Researchfish lands in hot water after threatening academics over critical comments
Service that tracks impact of research for UK universities and funders apologises for sending tweets claiming that it reported researchers
The research impact-tracking service Researchfish’s apparent cyberbullying of academics has generated an explosive backlash from the research community, which has led to two apologies from the online platform and a promise of action by the UK’s main research funder UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
Hundreds of researchers took to Twitter to express outrage after it surfaced that Researchfish – a technology company based in Cambridge, UK and owned by Interfolio that measure research impact – was lashing out at individual researchers who have criticised aspects of the service. Many of those targeted had complained about the tool’s time-consuming and repetitive grant reporting forms, and other cumbersome aspects of the software.