opinion articles

Send us a link

Subscribe to our newsletter

Back to the Classroom After 11 Years in Administration

Back to the Classroom After 11 Years in Administration

A former dean chronicles the challenges of returning to full-time teaching.

Craft Metrics to Value Co-production

Craft Metrics to Value Co-production

To assess whether research is relevant to society, ask the stakeholders, say Catherine Durose, Liz Richardson and Beth Perry.

Swap Outdated Authorship Listings for Contributorship Credit

Swap Outdated Authorship Listings for Contributorship Credit

We suggest that moving from an authorship to a contributorship model would better reflect the many and varied contributions to large, complex, long-term and management-intensive projects in modern science.

What the Nobels Are - and Aren’t - Doing to Encourage Diversity

What the Nobels Are - and Aren’t - Doing to Encourage Diversity

The prize-awarding academies are making changes to their secretive nomination processes to tackle bias, but some say the measures don’t go far enough.

Six Months to Brexit: How Scientists Are Preparing for the Split

Six Months to Brexit: How Scientists Are Preparing for the Split

Seven researchers and campaigners tell Nature how Britain’s break-up with the EU is affecting research.

Cornell Food Researcher's Downfall Raises Larger Questions For Science

Cornell Food Researcher's Downfall Raises Larger Questions For Science

The fall of a prominent food and marketing researcher may be a cautionary tale for scientists who are tempted to manipulate data and chase headlines.

Better, Fairer, More Meaningful Research Evaluation – in Seven Hashtags

Better, Fairer, More Meaningful Research Evaluation – in Seven Hashtags

Considering the future of research assessment, Elizabeth Gadd outlines how she believes research evaluation could be made better, fairer, and more meaningful. The resulting seven guiding principles…

The "Problem" of Predatory Publishing Remains a Relatively Small One and Should Not Be Allowed to Defame Open Access

The "Problem" of Predatory Publishing Remains a Relatively Small One and Should Not Be Allowed to Defame Open Access

A recent investigation led by an international group of journalists raised concerns over the scale of the problem of deceptive publishing practices, but the problem of predatory publishing was overstated while at the same time discrediting open access publishing.

Measles Outbreak in United States and Europe: The Dangerous Result of Science-Denial

Measles Outbreak in United States and Europe: The Dangerous Result of Science-Denial

The measles outbreak in the United States and Europe keeps spreading despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. The cause? Science-denial.

Research Funding is Critical to Societally Relevant Research

Research Funding is Critical to Societally Relevant Research

Paul Benneworth and Kate Maxwell explain why we need public funding for science that creates truly public benefits.

Eight Ways to Tackle Diversity and Inclusion in Peer Review

Eight Ways to Tackle Diversity and Inclusion in Peer Review

We continue our Peer Review Week celebrations with a roundup of articles about bias, diversity, and inclusion in peer review, by Alice Meadows, including eight lessons we can all learn from them.

Scientific Publishing Is a Rip-Off. We Fund the Research - It Should Be Free

Scientific Publishing Is a Rip-Off. We Fund the Research - It Should Be Free

Those who take on the global industry that traps research behind paywalls are heroes, not thieves, says George Monbiot.

Response to Plan S from Academic Researchers: Unethical, Too Risky!

Response to Plan S from Academic Researchers: Unethical, Too Risky!

Will Plan S deprive researchers of quality journal venues and of international collaborative opportunities, while disadvantaging scientists whose research budgets preclude paying and playing in this OA league?

Too Much Academic Research Is Being Published

Too Much Academic Research Is Being Published

The decision by The Review of Higher Education, a highly respected academic journal, to temporarily suspend submissions due to a backlog of more than two years’ worth of articles awaiting reviews or publication set off a twitter storm and much debate in the corridors of academia about the future of academic publishing, and in particular its very foundation, blind peer review.