Survey on censorship and academic and scientific freedom in biodiversity and conservation research

[George Holmes]

Dear colleagues

 

(please feel free to forward this on to others who may be interested)

 

The academic and scientific freedom to pursue research without undue constraints or censorship is a vital issue, yet researchers rarely discuss it openly, and there are few studies exploring it in the field of biodiversity and conservation research.To address this, we are conducting research to understand experiences of academic and scientific freedom amongst researchers in our field, including those working inside and outside of academic institutions, and those from all disciplinary backgrounds (natural science, social science, arts and humanities). In particular, we want to hear researchers’ experiences of instances where their academic and scientific freedoms have been constrained.

 

As such, we are encouraging colleagues to participate in our survey of experiences of constraints on academic and scientific freedom in biodiversity and conservation research, here:

Academic and Scientific Freedoms in Biodiversity and Conservation Research

 

We hope that this survey will give colleagues a fuller picture of the current state of academic and scientific freedom in our field.

 

Note that, given the sensitivities of this issue, we will not be collecting any personal data or identifiers as part of this research.

 

With best wishes

 

George Holmes, Xanthe Hudson, Lottie Knee.