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Peer review is lauded in principle as the guarantor of quality in academic publishing and grant distribution. But its practice is often loathed by those on the receiving end. Here, seven academics offer their tips on good refereeing, and reflect on how it may change in the years to come

The furore over Brian Wansink’s data handling overlooks the fact that science should above all be about explanation, argues Martin Cohen

Both the rationale and the mechanism for redistributing research activity around the regions are far from clear cut, say Sarah Chaytor and Graeme Reid   

More than 60 US institutions to work with 800 others worldwide in tackling global strategy on environment, education and equality

What single change to university practice would have the most positive and far-reaching consequences? Eight academics and thinkers give us their views

IQ tests are conceptually muddled measures of learned knowledge, self-confidence and social background, says Kenneth Richardson

Analysis of rankings data suggests Australia has made ground and without an apparent cost to research quality

Australia’s twice-unlucky research grant applicants raise questions about the assessment process, but they could help elevate science as an election issue, says John Ross

Latest edition of Clarivate analysis suggests nation is on upward trajectory

University of British Columbia professor quits leadership of Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies in protest at funding reforms

Conference hears how the biases of historic collections need to be addressed

Chester’s Tim Grady, recently shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize, is proof that smaller universities can produce researchers who compete with the elite. John Morgan writes

Jack Grove asks whether those who lead academic departments and universities can still realistically find the time to be effective researchers

Survey also reveals citations have little influence over the content of a paper, raising questions over citation metrics

Competitive funding once helped novel ideas get off the ground, but now funding ‘excellence’ is hampering new research, says Dutch institute

Depositories of original sources were once bulging with academics, but few scholars seem to have time to visit them now, says Arnold Harvey

If those researching topics disliked by politicians can’t make a living in universities, scholarship will be impoverished, says Mark Steven

If access to European research funding is to be maintained, more UK research universities need to forge formal links with EU institutions, says Peter Coveney

Academics staging events on everything from ‘pseudo-death’ to convict ballads claim that public events can often drive future scholarship

New centre could supply the ingredients to bring home-grown Fields medallists back, says director

Which is the better option when it comes to running academic journals – the professional editor or the academic one? Rachael Pells analyses the pros and cons of each

Dutch figures show just how little time professors get for their own research. It may be easier to pursue your intellectual interests outside the university system, says THE reporter David Matthews

A survey reveals readers’ opinions on whether professional editors or active researchers should be responsible for academic editing

Academics debate how to respond to increasing influence of People’s Liberation Army

In the very different cultures of St Vincent and the Faroe Islands, whaling forms a key part of their identity. Scholar Russell Fielding gets a real insight into the hunting tradition. Matthew Reisz reports

Matthew Reisz praises the researchers who go way beyond the call of duty in investigating the world for us all

Simon Baker weighs the evidence for the transformation of the country’s higher education system

After a rare, chance encounter with an enthusiast for one of his books, Felipe Fernández-Armesto reflects on why so few academics gain any sort of celebrity 

Experts say Western institutions and academics have played a role in ‘supporting and perpetuating the Saudi regime’

While widening access is high on universities’ agendas at undergraduate level, class barriers still prevail in the academy. Here, five working-class scholars describe their experiences of ‘otherness’

Tsinghua provost urges researchers to take the risks required to achieve major breakthroughs

Younger academics spending far less time on scholarship than in leading nations, analysis suggests

The withdrawal of funding for Ontario’s basic income pilot highlights the perils of working on politically funded research, says Evelyn Forget

The relaxation of the research excellence framework’s submission rules could see research-intensive universities clustered on near-maximum scores, warms Dominic Dean

Seeking a greater share of imagined profits from commercialisation would undermine technology transfer, says David Secher

Professors shown to be mostly mad and mostly male, scholar claims

New projects at two Sydney universities show move towards multidisciplinary scholarship

New international publishing figures confirm China has overtaken US and leading European countries, ahead of schedule

Many retired academics embrace the freedom to fully embody their view of the serious scholar, says Bruce Macfarlane

Academia’s exacting standards on attribution are spot on. It is their inconsistent implementation that is the problem, says David Sanders

Study raises questions about merit of government-driven improvement schemes

Donna Strickland describes how becoming only the third woman in history to win the physics prize turned her into a ‘rock star’ overnight

Tricksters say they wanted to expose overly politicised research, but scholars are concerned about the motivation behind the sting

The research excellence framework’s reliance on hasty peer review by generalists limits sample size and accuracy, three academics argue

Research will suffer from the collapse of professional development into financially fixated assessments of ‘capability’, say Gill Evans and Dorothy Bishop 

Russell Group institutions dominate tie-ups announced since vote to leave bloc

Alongside Donna Strickland, Arthur Ashkin breaks record for becoming oldest laureate at 96

Vice-chancellor at the Australian National University Brian Schmidt delivers a powerful address to open the 2018 World Academic Summit 

Germany’s multibillion-euro excellence initiative has encouraged competition, but it has also helped create a close-knit ‘Berlin University Alliance’

The digital tide will not wash away campus-based learning, believe most respondents to THE’s University Leaders Survey. David Matthews reports on what they see ahead for study options, scholarly conferences, scientific progress and more

Universities in China are once again the fastest-advancing group in the THE World University Rankings. A closer look at their approaches shows why

To spare doctoral candidates protracted and unproductive efforts, Tim Marler and Dean Young suggest a pragmatic route to successful completion, while, below, Julian Kirchherr advocates a quick-and-dirty path to a viable thesis

Lengthy discussions slow pace of bringing products to market and are often irrelevant by the time they are concluded, summit hears

Multidisciplinary mindset requires more diverse reward structures, says Sydney v-c

Humboldtian tradition at risk of unravelling in shift to use of teaching-only staff, Nobel prizewinning v-c says

After a year of heavy criticism threatened to see the landmark study written off for good, it has received support from an unlikely quarter

Libraries worry that they could be caught up in a drive to force platforms like YouTube to share their profits with creators

Where will higher education be in 2030? Our survey asks university leaders what they think the next decade holds for the sector

What are vice-chancellors’ insights into the trends, threats and priorities affecting the future of the university? Nearly 200 leaders of world-ranked universities give their views on where the sector will be in the year 2030. John Ross reports

Report sets outs recommendations for healthier collaborations