Fixing Science: The Replicability Crisis
given to the Statistical Society of New South Wales, Australia, 1 May 2013
Archives
The opportunity cost of paywalled research
My eye was caught by this tweet: https://twitter.com/gvwilson/status/330747014340018177 And I found myself wondering how often this scenario plays out around the world every day. (…) How many thousands of valuable conversations never happen because you can’t idly browse at $15 a pop?
Four more universities join Futurelearn
Four more universities have announced plans to offer massive open online courses via the UK-based Futurelearn platform, taking the total number of higher education institutions involved to 21.
Elite journals: to hell in a handbasket?
Once upon a time, journals were made of paper and ink. However, we left the dark ages of dead woods behind us and moved forward to an age in which authors don’t need to publish in journals (but still want to). There’s an increasing decoupling between the individual article and its publishing journal, created by search engines and electronic repositories.
Open-access boom in developing nations
Open-access publication is not always about making publicly funded research articles freely available (Nature 495, 425; 2013). Other factors could be driving the boom in open-access publishing in scientifically emerging nations.
Nominate A Pioneer …
… who has applied scientific research published through Open Access to innovate in any field. Deadline: June 15th, 2013The Accelerating Science Award Program (ASAP) recognizes individuals who have used, applied, or remixed scientific research — published through Open Access — to make a difference in science, medicine, business, technology or society as a whole.See also here and here.*See the program rules for details on the awards and program requirements.
- A trip to Washington, D.C., to be honored at Open Access Week in October, 2013
- Inclusion in a portfolio book distributed online and in print around the world
SOBA: The Reproducibility Crisis
ScienceOnline Bay Area (SOBA) is a monthly series to encourage the discussion of how science is carried out and communicated online.
Reproducibility, the ability to replicate or reproduce experimental results, is one of the major tenets of the scientific method. (…) So why do so many preclinical publications contain research that can’t be reproduced? Join our panel of distinguished guests from academia, publishing, and the startup community to hear about the latest approaches to dealing with this critically important issue. (…) *Presentations and discussion livestreamed.Registration is open, admission is free. Date: May 6, 2013Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm Location: swissnex San Francisco, 730 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111
Colleges Adapt Online Courses to Ease Burden
Universities begin blending open online courses, created to deliver elite college instruction to anyone with an Internet connection, to their offerings.New York Times.
Harvard Professor Re-Identifies Anonymous Volunteers In DNA Study
A Harvard professor has re-identified the names of more than 40% of a sample of anonymous participants in a high-profile DNA study, highlighting the dangers that ever greater amounts of personal data available in the Internet era could unravel personal secrets.Forbes.
The Evolution of Scientific Dissemination: PeerJ Rises
In case you didn’t know, academic publishing is undergoing a major upheaval. Again.SciAm Blogs.
„I believe in a better life through data“
Technologie ist manchmal wie eine leistungssteigernde Droge: Man muss bereits sehr gut sein. Technik kann nur dabei helfen, die entscheidenden fünf oder zehn Prozent besser zu werden. Und wenn dich keiner mag, kann auch die beste Technik deine Popularitätswerte nicht wesentlich steigern.
Advocacy: How to hasten open access
Three advocates for a universally free scholarly literature give their prescriptions for the movement’s next push, from findability to translations.Nature.
Raising female experts’ voices on radio and TV
A BBC scheme aims to tackle gender inequality
Three statements about academic publishing
(Netzpolitik - in German).Open access science news is mostly good, with a bit of ugly
Open access is expanding and just may solve some of the peer review’s problems.
Project to save bees wins sustainablilty prize
Projekte zur Bekämpfung des Bienensterbens, für effizientere Autonutzung durch Carsharing sowie die Entwicklung von Handygehäusen aus Recycling-Material wurden am Mittwoch als Sieger des Umweltpreises 2013 des TUN-Fonds (T-Mobile Umwelt- und Nachhaltigkeitsfonds) gekürt.
Re: your REF impact request
Paul Magrs was flabbergasted when an institution he hadnât heard from in years asked if it could use his work to show impact. Here is his reply
Stephen Hawking’s advice for twenty-first century grads: Embrace complexity | The Curious Wavefunction, Scientific American Blog Network
Hawking’s century of complexity will call upon all the tools of twentieth century problem solving along with a few more. Statistics and data visualization are going to be at the forefront of the data-driven revolution in complex systems.SciAm Blogs.
An Introduction to Social Media for Scientists
Online social media tools can be some of the most rewarding and informative resources for scientists—IF you know how to use them.PLOS.
See also Bora Zivkovic’s Blogpost How to break into science writing using your blog and social media.
How was it? The UK’s first Coursera Moocs assessed
Instructors and students discuss their experiences of the University of Edinburghâs debut courses on Coursera
The Digital Public Library of America Has Arrived
The Digital Public Library of America has launched, and it is an impressive achievement that is bound to grow over the coming years.
Happening right now: Open Data on the Web, 23 – 24 April 2013, London
“Analysts believe an open data strategy should be a top priority for any organization that uses the Web as a channel for delivering goods and services. Open data strategies support outside-in business practices that generate growth and innovation.”
Reinhart, Rogoff… and Herndon: The student who caught out the profs
This week, economists have been astonished to find that a famous academic paper often used to make the case for austerity cuts contains major errors. Another surprise is that the mistakes, by two eminent Harvard professors, were spotted by a student doing his homework.BBC News. See also the OKNF’s blogpost:
REINHART-ROGOFF REVISITED: WHY WE NEED OPEN DATA IN ECONOMICS
See also this blogpost:
What the Reinhart & Rogoff Debacle Really Shows: Verifying Empirical Results Needs to be Routine
Or this one:
Not a Lot About Excel and Some Links.
Glaxo accused of market ‚abuse‘
No open science after all?“GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been accused of market “abuse” by the consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).”
BBC News.
Is altruism better than no altruism?
Competitive altruism is pretty petty, and we might not count it as moral behavior at all. But it can still benefit people. The person who gives $1,000 to a charity in order to be listed as a “gold donor” has still helped people with his money. In fact, he’s helped exactly as much as the person who gives the same amount out of true empathy. So should charitable organizations or individuals designing policy care about the intention, or just the act?SciAm Blogs.