Frequently Asked Questions

TWDK is a new online science magazine, aimed at the general public with specialist features for scientists and journalists. For more details, please visit our about page.

We are currently compiling exciting content for the site, and testing the site features. We want to ensure that when we launch, we have interesting articles in each branch of science waiting for you. We don't want to launch with an empty site. To do this, we're employing students to write about the research being done at their own universities, and asking scientists to help us explain their research areas. This is expensive, so the more funding/investment we can raise the sooner we can launch.

This site is designed for the general public, scientists and journalists. Our features are carefully designed to enable each user group to benefit the others.

No. We want everybody to be able to browse through the open questions of science, free of charge. We may add some premium features in time, but the main content of the site will remain accessible to everybody.

No. Registering an account with us is optional, but does help us to provide you with useful features such as informing you of new articles similar to ones you liked.

We have a number of features which can only work with a registered account, such as suggesting articles similar to ones you liked or tracking news items related to a particular question.

Aside from growing the site further, the vast majority (70% or more) of our profits will be used to fund scientific research, or science communication projects like ours. This isn't just a promise - as a registered C.I.C. we're legally bound to doing so!

C.I.C. stands for “Community Interest Company”.

Community Interest Companies are limited companies based in the United Kingdom, with special additional features, created for the use of people who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not purely for private advantage. This is achieved by a “community interest test” and “asset lock”, which ensure that the CIC is established for community purposes and the assets and profits are dedicated to these purposes. Registration of a company as a CIC has to be approved by the C.I.C. Regulator who also has a continuing monitoring and enforcement role.

There are many ways you can help, from simply "liking" us on facebook, to helping us fund our content writers. If you'd like to know more about how you can help us, please get in touch.

Yes. We're always on the lookout for dedicated people who can add something to our team. Please send your CV and cover letter to our recruitment team.

We post status updates on our blog with the TWDK tag. You can also subscribe to our mailing list on the TWDK home page.

Explaining scientific research accurately takes time, and we want to ensure we get it right. To do this, we're employing a number of staff writers and editors. We are currently aiming for late 2016.

Traditional printed media is finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the digital age, and places limitations on what can be achieved within an article. By publishing online as our primary domain, we can incorporate more features, interactivity and services than traditional media. However, we have not ruled out the possibility of producing print or audio/visual media in the future.

No. We may add some premium features in time, but the main content of the site and the basic features for scientists will not require a premium account.

Only if you wish to use our specialist features, such as linking research papers to a research area, or contacting other researchers.

Possibly, but not yet. All of our resources are currently dedicated to the launch of the site.

Certainly! If you'd like to help us to explain one or more of your research interests, please get in touch.

We are inviting a small number of academics to submit content and help us beta test our features. If you would like to be involved in this, please send us an email.

No. If you tell us you're happy to talk to journalists, we will act as an intermediary for you whenever a journalist wishes to contact you through us.

Only if you tell us explicitly that you want your details to be made available to other scientists.

Yes, provided your paper is open access. We will not link to papers which are behind paywalls. Read more details on our commitment to open science.

No. However, access to some of our specialist features, such as connecting directly with scientists, will require a paid account.

Yes. All of our articles are covered by the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, which you can find at the bottom of the page. This means you are free to copy/quote anything from the site, provided you clearly attribute it to us.

Unless otherwise stated, all images on this site except for the TWDK logos are ©TWDK and can be used under the terms of the CC BY-SA 3.0 licence found at the bottom of the page. The TWDK logos may not be used for any purpose without prior permission from us.

Things We Don't Know C.I.C. is a UK-registered company limited by shares. If you would like to discuss investment opportunities, please email us at invest@thingswedontknow.com.

Yes. As a C.I.C. we are permitted to use a proportion of our profits for dividend payments, according to caps set by the C.I.C. Regulator. We offer a reasonable ROI, while enabling significant social impact.

We are currently looking to raise a minimum of £130,000 to fund our initial phase of content generation and website development.

We will directly fund “open access” scientific research and science communications projects. Through combining this policy with our site's features we aim to achieve:

• Higher completion rate of research, less “wasted” funding.
• Better interdisciplinary collaboration between scientists, leading to faster research.
• Improved quality of science reporting & communication.
• Improved support for and utilization of “open access” scientific publishing.
• Greater public engagement with the scientific community.
• Increased number of people studying science.

Through a combination of:

• Targetted advertising
• Premium account subscriptions
• Commissions from our crowdfunding engine
• Affiliation with established publishers

Once the main site goes live, we will only accept advertisements for subjects our readers can tell us they wish to see. For example, we are happy to advertise PhD studentships to those who have specified they are searching for one. If you would like to discuss advertising opportunities, please email us at partnerships@thingswedontknow.com.

We are looking for interesting partners to work with - to discuss a partnership arrangement please email us at partnerships@thingswedontknow.com.