Book Review: OK by Michelle McSweeney

In OK, Michelle McSweeney charts the history of the word ‘OK,’ from its origins in the steam-powered printing press through inventions like the telegraph and telephone and into the digital age. McSweeney illustrates how the linguistic creativity accompanying technological change enabled this versatile word to transition through new modes of communication, writes Chris Featherman. This blogpost originally appeared on LSE Review of Books. If … Continued

Just blah blah blah? Finding Why, when and where theory really matters

In many disciplines across the social sciences there are debates around whether research and research writing are under-theorised or over-theorised. Gorgi Krlev, argues that whilst these debates can provide insights, they fail to clarify why and when theorising can be useful at all. To promote better theory making he presents a framework for thinking through … Continued

Altmetric scores in Political Science are gendered – does it matter?

Altmetrics are generally seen as indicators for online engagement and attention. However, taking the field of political science as an example, Gustav Meibauer, Kiran Phull, Audrey Alejandro & Gokhan Ciflikli use altmetrics to analyse the dynamics of knowledge production in the field. Finding that altmetrics show a highly hierarchical and gendered spread of attention to … Continued

The future of scholarly podcasting can still be whatever we want it to be

From esoteric passion projects to mainstream talk shows, academic podcasting, like the medium as a whole, has grown considerably over the past decade. Drawing on interviews with all kinds of academic podcasters as part of his new book, Ian M. Cook argues the future of the academic podcast is still undecided and that it continues … Continued

“[It’s] as if it didn’t exist”: Is cyberbullying of university professors taken seriously?

As teaching and learning in higher education increasingly becomes an online activity opportunities for and instances of cyberbullying have become more common. Drawing on a recent study of Canadian academics in Quebec, Jérémie Bisaillon and Stéphane Villeneuve¸ find cyberbullying to be endemic to academic life and that those affected often lack knowledge or institutional structures … Continued

Observer, Connector, Promoter, Influencer – How to leverage social media to be an open academic

To be an open researcher is more than simply openly sharing research papers. Marcel Bogers and Ian McCarthy draw on their research on open practices in business research to outline four ways of leveraging social media to be more ‘open’ as a researcher, the potential trade-offs this can entail, and how it can help forge connections … Continued

Resilience without accountability holds back transformative change

The concept of resilience is often positioned as a solution to social challenges, notably the unfolding climate crisis. However, as Benedikt Fecher, Ali Aslan Gümüsay, Stephan Bohn and Anna Jobin discuss, resilience on its own is insufficient without accountability. Linking resilience to the vastly increased powers of digital technology, for better or worse, to track, … Continued

Bigger than the sum of its parts – Finding a focal point for engaging university communication teams

University communications functions can from the outside seem monolithic and impenetrable. Offering a brief overview of different kinds of research comms, Andy Tattersall suggests how researchers can navigate and work effectively with different professional communications staff. Academics and research groups unfamiliar with dissemination activities often come up against multiple challenges. Notably, academic departments are unlikely to … Continued

Three Reasons we should place a higher value on Meta-Research

Research is often reported on and assessed in singular, rather than aggregate terms. For example, single papers, datasets and findings. As a debate around the way research syntheses are valued within national research systems, such as the REF, continues, Michael Matthews and Thomas Kelemen advocate for the benefits of meta-research for communicating and making sense … Continued

ChatGPT will not replace Google Search

As speculation mounts that ChatGPT might replace Google Search, Tristan Greene cuts through the hype, arguing ChatGPT at present cannot replicate Google’s search function – “Saying ChatGPT will replace search is like saying podcasts will replace universities. They do two different things.” This article was originally published on Undark, you can read the original article here. Since OpenAI unveiled … Continued

Paying to play – Professional academic communication should be factored into research funding

Reflecting on the ongoing professionalisation of academic communication and increased opportunities for researchers to engage, Andy Tattersall argues researchers and research funders should be mindful of the communication requirements of their projects and factor them into their bids and tenders. As recently as a decade ago, almost all research communications were at best tagged onto … Continued

Facts Don’t Change Minds – Social Networks, Group Dialogue, and Stories Do

There is often a presumption amongst scientists that communicating the evidence on a given issue is on its own persuasive enough to change minds. Anne H. Toomey argues thinking in this way itself ignores evidence from other fields of research and presents four ways by which researchers can engage with findings from the social sciences … Continued

From research to the mainstream – Judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

As nominations for this year’s prize open, Madawi Al-Rasheed reflects on the experience of judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding and considers how research based non-fiction writing can reach beyond local and disciplinary concerns to engage global audiences. Serving as jury member of the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural … Continued

Book Review: New Mediums, Better Messages? How Innovations in Translation, Engagement and Advocacy are Changing International Development edited by David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers and Michael Woolcock

In New Mediums, Better Messages?, editors David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers and Michael Woolcock explore how international development is being represented and understood through new insights from practitioners working across a range of communications media. This volume moves forward critical conversations on cultural production about global poverty and development, showing the need for input from producers, consumers and the voices of those … Continued