LSE Impact

Eager to please AI assistants smooth over the gaps in our thinking

Taster — Thu, 21 May 2026 10:00:31 +0000

A competent paper used to prove a competent mind. It no longer does. The research integrity tools we have were built for fraud and for selective reporting. As Timothy Cook … Continued

The post Eager to please AI assistants smooth over the gaps in our thinking first appeared on LSE Impact.

Without guidelines academic authorship defaults to power politics

Taster — Wed, 20 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

In many areas of social science co-authorship is the default. Drawing on a meta-analysis of academics in fields related to management, Lorenz Graf-Vlachy outlines a pervasive culture of questionable authorship … Continued

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The Matthew effect in AI summary

Taster — Tue, 19 May 2026 10:30:33 +0000

At the heart of AI applications to scholarly communication are processes of summarisation and the ranking of “too much” information. Considering how unequal dynamics of attention, such as the Matthew … Continued

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Is it really bad that only 50% of social science papers are reproducible?

Taster — Mon, 18 May 2026 10:00:38 +0000

Three new papers in Nature from the SCORE project find that around half of social science studies hold up under replication, reproducibility, and robustness tests. Many commentators have read this … Continued

The post Is it really bad that only 50% of social science papers are reproducible? first appeared on LSE Impact.

Extra time is not inclusion – Why redesigning assessments benefits all students

Taster — Thu, 14 May 2026 10:00:29 +0000

For many higher education institutions the default way to accommodate neurodiverse students in assessment is to provide extra time. Drawing on the principles of Universal Design for Learning, Malak Benslama-Dabdoub … Continued

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Qualitative research can and should be more open and reproducible

Taster — Wed, 13 May 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Qualitative social scientists have lagged behind their quantitative colleagues in adopting open social science approaches to research. Discussing their new book, Patrick Dunleavy and Timothy Monteath outline numerous different strategies … Continued

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Legal jeopardy shouldn’t determine who can research digital platforms

Taster — Tue, 12 May 2026 10:03:42 +0000

Calls for evidence-based scrutiny of online platforms have intensified globally. But the capacity to produce evidence is unevenly distributed. Alexandra Boutopoulou argues legal uncertainty surrounding data access is creating a … Continued

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Polls are a “public good”, they deserve to be better understood

Taster — Mon, 11 May 2026 10:01:26 +0000

Polls and surveys act as an important conduit between public opinion and decision making. They can even be seen as a democratic and public good. Considering the high levels of … Continued

The post Polls are a “public good”, they deserve to be better understood first appeared on LSE Impact.

The costs of limiting academic freedom

Taster — Fri, 08 May 2026 10:00:47 +0000

The UK High Court’s recent decision in favour of Sussex university is the latest flashpoint in an ongoing debate on academic freedom. Chirantan Chatterjee argues attempts to narrow academic debate could … Continued

The post The costs of limiting academic freedom first appeared on LSE Impact.

From microscopes to AI? New tools spark scientific discovery

Taster — Thu, 07 May 2026 11:01:36 +0000

Scientific discoveries and the innovations that stem from them are pursued by governments and science policies seeking to ultimately drive human wellbeing. Drawing on the study of science’s major discoveries, … Continued

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