Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 19h

📊 Don’t rehash the results: Connect and extend your findings
⚖️ Be honest about limitations, but don’t overdo it
🔍 Avoid vague calls for “more research”: Point to clear next steps

scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/09/30/w...

What your Discussion section isn’t

Today, the next instalment in a short series inspired by bad papers I’ve read (some of them, I have to admit, my own). I’ve let myself rant about what a Methods sections shouldn’t be, and what a Re…

scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 19h

Discussions can be difficult to write, but that’s because they do heavy lifting: they show why your results matter, how they connect to the field, and where to go next. ✍️

3 common mistakes when writing a discussion section, via @stephenbheard.bsky.social #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 1d

AI agents can now check published papers and reproduce their results in hours.

This could help resolve the replication crisis in research, provided there are benchmarks for accuracy and fairness, via @emollick.bsky.social

www.oneusefulthing.org/p/real-ai-ag...

Real AI Agents and Real Work

The race between human-centered work and infinite PowerPoints

www.oneusefulthing.org

Reposted by Paperpile

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 4d

Collaboration isn’t optional in science. 👥 📖

You co-author papers, pass along reading lists, keep a shared repository for your team.

We completely revamped sharing in Paperpile to support all of these scenarios. Learn more 🔽
paperpile.com/blog/paperpi...

New in Paperpile: Flexible, fast sharing for teams and collaborators - Paperpile

Discover Paperpile’s new sharing features—designed to make collaborating with colleagues and teams faster and more flexible, whether you're working on a joint project or managing shared references.

paperpile.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 4d

Collaboration isn’t optional in science. 👥 📖

You co-author papers, pass along reading lists, keep a shared repository for your team.

We completely revamped sharing in Paperpile to support all of these scenarios. Learn more 🔽
paperpile.com/blog/paperpi...

New in Paperpile: Flexible, fast sharing for teams and collaborators - Paperpile

Discover Paperpile’s new sharing features—designed to make collaborating with colleagues and teams faster and more flexible, whether you're working on a joint project or managing shared references.

paperpile.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 5d

🔍 Make each paper’s focus truly distinct
🎤 Use an “elevator pitch” to justify separation
📄 Each article should stand alone
✏️ Draft abstracts in parallel to divide content
patthomson.net/2025/09/21/w...

Writing multiple articles from one set of data

So you’ve got this mountain of “stuff” that keeps revealing new secrets every time you look at it. Or maybe you’re doing a PhD by publication and panicking about how to sort out the art…

patthomson.net

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 5d

Can you publish multiple papers from the same data without "salami-slicing"?

Cramming everything into one paper risks superficial treatment of key themes or burying findings in supplements no one reads.

Tips for writing multiple papers from the same data, via @patthomson.bsky.social #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 6d

⏳ Consider your timeline: think about career stage and goals
👥 Research the editorial board
📚 Track where the key works you cite are published
🎯 Weigh special issues carefully
www.publishnotperish.net/p/8-tips-for...

8 Tips for Choosing the Right Journal

Go beyond aims & scope to find real fit.

www.publishnotperish.net

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 6d

Submitting to the right journal can feel like trying to hit a moving target. 🎯

The aims and scope of a journal may only tell half the story.

Tips for selecting the right journal, via @jennmcclearen.bsky.social #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 7d

An analysis of 28M articles shows that teams with more beginner researchers produce work that’s more disruptive and innovative.

Innovation peaked in all-beginner teams, and was also high when beginners paired with co-authors known for bold ideas, via @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Want to do disruptive science? Include more rookie researchers

Papers from research teams with a substantial number of beginners are highly disruptive and innovative, study shows.

www.nature.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 8d

Academic life is a non-stop stream of requests. If you don’t set boundaries, someone else will set them for you.

📅 Tip: Do weekly planning. Block out teaching, service, and personal commitments so you know your true capacity for research and writing. #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 10d

🎯 Identify the purpose of your review
🔎 Do an extensive search
✅ Evaluate and select the most relevant sources
🧠 Analyze those sources, don’t just list them
📐 Plan a clear structure

paperpile.com/g/thesis-lit...

How to write a literature review in 6 steps - Paperpile

How do you write a good literature review? This step-by-step guide on how to write an excellent literature review covers all aspects of planning and writing literature reviews for academic papers and…

paperpile.com

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 10d

A strong literature review isn’t just a summary. It maps the field, shows what’s been done, and sets the stage for your contribution. It tells readers: here’s where my research fits, here’s why it matters.

Here’s how to do it well:

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 11d

Perfection is a trap in research. If you wait until your work is perfect, you’ll never submit.

Instead, aim for better. Draft the article. Share the messy version with colleagues. Submit the grant proposal.

Each iteration makes your work stronger. #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 13d

An analysis of peer review data found that reviewers tend to favour submissions from their own countries and consequently authors from countries with few reviewers face a structural barrier to publishing, via @lseimpactblog.bsky.social

blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

Lack of geographic diversity in peer review skews “publishable” research - Impact of Social Sciences

An analysis of peer review data for 204,718 submissions to 60 Institute of Physics journals finds that reviewers tend to favour submissions from their own countries.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 15d

🎯 Identify your priorities, goals, and commitments
🛠️ Choose tools that work for you
⏳ Build in time to review and adjust

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/care...

The Best Time to Organize Your Research Is Now (opinion)

Don’t put research on the back burner: A good project management system can help you work consistently throughout the academic year, Shiri Noy writes.

www.insidehighered.com

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 15d

A well-designed project management system can help you work consistently throughout the academic year, even when you have only 20 minutes a day to spare.

3 steps to build your project management system, via @insidehighered.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 17d

✍️ Fast feedback: responses in days, not months
👥 Engaged readers: a wider, invested community, not just a few gatekeepers
🔍 Transparent revisions: edits and discussion happen in public
ccli.substack.com/p/let-me-run...

Let me run an experiment on you (with you?)

Peer review is broken so let's try this instead

ccli.substack.com

Paperpile @paperpile.com · 17d

Peer review is often slow and inconsistent. Could comments on blog posts and newsletters offer a better alternative?

Advantages of blogs over traditional peer review, via the Dendrite blog

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 18d

Academics: Instead of sticking to a rigid schedule, use transition points—like finishing an analysis or a meeting's end—to recharge before switching gears.

Take those breaks seriously: make tea, step outside, disconnect. A quick reset helps you return refreshed and ready to dive back in.

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 20d

Researchers who keep a foot in both exploration and publication modes remind themselves—and show others—that research is more than a pipeline to publications, via @themodernpeer.com #AcademicSky
www.themodernpeer.com/the-split-sc...

The split-screen mind of the researcher

“So, what experiment should we do next?” asks the student. And two different tabs open up side to side in your mind. Tab 1: Taking a stroll in your field In this tab, there are no real rules. You are…

www.themodernpeer.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 20d

In academic research, publishable results matter—but discovery matters more.

🎨 Exploration mode: Follow curiosity, chase ideas
📑 Publication mode: Meet reviewer expectations, follow standards

Both modes are essential, but if you only chase what’s publishable, you risk losing the joy of discovery.

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 21d

🔍 Focus on actual critiques and ask colleagues if a comment is worth addressing
✉️ Write to the editor: point out rude or discriminatory comments
⚖️ Appeal if you think a review has unduly influenced the outcome
📖 Submit work to journals with transparent review processes
www.nature.com/articles/d41...

‘Lipstick on a pig’: how to fight back against a peer-review bully

Scientific societies, journals, editors and researchers are pushing back against mean-spirited peer reviews.

www.nature.com

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 21d

Peer review should be critical.

But sometimes, feedback crosses the line into unprofessional territory.

How to push back against peer-review bullies, via @nature.com #AcademicSky

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Paperpile @paperpile.com · 22d

Thanks for commenting, this is a good point. The article acknowledges that AI detectors can produce false positives, and journal editors must use judgment in interpreting their readings.

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