Research Scrutiny: Corporate influence and outright fraud undermine academic science

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Tom Bartlett

February 29, 2016

Corporate influence over science tends to be subtle. Just as politicians who solicit donations from Wall Street banks deny allegiance to their backers, scientists insist that the money they accept from industry does not alter their scholarly conclusions. Surely no university researcher would ever admit being in cahoots with a company.

Not usually, anyway. In November, the Associated Press obtained emails sent by James O. Hill, a professor of pediatrics and medicine at the University of Colorado at Denver and director of the university’s Center for Human Nutrition, to executives at the Coca-Cola Company.

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Publication Impact of NIH-funded Research – A First Look

National Institutes of Health

Office of Extramural Research

Mike Lauer

March 2, 2016

In a recent PNAS commentary, Daniel Shapiro and Kent Vrana of Pennsylvania State University, argue that “Celebrating R and D expenditures badly misses the point.” Instead of focusing on how much money is spent, the research enterprise should instead focus on its outcomes – its discoveries that advance knowledge and lead to improvements in health.

Of course, as we’ve noted before, measuring research impact is hard, and there is no gold standard. But for now, let’s take a look at one measure of productivity, namely the publication of highly-cited papers. Some in the research community suggest that a research paper citation is a nod to the impact and significance of the findings reported in that paper – in other words, more highly-cited papers are indicative of highly regarded and impactful research.

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Public-Affairs Dean Wants Research to Reach Policy Makers Faster

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Sarah Brown

February 28, 2016

Angela Evans was drawn to the deanship at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B. Johnson

School of Public Affairs for many reasons, namely the school’s national reputation and its history of

informing critical policy debates. But it was the collaborative spirit Ms. Evans sensed throughout the

school that sealed the deal, she says.

"I wanted to work in an environment where the students didn’t know everything," says Ms. Evans,

who has been a clinical professor of public-policy practice at the school for more than six years and

started as dean on January 16. "Consistently, I saw a group of students who were diverse and eager

to exchange ideas, and collaboration was really something they excelled in."

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Productivity Metrics: What is the best way to assess faculty activity?

The Chronicle of Higher Education

Vimal Patel

February 29, 2016

Questions about faculty productivity are nothing new. But the growing use of metrics to assess

faculty activity has raised the stakes at a time when colleges already face growing pressure to

demonstrate accountability and compete with peer institutions.

Meanwhile, questions about how to measure a scholar’s influence in social media, known as

"altmetrics," are expected to add to the debate over faculty productivity.

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U.S. Medical Schools Are Faulted for Failing to Report Results of Human Trials

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Paul Basken
February 18, 2016
 

Only about 29 percent of completed medical trials conducted at major American academic centers

lead to published or reported results within two years, according to one of the most detailed

analyses of the problem.

The findings, published on Wednesday in BMJ, suggest that universities and their funders still are

falling well short on a major yardstick of open science and of responsibility to participating patients.

"The academic institutions are doing very little about this — nothing, in fact," said a lead author,

Harlan M. Krumholz, a professor of medicine at Yale University.

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U.S. House Backs New Bid to Require ‘National Interest’ Certification for NSF Grants

The Chronicle of Higher Education
Paul Basken
February 11, 2016

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation on Wednesday that would require the National Science Foundation to award grants only for research projects that the agency can certify as being in the national interest.

The Republican-written measure (HR 3293), passed on a nearly party-line vote of 236 to 178, would set a series of broad yardsticks by which the "national interest" could be defined, such as improving American economic health or strengthening national defense.

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Research into critical national issues at forefront of NSF's FY2017 budget request

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Press Release 16-013
February 9, 2016

National Science Foundation (NSF) Director France A. Córdova today outlined how President Obama's fiscal year (FY) 2017 request for NSF supports research into critical national issues, including clean energy technologies, food sustainability, disaster response and education. The FY2017 budget requests $8 billion, an increase of about 6.7 percent, or about $500 million, over the enacted FY2016 budget.

"This budget proposes priorities that count on robust funding. It allows NSF to remain one of the country’s leaders in funding research, development and -- most importantly -- the people who are our innovators and discoverers," Córdova said.

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