Open Science: never have terms been interpreted in so many different ways by so many different people. The diversity of perspectives on this matter reflects the evolving nature of what research has become. These reflections led to the idea of this EuroScientist special issue together with early stage discussions with scholarly publishing experts, and journalistic investigations about what to expect from an ever opening science. Read more [...]
One day, we can imagine that science will truly be open. Before we reach that stage, however, a number of issues have to be tackled. Particularly, when it comes to transparency, more suitable evaluation giving adequate credit for researchers involved in contributing to all aspects of the scientific process, most of which were unaccounted for until now, and optimum use of the availability of very large sets of data. Ultimately, life as a scientist in the era of web 2.0 is bound to change beyond recognition. Read more [...]
Physicist Alessandro Vespignani is one of the main experts in networks and statistical and numerical simulations. He shares his views in this exclusive podcast in EuroScientist on how the era of Big Data requires scientists to adapt their approach to replicating such data. Specifically, he believes that we have to update the idea of replication, or better, the idea of how to verify or falsify an experiment. Read more [...]
Novel online research tools pop up constantly and they are slowly but surely finding their way into research culture. A culture that grew after the first scientific revolution some 300 years ago and that has brought humanity quite far is on the verge of its second profound metamorphosis. It is likely that the way that researchers publish, assesses impact, communicate, and collaborate will change more within the next 20 years than it did in the last 200. Read more [...]
Sharing practices build the essence of science. In the process they generate two important “Rs” for scientists: recognition and reputation. This trend has been exacerbated by an increase scientific activity. This means they have the potential for enhancing the sharing practices associated with the scientific endeavour. Ultimately, this trend will also have an impact on the way research is translated into innovation, albeit at the cost of enhanced collaboration and at the detriment of competition. Read more [...]
Social connections, of course, are a key part of being a researcher—all the more so as science becomes increasingly collaborative. Much of scientific success—in both intellectual and career terms—is down to finding the right mentors and collaborators. Networks are a resource as much as any other. So how important to academic success is cultivating your profile online? Read more [...]
In most universities there is little incentive for academics to blog. It is therefore somewhat surprising that an increasing number of academics are taking it up. We realised that there is surprisingly little work done on academic blogging. We therefore started exploring which academics were blogging and what they are blogging about. Read more [...]
The Internet is still in its twenties—or its 2.0ties. We are now witnessing the emergence of a ‘social mind’ thanks to digital tools and new media. This new phenomenon facilitates the application of collective intelligence and creativity to devise innovative solutions in academia, industries and policy environments. As part of the Socientize project, we are focusing on enabling citizens to actively participate in science. Read more [...]
European science conversations by the community, for the community
