review – and then there’s peer review. With more knowledge you can dive in a little deeper and make a call about how reliable a science paper really is.
Peer review takes time – around seven to eight hours per paper if done properly.
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Key areas of focus for tweaking peer review include making journal editors more directive in the process, rewarding reviewers, and improving accountability of editors, reviewers and authors.
There is a huge appetite for science and other research - so why aren’t more academic publications truly ‘open access’?
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Could the real open access please stand up? If more research was published according to true open access principles, we’d see better application of evidence for everyone’s benefit.
Research of ancient DNA has tended to ignore previous studies about the bones themselves.
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A rush of ancient DNA projects in Africa has presented the curators of archaeological skeletons with ethical issues because research requires the destruction of human bone.
Scientific truth is based on a body of research which has been tried and tested by many researchers over time. Peer review filters the good science from the bad.
What are the implications of peer review on competition in science?
PROChristian Guthier
Peer review is a crucial part of the academic publication system. It is also a critical part of the hiring and evaluation process. What’s the problem with peer review?
Previous Vice President of the Academy of Science of South Africa and DSI-NRF SARChI chair in Fungal Genomics, Professor in Genetics, University of Pretoria, University of Pretoria