Which governance instruments can we employ to promote open science? In this post I discuss governance instruments that can encourage researchers to engage in two important practices of open science: documenting and sharing research data. The practice of documenting data makes science more transparent. Sharing data makes science more open. Documenting data is a necessary first step towards more open science.

How do publications in nonprofit and philanthropic studies report on the type of data they report on? What are the characteristics of samples and measurement instruments used in research? Which research designs and methods are used in the analysis of data? To what extent do publications describe the generalizability and validity of observations?

The Researchers, Academics, and Data Enthusiasts (RADE) working group of WINGS is organizing a session “Longitudinal Studies: Contributions to Understanding Giving Behaviour and the Practice of Philanthropy” on September 19th, from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm (UTC).

Het was *het* nieuws van de Dag van de Filantropie: Nederlandse miljonairs geven per jaar €1274 aan goede doelen. Het nieuws komt uit het hoofdstuk ‘Geven door huishoudens‘ van Geven in Nederland 2022, dat we op 16 juni 2022 presenteerden op een symposium aan de VU. Na afloop van de presentatie sprak ik drie heel verschillende mensen. Zij vonden het om uiteenlopende redenen een laag bedrag.

If you’re struggling with writing your dissertation, bachelor or master thesis, or if you know students who are, then my blog Better Academic Research Writing may help: betteracademicwriting.wordpress.com/. You’ll find answers to questions like: What should I put in the introduction?

Het lijkt te mooi om waar te zijn: help anderen met vrijwilligerswerk, en je wordt er zelf ook beter van. Het houdt je gezond en je leeft uiteindelijk langer. Zou het zo eenvoudig zijn? Er zijn steeds meer onderzoeken die suggereren dat er een kern van waarheid schuilt in het idee dat vrijwilligerswerk mensen langer gezond houdt. Veel van deze studies gebruiken alleen kleine steekproeven.

The proposal seems too good to be true: give time to help others, and benefit yourself too. Be healthier and eventually live longer. Would it be so simple? Studies actually suggest there may be some truth in the idea that helping others through volunteer work helps people stay healthy. Yet many of these studies use small samples.

Here’s a set of insights on remote assessment in higher education, from another COVID-19 year filled with remote teaching, hybrid online / in person classes and online proctoring. I’m focusing on remote assessment – exams students can take from home. My suggestions: first, assess students through tasks that engage them in theory and skills application, analysis of evidence, and creation of knowledge;

In the new academic year, we’re starting a PhD project at the department of Donor Studies at Sanquin Research and the Center for Philanthropic Studies at Vrije Universiteit (VU). Meanwhile, we’ve completed interviews and selected Alexandra Ciauşescu for the position.

All research gets published and journals compete for the best work. Here’s a sketch of the ideal research publication infrastructure, in which the new frontier is research quality.

“I’ve done some research….” You’re planning a city trip. Where to stay? Which places to visit? Opening times? How to reach the places you want to go? The answers to these questions are not the result of real research. You just looked things up. “Research shows that…” You’re wondering what the latest insights are about a topic that you’re interested in. What does the current research tell you?