Recital 33 GDPR has often been interpreted as referring to 'broad consent'. This version of informed consent was intended to allow data subjects to provide their consent for certain areas of research, or parts of research projects, conditional to the research being in line with 'recognised ethical standards'. In this article, we argue that broad…

The Joint Research Centre (JRC) is the European Commission's in-house science and knowledge service, employing a substantial staff of scientists devoted to conducting research to provide independent scientific advice for EU policy. Focussed on various research areas aligned with EU priorities, the JRC excels in delivering scientific evidence for…

This paper analyses the EU's approach to international research cooperation between 2012-2022 drawing on critical geopolitical perspectives and the spatial politics of (re)bordering. It identifies two periods which represent the EU's shifting approaches to international research cooperation from the pursuit of a liberal agenda promoting…

Participatory research methods in education, such as action research, have been around for some time. Recently, not only researchers but also research policy makers have highlighted the importance of participation between society and research. Citizen science, science with and for society, and practice-based educational research are examples of…

Over the last decades, most EU countries have profoundly reshaped their public research funding systems by shifting from traditional institutional block-funding towards more project-based mechanisms. The main rationale underlying this evolution builds on the assumption that project funding would foster research performance through the introduction…

A multi-centre clinical trial involves the implementation of the same clinical protocol at several independent investigational centres. Multi-centre clinical trials may be preferable to single-centre trials, but their implementation and management is more complex. EU-funded collaborative projects involve several participating organizations and…

This article explores how researchers adapt to disruptions that cost them access to their field sites, advancing a uniquely sociological perspective on the dynamics of flexibility and adaptation in qualitative methods. Through interviews with 31 ethnographers whose access was preempted or eliminated, I find that adaptation varied systematically…

The ubiquitous use of social platforms across the globe makes them attractive options for investigating social phenomena including migration. However, the use of social media data raises several crucial ethical issues around the areas of informed consent, anonymity and profiling of individuals, which are particularly sensitive when looking at a…

Purpose: Policy-oriented responsibility initiatives are institutional attempts to make innovations more responsible. One such initiative is offered by the European Commission's responsible research and innovation (RRI) keys (public engagement, gender equality, science education, open access and ethics). This study is conducted in the context of an…

Research productivity and research excellence are elements essential to the creation of a conducive research environment, in which research publications, research dissemination, and research utilization, are key in fostering the sustainability of higher education institutions. In this study, the current institutional policies, practices, and…

This report presents data on peer-reviewed S&E journals and conference proceedings reflecting the rapidly expanding volume of research activity, the involvement and scientific capabilities different countries, and the expanding research ecosystem demonstrated through international collaborations. Publication output grew about 4% annually over…

In this paper we reflect on the looming question of what constitutes expertise in ethics. Based on an empirical program that involved qualitative and quantitative as well as participatory research elements we show that expertise in research ethics and integrity is based on experience in the assessment processes. We then connect traditional…

The article assesses the role comparative research plays from the 1980s in understanding vocational education and training (VET) systems in Europe, driven by political, economic, social and labour market changes. This research has been transformed, moving from national comparisons of VET systems, grounded in institutional theory and engaging with…

We have limited understanding of why reviewers tend to strongly disagree when scoring the same research proposal. Thus far, research that explored disagreement has focused on the characteristics of the proposal or the applicants, while ignoring the characteristics of the reviewers themselves. This article aims to address this gap by exploring…

The paper investigates the increasing number of international co-authored publications, comparing countries that accessed the European Union (EU) in 2004 (EU04) against other Central-Eastern European Countries (othEast-ERA), adopting a scientometric approach. This comparison looks at whether to be part of the EU is different from being part of the…