The winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize in physics says scientists shouldn't feel pressured to do research that has economic or commercial ramifications. Science for the sake of science is more important.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Science research
Displaying 1 - 20 of 26 articles
In an era of big scientific collaborations, China's renegade actions have hurt its reputation. As international researchers back away, it may be the country's military that ultimately suffers.
Money always seems tight for university scientists. A sociologist conducted hundreds of interviews to see how they think about funding sources and profit motives for basic and applied research.
Science can't just stay in the ivory tower. But what does impact really mean and how does it happen? A study of more than a decade of ecological fieldwork projects in Bolivia suggests a better way.
The only place to find the Golden Age of Science is in the future, but we need some help in getting there.
Scientists are rewarded with funding and publications when they come up with innovative findings. But in the midst of a 'reproducibility crisis,' being new isn't the only thing to value about research.
President Trump's first year was a rough one for scientists and others who value truth and expertise. Many rallied to the cause, while others used research to make the case for the value of science.
Science isn't cold, hard facts uncovered by emotionless robots. Acknowledging how and where values play a role promotes a more realistic view and can advance science's reputation for reliability.
Research dollars don't stay locked up in academia and government labs. R&D collaborations with the private sector are common – and grow the innovation economy.
A team of archaeologists strived to improve the reproducibility of their results, influencing their choices in the field, in the lab and during data analysis.
Any field that collects and analyzes data relies on statistical techniques to make sense of it all. Modern, more accurate methods should supplant the old ways... but in many cases, they haven't yet.
The research community tends to assume advocacy doesn't mix with objectivity. One study suggests there's room for scientists to make real-world recommendations without compromising their trusted status.
What are research dollars actually spent on? Rather than looking at artifacts like publications and patents, a new initiative directly tracks the people and businesses that receive research funding.
In science, the word 'theory' has a very specific meaning that's easy for nonscientists to misunderstand or misconstrue. Here's what a theory must withstand to be accepted by the scientific community.
The priorities of science are being influenced less by government policy and academia, and more by the priorities of the philanthropic giver.
With federal support for on-campus R&D dwindling as a percentage of GDP, keeping basic research afloat is a challenge. Schools and researchers are left to try to fill in the funding gaps.
Scientists from the developing world perceive current visa rules as a major impediment to professional travel. They miss out on opportunities to collaborate globally.
Neither major party has made science and engineering issues a big part of its platform. But research – and its funding – are crucial if the U.S. wants to maintain status as a global leader.
Embracing more rigorous scientific methods would mean getting science right more often than we currently do. But the way we value and reward scientists makes this a challenge.
This method of crowdsourcing science legwork is ready to expand into other disciplines – and maybe the amateurs themselves can start calling some of the shots.
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Archaeology, University of Washington
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Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University
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Australia’s Chief Scientist, Office of the Chief Scientist
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Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago
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Professor, University of Wollongong
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Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing and Communication, The Open University
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Honorary Professor, Vienna University of Technology
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Adjunct professor, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney
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Research Associate, School of Political Science & International Studies, The University of Queensland
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Lecturer in Biology & Biochemistry; Developmental Biology Theme, University of Bath
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Lecturer, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge
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Associate Director, Community-Engaged Research, Stanford University
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Vice President for Research, University of Minnesota
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Chancellor, University of Kansas
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Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Conservation Biology, University of Pretoria
