Category Archives: Science

My carbon bootprint

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Stephen

What was your carbon footprint for 2019? Mine was more of a bootprint, almost entirely because of flying. International travel has long been considered one of the perks of academic life, something that lifted the job out of the ordinary … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life, Travel | 10 Comments

Time for reflection

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Stephen

I think of Sunday as the last day of the week, not the first. Today, at the end of a hard week on political and personal fronts (though why the political and personal should be seen as separate I am … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science & Politics, Scientific Life | 1 Comment

Berlin Debate – Who owns science?

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Stephen

Yesterday I had the privilege of participating in the 14th Berlin Debate on Science and Science Policy, which is hosted by the Robert Bosch Foundation. This year the invited participants discussed “Who owns science? Reshaping the Scientific Value Chain in … Continue reading →

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First impressions: the DORA-HHMI meeting on research assessment reform

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Stephen

My feet have hardly touched the ground since I got back from the DORA-HHMI meeting on “Driving Institutional Change for Research Assessment Reform” in Washington DC last week, but I wanted to log a few first impressions. I can’t hope … Continue reading →

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How to value what cannot be measured?

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Stephen

This post is a transcript of my opening remarks at the a Great Debate held earlier today at the European Geosciences Union 2019 meeting in Vienna. The debate asked us to consider the question: What value should we place on contributions … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic publishing, Open Access, Science, Science & Politics | 2 Comments

Thinking globally about research evaluation – LIS-Bibliometrics talk

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Stephen

Last Tuesday I attended the 2019 LIS-Bibliometrics meeting which focused on open metrics and measuring openness. I was part of a panel that discussed the topic “Thinking globally about research evaluation: common challenges, common solutions”. Chaired by Lizzie Gadd from Loughborough University, … Continue reading →

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Opening peer review for inspection and improvement

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Stephen

For me the most memorable event at last week’s ASAPbio-HHMI-Wellcome meeting on Peer Review, which took place at HHMI’s beautifully appointed headquarters on the outskirts of Washington DC, was losing a $100 bet to Mike Eisen. Who would have guessed he’d know … Continue reading →

Posted in Academic publishing, Science | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Does science need to be saved? A response to Sarewitz.

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Stephen

I wrote this piece a few months ago at the invitation of The New Atlantis. It was supposed to be one of a collection of responses to a polemical essay that they published last year on the parlous state of … Continue reading →

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University rankings are fake news. How do we fix them?

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Stephen

This post is based on a short presentation I gave as part of a panel at a meeting today on Understanding Global University Rankings: Their Data and Influence, organised by HESPA (Higher Education Strategic Planners Association). Yes, it’s a ‘manel’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Cathedral on the Marsh

Posted on May 13, 2017 by Stephen

I’ve already shared this video on Twitter and Facebook but wanted to post it here as a more permanent record. Two weeks ago I fulfilled the ambition, held since I had seen Nic Stacey’s and Jim Al-Khalili’s quite wonderful BBC documentary … Continue reading →

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ICYMI No.10 – New Year’s Resolution

Posted on January 6, 2017 by Stephen

Along with many of my academic colleagues from across the nation, I was asked by the Times Higher Education to set down at least one new year’s resolution for 2017. I drew inspiration from Richard Hamming (whom I wrote about … Continue reading →

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ICYMI No. 9: Preprints and Embargoes

Posted on December 31, 2016 by Stephen

I’m rather late getting round to this but, for the record, here is a piece I wrote for Research Fortnight in late November on the challenges that preprints pose to embargoed press releases of research reports. The tl;dr version (though the piece … Continue reading →

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