Survey of UK researchers finds that precarious employment leads to conservative science
Phooto credits: Rido81 / BigStock
The rise of fixed-term academic contracts means researchers are likely to play it safe in their choice of research topics, eschewing the kind of ambitious, radical discovery European policymakers want.
That’s the conclusion of a new survey of UK-based geographers, which paints a bleak picture of the mental strain that temporary contracts place on young scientists.
“I feel like years of precarious employment have not been conducive to good ideas,” said one anonymous respondent to States of Precarity in UK HE Geography, which surveyed around 350 academics.
Fixed-term contracts “made me feel pressured to focus on ‘topical’, ‘buzz worthy’ issues” and diverted “weeks of writing and…
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