In today’s cut-throat world of grants and publications, being an early career researcher (ECR) can feel more than a little daunting. As an ECR myself, I can’t guarantee that this will help you make it to the other side unscathed. But I’m still here, and if you’re reading this, you probably are too. Outlined below are the things I’ve learnt during the ups and downs of post-PhD life. Read more
It has been shown that research articles receive more citations when they have their underlying data openly linked to them. With this in mind, it’s time to consider not just the ideological reasons for making research data open, but the selfish benefits of openly sharing data that all researchers can (and should) be taking advantage of. Read more
After a few months working as an associate editor at Nature Photonics, chief editor Oliver Graydon asked Gaia Donati if the role was what she had imagined it to be. She answered that in most aspects it had, with one significant exception: she hadn’t realised that finding referees to assess submitted manuscripts would be such a daunting task. Here, Gaia urges peer reviewers to make things easier by setting up a personal web page outlining their research experience and interests. Read more
When preparing a grant or publication, where can you turn for new ideas? You can bounce ideas off colleagues, search PubMed and Web of Science for related literature, and maybe take a trip down Google lane. But it’s difficult to get outside one’s particular area of expertise — to mine the opportunities at cross-disciplinary boundaries unless you know what you’re looking for. The developers of a new document search engine hope to make such cognitive leaps easier, finds Jeff Perkel. Read more
A degree in science is just one stepping stone on a long path with varied exits, curves and about-turns. Choosing wisely is not always an easy task, but there’s no right way to success: there’s a whole lot out there to choose from. Read more
Writing up a manuscript for publication is a multi-faceted process. You’ve finished the literature review, detailed your methods, discussed your findings and formatted your figures. Now, the only thing left is to come up with the title. Read more
The call for reproducibility has never been stronger in the history of science. Since two major pharmaceutical companies, Amgen and Bayer, reported in 2011/12 that their scientists were unable to replicate 80-90% of the findings in landmark papers, scientific news outlets have caught up on the issue. Their reports have catalyzed conversations among stakeholders (policy makers, funding agencies and scientists) to improve reproducibility in science. Read more
We ask academics at the Naturejobs career expo, San Francisco, what they dislike about their jobs. Read more
This piece was republished from Sophie Lewis’ blog. Read more
When I started my first year of graduate school, I was referred to a post-doc in my lab by some fellow students. Eager to start my research, I expressed interest in the project without thinking through the reasons behind my colleagues’ reluctance to join the post-doc. Read more
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