Interlude: Keystone Habits, Scientific Ghosts, and Authorship Perceptions
I recently saw a reel that reminded me how some habits are more powerful than others.
You may have noticed this in your own life. You change one small thing, and somehow everything else begins to shift. These are keystone habits: small changes that set off a chain reaction far greater than the initial change would suggest.
You might be wondering how to find your keystone habits. It starts with a simple question: What kind of change seems irrationally scary to you?
Not just uncomfortable—irrationally, unexplainably scary. The kind of discomfort that stirs up an emotional response you can't quite justify. That discomfort isn't a reason to back away. It's actually a sign to lean in. Because that thing may be a keystone habit for you.
Let's consider writing. I've met many researchers who feel a lot of discomfort with the idea of writing. Not just because writing is challenging, or because formal training in writing is rarely part of graduate education. But because they don't see themselves as writers. And that identity gap can hold them back.
But when a researcher pushes past that discomfort to write regularly, they can begin to recognize what was already true: they are professional writers. One keystone habit leads to a chain reaction that changes how they see themselves.
So I'll leave you with the same question: What kind of change seems irrationally scary to you? That fear may be pointing you toward the one thing worth leaning into.
Now onto this week's round-up...
Round-up
Reading
Scientific ghosts: Life after retraction – A case of Nature Index journals
"Scientific paper retractions do not terminate their academic impact; rather, they create a ghost-like existence in the scientific literature. This study examines the ‘afterlife’ of retracted articles in high-prestige journals. Accordingly, it analyses the citation patterns after retraction of 994 retracted articles from Nature Index journals and their 21,047 citations. The findings indicate that 93.9% of these articles continued receiving citations post-retraction, with 47.86% of citations being neutral and 39.79% carrying a positive tone."
Cite unseen: when AI hallucinates scientific articles
"Luckily, one solution is to use a tool we’ve already developed: our skepticism. Our assumption that information is likely wrong, until we see reasonable evidence otherwise, is part of what makes us successful as scientists. Now, we just need to apply it to citations as well."
Faculty-student differences in authorship perceptions before and after authorship ethics interventions
"We further assess changes in authorship norms and ethical perceptions through a follow-up survey after a three-year effort to improve authorship ethics on our campus, which included training on ethical authorship practices and adoption of a formal institutional authorship policy. The results show notable shifts in researchers’ awareness, expectations, and attitudes toward authorship ethics and responsibilities. This suggests proactive education and policymaking can promote integrity in collaborative scholarly work and recalibrate local norms."
Watching
How the best presenters use their slides
"Bad presenters use their slide decks like a script, meaning they click to the next slide and then talk about what’s on it. But great presenters use their slides to emphasize important information after they’ve already said it, which is much harder, but much more impactful."
Quote
“This is the real power of habit: the insight that your habits are what you choose them to be.” –Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
