Research culture

Hypercompetition. Overwork. Career instability. Lack of diversity. Discrimination. Misconduct. These are just some of the characteristic problems of current academic research culture. Despite the strain these issues place on researchers, improvement have been slow to emerge due to the complex network of interactions between all the parties involved in academic research – including funders, universities, publishers and the researchers themselves.

In this collection, Chemistry World looks more closely at these issues from the viewpoints of the people affected by them and highlight some of the solutions being proposed to make academic research environments healthier and happier places to do science.