Research Talk

In this episode of Research Talk, Emily Wild is joined by Dr. Amelia Morris and Professor Marcus Munafo to discuss the hurdles and opportunities in sharing research openly at different stages of an academic career.

Amelia Morris reflects on the barriers facing early career researchers, such as the high costs of academic publishing and job insecurity, while Marcus shares how open research practices are reshaping academia and supporting emerging scholars.

In this thought-provoking episode of Research Talk, the guests also discuss the systemic issues facing academia, such as marketisation and the pressures of a publish-or-perish culture. Their discussion emphasises the need to better support early career researchers to ensure the future of open research. Together, they uncover solutions that empower early career researchers in navigating the evolving academic landscape.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be inspired and rethink the future of research!

 

Show notes

·       Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc

·       Find out more about Dr Amelia Morris and her work here

·       Read up on Professor Marcus Munafo and his work here

·       Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you

·       If you want to come on the show, or have any questions, you can get in touch with us by emailing [email protected]

In this episode of Research Talk, Liz Bal leads a discussion on the UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF), exploring its evolution, current practices, and future directions.

Steven Hill discusses the strategic needs and priorities of REF 2029, highlighting shifts towards emphasising research culture and open practices. Rachel Bruce elaborates on the impact of UKRI's open access policy and the broader implications for open research. Dr. Alex Freeman provides insights from a researcher’s perspective, emphasising the need for a more comprehensive approach to open research beyond just open access. 

The conversation delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by REF, including the proposed changes to the assessment of research culture and the broader implications for the research community.

Topics Covered:

·       Strategic priorities of REF 2029

·       The role of open access and open research in the REF

·       The evolution of research assessment practices

·       The impact of REF on research culture in the UK

·       The balance between cost and benefits of REF

 

Show notes

·       Views shared by research talk guests do not necessarily represent the views of Jisc

·       Read more about Ref 2029

·       Discover Octopus, the new publishing platform for scholarly research

·       Subscribe to our Headlines newsletter, which has all the latest news, guidance and events tailored to you

In this episode, we dive into the transformative world of open access monographs with Anna Hughes, Dr Joe Deville and Lucy Barnes.

Our guests Dr. Joe Deville, Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, and Lucy Barnes, Senior Editor and Outreach Coordinator at Open Book Publishers bring a wealth of experience in open access publishing, from managing community-led initiatives to driving policy development in Europe.

They share insights on the COPIM project, which develops community-governed infrastructures for open access book publishing, and address misconceptions about open access, such as the feasibility of physical book sales and the inclusion of images. Their discussion highlights the critical role of collaboration among academics, publishers, and librarians in reshaping the future of scholarly publishing.

Exploring the findings from the University of Bristol's research culture report, Dr Pen-Yuan Hsing’s work on research culture, and identifying markers for change. Join our host, Emily Wild as she interviews this episode’s guest Dr Pen-Yuan Hsing, a senior research associate at the University of Bristol. Pen’s research is in open source, open research, and citizen science, with previous work in ecology and biodiversity conservation. In this episode, Emily speaks with Pen about his work on open research, and the potential for change moving forwards. Pen shares insights from a recent research culture report commissioned by Octopus.ac, discussing motivations for open research and barriers preventing researchers from sharing more. They delve into findings from interviews and surveys, highlighting the challenges of time constraints and fear of "scooping" among researchers. Pen suggests possible solutions, such as evidence-based assessment procedures and expanding open peer review processes, emphasising the importance of making research assessment more transparent and inclusive across disciplines.

Anna Vernon hosts an exploration of the recently launched review of transitional agreements with community experts Chris Banks and Professor Stephen Curry. In this episode, our guests discuss the review of transitional open access agreements. They focus on reactions to the review, what the review means for the research sector, and the feasibility of achieving a more open research culture. All views from the speakers are their own personal views and do not reflect the views of Jisc.

Emily Wild hosts a discussion on research culture and assessment with Alex Freeman, creator of Octopus, and Simon Hettrick, chair of the Hidden REF. In this episode, our guests discuss the need for change in research assessment and how this can be achieved. Delving into the limitations of traditional methods, the conversation introduces the innovative Hidden REF initiative, championing a shift towards broader recognition of diverse contributions to research beyond the confines of conventional academic outputs. Join the guests as they navigate the complexities of the current research assessment landscape and offer a glimpse into the promising future envisioned by the Hidden REF campaign. Alex explores the Octopus platform and its role in reshaping research sharing and assessment. The conversation delves into the difficulties of assessing nontraditional outputs and the concerns raised by researchers about the peer review process for such outputs. The hosts reflect on the potential for iterative changes leading to a better research assessment landscape, with a focus on the REF 2029 submission cycle.

We've reached the final episode of our "Is AI for me?" miniseries, in which Ruth Ahnert joins guest host Peter Findlay to discuss the relationship between humans and machines. In the final instalment of our miniseries "Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities", we're joined by Ruth Ahnert, professor of literary history and digital humanities at Queen Mary, University of London. A Turing Fellow and co-author of Collaborative Historical Research in the Age of Big Data, Ruth's academic career started as an "analogue" humanities scholar. Since then, she has collaborated with data scientists, and her work has increasingly engaged with computational methods. In this episode, Ruth and Peter explore the relationship between humans and machines, how the latter can aid critical thinking and how source evaluation of data can help us understand the outcomes of AI processes. They go on to talk about 'Living with Machines', a five-year research project conducted by the Alan Turing Institute, delving into some of the findings that show humanist approaches are influencing how scientists tackle complex problems. Ruth talks about large-scale data and the shift towards its use in the humanities. They close this final episode, touching on the transferable skills for the workplace that humanities students develop by mastering digital methods and a critical grasp of cutting-edge technologies.

In the penultimate episode of our "Is AI for me?" miniseries, guest host Peter Findlay is joined by Huw Jones to discuss the age of artificial intelligence. We've almost reached the end of our miniseries, "Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities", with the fifth instalment as Huw Jones, head of the digital library unit and digital humanities coordinator at the University of Cambridge, joins us to discuss librarians, researchers and collections in the age of artificial intelligence. Huw's role has evolved beyond the library, being both the creator and the facilitator of digital content creation. In this episode, Huw and Peter discuss the different ways to provide digital collections, and they explore how AI might impact collection research and what it might mean for librarians to be confronted by an entire collection generated by AI. Together, they consider how digital methods allow librarians to learn new things about their collections and the value of seeing what is revealed through processes and techniques for engaging with collections.

Our ‘Is AI for me? Perspectives from the humanities’ miniseries returns with part four with guest Leif Isaksen and guest host, Peter Findlay. Our miniseries returns after its summer break with part four, and we’re handing over to a new guest host, Peter Findlay, our subject matter expert for digital scholarship. In this episode, Peter is joined by professor of digital humanities at the University of Exeter, Leif Isaksen. From his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at King’s College, Cambridge, Leif has gone on to work in Southampton’s archaeology department and Lancaster University’s history department. Now at the University of Exeter and as a fellow at the Alan Turing Institute, Leif’s interests are in spatial and temporal representation in the humanities - both in the ancient world and the modern one - and the paradigm of Linked Open Data to relate online resources about the past. In this episode, Leif and Peter discuss the impact of digital approaches on historical map research, the emergence of new tools for large multidimensional map datasets and the development of map research at scale. They consider the impact of AI technologies, such as neural networks, and how they affect notions of truth and the role of humans in the research process. Together, they explore interdisciplinary working, how we can evolve a baseline set of capabilities for digital working, and the positive application of AI to learning, teaching and research.

Tim Fellows is joined by Dr Alex Freeman, founder of Octopus.ac, to discuss the platform and its future developments. Together, they explore how Octopus could align with researcher incentives and positively impact research culture. Dr Alex Freeman, executive director at Winton Centre for Risk and Evidence Communication and founder of Octopus.ac, started her career at the BBC. Alex’s work not only involved the development and making of television series, but also working with associated content to bring science to the widest possible audience. Her work at the Winton Centre focuses on helping professionals communicate numbers and uncertainty better. Being an advocate of Open Research practices and reform of the science publishing system led her to founding Octopus, a platform designed to provide a new ‘primary research record’ for recording and appraising research ‘as it happens’. In this episode, we examine how Octopus.ac can resolve the current constraints in research publishing and share what we are up to at the moment, from outreach to platform developments. We consider the benefits of discovering research in Octopus, breaking down research into smaller publications and publishing open peer reviews. We also raise the topic of impact factors, the limitations and the alternative metrics that might support quality research.