An Author Rights Perspective on Scientific Editors

  By Hilda Bastian   What should scientific editors be able to do well? We would all be able to agree easily on some basics. Last year, a group led by David Moher and colleagues

Signing Critical Peer Reviews & the Fear of Retaliation: What Should We Do?

0000-0002-8715-2896   There’s a sort of Godwin’s Law for discussions on open peer review. Sooner or later, someone’s going to say, “We can’t expect early career researchers to sign peer reviews, because of fear of retaliation”. And

Black History Month: Mathematicians’ Powerful Stories

0000-0002-8715-2896     It was a turning point. The previous year, the US Civil Rights Act had passed. On 26 January 1969 in New Orleans, 17 African-American mathematicians gathered at the annual national mathematical meeting.

3 Things Expressions of Concern Reveal About the Research Publication System

0000-0002-8715-2896   An editorial expression of concern is a way to alert readers to behind-the-scenes worries about the integrity of a publication. It emerged in 1997, from the influential International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, but was

CRISPR, Priority, and Credit: Do We Need to Edit Science’s DNA?

Jennifer-Doudna-2016-02-13-300x251  “She’s like the poster child for collaboration”. Jon Miller was talking last weekend at the AAAS session about scientists’ virtues. The “she” was Jennifer Doudna, who had given a talk the evening before. a Doudna speaking at AAAS 2016 She’s

Science and the Rise of the Co-Authors

Ensemble-930x1024  Leonhart Fuchs credited his illustrator collaborators in De Historia Stirpium, 1542 Physicists set a new record this year for number of co-authors: a 9-page report needed an extra 24 pages to list its 5,154 authors.

The Value of 3 Degrees of Separation on Twitter

  The more interconnected our Twitter networks get, the more the distance between us and total strangers shrinks [PDF]. That’s not always a good thing. Twitter is fabulous. There’s fun, camaraderie, fascinating people, and ideas you wouldn’t otherwise encounter. Victoria Costello … Continue reading »

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“Just” Joking? Sexist Talk in Science

    I’m a scientist who’s also a cartoonist. So I’ve got a pretty keen interest in scholarship and empirical research on humor. And I want to talk about research and sexist jokes, and where that leads. It’s a response to a narrative … Continue reading »

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Weighing Up Anonymity and Openness in Publication Peer Review

    Scientists are in a real bind when it comes to peer review. It’s hard to be objective when we’re all among the peer reviewing and peer-reviewed, or plan to be. Still, we should be able to mobilize science’s repertoire to solve our problems. Yet, … Continue reading »

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Peer Review BC (Before Citations)

  In theory, science isn’t just self-interested. We’re all driven by curiosity and pure motives to strive together to unlock the secrets of the universe and solve problems. Which is true. But it’s for others to determine whether or not we’ve unlocked or solved anything. … Continue reading »

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