Category Archives: Scientific Life

Debating the role of metrics in research assessment

Posted on October 7, 2014 by Stephen

I spent all of today attending the “In metrics we trust?” workshop organised jointly by HEFCE and the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at Sussex University. This was part of the information-gathering process of HEFCE’s independent review of the role of … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

The REF: what is the measure of success?

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Stephen

Science has been extraordinarily successful at taking the measure of the world, but paradoxically the world finds it extraordinarily difficult to take the measure of science — or any type of scholarship for that matter. That is not for want … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 17 Comments

Get out of the laboratory

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Stephen

The Society for General Microbiology (SGM) kindly awarded me this year’s Peter Wildy Prize Lecture, which I delivered at their Spring meeting in Liverpool just a few weeks ago. The prize is given for “an outstanding contribution to microbiology education … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

Losing my virginity and the Café Scientifique Reading List

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Stephen

Last night I lost my virginity. To be precise, I lost my Café Scientifique virginity because I gave a talk about science in a café in Portsmouth at the kind invitation of local organiser Maricar Jagger. It was a really … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Communication, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Unfinished Business

Posted on January 11, 2014 by Stephen

I’ve reached that age where my eye is drawn to the obituary column every time I open the newspaper. It hasn’t been a conscious move but, having arrived at my fiftieth year, I am increasingly aware of the hopes of … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 30 Comments

The Schekman Manoeuvre

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Stephen

This is the original version (with the original title) of an article that has been published at The Conversation.  Having climbed all the way to the Nobel prize on a ladder made of Nature, Science and Cell papers, biologist Randy Schekman has … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Impact factors are clouding our judgement

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Stephen

Nature has an interesting news feature this week on impact factors. Eugenie Samuel Reich’s article — part of a special supplement covering various aspects of the rather ill-defined notion of impact — explores whether publication in journals such as Nature or Science is … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 27 Comments

The Hunters

Posted on May 25, 2013 by Stephen

I had never heard of James Salter till I read a profile of him in the Observer a couple of weeks ago, on the occasion of the publication of his latest book, his first in a long time. Salter is … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Science: better messy than messed up

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Stephen

I am fascinated by the psychology of scientific fraudsters. What drives these people? If you are smart enough to fake results, surely you have the ability to do research properly? You should also be clever enough to realise that one day … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , | 32 Comments

Year

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Stephen

The Christmas holiday has unmoored me. End of year exhaustion segued into a bout of ‘flu that knocked me onto my back, where I lay and ached, semi-detached by illness and medication as around me my family made preparations for … Continue reading →

Posted in Libel Reform, Open Access, Science & Politics, Scientific Life | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Evaluating scientists: take care

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Stephen

A resonant blogpost is the gift that keeps on giving. One of the latest comments in my Sick of Impact Factors polemic bemoaning the corrosive effects of journal impact factors on scientific lives provided a link to a quite wonderful … Continue reading →

Posted in Scientific Life | Tagged , | 15 Comments

Sick of Impact Factors: Coda

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Stephen

My ‘Sick of Impact Factors‘ blog post seems to have struck much more of a chord than I anticipated. At the time of writing it has attracted over 12,900 page views and 460 tweets, far higher than my usual tallies. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Open Access, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 47 Comments