Researchology

Behavioural ecology of mathematics

Tim Fawcett and I work on understanding how and why mathematical equations in scientific papers affect the behaviour of scientists, such as reading and citing papers. We have shown that greater density of equations in papers reduces citation counts in both biology and physics.

We are also interested in understanding the causes of maths anxiety, and how to solve it. We created a hypothesis based on the smoke detector principle by Randy Nesse.

Scientific Ecosystem

Marcus Munafò and I work on understanding how scientists' behaviour when doing research might respond to the rewards and pressures put on them by funding agencies, employers, and competition with one another.