Research

Twenty North American institutions using ‘moon shots’ to help focus and attract support for their scientific endeavours

Could the Commonwealth be a viable source of research networks should the UK fail to secure access to the EU’s research programmes post-Brexit? Simon Baker reports

Rare disciplines face a multitude of threats but are key to the biodiversity of academia, advocates say

The ‘leaky pipeline’ metaphor for the lack of women at senior levels of academia can demotivate those whose professional paths meander, says Aileen Fyfe

Survey finds that most research organisations do not have a policy on use of metrics

The former Soviet state’s National Academy of Sciences is too focused on its own survival to improve its research performance, says Ararat Osipian

Books offer an experience, evidence trail and egalitarianism that could never be digitised, say Al Martinich and Tom Palaima

Academics routinely offer praise and encouragement to their students. Why are they so reluctant to offer it to each other? asks Terri Apter

New injection of cash for San Francisco Declaration on responsible metrics hopes to move initiative from words to action

In the first of a regular series looking at who is producing highly cited research in different areas, THE explores a subject currently deemed the ‘most prominent’ by Elsevier metrics 

Fiona Watt promises that there will be no ‘ransacking of a well-structured organisation’ in shift to new umbrella body

Although Finland and South Korea have agreed deals with the publisher, European sectors are looking to take a harder line

In an increasingly competitive publishing environment, responding effectively to criticism is key to getting published, says Robert MacIntosh

Ahead of THE’s Asia Universities Summit in Shenzhen, Jack Grove visits the city known as China’s Silicon Valley to assess whether its ambitious new university could really emulate Stanford – and eclipse its Hong Kong neighbours

Asian universities in particular are embracing a technological future, but they should bear in mind the words of two wise Americans, says Alice Gast

The plans for SUSTech capture the boldness of the country’s ambitions to create in years universities that can match century-old powers

Former Soviet state can become destination for international students thanks to its successful fight against academic graft, says minister

THE data analysis in partnership with Elsevier highlights economic impact of world’s leading institutions 

Canadian scientists’ impressive campaign for increased basic science funding risks splintering as victory looms, says Jim Woodgett

A year-long experiment convinced Michael Marinetto that carving out research time is a fun but unwinnable game 

Collaboration within the Gulf region was rare but now the few oases in the desert risk running dry, says Hilal Lashuel 

Introduced to help boost technology transfer amid renewed political focus on ‘industrial strategy’, the KEF aims to complement the REF and TEF. But how will it work? Is it even necessary? And is the UK really underperforming at commercialising its research? Rachael Pells reports

Knowledge exchange sits low on academia’s menu, overshadowed by meatier mains, but could the assessment of universities’ third-stream activities tempt some to make it a signature dish?

Simon Baker discovers what the World Economic Forum’s ‘community’ of universities – the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF) – can teach us about industry-academia collaboration and innovation with economic impact

Unclear whether new regulator will maintain programme that informs English higher education policy

Almost 2,350 academics from non-UK European countries have resigned from UK universities in the past year, and Layla Moran fears that could be just the tip of the iceberg

Technology behind Bitcoin is not just hype, say advocates, but could prevent data tampering and improve reproducibility

Working with pen and paper and cut off from the outside world, Ali Kaya wrote three papers, re-deriving physical formulas from scratch

Pakistani journals lack the professionalism and expertise to support a thriving knowledge economy, say Abdur Rehman Cheema and Mehvish Riaz

Matthew Reisz meets the scholars for whom one discipline is not enough

Interim candidate confirmed in post on permanent basis at new umbrella body

Data from the THE World University Rankings suggest Western nations such as the UK are making good use of limited resources, but what are the side effects?

Bias in assessing submissions is inevitable and damaging. Anonymisation is the least bad solution, says Graham Farrell

Change in balance between teaching and research-focused universities is an indicator of progress, say analysts

Comparison of national test results data shows pupils admitted to university under racial quotas graduate with the same scores on average as non-quota peers

There is no evidence that the REF process encourages academics to rush out more research of a lower quality, says Steven Hill

Study finds 35 per cent increase in publications ahead of submission deadline, but 12 per cent decline in citations

Partnerships should allow access to a wider pool of research grants, institutions hope

There is growing concern that China is trying to silence its critics in the West, with academic publishers a particular target. Tao Zhang considers the consequences for scholarly freedom – and what can be done to tackle such restrictions

The data underlying Altmetric’s top 100 articles of last year suggest that health research shared on Twitter has most impact

Increases in government research funding are absorbed by scientists at the ‘bottom of the hierarchy’, study suggests

Imperial College London centre will aim to speed up development of vaccines

Echoing the UK, government will also seek to measure the impact of research on society and business

Leeds Beckett University researchers are to publish a book exploring how the unheralded British actor became one of Hollywood’s biggest stars

A trawl of published research shows that Santa Claus has an enduring fascination for academics

Fears that uncertainty over UK’s future in EU research framework has led to drop of half a billion euros in coordinated projects

Without QR funding, the UK research base would be like a Lego set with only one type of brick, write Sarah Chaytor and Graeme Reid

The past year has seemed one of almost daily shocks and surprises for higher education, which THE has divulged, documented and dissected

Chris Parr reveals the 25 Times Higher Education stories that received the most views during the last 12 months

Got some last minute scholarly Christmas shopping to do? Glen Wright has got your back

Clare McGlynn is not surprised that the UK was overlooked as a focus country after a successful EU funding bid

Botanist warns of continuing political instability and restrictive legislation on science

Controversy in Canada over support for blue-skies research would diminish if more researchers took Pasteur’s approach, says Creso Sá

Academic travel is hard work, but destinations that are sunny and picturesque have their consolations, says Emily Michelson

The mantra that research is loss-making is a convenient fiction used to draw more money to the centres of universities, say Peter Coveney and Christopher Greenwell    

Editing an academic journal is a vital and rewarding task, but also time-consuming and often frustrating. Current and former editors advise would-be gatekeepers on why you'll need the skills of a ringmaster – and more

£10 million gift will help fund what will become one of Europe’s largest centres for interdisciplinary learning and research

Investment is ‘necessary but not sufficient’ to enable world-class research, which also relies on international collaboration

Alternative metrics find that research on dieting, PhD mental health and female doctors attracted the most online attention this year

Response to US withdrawal from Paris climate accords announces first winners – but has been denounced as a publicity stunt by some French academics