Editorials in 2017

From inception to publication, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research faces distinct challenges. We are committed to enabling such research through a fair and principled peer review process.

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences this year, in honouring the work of Richard H. Thaler, highlights the growing impact of behavioural economics in science and policy.

A paper in this issue identifies a persistent influence of irrelevant information in social contexts, which results in biased and unfair judgements. These widespread social biases can be insidious as they inadvertently enter research and policy.

No amount of engineering, laws or regulations will be sufficient to sustain the commons without a deeper understanding of how, when and under what conditions humans cooperate.

In the face of growing economic inequality, rebalancing the wealth gap at global and national levels is key to alleviating health, educational and lifestyle inequalities — but could our respect for established hierarchies hinder a move toward fairer distribution?

The on-going European refugee crisis requires a concerted response across EU member states, including policy reform.

The steep rise in global terror necessitates a deeper scientific understanding of the terrorist profile and evidence-based deradicalization programmes.

Science must remain non-partisan, but it cannot — and should not — be disengaged from the society it serves.

‘Echo chambers’ in political and public scientific debate are a growing concern, but how prevalent are they and how can scientists measure their influence?

Disciplinary divides and diverse views on the role of ethical review in the social and behavioural sciences shape interpretations of the recent Common Rule changes. Challenges lay ahead in creating a shared standard for all those engaged in research that involves human subjects.

Donald Trump's recently declared belief that torture is an effective method of interrogation is misguided and has no basis in evidence.

In this issue, two articles that focus on two very different contexts — gun violence in US schools and the death toll in the Syrian conflict — highlight the complexities involved in quantifying and interpreting patterns of violence.

Individual and collective human behaviour is studied by numerous fields, spanning the social and natural sciences and beyond. Genuine progress in understanding human behaviour can only be achieved through a multidisciplinary community effort. Nature Human Behaviour aims to foster that effort.

Authors who wish to publish their work with us have the option of a registered report. With this format, acceptance in principle happens before the research outcomes are known. As a result, publication bias is neutralized, as are incentives for practices that undermine the validity of scientific research.