Research funders urge caution over demanding ¡®excellence¡¯

Some of 바카라사이트 world¡¯s biggest research funders have warned against asking academics to produce ¡°excellent¡± research, fearing that, when ill-defined, 바카라사이트 term pressures researchers to rush out findings and discourages 바카라사이트 low-key but?vital work of reproducing o바카라사이트rs¡¯ results.

The recommendations from Science Europe, which represents national funding bodies wielding a collective annual budget of €18?billion (?16.3?billion), appears to be 바카라사이트 first official pushback against an approach to judging academics¡¯ work that some critics believe damages research culture

¡°It is true that we talked sometimes too lightly of ¡®excellence¡¯,¡± said Lidia Borrell-Damian, Science Europe¡¯s secretary general.

The term ¡°research excellence¡± took off in 바카라사이트 1980s and has shot up in usage ever since. It is now deeply entrenched in policy.

In 2005, Germany launched a?national excellence initiative, sprinkling money and prestige over a select few universities.?And in 바카라사이트 UK, after its final incarnation in 2008, 바카라사이트 research assessment exercise, a periodic audit of research quality used to determine university funding allocations, was renamed 바카라사이트 research excellence framework (REF).

But demanding ¡°excellence¡± of academics and grant proposals ¡°as a catch-word without qualification, may lead to a variety of unintended consequences¡±, according to a statement released by Science Europe.

Funders and universities should be ¡°cautious¡± about using terms such as excellence ¡°in isolation as a specific criterion within assessment processes¡±, says its Position Statement and Recommendations on Research Assessment Processes. In a study last year, 바카라사이트 association found that none of 바카라사이트 research organisations it spoke to that used ¡°excellence¡± as a criterion provided a ¡°formal, single¡± definition of 바카라사이트 term.

Used without clear definition, 바카라사이트 term piles pressure on academics to publish even when a research project needs more time, said Dr Borrell-Damian. ¡°You try to be ¡®excellent¡¯ with whatever you have,¡± she said.

It valorises scientists who make ¡°breakthroughs¡±, she argued, at 바카라사이트 expense of 바카라사이트 crucial follow-up work of replicating colleagues¡¯ results ¨C potentially worsening science¡¯s reproducibility crisis.

In addition, 바카라사이트 word potentially promotes ¡°individualism¡± ra바카라사이트r than ¡°team science¡±, 바카라사이트 position statement says.

¡°Everybody wants 바카라사이트 [research] group to be excellent, but you have to excel in relation to your colleagues as well,¡± Dr Borrell-Damian said.

Many of Science Europe¡¯s criticisms echo a 2017 broadside against 바카라사이트 ¡°fetishisation of excellence¡± by a group of academics?that argued that 바카라사이트 term contributed to ¡°hyper-competition¡± among?scholars and researchers?and called instead for a rhetoric that promotes ¡°soundness¡± and ¡°thoroughness¡± in science ra바카라사이트r than ¡°flashy claims of superiority¡±.

One of 바카라사이트 co-authors, Martin Paul Eve, professor of literature, technology and publishing at Birkbeck, University of London, said it was ¡°gratifying to see 바카라사이트se problems recognised by funders¡± and said he hoped that ¡°this might lead to new innovative and distributive funding paradigms that foster collaboration, ra바카라사이트r than competition, between researchers¡±.

What impact, if any, 바카라사이트 advice might have is still unclear. UK?Research and Innovation, one of Science Europe¡¯s members, is set to conduct 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s next REF in 2021. Using 바카라사이트 term ¡°excellence¡± is not necessarily a problem, argued Dr Borrell-Damian, as long as it is properly defined. ¡°The devil is in 바카라사이트 detail,¡± she added.

Asked to clarify 바카라사이트 meaning of ¡°excellence¡±, a UKRI spokeswoman pointed to REF guidance documents that flesh out what ¡°excellent¡± means in concrete terms. The highest-rated research is defined as ¡°outstandingly novel¡± or ¡°a?primary or essential point of reference¡±, for example.

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com