Social sciences in crisis : on the proposed elimination of the discussion section
Abstract
The social sciences are facing numerous crises including those related to replication, theory, and applicability. We highlight that these crises imply epistemic malfunctions and affect science communication negatively. Several potential solutions have already been proposed, ranging from statistical improvements to changes in norms of scientific conduct. In this paper, we propose a structural solution: the elimination of the discussion section from social science research papers. We point out that discussion sections allow for an inappropriate narrativization of research that disguises actual results and enables the misstatement of true limitations. We go on to claim that removing this section and outsourcing it to other publications provides several epistemic advantages such as a division of academic labour, adversarial modes of progress, and a better alignment of the personal aims of scientists with the aims of science. After responding to several objections, we conclude that the potential benefits of moving away from the traditional model of academic papers outweigh the costs and have the potential to play a part in addressing the crises in the social sciences alongside other reforms. As such, we take our paper as proffering a further potential solution that should be applied complimentarily with other reform movements such as Open Science and hope that our paper can start a debate on this or similar proposals.
Citation
Schönegger , P & Pils , R 2023 , ' Social sciences in crisis : on the proposed elimination of the discussion section ' , Synthese , vol. 202 , 54 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-023-04267-3
Publication
Synthese
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0039-7857Type
Journal article
Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
The transport of Icelandic volcanic ash: insights from northern European cryptotephra records
Watson, E. J.; Swindles, G. T.; Stevenson, J. A.; Savov, I.; Lawson, I. T. (2016-10-30) - Journal articleFine ash produced during volcanic eruptions can be dispersed over a vast area, where it poses a threat to aviation, human health, and infrastructure. We analyze the particle size distributions, geochemistry, and glass shard ... -
Evolution of high-m poloidal Alfvén waves in a dipole magnetic field
Elsden, Thomas; Wright, Andrew (2020-08) - Journal articleWe investigate how initially high-m, poloidal Alfvén waves evolve using a numerical model solving the ideal, cold, linear magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) equations in a 2-D dipole coordinate system. The curved magnetic geometry ... -
An external telemetry system for recording resting heart rate variability and heart rate in free-ranging large wild mammals
Twiss, Sean D.; Brannan, Naomi; Shuert, Courtney R.; Bishop, Amanda M.; Pomeroy, Patrick. P.; Moss, Simon (2021-06-04) - Journal articleMeasures of heart rate variability (and heart rate more generally) are providing powerful insights into the physiological drivers of behaviour. Resting heart rate variability (HRV) can be used as an indicator of individual ...