One of the most common errors made by non-native English speakers is having subject(s) and verb(s) that do not agree in number. Here, we discuss some common subject-verb agreement rules. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular If the subject is plural, the verb should also be … [Read more...]
Which versus that
Another common error made by non-native English speakers (and native English speakers!) is the use of “which” and “that”. The pH values of soil samples, which were obtained at night, ranged from 4.1 to 6.5. The pH values of soil samples that were obtained at night ranged from 4.1 to … [Read more...]
Funder data sharing policies
As well as journals, funders (NIH, STFC, NERC, Wellcome Trust, et al.) are also starting to implement mandatory data sharing policies [1], with applicants being asked to disclose their data management plans (with obvious implications if they have no such plan [or a weak plan] in place). In 2013, … [Read more...]
Publisher data sharing policies
Many journals (PLOS One, Nature, The Royal Society, et al.) now have mandatory data sharing policies. This means that researchers must make their datasets publicly available, whereby readers can “reach the conclusions drawn in the manuscript” and “replicate the reported study findings in their … [Read more...]
