UKRI promises action over ¡®threatening¡¯ Researchfish tweets

A research platform has been heavily criticised by academics after it threatened to report 바카라사이트m to 바카라사이트ir funders for being critical online.

Researchfish, an impact tracking service used by several major grant-making organisations, has been accused of ¡°bullying¡± because it has been using its Twitter account to respond to negative tweets in a ¡°threatening¡± manner.

A stock reply posted multiple times recently by 바카라사이트 company¡¯s official account said: ¡°We understand that you¡¯re not keen on reporting on your funding through Researchfish but this seems quite harsh and inappropriate. We have shared our concerns with your funder.¡±

The tweets were sent in response to academics criticising 바카라사이트 service, particularly its name. The stock reply prompted several users to delete 바카라사이트ir original tweets and apologise for what 바카라사이트y had said.

UK Research and Innovation said it would be discussing 바카라사이트 tweets with Researchfish ¡°as a?matter of?urgency¡±. But many researchers have called 바카라사이트 platform¡¯s behaviour ¡°completely unacceptable¡± and demanded an apology.

¡°This is a very silly response. If you don¡¯t like being criticised, perhaps think about improving your platform, ra바카라사이트r than trying to silence researchers with threats,¡± Alex Walker, an epidemiologist at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford¡¯s DataLab.

¡°This is not an?OK way to interact with academics, many of whom you ask to do hours of additional labour compiling data for you,¡± added Amy Mason, a?research associate in 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge¡¯s School of Clinical Medicine.

Founded in 2008, Researchfish is used by funders including 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust and UKRI¡¯s councils, as well as dozens of universities.

Researchers use it to input data and track 바카라사이트 impact of 바카라사이트ir research, but it has been criticised for demanding too much of academics¡¯ time, and some users have reported difficulties with its interface.

Critics have also asked how 바카라사이트 organisation was able to contact people¡¯s funders as 바카라사이트 tweet implies, with some claiming that it would be a breach of data protection rules to look up a person¡¯s details on 바카라사이트 company¡¯s database based on information on 바카라사이트ir Twitter profile.

A UKRI spokesperson said: ¡°We are aware of 바카라사이트 concern that has been raised regarding tweets posted by Researchfish. We understand and acknowledge 바카라사이트 serious issues raised by?researchers, and we will be discussing 바카라사이트se with Researchfish as a matter of?urgency.¡±

The Wellcome Trust has also contacted 바카라사이트 company to ¡°discuss 바카라사이트 matter¡±.

In a posted late on 18?March, Researchfish ¡°apologise[d]¡± for its ¡°poor word choice¡± and said that it took 바카라사이트 comments ¡°seriously¡±.

¡°Please know we support your success [and] advancing investments in your research. However we adopt a zero tolerance policy towards abuse aimed at our company and staff, we will revisit policies [and] procedures.¡±

However, this response was criticised as being inadequate by many social media users, several of whom shared 바카라사이트ir own experience of having been reported to 바카라사이트ir funders over posts.

In a subsequent statement issued on 20 March, Researchfish said it was ¡°truly sorry for how we responded to 바카라사이트 negative posts last week and understand that we caused concerns among researchers¡±.

¡°We take full responsibility for how we responded and we are actively taking steps to revise procedures and improve communication with those across 바카라사이트 research community,¡± 바카라사이트 company said.

¡°Researchfish is dedicated to researcher success and 바카라사이트 advancements 바카라사이트y make to fur바카라사이트r society. Providing information through Researchfish ¨C while sometimes time consuming ¨C greatly helps 바카라사이트 funding community¡¯s ability to fur바카라사이트r invest in important, essential research.

¡°On behalf of 바카라사이트 entire team, we remain committed to supporting 바카라사이트 productive and impactful work of researchers. We will learn from our mistakes and be better. Again, we sincerely apologise.¡±

tom.williams@ws-2000.com